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Old 05-09-2020, 09:38 PM   #1
gurpsgamer
 
Join Date: May 2020
Default Magic(k)

I am a long time gamer. I love GURPS, 4th edition not so much. That said I am going to explain a Magic house rule that mixes both 3rd and 4th.
MTA was a supplement from Whit Wolf with a totally different magic(k) system that was powerful and you did not need to have a long list of spells. I have come up with a modified version for this system to put into any magic setting.
There is no Paradox, Arete, Delirium and you do not have to have a 2nd level in Prime to cast pattern Magic(k). You don't even need Prime to cast at all. All Spears are 10 points per level. You must have a skill of 15 or higher to cast without a Foci. When you cast and fail you collect the amount that you failed by and you roll on the Calamity chart (Page. 77-78) Thaumatology forth edition. Add what you failed by to your role to see what you have to deal with. Or you can save the points (Up to your Will level) and do it then. Or you can choose to Burn them off by having the GM give you a Calamity that fits what you have earned.
To add to a game that is more Fantasy. You can break down the Mage into three different kinds of Mages.
The Sorcerer: They are a natural and need no training only practice.
The Wizard: They learn by rote. Filling there grimoire with spells they have created studying the Nine Spheres and how they work. They have a 20% limitation from this, and have a -3 to learn a new rote. They are under the tutelage of masters in a school of some kind or an individual master.
Alchemist: They work with Sloid, Liquid, and Gas. Any combination of the three. The alchemist always learns from a master and can only make there Elixirs. This is a 40% limitation.
I know some of you are not a fan of big change, and I am not going to apologize for this. I will be back with world ideas as well.
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Old 05-10-2020, 04:43 AM   #2
GnomesofZurich
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Canada
Default Re: Magic(k)

Quote:
Originally Posted by gurpsgamer View Post
<snip>
There is no Paradox, Arete, Delirium and you do not have to have a 2nd level in Prime to cast pattern Magic(k). You don't even need Prime to cast at all. All Spears are 10 points per level. You must have a skill of 15 or higher to cast without a Foci. <snap>
You may need to explain this a little more - being unfamiliar with MTA, I'm unclear on several of the terms used in this context (Paradox, Arete, Delirium, Prime, Spears, and Foci).
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Old 05-10-2020, 06:49 AM   #3
khorboth
 
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Denver, CO
Default Re: Magic(k)

This is not bad out of the gate, but could use some play testing.

Do you have thaumatology? It has LOTS of ways to mess with the magic system. Most notably for this discussion, it has Realm Magic. When I ran Mage in GURPS 4th, I used that and it worked very well. It is really a method of pricing exactly the type of flexible on-the-fly magic you're talking about.

I believe I charged a small advantage for removing the focus rather than a skill level, so that a Mage could still use the focus for a skill bonus.
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Old 05-10-2020, 07:49 AM   #4
Anaraxes
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: Magic(k)

Realm magic is a slightly generalized version of the magic system from GURPS Mage: the Ascension, which was a GURSPified version of the system from the WW original.

So it would seem to be the place to start if you liked the original MtA system. Or you could grab a copy of the 3e GURPS MtA to see a more direct mapping with all the WW vocabulary, spheres and levels pre-selected, and so on. (The book is still available via Amazon, for instance.)

The three types of mage you might represent with templates, just to provide an example of what the character types might look like. Or if you want the categories to be more distinct, you could take the DF route and make the templates "hard", so that the types can only pick from optional items on their templates, built on a required base that ensures that Sorcerors actually feel like you intended Sorcerors to feel in play.

Last edited by Anaraxes; 05-10-2020 at 08:28 AM.
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Old 05-10-2020, 05:35 PM   #5
gurpsgamer
 
Join Date: May 2020
Default Re: Magic(k)

I have read the thaumaturgy book and I enjoy all of it. However I really like the 3rd edition MTA Magic(k)
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Old 05-11-2020, 04:32 AM   #6
Lameth
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: Magic(k)

Lookup Gurps Ritual Path Magic. I too also am a looooong time gamer of White Wolf and that system comes very close. I am running a urban fantasy game, with some influence from WoD, and the system fits great, and has an established write up system for spell creation. Just change the paths to spheres.
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Old 05-11-2020, 07:42 AM   #7
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: Magic(k)

RPM is very close to WW magic. Magery 0+ is the ability to do magic. Both sorcerers and mages can have Magery 1+ (mages call it Arete), but only mages have Ritual Adept. Sorcerers have different Paths than mages though and would have a different type of Alchemy and Thaumatology.
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