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 12-17-2011, 09:28 PM   #1
Langy
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CA
Default [DF] Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm thinking about starting a Dungeon Fantasy game using Ritual Path Magic instead of the normal Magic rules. However, I think a few changes from the normal RPM rules are in order so that RPM can fit a DF setting better.

First, I'd like to introduce a modifier for Ritual Adept:

Must Use Grimoire (-50%): In order to cast a ritual, you must either use a Grimoire or have Ritual Mastery for that ritual. You can not improvise new rituals on the fly.

This modifier makes Grimoires and Ritual Mastery much more important. There are also some other changes to Grimoires I'll introduce later on.

Next, some extra advantages:

Faster Casting [5/level]: Reduces the time to gather energy by 1 second (1 minute, if not a Ritual Adept) per level. This effect can not reduce energy gathering time to below one second (minute, for non-Adepts). Further, there is a +1 bonus per level (maximum +10) on instantly gathering energy for Blocking spells.
Extra Ritual Slot [1/level]: You can keep one more conditional ritual active at a time.

Next, some new rules for conditional rituals:

While you can use normal conditional rituals or charms, you can also Pre-Cast a ritual. This counts as a conditional ritual in all ways - it takes up a conditional ritual slot, it needs a Lesser Control Magic effect, etc. It works similarly to a break-to-cast Charm, with the following exceptions:

* It is not tied to a physical object, so it can neither be stolen nor can you give it to someone else to use
* It does not take an extra thirty minutes to prepare, but it only lasts until the next break of dawn (or, possibly, for 24 hours)
* You can not claim any bonus from a workspace kit, but neither do you suffer from lack-of-equipment penalties
* It requires a Concentrate maneuver to cast, rather than a Ready maneuver

A further note of clarification: Pre-Cast rituals and Charms that are simply holding a ritual to be used upon breaking the Charm do not count as 'active' rituals for the stacking rules (MH 37).

Instead of bogging down gameplay with all the rolls needed to Pre-Cast all of the chosen spells at the beginning of the game, a Wizard should only prepare a list of spells to Pre-Cast and record the circumstances when he was preparing - what Grimoires he had available, whether he was casting at a location of magical potency, etc. Only roll when actually attempting to use the Ritual, and use the Quick-and-Dirty Charm Creation rules (MH4 11). If you get a critical failure, this failure takes effect immediately, when the spell was used, not when the spell was originally Pre-Cast. Further, assume all Pre-Casting takes the same amount of time - twelve times the normal energy accumulation interval (a total of one minute for an Adept without Faster Casting, or one hour for someone without either Faster Casting or Ritual Adept, doubled if using a Grimoire).

Now, some alterations to Grimoires:

The current rules for Grimoires make no sense. In particular, the weight of the books involved, combined with how long it takes to cast a spell - there's no possible way for Grimoires to be that heavy, unless they're made out of pure lead, because it's impossible to read through a 10 pound book in ten minutes, or even ten hours. Further, the price progression is wierd. Thus, I suggest changing Grimoires around completely. A Grimoire costs $50 per pound and ten ritual pages, plus the cost of the rituals inscribed in the Grimoire. Thus, a typical five-pound Grimoire costs $250 (plus ritual costs) and holds 50 pages of rituals. The number of pages a ritual takes up and its price depend upon the skill bonus, following this chart:

Code:
Bonus    Pages   Cost
+0       2       $20
+1       3       $50
+2       4       $100
+3       5       $200
+4       6       $500
+5       7       $1,000
+6       8       $2,000
+7       10      $5,000
+8       12      $10,000
+9       16      $20,000
+10      20      $50,000
It's rumored there may be more esoteric Grimoires out there, possibly including magically infused ones that can hold an infinite number of rituals, or ones that are significantly protected from harm, or etched on something aside from normal paper/vellum.

A typical five-pound grimoire with ten +3 rituals would thus cost $2,250. The RAW RPM costs are $2,500 and 7 pounds - pretty close, and I like my progression more, especially because it's simpler and quicker to use. It would certainly be reasonable to use the MH progressions, though - in that case, a +0 bonus would be a 1 pound, $20 Grimoire, while a +1 bonus would be a 1.5 pound, $50 Grimoure.

