Seeker in the dungeon
 

The Seeker spell (Spells, p. 45) "leads you" to the subject if it is within a mile. How do you all interpret how the spell leads the caster? Does a sense of the direction and distance suffice? On the surface world, I would think so. You're in the Woods of Woe and you discover the the Villain of Vileness is approximately 500 yards that way. What about in the dungeon? Would the spell help you figure out which way to go if the right way is in the wrong initial direction?

I'm leaning toward just sticking with distance and direction plus the vision of the location and not permitting it to literally lead the PC there in terms of directing them through a potential labyrinth. If they want to receive multiple directional pings (to triangulate), then they can cast Trace or have a second caster cast Seeker. (Since you can only cast it once per week per subject.)

Thoughts?

Re: Seeker in the dungeon
 

I would go distance and direction only, and I would require an IQ roll to triangulate since DFRPG does not have a Mathematics skill.

Re: Seeker in the dungeon
 

I think a good explanation would be that it gives the caster continual positive or negative feedback by way of "feelings" as to the proximity of the target.

It's like the children's game where you hide an object and then tell the searcher if they are getting warmer or colder.

The exact nature of the "feeling" can be specified. Is it a physical feeling of warmth or coolness? Is it an emotional feeling of enthusiasm versus dread?

Re: Seeker in the dungeon
 

I interpret it like a dowsing rod -- it points in the direction of whatever you're seeking.

Re: Seeker in the dungeon
 

I like that fluff, but it might be more appropriate for Trace rather than Seeker. Seeker is "Instantaneous," so it feels better to me to have it provide a one-and-done answer that doesn't linger. With magic, of course, one could always hand-wave this to say that it imprinted a subconscious map or something... but I prefer to keep things simple.

Re: Seeker in the dungeon
 

This is how we play it in Peter Dell'Orto's Felltower campaign. I think in some cases you get a vision of it as well, if I recall correctly, but generally a location like "200 feet south/southwest, 30 feet down," or something like that.

Re: Seeker in the dungeon
 

There are a lot of GURPS abilities that specify you know distance and direction. "Leads you" sounds like a very different animal, like a sparkling pathway that shows you the most direct path to where you need to be. Granted it doesn't necessarily lead you on a path you can follow. That sparkly path may be across a river of roiling lava.

Re: Seeker in the dungeon
 

Yes, in general I agree with Dalin. I also went back to check GURPS Magic. Generally, information spells provide an instantaneous flash of knowledge that could include direction and distance.

But, the language in this spell appears to suggest a departure from the standard.