Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Creating spells from innate attack modifiers and others

Pursuivant · 06-10-2021, 09:19 PM

Many, many years ago Geoff Fagan (GEF) proposed "Auxiliary spells" which modified standard spells with what are now Enhancements or Limitations.

The idea was that you cast the Auxiliary spell before the "base" spell and it modified the base spell in some way. The combined Auxiliary + Base spells took effect simultaneously, boosting the effects of the base spell but at the cost of slightly longer casting time and energy cost.

I modified GEF's idea using the standard GURPS attack enhancements.

As an example:

Accurate Missile Auxiliary
Accurate Missile improves the Acc of a Missile spell.
Each point of energy used to cast this spell increases a missile’s Acc by 1, up to a maximum bonus of +10. To claim bonuses granted by this spell, the caster must take Aim maneuvers for the requisite number of turns.
This spell can only be combined with Missile spells, and can only affect one missile at a time. If the mage uses other Auxiliary spells to cast multiple missiles simultaneously, he must cast Accurate Missile once per missile affected.
Duration: As per the base spell.
Cost: 1 per +1 bonus. No cost to maintain.
Time to cast: 1 second per point of basic energy.
Prerequisites: Magery 1, any Missile spell.
Item: Any item, usually clothing or jewelry. Useable only by mages. Allows the wearer/user to cast this spell. Energy cost to create: 1,000.

Alternately, "auxiliary spells" could be purchased as Perks, using the mechanics for GURPS Magic: The Least of Spells.

As a third possibility, you could apply enhancements or limitations directly to spell skills.

06-10-2021, 09:19 PM	#3
Pursuivant Join Date: Apr 2005	Re: Creating spells from innate attack modifiers and others Many, many years ago Geoff Fagan (GEF) proposed "Auxiliary spells" which modified standard spells with what are now Enhancements or Limitations. The idea was that you cast the Auxiliary spell before the "base" spell and it modified the base spell in some way. The combined Auxiliary + Base spells took effect simultaneously, boosting the effects of the base spell but at the cost of slightly longer casting time and energy cost. I modified GEF's idea using the standard GURPS attack enhancements. As an example: Accurate Missile Auxiliary Accurate Missile improves the Acc of a Missile spell. Each point of energy used to cast this spell increases a missile’s Acc by 1, up to a maximum bonus of +10. To claim bonuses granted by this spell, the caster must take Aim maneuvers for the requisite number of turns. This spell can only be combined with Missile spells, and can only affect one missile at a time. If the mage uses other Auxiliary spells to cast multiple missiles simultaneously, he must cast Accurate Missile once per missile affected. Duration: As per the base spell. Cost: 1 per +1 bonus. No cost to maintain. Time to cast: 1 second per point of basic energy. Prerequisites: Magery 1, any Missile spell. Item: Any item, usually clothing or jewelry. Useable only by mages. Allows the wearer/user to cast this spell. Energy cost to create: 1,000. Alternately, "auxiliary spells" could be purchased as Perks, using the mechanics for GURPS Magic: The Least of Spells. As a third possibility, you could apply enhancements or limitations directly to spell skills.