First GURPS Mage

[roguebfl]

Combat Mage [300]

ST 10 [0]; IQ 14 [80]; DX 12 [40]; HT 14 [40];
HP 10 [0]; Per 14 [0]; Will 14 [0]; FP 14 [0];
Thr 1d-2/Sw 1d; BL 20; BS 6.5 BM 5 [-5]; Dodge 10

Advantages:
Combat Reflexes [15]
Magery 3 [35]
Familiar (Cat) [1]
Compartmentalized Mind 1 (Granted by Familiar, -40%; Magical, -10%) [25]
Regeneration (Fast ER only, -0%; Granted by Familiar, -40%; Magical, -10%) [25]
ER 10 (Magical; Granted by Familiar, -40%; Abilities only, -10%) [15]

Alternate Abilities:

• Lightning storm: Innate Attack (Burn 9d) (Bombardment 15, -5%; Area Affect (4yds radius), +100%; Surge, +20%; Overhead, +30%; Cost Fatigue (3), -15%; Limited use 4/day. -20%; Magical -10% [90]
• Stinking Cloud: Affliction (Retrenching, +50%; Area Affect (4yds radius), +100%; Drifting, +20%; Persistent, +40%; Respiratory Agent, +50%; Cost Fatigue (2), -10%; Limited use 4/day. -20%; Magical -10%, Environmental (Wind/Rain) -5%) [32/5 = 7]
• Mana Bolt: Innate Attack (Cr 1d) (Affect Insubstantial, +20%; Malediction (Speed/Range), +150%; No Knockback -10%; Magical -10%) [13/5 = 3]
• Modular Abilities (Super- Memorization) (1,1,2) (Spells Only -20%, Peperation Required 1hour/point -50%) [9/5 = 2]

Disadvantages: (Choose your own, just remember -5 for Reduace Basic Move is included)
Bad Sight (Mitgor Glasses) [-10]
Bad Temper (12) [-10]
Code of Honor (Professional: Mage Guild) [-5]
Laziness [-10]
Loner (6) [-10]
Overconfidence (6) [-10]
Phobia (Crowds, 12) [-15]
Selfish (12) [-5]
Sense of Duty (Adventuring Party) [-5]
Quirks x5 [-5]

Skills:

Innate Attack (Projectile) -12 [1] (Note using Magery for a Power Talent make this effectively 15 for centering your Lightning Storm and Stinking Cloud) )
Staff-14 [8]
Stealth-12 [2]
Thamaolgy-14* [1] (included bonus from Mager 3]

[Godogma]

Originally Posted by roguebfl

Combat Mage [300]

ST 10 [0]; IQ 14 [80]; DX 12 [40]; HT 14 [40];
HP 10 [0]; Per 14 [0]; Will 14 [0]; FP 14 [0];
Thr 1d-2/Sw 1d; BL 20; BS 6.5 BM 5 [-5]; Dodge 10

Advantages:
Combat Reflexes [15]
Magery 3 [35]
Familiar (Cat) [1]
Compartmentalized Mind 1 (Granted by Familiar, -40%; Magical, -10%) [25]
Regeneration (Fast ER only, -0%; Granted by Familiar, -40%; Magical, -10%) [25]
ER 10 (Magical; Granted by Familiar, -40%; Abilities only, -10%) [15]

Alternate Abilities:

• Lightning storm: Innate Attack (Burn 9d) (Bombardment 15, -5%; Area Affect (4yds radius), +100%; Surge, +20%; Overhead, +30%; Cost Fatigue (3), -15%; Limited use 4/day. -20%; Magical -10% [90]
• Stinking Cloud: Affliction (Retrenching, +50%; Area Affect (4yds radius), +100%; Drifting, +20%; Persistent, +40%; Respiratory Agent, +50%; Cost Fatigue (2), -10%; Limited use 4/day. -20%; Magical -10%, Environmental (Wind/Rain) -5%) [32/5 = 7]
• Mana Bolt: Innate Attack (Cr 1d) (Affect Insubstantial, +20%; Malediction (Speed/Range), +150%; No Knockback -10%; Magical -10%) [13/5 = 3]
• Modular Abilities (Super- Memorization) (1,1,2) (Spells Only -20%, Peperation Required 1hour/point -50%) [9/5 = 2]

