What's the best GURPS thaumatology system for a minor godlike boss being?

SolemnGolem · 11-03-2020, 10:29 AM

Thanks to all for the responses. I feel like I want this godling to be a challenging boss battle (similar in power level to a large dragon), and for the magic to be pretty flexible so the godling could manipulate reality in certain realms to bypass or overcome PC actions.

But, the godling is fueled by a limited amount of ER, which is very slowly generated by worship of its cultists. So, once the godling's ER is used up, it becomes much less of a spell-slinging threat and "merely" becomes a physically daunting opponent. (The PCs are facing off against it in its secure containment vault, and the powerful lich who sealed it away there does not particularly care if the PCs do destroy it - so it's suitable for a "duel to the death" scenario.)

My current design thinking, which may be incorrect on some or all counts, is that Realm Magic is the most flexible for dealing with unforeseen circumstances which would allow the godling to channel quick (though ER expensive) solutions on the spot.

This more or less eliminates RPM/Incantation, which is very time consuming. It also eliminates Sorcery and Standard Spell-Skills Magic, since those are quite specifically defined in their effects. Path/Book just feels like a poor fit conceptually if the godling is supposed to be a primeval force in certain specific realms of magic.

So that leaves Realm Magic. I looked at Verb-Noun magic and thought it looked interesting, but then I was told that RPM was a worked example of that, so I stopped looking too closely at Verb-Noun.

11-03-2020, 10:29 AM	#16
SolemnGolem Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: The Hall of Fallen Columns	Re: What's the best GURPS thaumatology system for a minor godlike boss being? Thanks to all for the responses. I feel like I want this godling to be a challenging boss battle (similar in power level to a large dragon), and for the magic to be pretty flexible so the godling could manipulate reality in certain realms to bypass or overcome PC actions. But, the godling is fueled by a limited amount of ER, which is very slowly generated by worship of its cultists. So, once the godling's ER is used up, it becomes much less of a spell-slinging threat and "merely" becomes a physically daunting opponent. (The PCs are facing off against it in its secure containment vault, and the powerful lich who sealed it away there does not particularly care if the PCs do destroy it - so it's suitable for a "duel to the death" scenario.) My current design thinking, which may be incorrect on some or all counts, is that Realm Magic is the most flexible for dealing with unforeseen circumstances which would allow the godling to channel quick (though ER expensive) solutions on the spot. This more or less eliminates RPM/Incantation, which is very time consuming. It also eliminates Sorcery and Standard Spell-Skills Magic, since those are quite specifically defined in their effects. Path/Book just feels like a poor fit conceptually if the godling is supposed to be a primeval force in certain specific realms of magic. So that leaves Realm Magic. I looked at Verb-Noun magic and thought it looked interesting, but then I was told that RPM was a worked example of that, so I stopped looking too closely at Verb-Noun.