Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-26-2013, 10:02 AM   #1
Sunrunners_Fire
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Default Campaign-Specific Magery, "Magery" Rebuild

Complexity is fun! As is world-building. Hence this thread.

If y'all have a better way of modeling this stuff, feel free to speak up. :)

- - - - -

This is an attempt to build out the core abilities of a human mage that are unique to being a mage rather than part of being human or any other traits it may possess.

Human Mages in this setting aren't blasters. (Well, most of them aren't anywise ...)

What they do is gather energy ('notes'), shape it into the proper forms and then apply those forms to the target. Absent knowing the proper forms, directing unshaped motes at a target does very little other than stun it.

Knowing the proper forms lets you add or remove conditions and traits. Effectively, you enchant (or curse) them. Too much enchantment is bad for you; curses, obviously, are always bad for you.

"Magery"."Enchantment" is currently being built out as:
  • Affliction 1
    • Cumulative, (+400%; Rules Exemption (Because I say so!), +100%) +800%
    • Extended Duration (up to 'Permanent, Terminal Conditions') (Variable; up to 16 levels), (+150%; Costs Energy (Energy Accumulation) (Variable) 16, -64%) +54%
    • Fixed Duration, +0%
    • Malediction (Speed/Range Table), +150%
    • Variable Enhancement, (+100%; Trait Limited (Medium Class), -30%) +70%
    • Costs Energy (Energy Accumulation) 5, -40%
    • Power Modifier, -20%
    • Takes Extra Time 2, -20%
  • Standard Modifiers: [110]
  • Multiplicative Modifiers: [24]

Rules Exemption (Because I say so!) is being used on Cumulative to achieve a handful of effects. At an effective value of +400%, it should provide roughly four "cheating!"-grade cosmic modifiers.
(A), afflicted advantages are cumulative on a per-CP basis, even if they aren't leveled traits.
(B), afflicted disadvantages are cumulative on a per-CP basis, even if they aren't leveled traits.
(C), afflicted conditions are cumulative on a percentage basis. (Example: 25 uses give +250% worth of conditions. 30 uses give +300% worth of conditions. Etc.)
(D), affliction can optionally be activated and its' effects accumulated prior to triggering a resistance check. The mage doesn't have to do it this way, though they tend to do so if it is a hostile effect that the target would normally try resisting. (Example: 30 uses, accumulates +300% worth of stuff, cast on target, target gets one resistance check rather than 30 resistance checks.)

Costs Energy (Energy Accumulation) is a house rule. It is a valued at -8% per. (Costs FP is valued at -5% per in default GURPS. Costs FP is also being house ruled to be worth -8% per.) Accumulating energy is a skill check for humans and automatic for chime trees. (_Skill Check, 5 minutes base, MOS energy accumulated, failure doesn't accumulate, critical failure negates accumulation. Other traits can modify this.)

Extended Duration (up to 'Permanent, Terminal Conditions') (Variable) is Extended Duration (Permanent, Terminal Conditions) divided into 16 arbitrary levels so I can charge more energy for longer durations and less energy for shorter durations. The base duration is 3 minutes thanks to Fixed Duration.

Enchantment can be bad for you. It renders you discordant. The more enchanted you are, the more discordant you are. The more discordant you are, the more the world wants you to stop being discordant. The more the world wants you to stop being discordant, the more likely it is to change you so that you aren't discordant anymore. How it changes you depends on what flavor of discordance we're talking and what the GM thinks is appropriate. (Corruption, GURPS Horror.)

There are ways to mitigate discordance, but those take some combination of effort, preparation and time. Traits caused or modified by discordance aren't subject to being modified further by human magic.

- - - - -

Mages do a few other things.

A Mage perceives magic through the medium of its' natural senses. (Detect (Rare) (Reflexive, Assorted Limitations) [4, multiplicative modifiers; 5, standard modifiers].)

They classify as Chime Trees for those things that care about that classification; this can be rather advantageous in situations where it matters and meaningless for everything else. (Perk: Classifies as a Chime Tree [1])

- - - - -

The last ability that is part of the "Magery" package is composed of one innate attack and one perk.

Perk: Trigger Final Strike [1]. A mage can trigger their Final Strike as a reflexive free action, even after they are dead. This ability is a part of the mage's soul and not a part of the mage's body. Using this ability destroys the mage; mind, body, heart and soul. (As the campaign has relatively accessible resurrection magic, it is important to note that you can't resurrect someone if their soul has been destroyed.)

"Magery"."Final Strike"
  • Innate Attack (Corrosion) (0d+79)
    • Area Effect (Spherical) (2,048 yard radius) 11, +785%
    • Aura, +80%
    • Rules Exemption (Ignores Cover & DR), +300%
    • Selective Area Effect, +20%
    • Accessibility (Doesn't work on Chime Trees), -10%
    • Accessibility (Doesn't work on anything Protected by Chime Trees), -10%
    • Backlash (Instant Death), -300%
    • Melee Attack (Reach C), -30%
    • Alternate Attack ("Enchantment"), *1/5
    • Consumes Perk to Activate (Prepaid "Costs CP"), *1/5
    • One Use Only, *1/5
  • Standard Modifiers: [18]
  • Multiplicative Modifiers: [5]

Nasty thing. A mage, alive or dead, that decides it wants to whack you is going to hurt. 79 damage that ignores DR, is corrosive, affects everything (that the mage wants to affect) in a mile radius sphere around the mage, that can't miss, that you can't defend against ...

Unless you are a Chime Tree or under the protection of a Chime Tree. All Mages are Chime Trees. "Protection" merely requires the chime tree to be touching you and it to want to protect you. "Touching" can be done at range via magic, as well.

Whacking mages is risky. Unless you're a mage, under the protection of one or a mage-null.

Admittedly, they can only do it once ... still nasty.

- - - - -

"Magery" [35] with multiplicative modifiers.
"Magery" [135] with standard modifiers.

- - - - -

Whatcha think?

Last edited by Sunrunners_Fire; 01-26-2013 at 10:09 AM.
Sunrunners_Fire is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
build advice, campaign, house rules, magic, powers

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:26 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.