Disadvantages: (Choose your own, just remember -5 for Reduace Basic Move is included)
Bad Sight (Mitgor Glasses) [-10]
Bad Temper (12) [-10]
Code of Honor (Professional: Mage Guild) [-5]
Laziness [-10]
Loner (6) [-10]
Overconfidence (6) [-10]
Phobia (Crowds, 12) [-15]
Selfish (12) [-5]
Sense of Duty (Adventuring Party) [-5]
Quirks x5 [-5]

Skills:

Innate Attack (Projectile) -12 [1] (Note using Magery for a Power Talent make this effectively 15 for centering your Lightning Storm and Stinking Cloud) )
Staff-14 [8]
Stealth-12 [2]
Thamaolgy-14* [1] (included bonus from Mager 3]

This is a nice build, neither of us thought of using a Familiar and conferred advantage to deal with some of the point creep from compartmentalized mind and the like

[tg_ambro]

Originally Posted by Godogma

. . . And as for the whole idea that I need a redo on the character when Epic Magic offers spells that do exactly what I was asking about or the Spell creation system? Seems like you're more interested in doing this the "Right" way as determined by the "oh so superior" members of this forum than actually examining the problem and finding a solution.

I'm glad you found a suitable fix, however, I do think that eventually the Epic Magic (which I haven't read) fix will once again lead you back to square one, or at least another problem in the "poorly built character" department. I might be wrong though.

And in all fairness, everyone here posted a lot of very helpful replies. It's unfortunate that this thread went something like this:

Customer: "I'm angry that the pet hamster I bought isn't a dog!"
Pet Shop Owner: Well, that's very unfortunate, perhaps I could offer you a trade for the hamster? I have a litter of puppies looking for a good ho-"
Customer: "No! I've already bonded with this hamster. I want him to become a dog."
Pet Shop Owner: "You . . . want the hamster to become a dog?"
Customer: "yes."
Pet Shop Owner: "Well, okay. I have this new drug that will radically destabilize the hamster's genome. All you have to do is feed him a little hair from the dog breed you want, and in a month's time, that little hamster will become a dog!"
Customer: "That sounds like waaaaaaaaay to much work!"
Pet Shop Owner: "Okay, I have these little novelty dog ears that I suppose you could put on him, but that won't really change anyth-"
Customer: "Perfect! I'll take it!"
Pet Shop Owner: *Blink* *Blink*

[Kazander]

Originally Posted by Godogma

This is a nice build, neither of us thought of using a Familiar and conferred advantage to deal with some of the point creep from compartmentalized mind and the like

The other limitation on Compartmentalized Mind that can help a lot is No Mental Separation (-20%) from GURPS Psionic Powers. This means that CM no longer gives you protection from external influence as detailed in paragraph 3 of the description of CM. This is entirely suitable for someone seeking the extra mental maneuver portion of CM, but who doesn't actually have 2 minds. There is also the Mentalism (-10%) limitation, which means you only get the extra maneuvers when you Concentrate, not when you Attack, Move, etc.

[vierasmarius]

I hope you can negotiate with your GM to reduce the Unusual Background requirements. They seem to be a major factor of what's limiting your characters ability, and your enjoyment of the game. Good luck going forward on it!

[starslayer]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

I hope you can negotiate with your GM to reduce the Unusual Background requirements. They seem to be a major factor of what's limiting your characters ability, and your enjoyment of the game. Good luck going forward on it!

His unusual backgrounds are properly priced- its just they generally lend to 'swiss army knife' rather then 'damage machine' builds.

He paid 50 points for magic! instead of actually purchasing spells <Spending 53 points to have every spell at your fingertips is quite the bargain unless you are trying to have CERTAIN spells at very high skill, like, say, eviscerate 35, throw spell 21 <~150 points to kill almost anything once per turn (2 turns at range), for free>>

He paid 50 points to be able to access magery > 3 <when the normal game limit is magery 3>; this one we have had debate over; my argument has been 'the ability to uncap that 'can charge heal spells/balls/etc above there normal maximums' is a one time benefit due to the continued cost of magery- but we have also toyed with just increasing the cost of magery levels above 3 and not charging a UB.

and he paid 50 points for a variant of gadgeteering for magic item creation <not sure why he is calling this an UB>; the variant imposes a limit on how much actual energy the PC can have 'quick-enchanted' on there person at a given time, but the limit is above 1000 points (the limit is 100* IQ+magery).