Finally, an RPM lens for the Wizard template:

Ritual Wizard
0 Points

Attributes: -1 IQ [-20].
Secondary Characteristics: -3 FP [-9].
Advantages: Reduce Magery from 3 to 2 [-10]. • Add either Faster Casting 4 [20] or Ritual Adept (Must Use Grimoire, -50%) [20]. • Add ten points to advantage options [10]. • In advantage options, add Faster Casting [5/level], Ritual Adept [20 or 40], Ritual Mastery [1/ritual], and Extra Ritual Slot [1/level].
Skills: Increase Thaumatology to IQ [+7]. • Choose two Path skills at (VH) IQ [8]-14; two more Paths at (VH) IQ-1 [4]-13; two more Paths at (VH) IQ-2 [2]-12; and the remaining three Paths at (VH) IQ-3 [1]-11.
Spells: Remove all spells from the template [-30].

Customization Notes:
Your most important choices are whether to take Faster Casting or Ritual Adept, and which Path skills to focus upon. As an Adept, you'd be restricted to spells you know or have Grimoires for, but could cast spells much faster and reasonably have a full suite of Pre-Cast spells at hand. As a non-Adept, you'd have much more freedom and flexibility - but it would be more difficult to replenish your spell supply in the field, and you'd have to rely more upon Charms than Pre-Cast spells. It's quite possible to take both Ritual Adept and Faster Casting, allowing you to pull off highly powerful spells at a moments notice. Finally, you could choose to buy off the Must Use Grimoire limitation on Ritual Adept, giving you both flexibility and speed.

What Path skills you choose to focus upon will define what kind of a Wizard you are. In most cases, you'll want the Path of Magic to be one of your highest Path skills - Lesser Control Magic effects are used in both Charms and Pre-Cast spells, which will be your bread-and-butter. For your other Paths, the Path of Energy is incredibly useful for an 'Artillery'-type mage, while the Path of Mind is important for Illusionists; Necromancers will want the Path of Undead.

Finally, to really cast effectively, you'll want Ritual Mastery with a number of 'core' rituals, and points from quirks should go towards purchasing a Grimoire granting bonuses to a number of spells. With skill 14, +2 from Ritual Mastery, and +3 from a Grimoire, you have effective skill 19 - enough to give you a safe threshold of 55 energy points. This allows you to cast some relatively powerful spells with minimal risk, such as Explosive Fireball (below). If you are willing to risk critical failure, you can cast some extremely powerful spells, such as Call Lightning (see below).


Example Rituals:

Explosive Fireball (39 Points): Greater Create Energy (+6,x3); Subject, 300 lbs (+3); Damage, 4d explosive burn (+4). Allows you to throw a 4d explosive fireball from your hands. Roll to hit with Innate Attack skill with normal range penalties.

Call Lightning (150 points): Greater Create Energy (+6,x3); Area of Effect, 15 yards, Exclude 5 People (+20); Subject Weight, 1000 lbs (+4); Damage, 6d burn (+20). Instantly calls down bolts of lightning from the heavens to strike anyone SM+1 or smaller within fifteen yards except yourself and four of your adventuring companions.

Last edited by Langy; 12-17-2011 at 11:14 PM.
Langy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 05:25 AM   #2
vierasmarius
 
vierasmarius's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
Default Re: [DF] Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

Looks good! I've been considering how to do something like this for a while. I'll definitely be borrowing some of this, if not just using it as-is.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Langy View Post
Explosive Fireball (39 Points): Greater Create Energy (+6,x3); Subject, 300 lbs (+3); Damage, 4d explosive burn (+4). Allows you to throw a 4d explosive fireball from your hands. Roll to hit with Innate Attack skill with normal range penalties.
Pretty sure you don't need to include Subject if you're summoning a fireball in your hand, and throwing it yourself. The Subject modifier is for things like healing, transformation, or direct damage to a living body. But since this spell will most likely be prepared ahead of time, you'll need to add in Lesser Control Magic, for a final cost of 45 energy.
vierasmarius is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 06:06 AM   #3
Langy
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CA
Default Re: [DF] Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

Quote:
Originally Posted by vierasmarius View Post
Looks good! I've been considering how to do something like this for a while. I'll definitely be borrowing some of this, if not just using it as-is.
Thanks!

Quote:
Pretty sure you don't need to include Subject if you're summoning a fireball in your hand, and throwing it yourself. The Subject modifier is for things like healing, transformation, or direct damage to a living body. But since this spell will most likely be prepared ahead of time, you'll need to add in Lesser Control Magic, for a final cost of 45 energy.
That makes sense; RPM really needs a list of example rituals to show how things really should work. I'll post up a few more 'inspired by classic Dungeon Fantasy games' rituals later.

