Cabal Technomages

[isf]

I was playing around with some character ideas and wanted some advice about a cabalist who mixes magic and science.

I'm assuming that the basic multiverse structure is the same as in Gurps Cabal and that the Cabal's thaumatology is mostly accurate metaphysics. Each different universe corresponds to a different part of Assiah and specific physics and supersciences are a specific subset of the true physics of the setting (the 36 decans).

I thought of a couple of basic variations and would like more if anyone has any suggestions.

1) a mage who specializes in spells that effect technology (mostly tech college spells like machine possession).
Some possible powers:
a) Energy Reserve (Magical, special recharge -70% Steal Power)
b) Regeneration (Magical, Fatigue Only)
at the 150 pt level (Limited to (TL-5)*2 -20%???)
c) Gadgeteer and Gizmos

2) a mage who uses magic to enhance existing tech; mostly using enchant and similar spells (fortify, penetrating weapon, and such) or imbuements.

3) a mage who uses magic to enable superscience based tech to work in different worlds. I'm unsure of how to work this one.

You could make some new enchantment or an imbuement that adds Cosmic: works here too +50% or the reverse of a Reality Stabilizer from UT ( 194-195)

[The Benj]

Some cool ideas here, although that Regeneration is insanely powerful.
One could also achieve something kind of similar with Mana Enhancer that has an Accessibility based on the local TL, which could be interesting.

I really like the notion of a Reality Destabliser. :)

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by isf

...
3) a mage who uses magic to enable superscience based tech to work in different worlds. I'm unsure of how to work this one.

You could make some new enchantment or an imbuement that adds Cosmic: works here too +50% or the reverse of a Reality Stabilizer from UT ( 194-195)

I thought of using Mana enhancement as a guide for one crosstime character. Superscience enhancer at the same price allows one to hold such technology and make it work in realities that have a "no supertech" background. Enhance with area effect.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by isf

I was playing around with some character ideas and wanted some advice about a cabalist who mixes magic and science.

I'm assuming that the basic multiverse structure is the same as in Gurps Cabal and that the Cabal's thaumatology is mostly accurate metaphysics. Each different universe corresponds to a different part of Assiah and specific physics and supersciences are a specific subset of the true physics of the setting (the 36 decans).

I thought of a couple of basic variations and would like more if anyone has any suggestions.

1) a mage who specializes in spells that effect technology (mostly tech college spells like machine possession).
Some possible powers:
a) Energy Reserve (Magical, special recharge -70% Steal Power)
b) Regeneration (Magical, Fatigue Only)
at the 150 pt level (Limited to (TL-5)*2 -20%???)
c) Gadgeteer and Gizmos

2) a mage who uses magic to enhance existing tech; mostly using enchant and similar spells (fortify, penetrating weapon, and such) or imbuements.

3) a mage who uses magic to enable superscience based tech to work in different worlds. I'm unsure of how to work this one.

You could make some new enchantment or an imbuement that adds Cosmic: works here too +50% or the reverse of a Reality Stabilizer from UT ( 194-195)

CABAL is a rare magic setting, there's not enough magical knowledge in common for magicians to have particularly narrow focus, especially on relatively recent matters like TL6+ machinery.

That said, it is TL8 and Steal Power sources would not be particularly rare. I'm not sure what you mean by the variable TL rate on MR regen, though being able to get even one energy point back per second is a huge, godlike advantage in CABAL.

[Stone Dog]

Originally Posted by jeff_wilson

CABAL is a rare magic setting, there's not enough magical knowledge in common for magicians to have particularly narrow focus, especially on relatively recent matters like TL6+ machinery.

There is not only an entire chapter of Cabal talking about how the default settings can be toyed with (Chapter 5, all customizing all the time), but the Grand Master Albert Garner Kavanagh III and Aeon Laboratories give up more than enough space for a technomancy based game AND the sidebar "Into The Astral Without Gun Or Camera" talks about what to do if you let technology bleed into the Astral. And then there is Ouare the Decan that governs Technology College magic that tells us that "Some animate golems, cyborgs, and revenants take mana from this decan."

If there is enough room in Cabal to mention magical cyborgs, cutting edge paranormal laboratories and the possible inclusion of Ultra Tech, then shouldn't isf be able to get some feedback on his own game without worrying about how much magic you like in yours? Heck, it doesn't even sound like he is playing Cabal, just basing his stuff off of the crunchy bits and cosmology.

Isf, work that connection to Taurus and Saturn. This guy might be a little dependent on mundane equipment, but so long as he has a good supply of gear he will be fairly impressive. Maybe see about getting the High Technology advantage to reflect your greater understanding of the way the universe really works and rock out with Wealth and items that are JUST excusable as cutting edge or custom gear. I think that one of the first things you should do when you can is Awaken Computer Spirit on your smartphone.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Stone Dog

If there is enough room in Cabal to mention magical cyborgs, cutting edge paranormal laboratories and the possible inclusion of Ultra Tech, then shouldn't isf be able to get some feedback on his own game without worrying about how much magic you like in yours? Heck, it doesn't even sound like he is playing Cabal, just basing his stuff off of the crunchy bits and cosmology.

He wrote "Cabal Technomages", so I gave him feedback based on Cabal and relevant to people attempting to play technomages. It's fine to pump up the setting in different ways to suit yourself, but you need to do it in an informed way if you expect to get a reasonable game that reflects the source in any way other than name.

