Dawn of Magic

[Whitewings]

Setting assumption 1: for most of history, Earth has been an ultra-low-mana setting (-10 to all attempts at spell use)

Setting assumption 2: this has changed very recently. As in, within the last few months. Earth is now a normal mana zone.

Setting assumption 3: sympathy, contagion, names and Hermetic astrological modifiers all apply… now.

Mechanically, magic is performed with Ritual Path Magic, using the Effect Shaping rules. The Path Adept advantages are not available. Magery provides its normal benefits, but is not mandatory. Anyone can perform magical rituals, mages are just better at it. How high of a Thaumatology should be allowed, given the assumption that most occult information is varying degrees of wrong? Should I cap skill, points that can be spent, or both? Also, since I’m using effect shaping, suggestions on how to go from energy costs to skill modifiers and time required?

The setting is intended to be obscure magic, not secret.

[DeadParrot]

What time frame? Current Day, sometime past or sometime future?

Was there some event that heralded the change? Meteor strike, really strong solar storm, etc? Or was it some kind of invisible switch?

If the change was secret, very possible a lot of religious participants may be very surprised when their up to now mundane services suddenly start manifesting rather interesting effects. Same for small groups of kids playing at being witches/druids/etc who are going through their normal chants and all of a sudden have to deal with <something> that pops in.

Or in a current era setting, that GURPS GM that insists the players recite the chant their characters are making in game when performing magic and now has to deal with the fireball going off in her living room.

[Whitewings]

Current day. Fortunately for the GM, not to mention the house, the fireball is unlikely to work.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

Mechanically, magic is performed with Ritual Path Magic, using the Effect Shaping rules. The Path Adept advantages are not available. Magery provides its normal benefits, but is not mandatory. Anyone can perform magical rituals, mages are just better at it. How high of a Thaumatology should be allowed, given the assumption that most occult information is varying degrees of wrong? Should I cap skill, points that can be spent, or both? Also, since I’m using effect shaping, suggestions on how to go from energy costs to skill modifiers and time required?

The setting is intended to be obscure magic, not secret.

Pyramid, The Laws of Magic issue I believe has details on converting between Effect and Energy Accumulation.
Thaumatology below 12 represents less than professional competence. It will make it hard to cast spells but let grimoires help. A cap on how many points can be spent seems appropriate as no one really has a lot of knowledge and much of it is inaccurate so will need to be reinvented.

[KarlKost]

I believe a cap is at hand, but soon enough corporations and governments and universities will set up special divisions dedicated to the study of this new force. Then, the higher levels will become State secrets or Industrial Secrets, but little by little that cap will increase

[DeadParrot]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

Current day. Fortunately for the GM, not to mention the house, the fireball is unlikely to work.

Most likely, that player gets several syllables wrong during the chant and all that happens is a 1pt flash bang effect that singes some character sheets, sets off the smoke alarm and convinces the cat that the game table is a no go zone. But the erstwhile RPG players now have a RL mystery to solve. Maybe they are one of the first groups to discover that magic now works. Do they post up on social media and attract the attention of various 3 letter organizations? Or keep things secret while performing more experiments?

Maybe RPG books on Magic suddenly become valuable items once people realize the spell lists describe real spells with real effects.

[cptbutton]

"The Rebirth of Wonder" by Lawrence Watt-Evans covered the cause of such a change. A short work about the world's last remaining magicians doing a ritual to open a new font of mana into the world.

[Whitewings]

I rather like this idea: during a play, an actress performs a lengthy and elaborate ritual to inflict horrific pain on an actor. The ritual is painfully authentic, and she's spent hours rehearsing it. So she's just deep enough into character to have enough intent to actually curse the poor guy. On stage. In front of hundreds of people. Oh crud...

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

I rather like this idea: during a play, an actress performs a lengthy and elaborate ritual to inflict horrific pain on an actor. The ritual is painfully authentic, and she's spent hours rehearsing it. So she's just deep enough into character to have enough intent to actually curse the poor guy. On stage. In front of hundreds of people. Oh crud...

Unless the target is meant to be unaffected, or to somehow deliver lines through the pain rather than collapsing and writhing whilst screaming... would anyone actually notice? Or would they just think "Wow, this guy can really act" (or perhaps more likely "Ugh, this guy is overacting this part")?

[Whitewings]

Originally Posted by Varyon

would anyone actually notice?

When the pain keeps going and he can't say his lines, everyone will notice.