[Martial Arts/Thaumatology] Magical Styles for Martial Arts styles

[dcarson]

From back in 2007 a nice writeup of Bending martial arts. http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=30806

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Well, the primary issue would be having a magical system fast enough to function during combat. Some form of RPM is a possibility, but Path/Book Magic would be unlikely, especially the Energy Accumulation varieties. In addition, it would likely result in a practitioner who is not terribly good at either discipline.

One thing that a lot of people seem to ignore about Path/Book Magic is that you can use rituals to make charms, much as you can with Ritual Path Magic (which is, after all, just a specific worked example of Energy Accumulating Path/Book Magic), and use the charms in combat. Fast Draw (Charm) is a skill that would be either optional or required for any style that has a Path/Book or RPM magical style attached to it (or possibly Fast Draw for a specific type of charm, like gris-gris bags or ofuda).

Originally Posted by Refplace

I have a couple on my blog.
Duat is a deep understanding of Life and Death and a powers based martial art.
Stones Breath is based off Chi as Sorcery from Pyramid.
The Way of the Elements is a set of setting styles based off GURPS Thaumatology: Chinese Elemental Magic.
Thunder and Lightning is a dwarven style that uses Imbuement skills.

Originally Posted by dcarson

From back in 2007 a nice writeup of Bending martial arts. http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=30806

Thank you both, going to have a look at these.

EDIT: Yes, these have my interest.

[Prince Charon]

My current notes on a Force-Swordsmanship-based Magical style for the Monks of Ashla, a sect of 'martial pacifists' (they won't start trouble, but are trained to finish it, if required to) who occasionally act as peacekeepers in various parts of known space; some say that their founding myth was first spoken of on the ancient homeworld of humanity, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. I currently haven't decided whether the magic in the setting is based on mana, psi, chi, or some form of quantum mathematics (the latter will add Mathematics (Pure) to the required skills for their form of Force-Swordsmanship).

The style of Force-Swordsmanship that the Monks of Ashla use has Meditation in Required Skills, and a Special Exercises perk for Magery (though they prefer to take students who are already mages). Possibly, it might have separate Special Exercises perks for Magery 0 and Magery (One Style Only) or Magery (Limited Styles). Still working on that. Parry Missile Weapons may become a prerequisite for Deflect Missiles, or it may just be dropped. Beam Weapons skills are optional for the style, but some masters, and some monasteries/sub-sects, make them required. A few even prefer blasters over force-swords (which is a very different style, indeed), while others disdain weapons, and have an unarmed combat style that they focus on (in both cases, the style they use should also have the Special Exercises perks, and use a reasonably similar magical style).

I'm imagining magic in this setting being powered by an Energy Reserve based on Will+Magery. If at less than 1/3 of your ER, Will rolls are at -5. If at ER 0, you must roll Will+Magery-5 to avoid unconsciousness. Trying to spend ER after reaching 0 results in spending HP, instead (or possibly FP, but at twice the cost, and then HP, if you're somehow still conscious by then). I'm also thinking that this is a setting where magic is normally learned by style, with the Colleges merely being one of several theoretical ways of organizing magic.

For those who care, I'm currently thinking that training force-swords, and variable force-swords in training mode, do 1d-5(0.5) burn, as do blasters set to 'sting' - being hit still hurts, but that's about it. Of course, force-swords in training mode may also do cr damage as a low-mass baton of the same length.

I may be splitting this off into a couple of related styles, rather than just one... if I can figure out which spells to put in which style. Maybe have a basic style that branches into 'nature-focused,' 'more material,' and 'more esoteric' versions? I do intend to do a 'Dark' variant, probably with the word 'Bogan' in the name (Lords of Bogan? Bogan Order?); it should include things like faster healing with a higher risk of 'unnatural' side effects (e.g. 'you're healed, but there's now a chance that you might have magic cancer'), a prerequisite chain leading to Choke, and a Shortcut to Power perk for Lightning.

What I have now is mostly prerequisite chains. Spells in parentheses were already listed, and show where one chain branches off from another.

Communication and Empathy

Sense Foes > Sense Emotion > Hide Emotion > Hide Thoughts
(Sense Emotion) > Truthsayer > Mind-Reading > Mind-Sending > Telepathy
(Mind-Reading) > Mind-Search
Sense Life


Healing

Lend Energy > Lend Vitality> Vigor > Enduring Vigor

I have decided that Healing magic in this setting, or at least the safe form of it, is not instant, but rather works with the subjects body to accelerate natural healing. 'Enduring Vigor' is a new spell I'm working on that is basically 'Vigor but the Duration is longer than a minute,' though whether that should be an hour or a day I'm not sure. The next spell in the chain will probably be something that gives the subject Regeneration (Slow) for a day, so maybe Enduring Vigor should last for an hour, or there should be another spell between Enduring Vigor and that one; what do you think?