[isf]

Originally Posted by jeff_wilson

I'm not sure what you mean by the variable TL rate on MR regen, though being able to get even one energy point back per second is a huge, godlike advantage in CABAL.

If you have regen (fatigue or er) at the 150 pt level that normally gives 10/sec regen; it gives TL-5 [min 1] regen instead to represent an reflexive ability to do minor draw power on nearby power sources. The limitation is only on the 50 pts (from 100 to 150).

[isf]

Originally Posted by jeff_wilson

CABAL is a rare magic setting, there's not enough magical knowledge in common for magicians to have particularly narrow focus, especially on relatively recent matters like TL6+ machinery.

IIRC, the Cabal is said to primarily focus on worlds where magic is rare or unknown and the cabal has a lot of archaic past-looking trends.
As Stone Dog posted, there are some sources for magical tech.
The cabalist template in IW gives three methods for cabalists traveling across worlds at rank 3/magery 2 which suggests that inter-dimensional travel is probably not that uncommon.
If the cabalists view of the multiverse is correct (decans being the basic building blocks and the 4 worlds); figuring out the thaumatology behind different physics and worlds should give some advantage and attract some researchers.
The Wheel of Ptah is said to concern itself with reality quakes and shards and prior creations; these items/events can violate local physics/magic and could provide good adventure hooks.

[Stone Dog]

This is going to be a long post and I don't expect anybody to really read it, but it is rattling in my head and I need to put it down.

All you need to make a Cabal game a Cabal game is the cosmology set up, Decanic magic, the Cabal social structure and the general history of the group. Everything else is delicious delicious gravy and a hardline devotion to "rare magic" doesn't sound very helpful.

It really seems unreasonable to assume that the Cabal limits their involvement in research to purely thaumaturgical areas when humanity keeps building bigger and better torches and pitchforks to ruin their day with.

Remember the the Four Principles of the Magician. "Scire, Audere, Velle, et Tacere" or to Know, to Dare, to Will and to Keep Silent. It really doesn't seem like it would fit the very principles that the Cabal holds sacred to limit themselves to a possible avenue of power, especially one that has changed the world so fast.

They are a (multi?)global conspiracy of people and monsters who are dedicated to maintaining their monopoly of power. Technologically advanced humanity is a threat to that monopoly... unless the Cabal can keep its fingers in the pie. Again, Aeon Labs and the Kavanagh legacy.

Now, I will grant that I have found a single statement about the place of technology in the world that the default setting keeps limited. "In the "default" GURPS Cabal campaign, the trappings of modernity such as guns and computers and so forth remain on the Material Realm, occasionally leaking into human dreamscapes and memory palaces." I will even grant that a lot of the Cabal is focused on Yetzirah to the point where those individuals might think that nothing above TL 4 is really important since it hardly ever shows up in their playground.

However, Assiah is still important and Assiah is TL8-9 for the most part and gaining ground fast. Humanity has the ability to destroy whole cities without so much as an arcane mutter. If the Cabal as a whole really has ignored magic dealing with the current TL for centuries then they will deserve it when the villagers come knocking down their doors with predator drones and special ops teams.

There is plenty and enough room to make a game of technomancers in the shadows and still keep everything that makes Cabal such a vibrant and compelling piece of work.

IIRC, the Cabal is said to primarily focus on worlds where magic is rare or unknown and the cabal has a lot of archaic past-looking trends.

The Cabal primarily focuses on worlds where magic exists. The main problem they have with places like Merlin worlds is that there is already a magical superpower in place, but even then they infiltrate and steal secrets for themselves. If you assume an IW setup for them.

As for their past looking trends, that is probably because so much of the Cabal is practically immortal and has been around for a long time. Still, they lose people and the lower ranks are much younger, dynamic and more mortal. Just because Garravin and John Dee might be a bit old fashioned, doesn't mean that Doctor Fang's genetic manipulation research and Kavanagh's advanced technological empire doesn't spur some new ideas.

The cabalist template in IW gives three methods for cabalists traveling across worlds at rank 3/magery 2 which suggests that inter-dimensional travel is probably not that uncommon.

This makes me think that TothGate: TG1 could be a great game focusing on Aeon Laboratories and Kavanagh Headhunters shifting through alternate worlds to steal their secrets and cauterize threats to the multiverse with extreme prejudice. Just like SG1, but without as much bright and shining morality.

Pick up a copy of the Collegium of Janus and have your Cabalists steal THAT bit of magical knowledge. The Grand Master who can do the Superman III trick with mana will suddenly be a power to be reckoned with indeed.

The Wheel of Ptah is said to concern itself with reality quakes and shards and prior creations; these items/events can violate local physics/magic and could provide good adventure hooks.

That is a good faction for technomancers too. They have a vital interest in keeping the worlds safe from qlippoth and Irruptors and any other such bad things that you want to have spilling into the Four Worlds. They would very likely grab any advantage they can get and without a Dresden File type hexing effect blocking mages from dickering with technology (and in fact an entire canonical decan ASSISTING them) research could very well progress rapidly.

[Stone Dog]

I want to be clear that I am not saying that Jeff's way of playing his own Cabal game is wrong. I'm just trying to give isf support to play the game he wants right. The default setting of Cabal is neither technomantic spy thriller nor is it middle ages dueling with modern day. It is a spectrum of philosophies dependent only on what you want to do at your table.

If you are cruising around in a 1930's ford wagon, it can still be a woody whether you are listening to the Beach Boys or Daft Punk while you are doing it.