Healing spells in GURPS MAGIC

hal · 06-07-2022, 03:39 AM

Hello Folks,
This is being placed in GURPS because of the discussion aspect of the GURPS MAGIC rules. It could just as equally go into the ROLEPLAYING area due to some of what will be discussed here.

Alaconius, as you may or may not know, was a name given to a fictional mage who taught about spells as if the world he lived in, had functional magic. The idea was to talk about each of the spells within the college and discuss various aspects of the spell itself, its impact on society, and whether or not the spell could be used in creative manners outside of its intended role. It was based almost solely upon GURPS MAGIC 2nd edition, as - at that time, I considered GURPS GRIMOIRE to be a bit problematical with its spells. By problematical, some spells were not, in my opinion, well thought out or well play tested. That being said, the new Lectures will focus upon my thoughts in general, and will include those spells from GURPS MAGIC for 4e.

I'm getting back into the mindset of "Alaconius" largely due to some one on one interaction with another individual - who has taken it upon himself to host the older lectures on his web site - with some editorial work thrown in, plus some graphics as well. He has other work up there that may be worth looking into such as SPELL DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

In the end? He and I have had some FUN discussions about magic, and he was the one who more or less prodded me into resuming the concept of the Alaconius lectures. It will be a collaborative effort on our part - but we're also of a mind to expand on something that had been intended from the start of the lectures: To wit - having others act as guest lecturers...

To that end? For this thread, I'd like to lay some groundwork. If you have a question about any GURPS MAGIC spells from the Healing college, pick a character name for the person asking this question. If you want to comment about the use of spells - pick a name for the character who might make such a comment. Why?

As I write the lectures going forward, I'd like to include names of "students" or names of "Other established mages" who might take on the role of teachers.

We won't take on the role HERE per se, but we will hopefully, be able to have fun with this thread as we explore various aspects of the spells in the Healing college.

For instance, in one book that I came across, the author wrote about the art of medieaval surgery in the form of removal of Kidney stones from patients. The success rate was about 15% - killing about 85% of its patients! Imagine if you will, a campaign world in which GURPS MAGIC functions as written, where a surgeon can remove a kidney stone without the patient feeling pain, and without the patient having to worry about getting infections that kill him/her after the surgery. Now further imagine a in this thread, the discussion of why the spell may have been developed. For instance, in the beginning, no spells existed. One day, someone invents the very first Healing spell. Why was that spell invented? What was necessary for that spell to not only become embedded within society, but why was that spell remembered and taught to subsequent students of magic?

If you like the idea of this thread, join in and contribute. If you have questions, feel free to ask. If you wonder "does a healing spell fix problems or does it heal the flesh only" - ask it. Is it possible for a character with a broken leg to have healing cast on his body, only to have a crippled leg because it wasn't set properly before it was healed? GOOD question! If a mage fails to diagnose a disease properly and tries to cast cure disease, what happens next?

In the end? Those things discussed in this thread will eventually work their way into an Alaconius lecture in the future. The idea here is to discuss things and make it a resource for people in the future.

06-07-2022, 03:39 AM	#1
hal Join Date: Aug 2004	Healing spells in GURPS MAGIC Hello Folks, This is being placed in GURPS because of the discussion aspect of the GURPS MAGIC rules. It could just as equally go into the ROLEPLAYING area due to some of what will be discussed here. Alaconius, as you may or may not know, was a name given to a fictional mage who taught about spells as if the world he lived in, had functional magic. The idea was to talk about each of the spells within the college and discuss various aspects of the spell itself, its impact on society, and whether or not the spell could be used in creative manners outside of its intended role. It was based almost solely upon GURPS MAGIC 2nd edition, as - at that time, I considered GURPS GRIMOIRE to be a bit problematical with its spells. By problematical, some spells were not, in my opinion, well thought out or well play tested. That being said, the new Lectures will focus upon my thoughts in general, and will include those spells from GURPS MAGIC for 4e. I'm getting back into the mindset of "Alaconius" largely due to some one on one interaction with another individual - who has taken it upon himself to host the older lectures on his web site - with some editorial work thrown in, plus some graphics as well. He has other work up there that may be worth looking into such as SPELL DEVELOPMENT HISTORY In the end? He and I have had some FUN discussions about magic, and he was the one who more or less prodded me into resuming the concept of the Alaconius lectures. It will be a collaborative effort on our part - but we're also of a mind to expand on something that had been intended from the start of the lectures: To wit - having others act as guest lecturers... To that end? For this thread, I'd like to lay some groundwork. If you have a question about any GURPS MAGIC spells from the Healing college, pick a character name for the person asking this question. If you want to comment about the use of spells - pick a name for the character who might make such a comment. Why? As I write the lectures going forward, I'd like to include names of "students" or names of "Other established mages" who might take on the role of teachers. We won't take on the role HERE per se, but we will hopefully, be able to have fun with this thread as we explore various aspects of the spells in the Healing college. For instance, in one book that I came across, the author wrote about the art of medieaval surgery in the form of removal of Kidney stones from patients. The success rate was about 15% - killing about 85% of its patients! Imagine if you will, a campaign world in which GURPS MAGIC functions as written, where a surgeon can remove a kidney stone without the patient feeling pain, and without the patient having to worry about getting infections that kill him/her after the surgery. Now further imagine a in this thread, the discussion of why the spell may have been developed. For instance, in the beginning, no spells existed. One day, someone invents the very first Healing spell. Why was that spell invented? What was necessary for that spell to not only become embedded within society, but why was that spell remembered and taught to subsequent students of magic? If you like the idea of this thread, join in and contribute. If you have questions, feel free to ask. If you wonder "does a healing spell fix problems or does it heal the flesh only" - ask it. Is it possible for a character with a broken leg to have healing cast on his body, only to have a crippled leg because it wasn't set properly before it was healed? GOOD question! If a mage fails to diagnose a disease properly and tries to cast cure disease, what happens next? In the end? Those things discussed in this thread will eventually work their way into an Alaconius lecture in the future. The idea here is to discuss things and make it a resource for people in the future.