Magery and Spacecraft

scc · 02-13-2014, 12:16 AM

OK, what happens if I build a bio-spaceship and give it the Magery advantage? I'm pretty sure that the normal operating scale for spaceships means that missile spells are useless for a start, what can it use?

ericbsmith · 02-13-2014, 01:11 AM

Unless this is a PC don't worry about spells and points, worry about effects. If you want the spacecraft to shoot 300d fireballs then let it shoot 300d fireballs.

If this is a PC then the cost is going to be astronomical anyways. Again, don't worry about spells, just give it a 300d Burning Attack. Or whatever.

vicky_molokh · 02-13-2014, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scc

OK, what happens if I build a bio-spaceship and give it the Magery advantage? I'm pretty sure that the normal operating scale for spaceships means that missile spells are useless for a start, what can it use?

Reverse Missiles!

scc · 02-13-2014, 03:05 AM

Vicy, that's better then what Eric came up with, but I'm iffy if it would work (It sounds like you should be paying more for the spell because it would have to cover a larger area)

vicky_molokh · 02-13-2014, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scc

Vicy, that's better then what Eric came up with, but I'm iffy if it would work (It sounds like you should be paying more for the spell because it would have to cover a larger area)

Well yeah, SM>0 targets take more FP to cast regular spells. But you've got this huge spaceship, surely you have the energy available in there somewhere?

Oh, also: Resist Fire to protect yourself from enemy burning attacks and/or the heat of stars (though heat of stars triples the cost).

scc · 02-13-2014, 03:32 AM

Lighten at 50% would also mean you go twice as fast (I think, depends upon how the ship was built)

vicky_molokh · 02-13-2014, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scc

Lighten at 50% would also mean you go twice as fast (I think, depends upon how the ship was built)

Lighten Burden should be very cool during takeoff, as it reduces the weight of fuel and other payload, thus saving a non-negligible amount of Δv. Lighten would probably not apply to the ship itself, unless you interpret it to apply to Armour and Force Field (shield) systems; the effects during liftoff would matter, but probably less, depending on the amount of armour on the ship.

Neither will affect the speed of the ship, since neither of them reduces mass.

Nereidalbel · 02-13-2014, 04:19 AM

Hmm, a spaceship that can make its own fuel is a very good thing.

Phoenix_Dragon · 02-13-2014, 04:32 AM

Lots of spells would be nasty if you could get enough energy to cast them on something that big.

Invisibility would be particularly mean, although that depends on if that also eliminates IR signature (The description of the Infravision spell seems to indicate that Invisibility would do so). You'd be able to maneuver right up to an enemy ship and obliterate it from point-blank range before they're even aware they're under attack.

Teleport is probably extremely expensive for that size, but would enable the ship to completely avoid entire salvos of kinetic weapons, not to mention enabling tactical FTL maneuverability.

Blur works like ECM with no tech-counter.

Haste increases dodge by one per level (And possibly acceleration by 0.1 G per level), while Great Hastes doubles all movement and actions for a short time. Shield increases defense as well.

Missile Shield and Reverse Missile are very potent (And in the case of Reverse, incredibly nasty), and protects the ship from any kinetic attack. Be wary of proximity nuke detonations, although the third level of Resist Fire protects against this.

Ethereal Body lets it become effectively invulnerable to non-magical attacks for as long as it's active, while Phase lets it do so for a single attack (Or as an emergency defense).

Illusion spells let it disguise itself perfectly as another ship, or as a small astrological body such as an asteroid or comet, or even as simply a part of one. They also let it create perfect decoy duplicates.

Telecast opens up the possibility of offensive magics by entirely eliminating range penalties to enemy ships. If this thing has the energy to cast spells on itself, it's got the energy to do some seriously nasty things to enemy ships. Imagine dumping 100 points into Essential Fire in the middle of a warship, or Destroy Air, assuming it destroys tanked air, too. Or hitting the ship with Malfunction or Machine Possession, or dropping a Stop Power on its reactor. Or getting really sneaky with Mind spells, possibly possessing key crew members to cause serious damage or death. Or maybe going simple and casting Explode on key crew-members' vac-suit helmets one by one...

And if it happens to have a reactor with power to spare, it can use Draw Power to supply free spell energy.

02-13-2014, 12:16 AM	#1
scc Join Date: Mar 2013	Magery and Spacecraft OK, what happens if I build a bio-spaceship and give it the Magery advantage? I'm pretty sure that the normal operating scale for spaceships means that missile spells are useless for a start, what can it use?

02-13-2014, 01:11 AM	#2
ericbsmith Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.	Re: Magery and Spacecraft Unless this is a PC don't worry about spells and points, worry about effects. If you want the spacecraft to shoot 300d fireballs then let it shoot 300d fireballs. If this is a PC then the cost is going to be astronomical anyways. Again, don't worry about spells, just give it a 300d Burning Attack. Or whatever. __________________ Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator GURPSLand I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and... Kaboom-baya.

02-13-2014, 03:05 AM	#4
scc Join Date: Mar 2013	Re: Magery and Spacecraft Vicy, that's better then what Eric came up with, but I'm iffy if it would work (It sounds like you should be paying more for the spell because it would have to cover a larger area)

02-13-2014, 03:32 AM	#6
scc Join Date: Mar 2013	Re: Magery and Spacecraft Lighten at 50% would also mean you go twice as fast (I think, depends upon how the ship was built)

02-13-2014, 04:19 AM	#8
Nereidalbel Join Date: May 2013 Location: Ellicott City, MD	Re: Magery and Spacecraft Hmm, a spaceship that can make its own fuel is a very good thing.

02-13-2014, 04:32 AM	#9
Phoenix_Dragon Join Date: Apr 2005	Re: Magery and Spacecraft Lots of spells would be nasty if you could get enough energy to cast them on something that big. Invisibility would be particularly mean, although that depends on if that also eliminates IR signature (The description of the Infravision spell seems to indicate that Invisibility would do so). You'd be able to maneuver right up to an enemy ship and obliterate it from point-blank range before they're even aware they're under attack. Teleport is probably extremely expensive for that size, but would enable the ship to completely avoid entire salvos of kinetic weapons, not to mention enabling tactical FTL maneuverability. Blur works like ECM with no tech-counter. Haste increases dodge by one per level (And possibly acceleration by 0.1 G per level), while Great Hastes doubles all movement and actions for a short time. Shield increases defense as well. Missile Shield and Reverse Missile are very potent (And in the case of Reverse, incredibly nasty), and protects the ship from any kinetic attack. Be wary of proximity nuke detonations, although the third level of Resist Fire protects against this. Ethereal Body lets it become effectively invulnerable to non-magical attacks for as long as it's active, while Phase lets it do so for a single attack (Or as an emergency defense). Illusion spells let it disguise itself perfectly as another ship, or as a small astrological body such as an asteroid or comet, or even as simply a part of one. They also let it create perfect decoy duplicates. Telecast opens up the possibility of offensive magics by entirely eliminating range penalties to enemy ships. If this thing has the energy to cast spells on itself, it's got the energy to do some seriously nasty things to enemy ships. Imagine dumping 100 points into Essential Fire in the middle of a warship, or Destroy Air, assuming it destroys tanked air, too. Or hitting the ship with Malfunction or Machine Possession, or dropping a Stop Power on its reactor. Or getting really sneaky with Mind spells, possibly possessing key crew members to cause serious damage or death. Or maybe going simple and casting Explode on key crew-members' vac-suit helmets one by one... And if it happens to have a reactor with power to spare, it can use Draw Power to supply free spell energy.