I intentionally did not include Lesser Control Magic, by the way - when statting up a ritual, the Lesser Control Magic to turn a ritual into a conditional one is an 'extra' effect that's plopped on top of the normal ritual write-up. Also, since Explosive Fireball has one Greater effect, its final cost would be 54 energy, not 45 (39+5x3). Subtract three for removing the Subject Weight modifier, and add some amount for giving it the Range modifier, and I think it's more correct.
Langy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 07:28 AM   #4
Langy
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CA
Default Re: Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

I'm working on statting up some iconic DF rituals, and have come up with a nice new modifier for RPM, and a Captain Ersatz of D&D's Magic Missiles spell.

New Modifier
The following is a new modifier, used for rituals which already have the Damage modifier. In effect, it's a modifier of the Damage modifier.

Enhancements: Any spell that has the Damage modifier can have certain enhancements on that Damage modifier, worked out in the same way as for Innate Attacks. Do not include Area of Effect or Range modifiers, nor should you include Limited Use, Requires Recharge, or similar limitations - basically, do not duplicate anything that already a specific modifier for Ritual Path Magic.

The price of Enhancements is:

1/4*(Innate Attack Modifier Cost)*(Dice of Damage)*(Damage Type Modifier)

Round up. Treat straight adds or subtractions as 0.25 per point of damage. Damage Type Modifier is the cost multiplier for different damage types (0.5 for Small Piercing, 1.5 for Cutting or Large Piercing, 2 for Huge Piercing, Impaling, Corrosion, or Fatigue).

For example, if you want to add Guided, RoF 5, and Overhead to an attack dealing 3d+3 Large Piercing damage, the Enhancement cost would be:

1/4*(0.5 (Guided)+0.7 (RoF)+0.3 (Overhead))*(3.75 (3 dice of damage, plus 3*0.75 dice of damage))*(1.5 (Large Piercing damage)) = +2 Energy

Note: For more accuracy, multiply by 1/3.75 instead of multiplying by 1/4.


Lower Damage Values
The Damage chart can be extrapolated backwards, to allow you to have even smaller damage values - possibly quite useful for modeling low-damage attacks. Do not multiply these values by the Damage Type Modifier - even if it's Corrosion damage, treat it as if it's Crushing for energy cost. Here is the expansion:

Code:
Damage          Added Energy Cost
1               -3
2               -2
1d-1            -1
Note: Alternatively, add four to these values and multiply by Damage Type Modifier, and then subtract four from the final cost.

Homing Missiles
Paths: Path of Energy
Cost: 39 Energy

Creates five magical bolts of energy that almost unerringly strike their targets. The missiles have to contend with DR, and a 360 degree barrier can stop them - but not much else, as they can weave in and out of obstacles, dive around cover, etc. Further, they do not suffer from any range penalties. You can send the bolts all off after five different targets, or split them up evenly, etc - follow the rules for Autofire.

Statistics: Greater Create Energy (+6,x3); Lesser Control Energy (+5); Range, 10 yards (+4); Damage, 3 cr (-3); Enhancements, Guided, RoF 5, Overhead (+1).
Langy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 07:53 AM   #5
vierasmarius
 
vierasmarius's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
Default Re: Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

Quote:
Originally Posted by Langy View Post
I'm working on statting up some iconic DF rituals, and have come up with a nice new modifier for RPM, and a Captain Ersatz of D&D's Magic Missiles spell.

New Modifier
The following is a new modifier, used for rituals which already have the Damage modifier. In effect, it's a modifier of the Damage modifier.

Enhancements: Any spell that has the Damage modifier can have certain enhancements on that Damage modifier, worked out in the same way as for Innate Attacks. Do not include Area of Effect or Range modifiers, nor should you include Limited Use, Requires Recharge, or similar limitations - basically, do not duplicate anything that already a specific modifier for Ritual Path Magic.

The price of Enhancements is:

1/4*(Innate Attack Modifier Cost)*(Dice of Damage)*(Damage Type Modifier)

Round up. Treat straight adds or subtractions as 0.25 per point of damage. Damage Type Modifier is the cost multiplier for different damage types (0.5 for Small Piercing, 1.5 for Cutting or Large Piercing, 2 for Huge Piercing, Impaling, Corrosion, or Fatigue).

For example, if you want to add Guided, RoF 5, and Overhead to an attack dealing 3d+3 Large Piercing damage, the Enhancement cost would be:

1/4*(0.5 (Guided)+0.7 (RoF)+0.3 (Overhead))*(3.75 (3 dice of damage, plus 3*0.75 dice of damage))*(1.5 (Large Piercing damage)) = +2 Energy

Note: For more accuracy, multiply by 1/3.75 instead of multiplying by 1/4.


