[Magic] New IQ/A Spells

[awesomenessofme1]

I just started reading Magic: The Least of Spells in detail (got it from Backerkit), and it's provided a lot of inspiration. There is a section in it talking about the possibility of making other new IQ/A spells, and it gives some advice throughout. I hadn't seen a thread for this so far, so I thought I would start it!

Important note: An IQ/A spell should always be weaker than the first IQ/H spell(s) available in a college, or a very weakened version of a more powerful spell.

Side question: Three spells are mentioned in The Least of Spells as being possible to lower to IQ/A: Touch, Light, and Sound. Are there any other spells from Magic or a supplement that could also be fairly lowered?

[Anders]

You could make an easier Season that's not permanent - only 1 hour - and only costs 1 FP.

[Prince Charon]

I think it might be possible to justify making Temporary Enchantment an IQ/A spell with a different prerequisite or prerequisites, but I'm blanking on the details, possibly due to tiredness. It could have interesting effects on a setting if it were IQ/A, though.

[benz72]

I'd actually be OK with all of the Seek X spells being downgraded into IQ/A. This would make even more sense to me if the effective range of the spell were based on MoS, giving high casters reason to attain high spell skill.

[AlexanderHowl]

One possibility is to have a specialization of a specific spell. For example, Fire spells that target a specific type of material or Healing spells that only work on a specific species of target. For example, you could have Minor Healing (Human) as an IQ/A spell or Ignite Fire (Wood) as an IQ/A spell.

In the case of a specialization of a spell, I would reduce the required Magery to learn by two levels (Magery 1 becomes Magery N/A, Magery 2 becomes Magery 0, and Magery 3 becomes Magery 1). For example, a non-mage could learn Major Healing (Human) as an IQ/H spell and a character with Magery 0 could learn Enchantment (Plant Spells) as an IQ/H spell. Prerequisites for specialized spells could be other specialized spells, but specialized spells could not be used as prerequisites for unspecialized spells.

[Ejidoth]

I haven't looked at specific examples in depth, but I think you could raid GURPS Psionic Powers for its various psionic perks, reskin them as magical effects, and make them IQ/A spells.

'A perk, but cast like a spell' seems to be about right for these spells, after all.

More on topic, I second the idea of Seek spells being a good candidate.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

I think it might be possible to justify making Temporary Enchantment an IQ/A spell with a different prerequisite or prerequisites, but I'm blanking on the details, possibly due to tiredness. It could have interesting effects on a setting if it were IQ/A, though.

While each GM is of course free to make their own decision, I would lean very heavily against an IQ/A enchantment. Enchantment is IQ/VH and requires Magery 2 and at least one spell from 10 different colleges. It's one of the most powerful spells in GURPS Magic. To me, it's virtually the defining spell of a powerful mage.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Alden Loveshade

While each GM is of course free to make their own decision, I would lean very heavily against an IQ/A enchantment. Enchantment is IQ/VH and requires Magery 2 and at least one spell from 10 different colleges. It's one of the most powerful spells in GURPS Magic. To me, it's virtually the defining spell of a powerful mage.

In some settings, magical charms are a staple product of the least of mages. You can take the route of saying that they work about as well as real historical examples. But if you don't want to, the highly restrictive placement of Enchant may be inconvenient.

(Alternatively to making an easier Enchant spell, one could use Alchemical Charms - but those are probably way too expensive for many.)

[awesomenessofme1]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

In some settings, magical charms are a staple product of the least of mages. You can take the route of saying that they work about as well as real historical examples. But if you don't want to, the highly restrictive placement of Enchant may be inconvenient.

(Alternatively to making an easier Enchant spell, one could use Alchemical Charms - but those are probably way too expensive for many.)

I wouldn't go as far as to make it IQ/A, but I think you could make a much easier and cheaper version of Enchantment specifically for imbuing objects with IQ/A spells. Things like a Belch potion, a Pebble pebble, or Gloves of Reaping and Sowing.

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

In some settings, magical charms are a staple product of the least of mages.

Agreed. But these spells can be cast in a normal-mana area by people who aren't mages. That's a big part of the reason why I would disagree with Enchantments being allowed at this level.

The other issue is game balance. In a short story/novel/TV series/movie, the author can simply decide "this character will never do that." But when those characters are played by players with their own ideas....

Frankly, even without enchantments, letting anyone cast spells could be a campaign breaker; it depends on the campaign. Some of the campaigns I've run/played in could be ruined by anyone casting spells; others could be significantly more fun.

But again, as in all things it's the GM's call.