Yet more clarifying questions for RPM

Zoomfarg · 08-13-2021, 12:25 PM

My group and I are thinking about picking up an old GURPS campaign again, and as GM, I’d like to switch to RPM. Years ago, I liked Realm magic better than RPM, and now I can’t understand why. I think I misunderstood RPM back then. (I *do* like how easy Realms makes it to have different Realms schemes, but that’s a post for another time.)

Anyway, after reading through the book and pyramid 3/66 few times (plus the "post your rituals here" thread and some other RPM related threads), I have some clarifying questions. I apologize if any of them are covered in the text and I’ve just overlooked them.

Resistance Rolls

Penalty by caster margin of success? I saw a post on the “post your rituals here” thread that said that an attacker’s MoS was applied as a penalty on the subject’s/target’s resistance… is this RAW? Is it true of resistance rolls in general?
Are targets aware of resisting? Or is resistance automatic, and they don’t know that magic has affected them? (Except if they notice its effects)

Areas of Effect:

Entering/Exiting: How does entering or exiting the AoE of a ritual with duration affect people, specifically for rituals that affect subjects individually, like buffs or internal damage. Like, it’s obvious what happens if the ritual is, say, an AoE field of fire. But what about, say, a ritual cast on the area of a hospital to give patients bonuses to healing rolls? Do patients lose the benefit of the bonus when they leave the AoE, even if the effect is ongoing? Do new patients gain the benefit of the ongoing ritual? Or (for the most restrictive option) does the ritual only apply to the original subjects only while they remain in the AoE? Is it up to caster intent?
Expanded “Mental flagging”: RAW, you can mentally flag targets to be exempt from an AoE. This makes sense if you’re trying to hurt a lot of enemies in an area but save a few friends. But what about times that you want to *help* a few friends among a lot of enemies? Seems like a good alternative to “affect everyone except Alice, Bob, etc)” might be “affect *no one* except Alice, Bob, etc”, perhaps for an additional -1. Does this sound acceptable?

Wards

Spell wards and magically created materials—should wards protect against magically created stuff? Like a magically created rock that an attacker tries to chuck through the ward?
Wards and rule of 16: when the hostile spell encounters the ward, does the rule of 16 apply? Based on the ward? Based on the target within the warded area?

Gathering time:

Instant casting: by taking -10 for instant energy gathering, does that permit one single attempt? Or can multiple gathering attempts be made?
Is there any benefit to taking extra time on energy gathering attempts?

Incantations:

You can still work rituals while an incantation is active, correct?
For purposes of spell stacking, does being under the influence of an incantation count as being under the influence of the spell effects of the ritual the incantation was based on?
Since incantations are alternative abilities, they can’t be used simultaneously with each other or with Magery, right? Meaning that while an incantation is in use, the magery mana reserve cannot be used, and the caster cannot have charms or conditional spells, correct?

Dispelling:

Specific or general—when attempting to dispel another ritual, does the caster have to be aware of and target a specific ritual/spell? Or is a mass dispel permissible RAI or RAW? Like a huge AoE? (personally I’d prefer the former… mass dispel seems like shenanigans)

Under the hood:

Why is transform more expensive than create? Like, why is it easier to create a new body than add wings to a body that already exists?
Why is ritual mastery a perk, and not handled through techniques?
Why is there a cap on path skills?

08-13-2021, 12:25 PM	#1
Zoomfarg Join Date: May 2012	Yet more clarifying questions for RPM My group and I are thinking about picking up an old GURPS campaign again, and as GM, I’d like to switch to RPM. Years ago, I liked Realm magic better than RPM, and now I can’t understand why. I think I misunderstood RPM back then. (I do like how easy Realms makes it to have different Realms schemes, but that’s a post for another time.) Anyway, after reading through the book and pyramid 3/66 few times (plus the "post your rituals here" thread and some other RPM related threads), I have some clarifying questions. I apologize if any of them are covered in the text and I’ve just overlooked them. Resistance Rolls Penalty by caster margin of success? I saw a post on the “post your rituals here” thread that said that an attacker’s MoS was applied as a penalty on the subject’s/target’s resistance… is this RAW? Is it true of resistance rolls in general? Are targets aware of resisting? Or is resistance automatic, and they don’t know that magic has affected them? (Except if they notice its effects) Areas of Effect: Entering/Exiting: How does entering or exiting the AoE of a ritual with duration affect people, specifically for rituals that affect subjects individually, like buffs or internal damage. Like, it’s obvious what happens if the ritual is, say, an AoE field of fire. But what about, say, a ritual cast on the area of a hospital to give patients bonuses to healing rolls? Do patients lose the benefit of the bonus when they leave the AoE, even if the effect is ongoing? Do new patients gain the benefit of the ongoing ritual? Or (for the most restrictive option) does the ritual only apply to the original subjects only while they remain in the AoE? Is it up to caster intent? Expanded “Mental flagging”: RAW, you can mentally flag targets to be exempt from an AoE. This makes sense if you’re trying to hurt a lot of enemies in an area but save a few friends. But what about times that you want to help a few friends among a lot of enemies? Seems like a good alternative to “affect everyone except Alice, Bob, etc)” might be “affect no one except Alice, Bob, etc”, perhaps for an additional -1. Does this sound acceptable? Wards Spell wards and magically created materials—should wards protect against magically created stuff? Like a magically created rock that an attacker tries to chuck through the ward? Wards and rule of 16: when the hostile spell encounters the ward, does the rule of 16 apply? Based on the ward? Based on the target within the warded area? Gathering time: Instant casting: by taking -10 for instant energy gathering, does that permit one single attempt? Or can multiple gathering attempts be made? Is there any benefit to taking extra time on energy gathering attempts? Incantations: You can still work rituals while an incantation is active, correct? For purposes of spell stacking, does being under the influence of an incantation count as being under the influence of the spell effects of the ritual the incantation was based on? Since incantations are alternative abilities, they can’t be used simultaneously with each other or with Magery, right? Meaning that while an incantation is in use, the magery mana reserve cannot be used, and the caster cannot have charms or conditional spells, correct? Dispelling: Specific or general—when attempting to dispel another ritual, does the caster have to be aware of and target a specific ritual/spell? Or is a mass dispel permissible RAI or RAW? Like a huge AoE? (personally I’d prefer the former… mass dispel seems like shenanigans) Under the hood: Why is transform more expensive than create? Like, why is it easier to create a new body than add wings to a body that already exists? Why is ritual mastery a perk, and not handled through techniques? Why is there a cap on path skills? Last edited by Zoomfarg; 08-13-2021 at 12:54 PM.