Weak magic/strong alchemy

[RyanW]

Had the idea of a setting where spell casting was limited to only very low level spells (perhaps the IQ/A spells from The Least of Spells, and zero prerequisite spells from GURPS Magic), but that alchemical potions and charms were available that were capable of nearly anything the full magic system would normally do.

This partly came about because my small group typically doesn't have anyone jumping to be the mage, but I kind of like the way it twists a familiar element around. Magic is now mostly something the party buys.

One question to address is that Magery is the usual gatekeeper trait for magic, but now there is a lot less behind that gate. What's a reasonable price for Magery (Basic spells only)?

[ravenfish]

Originally Posted by RyanW

What's a reasonable price for Magery (Basic spells only)?

I would be inclined to price it as -40%. That's the same as One College Only, which gives you a somewhat similar number of spells, with a bit less breadth but a lot more oomph. As a further point of reference, Magic: The Least of Spells says that "trivial spells only" (i.e., only the IQ/Average spells included in that volume) would be a -50% limitation.

[awesomenessofme1]

I would say, regardless of what price you choose, don't build it as a limitation, actually reprice the base advantage. That means other limitations will price out correctly.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1

I would say, regardless of what price you choose, don't build it as a limitation, actually reprice the base advantage. That means other limitations will price out correctly.

I like this idea for college-bound mageries (and also various Damage Resistances) since there's so many creative limitations for these advantages you can reach -80% too soon