[Powers] how to make a fetish

[Justaguy]

Hello fellow gurpsers, I'm looking for tips on designing a power.

Now first of all, by fetish I mean the attribution of power to an inanimate object, nothing else. That fetish can then be handed to someone, and through the fetish, the person acquires a certain advantage.

Pricing a fetish in play is simple enough. Pick an advantage, slap some gadget limitations on it and you're done. That's not what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for the ability to make fetishes in game. In effect, it's a kind of enchanting ability. I'm aware this can be done using the magic rules, but our group stopped using those rules because we find them unbalanced. In the campaign to start soon, we will be using powers. I have read a lot about them in the basic set, psi powers and powers but I'm still a novice user.

This is what I have in mind. A PC wants to be able to imbue small items (fetishes) with spiritual power. In game terms, this would be tying an advantage to an item, undefinitely (extended duration, permanent) until something happens that destroys the fetish. Once I have a standard format, multiple versions could be bought using the rules for alternative abilities.

I have worked out a draft, but I'm not entirely happy about it. Looking for tips and corrections, or even an entire makeover. This is the draft:

Enchant fetish of spirit protection (+60%)
affliction 1 (advantage: +3 resistance to mental spirit attacks, adds to IQ or Will to resist mental attacks by spirits, considered a very common item, +100; PM spirit, the ability works by binding minor spirits to the item, -25%; accessibility, only on small items made by the user, -50%; contact agent, the item must be worn against bare skin by the user, -30%; costs fatigue, 3FP payed by the maker at the moment of creation, -15%; extended duration, permanent, effect is dispelled and fetish destroyed when failing a resistance roll against a mental spirit attack, +150%; limited use, the user can only enchant one fetish per day, -40%; preparation required, the user performs a 10-minute ceremony to make the item, -30%) [16]
Description: once per day, the PC can enchant a small item he made himself and then hand that item to someone else. The item will protect that user against mental spirit attacks until he fails a resistance roll against such an attack.

I would also like to tie a skill to this ability, like for psionic powers. Right now I was thinking enchant fetish (Will/H). Techniques etc would be nice but I haven 't yet thought about possibilities.

Now I can't pinpoint exact problems, but this power just doesn't seem right. There are probably multiple problems... Thoughts?

[Bruno]

Gadgeteers are typically the way you make new Gadgets. Using the invention rules, probably. I think there's something in Thaumatology for handling that, or in Supers, I'm not sure which.

[Refplace]

Affliction is probably the best way to go here but you might look at the Invention and Gadgeter rules to at least consider them.

Trigger is good for one shot items.
For long term items though your afflicting a person not an object in most cases and here is where your going to run into trouble.
If you afflict an object with a power that object has the power. Not whomever is carrying it.
For a few powers it wont matter but for most it will not do what you want.
What my suggestion for that is to add Affliction (Compartmentalized Mind-Controls). This gives the holder a way to control the object so that they can then use the power. And it will be a cheap additional Affliction.

[Justaguy]

Thanks for the replies. They set to me to thinking about new approaches.
I don't think either of the options suits what I really have in mind. Gadgeteer is just too vague and might lead to problems concerning munchkin control, while 'compartmentalized mind - controls' seems overly complicated for what I had in mind and is not really cheap (+250% cost as an afflicted enhancement).

And that's just the lesson I needed to realize that the first draft is way too complicated.

Instead of trying to afflict an item to be transferred to another person, the logical thing to do is to directly afflict the target person with malediction (to waive the resistance roll) and an advantage limited by gadget limitations (breakable, can be stolen). Most other stats of the draft are ok (extended duration etc), except for contact agent, that should be replaced by melee attack reach C (or is that an abusive -30%, since the power is useless in combat anyway?) and the accessibility that should be rephrased to 'requires a small self-made item'.

I think this looks better. Any thoughts?

[Mgellis]

An easier way to do it...

Making something does not require a power. It requires a skill and time.

The skill is probably either Thaumatology or Ritual Magic (Specialty), whichever is appropriate for the setting.

