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

Kallatari · 06-14-2021, 09:37 AM

GURPS Powers has Temporary Enhancements (p.172), a rule where you can add any modifier (enhancement or limitation removal) to a advantage/ability that know, but it costs you an additional 2 FP to activate, and gives you a -1 penalty to your skill for every 10% of modifiers (so a +50% enhancement is -5). GURPS Psionic Powers actually makes full use of this with their Psi-Techniques.

Granted, spells aren't advantages, but the principle is sound and moving it from one to another is fairly balanced.

I have seen a rule somewhere (can't find it on a quick check) that, even in campaigns that don't use the Temporary Enhancement rules, you can add them as a 1-point Perk, purchased for each ability separately, allowing the chosen ability to add any enhancement using that rule.. But you could instead, again as a 1-point Perk, purchase the same feature (+2 FP and -1 per 10% enhancement) on an enhancement by enhancement basis, allowing you to apply that one enhancement to any ability/advantage.

You could therefore easily make every "metaspell" a 1-point perk (the equivalent to 1 point in spell skill), and apply them to any underlying spell. This requires some planning on what enhancements you want to learn (you don't just get access to all of them automatically), so it goes well with a mage who must learn magic.

I pretty much use the latter in my own games, although I have a few additional house rules that apply.

06-14-2021, 09:37 AM	#6
Kallatari Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada	Re: Creating spells from innate attack modifiers and others GURPS Powers has Temporary Enhancements (p.172), a rule where you can add any modifier (enhancement or limitation removal) to a advantage/ability that know, but it costs you an additional 2 FP to activate, and gives you a -1 penalty to your skill for every 10% of modifiers (so a +50% enhancement is -5). GURPS Psionic Powers actually makes full use of this with their Psi-Techniques. Granted, spells aren't advantages, but the principle is sound and moving it from one to another is fairly balanced. I have seen a rule somewhere (can't find it on a quick check) that, even in campaigns that don't use the Temporary Enhancement rules, you can add them as a 1-point Perk, purchased for each ability separately, allowing the chosen ability to add any enhancement using that rule.. But you could instead, again as a 1-point Perk, purchase the same feature (+2 FP and -1 per 10% enhancement) on an enhancement by enhancement basis, allowing you to apply that one enhancement to any ability/advantage. You could therefore easily make every "metaspell" a 1-point perk (the equivalent to 1 point in spell skill), and apply them to any underlying spell. This requires some planning on what enhancements you want to learn (you don't just get access to all of them automatically), so it goes well with a mage who must learn magic. I pretty much use the latter in my own games, although I have a few additional house rules that apply.