Knowledge

Still deciding on what needs to go here, beyond one or more forms of Divination (currently thinking Oneiromancy and some form of Meditation-based variant).


Making and Breaking

Shortcut to Power perk > Find Weakness > Weaken > Shatter


Meta-Spells

Not sure if this should be part of the main style, or a secondary branch.


Mind Control

Keen Vision & Keen Hearing > Alertness
Foolishness > Daze > Mental Stun > Emotion Control
(Foolishness) > Forgetfulness (& Emotion Control) > Suggestion


Movement

Haste > Great Haste
Apportation > Deflect Missile
(Apportation) > Jump
(Apportation) > Poltergeist


Protection and Warning

Sense Danger > Sense Observation
(Sense Danger) > Detect Poison
(Deflect Missile) > Catch Missile > Return Missile
(Apportation) > Missile Shield > Reverse Missiles


Thoughts?

[AlexanderHowl]

It would be better to avoid spells and instead focus on powers if you wanted something fast enough for combat. The turn required to cast standard spells in combat could be deadly against mundane fighter who focused on actual combat skills. The spell is cast at the end of the last second of concentration, not the end of the last turn of concentration, which means that people who go after you in the combat sequence can interrupt anything but a Blocking spell.

There is also the question of the FP economy. Not only can the delay caused by casting spells be deadly, the FP cost could be deadly as well. For example, Vigor costs 2 FP per +1 HT per minute, meaning that a fighter that spent 10 FP to gain +5 HT would likely be so exhausted that they would die in combat before the minute was up.

If I wanted to have a martial arts style that used the standard system, I would focus on Blocking Spells that require only Magery 1 and a few spells at most in order to increase utility. For example, I would probably have a magical martial arts style include one of the following chains:

Ignite > Shape Fire > Defect Energy

Apportation > Deflect Missile > Catch Missile > Return Missile

With deflect energy, the mage would deflect lasers. With return missile, they could reflect bullets. Without having to worry about missile attacks, the martial artist could focus on melee combat.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

If I wanted to have a martial arts style that used the standard system, I would focus on Blocking Spells that require only Magery 1 and a few spells at most in order to increase utility. For example, I would probably have a magical martial arts style include one of the following chains:

Ignite > Shape Fire > Defect Energy

Apportation > Deflect Missile > Catch Missile > Return Missile

With deflect energy, the mage would deflect lasers. With return missile, they could reflect bullets. Without having to worry about missile attacks, the martial artist could focus on melee combat.

Spells like Concussion can be useful for crowd control. Grease with ground fighting can give an edge to the stylist.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

It would be better to avoid spells and instead focus on powers if you wanted something fast enough for combat. The turn required to cast standard spells in combat could be deadly against mundane fighter who focused on actual combat skills. The spell is cast at the end of the last second of concentration, not the end of the last turn of concentration, which means that people who go after you in the combat sequence can interrupt anything but a Blocking spell.

There are ways around that, both by having a sufficiently high skill, and by taking the right perks or advantages (the immediate one in my mind is Fast Casting under Extra Option, Magical Styles p24, though depending on the setting, the perk may not be needed).

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

There is also the question of the FP economy. Not only can the delay caused by casting spells be deadly, the FP cost could be deadly as well. For example, Vigor costs 2 FP per +1 HT per minute, meaning that a fighter that spent 10 FP to gain +5 HT would likely be so exhausted that they would die in combat before the minute was up.

The system I'm currently imagining for this style uses ER, not FP, and Vigor specifically is intended as a Healing spell in this context (or rather, a prerequisite for better Healing spells). It's not supposed to be used in combat, it's supposed to be used after combat if you don't know a better Healing spell, yet.

Other options that I'm considering are to use some form of Threshold-Limited Magic, with the Threshold, Recovery Rate, or both being calculated from Will or Will+Magery. Another one is that the 'cost' is that you use the Fright Check Table as a Mental Stress check, with the energy cost from the book being a penalty to the Will+Magery roll. I might combine the latter with the Will-based ER system, so instead of taking Will penalties and then needing to roll to avoid losing consciousness, you roll on the Fright Check table if your ER gets to low, to represent the mental stress of exceeding your limits.

[dataweaver]

What would be appropriate Martial Arts to pair with each of the Chinese Elemental Powers? Bonus if you can get the cinematic martial arts skills to line up properly.