These are all very useful optional rules that need some point balance against other PCs who will not be making use of those advantages; 50 points has seemed reasonable for most PCs build with them.

[Godogma]

Originally Posted by tg_ambro

I'm glad you found a suitable fix, however, I do think that eventually the Epic Magic (which I haven't read) fix will once again lead you back to square one, or at least another problem in the "poorly built character" department. I might be wrong though.

And in all fairness, everyone here posted a lot of very helpful replies. It's unfortunate that this thread went something like this:
Pet Shop Owner: *Blink* *Blink*

I'll leave off your very condescending pet shop analogy and point out they were answering a question that I hadn't asked in more than a passing manner and harping on it instead of helping do what I actually asked.

So of course I was getting frustrated - they weren't exactly helping me do what I wanted to do (aside from two or three notable exceptions) they were telling me to do something completely different.

Yes, it may turn out to be poor character design but I'm willing to give Kuroshima's suggestions a try because they seem like exactly what I was looking for (imagine that).

It tends to work better to actually suggest solutions other than "go back and redo your character because there's no way to make it work the way you want it to"; you get better results that way instead of continually harping on it.

[Godogma]

Originally Posted by starslayer

and he paid 50 points for a variant of gadgeteering for magic item creation <not sure why he is calling this an UB>; the variant imposes a limit on how much actual energy the PC can have 'quick-enchanted' on there person at a given time, but the limit is above 1000 points (the limit is 100* IQ+magery).

These are all very useful optional rules that need some point balance against other PCs who will not be making use of those advantages; 50 points has seemed reasonable for most PCs build with them.

The reason it was called an Unusual Background was because it all derived from the same source in the character's back story. Also, I didn't rewrite the sheet and arrange it exactly as I wanted it. When it got it back from Kalzazz it was listed as a UB due to the story and I could understand what it was so I didn't bother changing it. (That part of it anyway)

[Kalzazz]

The magery above 3 UB is very hotly contested . . . . my own current rule (which I dont really like) is you can have 45pts of magery or Magery 4 (if modifiers take it above 45) without restriction, to exceed that you need the UB . . . . . Id like to make it flat out no restrictions, or at least 6, but Im willing to grit my teeth and accept 45pts (the same cost as unmodified magery 4) or Magery 4 however modified, as Magery 4 seems the absolute mininum acceptable to me (because you can have 4 talent ranks normally) and 45pts is same spending as unmodified magery 4

Sigh. I said earlier I wasnt going to discuss this . . . . I lied apparently

Well, it said UB on the sheet because I was lazy and wrote 'all mage UBs' 150

[Godogma]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

The magery above 3 UB is very hotly contested . . . . my own current rule (which I dont really like) is you can have 45pts of magery or Magery 4 (if modifiers take it above 45) without restriction, to exceed that you need the UB . . . . . Id like to make it flat out no restrictions, or at least 6, but Im willing to grit my teeth and accept 45pts (the same cost as unmodified magery 4) or Magery 4 however modified, as Magery 4 seems the absolute mininum acceptable to me (because you can have 4 talent ranks normally) and 45pts is same spending as unmodified magery 4

Sigh. I said earlier I wasnt going to discuss this . . . . I lied apparently

Well, it said UB on the sheet because I was lazy and wrote 'all mage UBs' 150

And I had no problem with how you wrote it, I understood it easily. I've never made a mage so I was willing to test this build out with no problems and only some minor tweaks. And at this point I've put too much into it to drop as if it were a bad job, I only encountered a problem that I didn't like when I hit the multiple opponent not going down quickly enough to be viable thing and Epic Magic which we had access to looks like a fix.

Kuroshima's supplements "look" like they will dependably patch the hole that I perceive in the system where mages have to be up front combatants to be useful with spells to cause damage. Magic Styles and Epic Magic both have my recommendation for that reason alone.

I haven't play tested these things yet, but it should work.

EDIT: As far as I'm concerned we don't have to discuss it unless you want to do so privately amongst the group or whatnot.