05-22-2020, 03:21 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2018
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what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
M102's description of the Knowledge/Meta spell "Seek Magic" has a parenthesis saying it will detect "demons, elemental, spirits, etc"
This is also probably important for M101's "Detect Magic" which mentions "detects items, spells, magical creatures" and M102's "Mage Sense" which says "whether some unseen magical item or creature is nearby" For simplicity I'm guessing being/creature are synonymous nouns. I don't see a trait that stands out in the elemental templates or the demon template as setting them apart as "magical creature" detectable by these spells. Is this basically an unwritten 0-point feature because being detectable has benefits (allies can find me) and drawbacks (enemies can find me) that cancel out? |
05-22-2020, 03:51 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
I don't think it's a trait you can point at. It's an origin. If you're a non-mundane creature from another plane of existence or a being whose form requires magic to exist, I'd consider that a magical being. If you're mortal but you have magical abilities, you're not a magical creature.
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05-22-2020, 03:55 PM | #3 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
It's whatever the GM says it is in that particular campaign. It doesn't have to have a point value or show up on templates, any more than "left-handed" or "redhead" do. Magic and other abilities can trigger on completely arbitrary descriptors; GURPS doesn't really go in for the hard categories that the Other Game likes, though if you play GURPS Dungeon Fantasy or especially the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, the monster classes are fairly clear about what's "magical."
And yes, "being," "creature," "entity," etc. all mean the same thing.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
05-22-2020, 03:59 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
It's safe to assume that anything with magical racial advantages (except for aptitude) is detectable as a "magical being".
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05-22-2020, 04:11 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Aug 2018
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
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05-22-2020, 05:33 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
Any trait whose behavior changes in a no mana zone would be magical (magery doesn't, you still get the bonus to spell skill levels. It's the spells that change behavior).
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05-22-2020, 09:32 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
I generally have magical beings possess Dependency (Mana) at some level (even if it is only a quirk). It means that they will usually avoid no mana areas and may avoid low mana areas (depending on the critter). Of course, a critter with Dependency (Monthly; Mana) is probably going to be fine chasing a party of adventurers into a no mana area, though they will not follow them for weeks on end.
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05-23-2020, 05:06 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Aug 2018
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
Quote:
Something that wouldn't be a huge impact, like a point of HT which disappears in a No Mana zone. Except so it doesn't affect point cost the modifier would need some +10% offset. |
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05-23-2020, 09:16 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
If you're applying a modifier whose cost gets erased elsewhere just as a workaround to identify a magical being, you can just as easily forget all that and simply declare it a magical being without writing anything on a character sheet. If you insist that something has to be written down, write "Magical Being [0]."
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05-25-2020, 07:26 AM | #10 | |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?
Quote:
— It's meant to be a zero-cost trait that's implicit and doesn't change how the rules work most of the time. Examples for ordinary humans include age, sex, height, weight, and handedness . . . a bit like that. Abilities can definitely "target" such things without implying those qualities ought to have point costs or any effect aside from "zero-cost label for abilities to specify." If I want to claim a huge Accessibility modifier for "Only affects 52-year-olds," I can; that doesn't make being 52 years old special for those who are that age, only for the one with the narrowly limited ability. As I said, Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game players get a fairly clear encapsulation on p. 14 of Monsters: constructs, demons, divine servitors, elementals, faerie, spirits, and undead. This is reinforced by the wording of Seek Magic (Spells, p. 45). Pentagram (Spells, p. 51) adds what should be an obvious case: "beings conjured by spells." Also, you won't get far splitting hairs on wording. Some lists use "include," which in ordinary English usage is a way to introduce an incomplete list of examples, not an exhaustive enumeration (e.g., "valuable metals include gold and silver" doesn't exclude other coin metals like copper, platinum, and various alloys). And "being," "creature," and "entity" are simply synonyms; we try to use them all to break up the monotony of written work.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
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