[Prince Charon]

A bit more on the Ashla style. I'm mostly working on this as an intellectual exercise in seeing how close I can get to 'a Magical style that works like the Jedi' using the spell-based system, without making too many house rules. I've already started thinking that I may need to either rule that the style doesn't need Attribute Substitution to have several spells be DX-based, or rule that they can have more of specific perks than the usual allowance... or just rule that they tend to put a lot of points in defensive spells.

Required Skills <possibly incomplete>

Force Sword; Hidden Lore (Ashla); Meditation; Thaumatology; Theology (Impetus)

Required Spells <possibly incomplete>

Sense Life; Sense Foes; Lend Energy; Foolishness; Apportation; Sense Danger; Purify Air; Seek Earth; Seek Fire; Seek Water;

Perks <incomplete>

Magical Style Familiarity (Ashla); Attribute Substitution; Blocking Spell Mastery (Deflect Missile, Catch Missile, Return Missile); Covenant of Rest; Fast Casting; Intuitive Cantrip (Aid); Melee Spell Mastery (<TBD>); Missile Spell Mastery (Poltergeist); No Incantations; Sacrificial Blocking Spell (<TBD>); Shortcut to Power (<a few of these>); Spell Duelist (Ashla); Stabilizing Skill: Hidden Lore (Ashla).


The Monks of Ashla, and indeed the faith of the Impetus of Life in general, is not a widely organized religion. There is no Space Pope or High Council that can legitimately claim authority over all followers of the Impetus, whether Ashla, Bogan, or other aspects. In some areas, the monks are not organized beyond the level of individual monasteries, temples, or shrines, while in others, there is some level of organization covering large regions, whole planets, or even a few systems. Specific monasteries and such of the Ashla (the more generally peaceful and selfless aspect of the Impetus) vary in their practices from ascetic monks to what are effectively orders of religious knighthood. Something similar can be said for the followers of the Bogan (the more aggressive and selfish aspect of the Impetus), though by nature, very few can be said to be ascetic in any but the most ironic sense. It should be noted that sincere followers of the Ashla are not automatically 'good,' and sincere followers of the Bogan are not automatically 'evil.' Likewise, the two categories, being followers of different aspects of the same entity, are not always opposed, and in many parts of known space, they answer to the same leaders. They do often tend toward opposition, however, and in many places the Ashla has a reputation for being good, and the Bogan has a reputation for being evil... but not always, and not everywhere.

Followers of the Ashla may roll critical failures on the "Clerical" Table (Thaumatology p257) or the Spirit-Oriented Magic table (p260), though many use the standard table. Most followers of the Bogan use the standard table for critical spell failures, though the ones that most contribute to the Bogan's negative reputation tend to roll on the Diabolic/Horrific Table (p258) or the Black Critical Table (Magic p157, boxed text).

In general, demons in this setting are far more often spiritual and mental threats, rather than physical.

[finn]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

The turn required to cast standard spells in combat could be deadly against mundane fighter who focused on actual combat skills. The spell is cast at the end of the last second of concentration, not the end of the last turn of concentration, which means that people who go after you in the combat sequence can interrupt anything but a Blocking spell.

Actually, you cannot interupt a one second spell unless you Wait.

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/faq/FAQ4-4.html#SS4.1.9

[Prince Charon]

A Path/Book magical and martial arts style, developed for a specialist magician posted elsewhere.

Hexenringen
5 points

This is a Germanic martial/magical style using Effect Shaping Path/Book Magic; Judo Art is the core skill, and all Paths are based on DX. The priesthood of the Harvest Goddess and her husband (the God of beer, among other things) created this style to protect travelers on the roads. It is a composite style, created from several others, partly due to one member of the priesthood a century before being both athletic and very well-traveled. Stylists prefer to begin with Diplomacy, to de-escalate the conflict, and sometimes this even works; when it doesn't, they're likely to open with a Defensive Attack, and then Wait and Evaluate, if practical.

In the context of this style, Extra Attack and Compartmentalized Mind represent levels of training in multitasking (treat Extra Attack as a prerequisite for Compartmentalized Mind). I'm using the houserule that Judo is technique of Judo Art (and vice-versa).

Skills: Diplomacy; Fast-Draw (Charm); Judo Art; Staff
Techniques: Arm Lock; Breakfall; Counterattack (Judo or Staff); Disarming (Judo or Staff); Finger Lock; Head Lock; Judo; Knee Strike; Retain Weapon (Staff); Trip.
Perks: Alcohol Tolerance; Body Discipline (Judo Art); Clinch; Neck Control; No Hangovers; Rules Exemption (Number of charms per ritual is uncapped); Special Exercises (Compartmentalized Mind); Special Exercises (DR with Ablative); Special Exercises (Extra Attack).
Paths: Path of Cunning; Path of the Elements; Path of Form; Path of Health; Path of Luck; Path of Nature; Path of Protection.
Typical Rituals: Blight; Endure Elements; Obscurity; Reversion of Form; See the True Face; Slumber; Spirit Arrows; Succor; Tentacles of <Element>; Traveler's Blessing; Weapon Blessing.