Lower Damage Values
The Damage chart can be extrapolated backwards, to allow you to have even smaller damage values - possibly quite useful for modeling low-damage attacks. Do not multiply these values by the Damage Type Modifier - even if it's Corrosion damage, treat it as if it's Crushing for energy cost. Here is the expansion:

Code:
Damage          Added Energy Cost
1               -3
2               -2
1d-1            -1
Note: Alternatively, add four to these values and multiply by Damage Type Modifier, and then subtract four from the final cost.

Homing Missiles
Paths: Path of Energy
Cost: 39 Energy

Creates five magical bolts of energy that almost unerringly strike their targets. The missiles have to contend with DR, and a 360 degree barrier can stop them - but not much else, as they can weave in and out of obstacles, dive around cover, etc. Further, they do not suffer from any range penalties. You can send the bolts all off after five different targets, or split them up evenly, etc - follow the rules for Autofire.

Statistics: Greater Create Energy (+6,x3); Lesser Control Energy (+5); Range, 10 yards (+4); Damage, 3 cr (-3); Enhancements, Guided, RoF 5, Overhead (+1).
I would handle Enhancements slightly differently, perhaps +1 energy per +30% to +50%, minimum +1 per enhancement. This would be easier to figure out on the fly, and make them a bit more expensive, but not overly so.

Also, for projectiles that you create in-hand (like your Magic Missiles - er, I mean "Homing Missiles") you don't need to include Range. The "target" of the spell is your hand. If you are instead targeting enemies directly, you use the lower base damage values, and need to include subject weight and range. However, it takes effect on the target as soon as it's cast (not needing an extra Attack action to throw) and is treated as a Malediction instead of a Ranged Attack.

I'll see if I can come up with some other appropriate spells.
vierasmarius is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 08:21 AM   #6
Langy
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CA
Default Re: Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

Quote:
Originally Posted by vierasmarius View Post
I would handle Enhancements slightly differently, perhaps +1 energy per +30% to +50%, minimum +1 per enhancement. This would be easier to figure out on the fly, and make them a bit more expensive, but not overly so.
I figured the cost of Enhancements to make them fit exactly with the price of damage (which is basically 4/15 of the price of an innate attack dealing that form of damage, minus 4). I would not divorce enhancement cost from number of damage dice; do so at your peril.

An alternate way to write my method would be to say Enhancements increase energy cost by +0.25 per +100% per die of damage. The minimum of +1 per enhancement seems good, though. EDIT: Then again, making it +1 per +50% with a minimum of +1 per enhancement would be simple, and it'd be based on the price for an 8d attack - which honestly is probably high enough that it's not a problem.

Quote:
Also, for projectiles that you create in-hand (like your Magic Missiles - er, I mean "Homing Missiles") you don't need to include Range. The "target" of the spell is your hand. If you are instead targeting enemies directly, you use the lower base damage values, and need to include subject weight and range.
I don't believe this is correct - the target may be 'your hand', but that doesn't give you an infinite amount of range when you throw the spell. Or at least, it shouldn't.

Last edited by Langy; 12-18-2011 at 08:30 AM.
Langy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 09:22 AM   #7
vierasmarius
 
vierasmarius's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
Default Re: Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

Quote:
Originally Posted by Langy View Post
I don't believe this is correct - the target may be 'your hand', but that doesn't give you an infinite amount of range when you throw the spell. Or at least, it shouldn't.
Hmm. My understanding was that it was handled just like an Innate Attack - ie, base range of 10/100 yards. I may be wrong about that however, in which case the Range mod would be a requisite.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Langy View Post
An alternate way to write my method would be to say Enhancements increase energy cost by +0.25 per +100% per die of damage. The minimum of +1 per enhancement seems good, though. EDIT: Then again, making it +1 per +50% with a minimum of +1 per enhancement would be simple, and it'd be based on the price for an 8d attack - which honestly is probably high enough that it's not a problem.
EDIT: This actually clears it up greatly. Trying to decipher the original equation was making my brain hurt, but when it's parsed as "+0.25 per +100% per die" it makes more sense. I'll try that method as I write up some sample spells.

Last edited by vierasmarius; 12-18-2011 at 09:33 AM.
vierasmarius is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 09:40 AM   #8
Langy
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CA
Default Re: Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

Quote:
Originally Posted by vierasmarius View Post
Hmm. My understanding was that it was handled just like an Innate Attack - ie, base range of 10/100 yards. I may be wrong about that however, in which case the Range mod would be a requisite.
Nothing is ever mentioned about them having a base range of 10/100, nor any way to increase the range from there. I'm pretty sure using the Range energy modifier is exactly what you're supposed to do - else, there'd be no way to make touch-ranged attacks.



