Secret Spells and using Ward

[Expy]

Wizards have to point their staves or wands at their targets in order to benefit from their Staff enchantments, you don't need fancy reflexed identify magic to know what their target is when your eyes will do!

If you want passive resistance to magic on a large group of people, that's what the appropriately named Magic Resistance spell is for! At skill 15, you can put Magic Resistance 2 on all your friends and maintain it forever. Doesn't sound like a lot, but its a 4 point swing in your allies favour whenever a resisted spell is rolled against them.

A wizard usually has to be pretty close to cast spells on the party anyway, and invisibility etc doesn't last very long. Cast Aura on suspicious persons! It identifies Magery with no resist roll.

That lip reading, analyze magic in order to Ward thing sounds obtuse and clunky and is definitely not how it works. KISS. If you want to keep spells hidden, just say yes/no when your wizard player asks if they can Ward the spell.

If they can't, Wait only requires a triggering condition and a chosen maneuvre (Concentrate!), so a defensive wizard could Wait with Spell Shield, Darkness, Spasm etc. in his spellbook and intercept casts that way. Just don't spend ages humming and hawing over your extensive spell list unless you have Enhanced Time Sense.

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by Expy

A wizard usually has to be pretty close to cast spells on the party anyway, and invisibility etc doesn't last very long.

Invisibility is a spell with a minute duration. In 99% of the GURPS combats I have experienced in the last 36 years a minute (RAW 60 rounds) is forever.

An Invisible Mage with some combat capability (ST 11 and a decent staff skill FREX) can do a lot when effectively All out Attack every round is quite possible.

Attack and Step, Step and Attack, Attack at Reach 1, Attack at Reach 2, half move and AoA, AoA and half move, a round of full move every now and again.

In a lot of cases there is no defense against an Invisible Staff Strike. Opponents deprived of defenses usually fare poorly.

GURPS combats without defenses tend not too last long.

The odds of opponents even guessing the right hex to try attack is not good unless heavily limiting terrain or another environmental factor is in play.

One of the things that makes magic so dangerous is its flexibility. A professional mage may have 30+ spells in his toolbox. What he can get done with them if he is imaginative...

[RGTraynor]

Originally Posted by Expy

Wizards have to point their staves or wands at their targets in order to benefit from their Staff enchantments, you don't need fancy reflexed identify magic to know what their target is when your eyes will do!

Beyond Witchking's comments -- I can think of only one GURPS combat I've run in thirty-eight years that has gone over 60 rounds, and that took two whole game sessions to play out -- it would seem that the wizards in action you're used to seeing are far dumber than the ones I've seen.

For instance, what benefit using the Staff enchantment in melee gains is blown out of the water by the drawback of letting the target know that a spell is coming his way, and giving him the chance to take such evasive maneuvers as may be practical.

(Granted, this could be a tactic all on its own. Hey, my utility mage doesn't have any offensive spells to speak of, but I can sure get me a fancily carved long stick, stand behind the battleline and point it at an enemy, bark out impressive sounding nonsense syllables in a battlefield voice while I grin ferally -- with at least one party member prepped to glance at me and shout in horror, "No! You promised never to cast that again!!!" -- and laugh as the poor bastard screams and dives for cover.)

[Inky]

Reminds me of an incident in "The Colour of Magic" :-D

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

Hey, my utility mage doesn't have any offensive spells to speak of, but I can sure get me a fancily carved long stick, stand behind the battleline and point it at an enemy, bark out impressive sounding nonsense syllables in a battlefield voice while I grin ferally -- with at least one party member prepped to glance at me and shout in horror, "No! You promised never to cast that again!!!" -- and laugh as the poor bastard screams and dives for cover.)

Effectively similar to my upthread comment. Ostentatiously look like I am casting, while having a nasty blocking spell (Return Missile) under my pointy hat. IIRC also works for Missile Spells!