Speed of Thought

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

So make a short spell that rapidly chants the long spell for you. ^_^

If your shell supports that feature...

[Pip Boy]

PLEEASE, put the forty words
of the Raise Dead chant here. I'm too curious.

[Sindri]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

That's 200 hours of study under a teacher!

It really isn't. In spite of how people try to use it like that 200 hours=1 point isn't a foundational principle of GURPS design.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

If that is all there is to it, then for 1 single GURPS character point you ought to get (2*IQ)+5 spells committed permanently to memory. And the resulting world, the world that emerges from how a naturally behaving Humanity would interact with such a magic system, would be extremely weird.

Memorization of spells is nowhere near one of the limiting factors of the magic system. What you buy for a point is "being better at magic" not "I now know how to ignite fire".

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

And yes, I know choice-of-which-rote-spell to recite does carry information. But it carries very little information, relative to how long it takes to say it, let alone how long it takes to memorize it in the first place.

I think you're fundamentally confused about how information works. Every additional phoneme is either increasing the conveyed information or adding redundancy. We don't measure information content by things like using a 500 word fireball spell and 500 word lightning spell as some sort of incredibly stupid morse code.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

So make a short spell that rapidly chants the long spell for you. ^_^

Thank you William "Wiz" Zumwalt.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Yes, the equivalent of a computer macro.

But it carries very little information, relative to how long it takes to say it, let alone how long it takes to memorize it in the first place.

CLIs aren't usually designed with information density as an important requirement. If they were, they'd look like a ZIP file of a shell script, rather than a shell script -- a bunch of unintelligible binary, as compressed as possible. The command sets are more usually meant to be mnemonic, consistent in syntax, and so on. This fits with the notion of customizing a stock spell to fit the parameters of the moment. The basic structure would need some sockets for parameters and options -- but those options will in general make the spell less efficient from the information-theoretic point of view.

The second point is irrelevant to information content. The amount of time you spent studying a language or learning a CLI has nothing to do with the time to write a program or type a command. But you could make a magic system where study time is important. Usually you'll see this idea framed as meditation, but it could be the time wizards spend studying in their towers as well. (See GURPS Thaumatology, "Meditation, Holiness, or Study" for one take.) For the wizards, you could even require that it be the study of a new subject, rather than review, which is to say adding CP to some skill.

Allow the wizards to double-dip on the time as both study time and the means for energy regeneration, and you'd probably wind up with wizards that are loathe to leave their towers and study to go haring about instead, burning their hoarded energy rather than saving it -- but perhaps tempted by the acquisition of new objects of study and texts. Quite a classic feel there.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Sindri

It really isn't. In spite of how people try to use it like that 200 hours=1 point isn't a foundational principle of GURPS design.
....

It's a general rule, not written in stone for everything learned.
Certainly not for magic that could have come forth fully known by dint of sudden enlightenment or spirit blessing, etc.

Fundamentally, points are gaming utility and character balancing constructs.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Thank you William "Wiz" Zumwalt.

Great books! I'm so sorry that he stopped writing. I even liked his one SF book where one of the characters believed that the universe was being run as a simulation somewhere. He even had calculated the resolution of the stimulation.

Somebody had created a magic system based on programming languages, well probably many people did this, but the one I knew posted on rec.games.frp a lot back in the day.

[Sindri]

Originally Posted by DangerousThing

Great books! I'm so sorry that he stopped writing. I even liked his one SF book where one of the characters believed that the universe was being run as a simulation somewhere. He even had calculated the resolution of the stimulation.

They really are, and they've been a major inspiration for me.

Originally Posted by DangerousThing

Somebody had created a magic system based on programming languages, well probably many people did this, but the one I knew posted on rec.games.frp a lot back in the day.

I'd certainly be interested in such a thing if anyone happens to have a link.

[RGTraynor]

Originally Posted by Pip Boy

PLEEASE, put the forty words of the Raise Dead chant here. I'm too curious.

Happy to do so.

By all the high powers of Fire, Air and Star’s light, do I compel the Spirits of the Ever Dark to yield to me this one's soul, that I may reunite him with life, so mote it be. Rise now!

[The Benj]

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

Happy to do so.

By all the high powers of Fire, Air and Star’s light, do I compel the Spirits of the Ever Dark to yield to me this one's soul, that I may reunite him with life, so mote it be. Rise now!

*Rises from his grave*