Quote:
EDIT: This actually clears it up greatly. Trying to decipher the original equation was making my brain hurt, but when it's parsed as "+0.25 per +100% per die" it makes more sense. I'll try that method as I write up some sample spells.
Meanwhile, I'm trying your method. We'll see which ones seem most acceptable.
Langy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 10:27 AM   #9
vierasmarius
 
vierasmarius's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
Default Re: Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

Here are a few attack powers, some subtle, some... less so.

Harm (8): Lesser Destroy Body (+5), Subject Weight 300 (+3), Damage 1d toxic (+0)
With a touch, turns the subject's body against itself, inflicting minor damage.

Poison (9): Lesser Destroy Body (+5), Subject Weight 300 (+3), Damage 1d toxic (+0), Enhancement (Cyclic, 10 sec, 8 cycles, +400%) (+1)
Delivers a dose of poison, potentially lethal within a minute.

Fast Poison (14): Lesser Destroy Body (+5), Subject Weight 300 (+3), Damage 2d toxic (+4), Enhancement (Cyclic, 1 sec, 4 cycles, +400%) (+2)
A faster-acting version of the above poison spell.

Deathbolt (33): Greater Destroy Body (+5, x3), Range 10 (+4), Damage 3d toxic (+0), Enhancement (Side Effect: Terrible Pain [Secondary Agony], +130%) (+1)
The caster creates a swirling orb of necrotic energy and hurls it at a target, inflicting moderate damage and causing great pain.

Hellfire Meteor Swarm (99): Greater Create Fire (+6, x3), Lesser Create Matter (+6), Range 100 (+10), Damage 6d burn+ ex (+8), Enhancement (Incendiary, +10%; Hot Fragmentation [2d], +30%; Rapid Fire 7, +70%) (+3)
A completely over-the-top attack spell, the caster summons a half-dozen flaming stones, which explode on impact. The flame burns hot enough to treat objects as one step more flammable than normal, and the stones themselves shatter into incendiary fragments.
vierasmarius is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-18-2011, 10:38 AM   #10
Langy
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: CA
Default Re: Ritual Path Magic for Dungeon Fantasy

More New Rituals
Most of these are pretty expensive, but it's completely reasonable for an Artillery Ritual Wizard to have quite a few of these Pre-Cast or in Charms, though many of them will require him to exceed his safe threshold. Still, it really shows that with RPM, direct-damage dealing is very, very much a viable profession for a Wizard - much more so than in the standard magic system. Just watch out - a critical failure with Disintegration Ray or Sleep could easily upon up a gate to Hell, knock out the entire party, or blast a hole straight through the enemy boss's layer and right into his treasure horde, dissolving the entire thing.


Cloak of Fire
Paths: Path of Energy
Cost: 30 Energy

For the next ten minutes, the target of this spell is sheathed in flames that do not harm him, but burn all those who touch or attempt to get in melee combat with him, dealing 1d burn damage on any attempted contact.

Statistics: Greater Create Energy (+6); Damage, 1d burn, direct (-2); Enhancements, Aura (+2); Subject Weight, 300 lbs (+3); Duration, 10 minutes (+1). One Greater Effect (x3).

Lightning Bolt
Paths: Path of Energy
Cost: 78 Energy

Like Zeus, you hurl a bolt of pure lightning from your hands! It does 9d burn surge damage, treating any metal armor as if it were only DR 1.

Statistics: Greater Create Energy (+6); Damage, 9d burn, direct (+8); Enhancements, Arcing Surge (+2); Range, 100 yards (+10). One Greater Effect (x3).

Disintegration Ray
Paths: Path of Matter
Cost: 117 Energy

A ray of red light erupts from your finger, and whatever it strikes begins to melt away into nothingness. The target takes 6d corr damage per second for the next five seconds - enough to turn even a hulking Barbarian into a puddle of goo.

Statistics: Greater Destroy Matter (+5); Damage, 6d corr, direct (+8); Enhancements, Cyclic, 4 1 second cycles (+16); Range, 100 yards (+10). One Greater Effect (x3).

Sleep
Paths: Path of Mind
Cost: 165

Statistics: Greater Control Mind (+5); Affliction, Sleep (+30); Area of Effect, 10 yards, excluding 6 targets (+11); Subject Weight, 1000 lbs (+4); Duration, 6 hours (+5). One Greater Effect (x3).
Langy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
dungeon fantasy, fantasy, magic, monster hunters, ritual path magic, rpm

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 05:23 AM.


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