The time is actually not hard to figure out...figure out how many character points (including gadget limitations) that the fetish is worth, then multiply that by 200 hours. Normally, that gets broken up into 8-hour days (25 days per character point) but one could probably roll vs. HT to work longer days.

At the end of the process, roll vs. skill to fashion the fetish properly. On a success, you have your fetish; on a failure, you have wasted the time and effort and have to start over.

I hope this helps.

Mark

[Gef]

Statting a magic item is easy, but statting a power to make one is not straightforward. I'm hoping that a future Power Ups installment will cover powers-based enchantment, be it psychic crystals or holy relics in addition to magic-as-powers. In the meantime, you can model it with Afflict Affliction; that is, you Afflict the object with the power to Afflict a trait on its weilder. Ugh. There are ally-based approaches too. Reversing the training rule as Mgellis suggested is a good start, but I've wasted plenty of brain cycles on that path to no conclusion. Good luck. -GEF

[Snaps]

A lot of my players have wanted to do something similar in games I've run (Mostly because a lot of my players were fans of the old Runequest system and its spirit magic).

Here are a few ways we've done it (most of these are off the top of my head without actually having character sheets in front of me, and I modified the first one for how you wanted it to work).

Modular Abilities: Spirit Trapping 20 (Useless Under Stress, -60%; Costs Fatigue, +3, -15%; Limited Use, 1/day, -40%; Physical and Mental, +100%; Requires Will Roll, -5%; PM: Spirit, -25%; Trait Limited: Afflictions with Gadget Limitations, -50%) [18 points]

So this would allow the character do create any type of 10 point affliction or less by first going into the spirit realm and bringing back a spirit to put in the fetish.

Keep in mind that all of the gadget limitations, and the permanent enhancement will need to go on the Affliction you buy with the modular points, not on the above modular advantage itself!

So for example this Shaman could create a fetish to protect from hostile magic:

Affliction 1 (Advantage: Magic Resistance 1, +20%; Permanent, Dispelled when fails to protect, +150% Gadget, Can Be Stolen, -30%; Gadget: Breakable, DR 2, Cannot Repair, -35%; Gadget: Unique, -25%; Contact Agent, -30%) [15 points]

My players used the above but added large Costs Fatigue limitations to them to offset the Advantage Enhancement on the Affliction. This made it a lot more like the standard GURPS magic.

A more powerful version is letting the character summon spirits as allies which he puts into the fetishes.

Modular Abilities: Spirit Trapping 20 (Useless Under Stress, -60%; Physical Only, +50%; PM: Spirit, -25%; Trait Limited: Afflictions with the Advantage: Allies Enhancement, -50%) [18 points]

You'd then use it for something like:

Affliction 1 (Advantage: Unwilling Constant Minion Ally, 100% of starting points, +100%; Permanent, Dispelled when spirit is defeated or destroyed, +150%; Costs Fatigue, +6, -30%; Gadget, Can Be Stolen, -30%; Gadget: Breakable, DR 2, Cannot Repair, -35%; Gadget: Unique, -25%; Contact Agent, -30%) [20 points]

The spirit itself could then have its own affliction to give you powers or abilities, etc.

One player of mine had his own magic system using this sort of method. It went something like:

Modular Abilities: Spirit Trapping 1 to 8 points (Useless Under Stress, -60%; Physical Only, +50%; PM: Spirit, -25%; Trait Limited: Favors with Gadget Limitations, -50%) [2 to 8 points each]

It was a very powerful form of magic IMO. He could summon a spirit and bind it into one of his modular slots. Each spirit could then be used once to perform some action for him (as his Favor). And you can get a spirit with 150% of your points, Special Abilities and No Frequency of Appearance roll for only 8 points!

[Justaguy]

Just a quick reply now, because I need to leave for the rest of the day.
I really loved the Runequest old rules for spirit magic and on first reading, your suggestions look great!

I have time tonight to look into it in detail. I'll post a longer reply then.

[Lamech]

Originally Posted by Snaps

Keep in mind that all of the gadget limitations, and the permanent enhancement will need to go on the Affliction you buy with the modular points, not on the above modular advantage itself!

Modular abilities can enhance afflictions or other advantages. A cool trick is to have the advantage you want, and then use MA to enhance it.