Optional Traits:
Advantages: Compartmentalized Mind (No Mental Separation, -20%); Extra Attack; Magery; Path/Book Adept.
Skills: Boxing; Broadsword (Light Club); First Aid; Hiking; Religious Ritual (Harvest Goddess/Beer God); Running; Theology (Germanic); Shortsword (Baton); Survival.
Techniques: Any other rituals for the listed Paths.


Blight
Effect Shaping: Path of Health-5; 1 hour.
Energy Accumulating: 10 points.
This ritual causes nausea and dizziness (see Nauseated, Basic Set p428), and does 1d-1 tox damage if the target fails to resist, or 2d-2 if the target critically fails their resistance roll; the margin of failure adds to damage in the latter case. It is resisted by the lower of Will+Magery or HT+Magery; a critical success on the resistance roll means that the ritual has no effect beyond warning the target that someone tried to attack them with magic (or the nearest equivalent in the target's belief system, if any: psi powers, alien technology, hypnosis, et cetra).


Spirit Arrow
Effect Shaping: Path of Spirit-4 or Path of Health-6; 20 minutes.
Energy Accumulating: 10 points.
The caster summons a spirit to attack the target, or binds a spirit to an arrow-shaped charm and later designates a target by pointing the arrow. When activated, the target makes a Will roll: the target takes no damage or stun on a critical success, 1d-1 FP & physical stun on a normal success, 1d+1 HP & physical stun on a normal failure, and 2d-2 HP & unconscious on a critical failure. The HP damage type varies by the type of spirit: spirits of Poison (used by Path of Health) do tox on living targets, and cor on unliving targets (if the spirit will attack them at all); spirits of Exhaustion or Sleep (which may also be summoned by the Path of Health) do only FP damage (1d+1 FP & physical stun on a normal success, 2d-2 FP & unconscious on a normal failure, and 2d+2 FP & unconscious on a critical failure). Most other spirits will do cr damage, although spirits of Fire or Ice will each do types of burn damage, and it is not unusual for spirits of Hunting or War to do cut or imp damage. Regular DR offers no protection, nor do normal dodges, parries or blocks (it's only metaphorically an arrow; really, it's a Malediction: the spirit is attacking 'you,' not 'whatever is in the space that you happen to be occupying'), though items that defend against magic or spirits do.


Traveler's Blessing
Effect Shaping: Path of Luck-4; 1 hour.
Energy Accumulating: 8 points.
This ritual works much like Journeyman's Blessing, but is focused on travel - on having a safe & swift journey (the two are tied together a fair bit, as many things that are dangerous on the road or at sea will also delay travelers, and vice versa). The ritual produces a charm that the traveler must carry with them on the journey. The effect lasts for one journey, though if the journey is already planned to be a round trip, it will normally last until you get home.


Tentacles of <Element>
Effect Shaping: Path of the Elements-5 or Path of <specific Element>-4; 10 minutes.
Energy Accumulating: 8 points.
This magic shapes 1d-2 tentacles (minimum 1) from any available material of that element (generally meaning material that is in the environment or that the user is touching or carrying, but not material that someone else is touching or carrying when the ritual is activated). You may use these tentacles as extra limbs with which to attack, bind, defend, carry items, or anything else you might use tentacles for. When attacking, the tentacles normally do cr damage, apart from Tentacles of Fire, which do both burn and cr. Casters may make a number of optional modifications to the rituals: accepting a worse penalty or higher energy cost lets you increase the number of tentacles (each -1 to skill or +2 to energy cost allows one more tentacle), change the damage type, or add damage modifiers (fire always does burn damage, but may also do other types), e.g. Cutting Earth Tentacles, Ice (Freezing Water) Tentacles, Impaling Fire Tentacles, Suffocating Air Tentacles, et cetra. To determine the altered cost, work out the final percentage bonus or penalty from modifiers, and apply it to the energy cost or skill penalty.

The DX and ST of each tentacle will be equal to those of the user, plus one-third (round down) of the margin of success; damage dice are based on that ST's swing or thrust. The HP & DR of each tentacle will be equal to the base material, or the full margin of success, whichever is higher.

The various 'Tentacles of <Element>' rituals (techniques) are similar enough to count as a single skill for the purposes of the Single Skill limitation on Extra Attack, though the rituals of Path of the Elements in general are not ('Single Skill, Path of the Elements,' is not nearly limiting enough for -20%).


Thoughts?