GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

So "Thor casts Create Food to get mead. He uses Create Food but defaults it from Food College for mead. He just makes mead appear as a Minor Blessing. He uses Create Matter to make mead"?

That would certainly be a sweet pyramid article, unless he creates the more modern dry style.

[Kalzazz]

Well, for instance

Thor is a member of the Norse Pantheon, son of Odin, wielder of Mjolnir etc

Temples of Thor are like so, with Sanctity like so

Clerics and Holy Warriors of Thor are like so, and often take X and Y advantages/disadvantages

Thor followers can learn the following spells at the following PI, lightning at PI 2, inspired creation (hey, he uses a hammer) at PI 4

Using Ritual Magic, Thor Clerics learn the Colleges of Thunder, Lightning, and Mead

In Divine Favor Thor grants these Miracles and is down with these Learned Prayers, here, have a couple new Thor themed Learned Prayers

Since were talking about Thor, better say something about Rune Magic here, cant have Thor without Futhark

Heres what Thor is about in RPM, what he considers greater/lesser, have a couple sample Thor rituals

Lets see what Mjolnir looks like as a Gadget and as a GURPS Magic Items type writeup

So basically it would be 2 parts to the article - 1. What is Thor like and the people who serve Thor and such and 2. How do we make a minion of Thor in some of the magic system options GURPS provides?

Basically, my favorite part of Thaumatology was the Temple of Hephaestus write ups, so I would love to see continuations of that

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Kromm

That would certainly be a sweet pyramid article, unless he creates the more modern dry style.

Booo! Make a pun, go to jail!

[Refplace]

Ok, so my review/feedback after reading it all.

Chapter 1 Learning Magic
this is pretty much familiar to anyone who has MH1 but the Path skills get a very nice explanation of details. I only wish the Variations section had gotten a little more love.

Chapter 2 Performing Magic
Nice elaboration overall and the Definaitons box is especially useful as new material. Duration and Termination are good as well.
Sacrifice is more useful then most other variations and I approve of the detail, also while I think too severe the natural energy bit is a nice addition.

Chapter 3 Advanced Magic
The whole chapter is nice and crunchy and the Golden Rule and Limits on Elixers are especially handy. I would have liked to seen City Stats referenced in Grimoires for finding one. The rules for making Grimoires took a second read to grow on me but I like them and I loved the addition of Invasion of Privacy even on first read!
Enchantments are a much needed addition and fit the feel of most fiction, if not RPGs.
The Sepiroth and Decan section is probably the highlight though it is not very generic. However you can use the idea to map to various Pantheons or Cosmologies. You do need Thaumatology to make use of this section for default though.

Chapter 4 The Grimoire
This is a nice selection of spells and provide good examples for a variety of uses. Very handy as a time saver for GMs and players alike.

I will say the same for Botches and Quirks.

I liked the book but would have liked a little more on different Path selections a well as a few more things ot make it more generic.
One thing I was disappointed not to see was Symbol Drawing, especially Sacred Architecture.
The RAW bonus seems kind of high towards RPM in my discussions with others but given the bonus of Grimoires I think it probably is fine as is. Something mentioned on it would have been nice for an official ruling.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Well, for instance

Thor is a member of the Norse Pantheon, son of Odin, wielder of Mjolnir

What does that have to do with how Thor "chills"? I think you are using chill to mean something other than cool or relax. I am unfamiliar with your usage.

[Kalzazz]

I was using it as 'goes with' I think, I have no idea, I dashed off some random typing on a forum without properly thinking about it

What I was trying to communicate was I loved how Thaumatology did the Hephaestus stuff and wanted to see more stuff like that

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Refplace

while I think too severe the natural energy bit is a nice addition.

I agree on severe. As RPM energy goes, 1 per acre for something that basically paints a giant EVIL WIZARD HERE sign on your location, one time only, AND cheeses off just about everyone is a really bad exchange rate.

That's my only quibble though: the reward seems very underwhelming for the cost... and that's easily fixed by fiddling with a number. It's also screaming for a Corruption tie-in ;)

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Bruno

That's my only quibble though: the reward seems very underwhelming for the cost... and that's easily fixed by fiddling with a number. It's also screaming for a Corruption tie-in ;)

Oh, that reminds me of another think I thought. How should we tweak Corruption or Black Magic to work with RPM? At present, both of those offer a 1:1 exchange rate between spell energy and Corruption / Black Magic points. Since RPM uses higher energy costs than standard Magic spells, should that exchange rate be raised, maybe to 5 energy per point? I'd probably keep Corruption's cap of 6 energy per Magery level, considering RPM Magery tends to be higher than standard Magery, and I like how it's double the "free" Mana Pool that comes with the advantage.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Oh, that reminds me of another think I thought. How should we tweak Corruption or Black Magic to work with RPM? At present, both of those offer a 1:1 exchange rate between spell energy and Corruption / Black Magic points. Since RPM uses higher energy costs than standard Magic spells, should that exchange rate be raised, maybe to 5 energy per point? I'd probably keep Corruption's cap of 6 energy per Magery level, considering RPM Magery tends to be higher than standard Magery, and I like how it's double the "free" Mana Pool that comes with the advantage.

I hate to keep saying this...but I got something for this in the works.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

I hate to keep saying this...but I got something for this in the works.

You're determined to take all my money, aren't you? =P