Paradox, With a Vengeance, in RPM.

[Cato the Elder]

I am having trouble deciding how to mechanically portray the metaphysics of the secret magic setting I am tinkering with. My setting's mages will use Ritual Path Magic, but must hide their powers from mundanes lest they fall victim to an impersonal force that inexorably pursues and consumes careless wizards. The idea is not dissimilar to the Calamities of Threshold-Limited Magic (Thaumatology 76), the Paradox of Mage: The Ascension, or even the suggested backlash produced by the Path of Daath (Ritual Path Magic 37), but different in practice.

I do not want mages to be doomed by a single critical failure (they will still have to deal with the usual RPM botches), nor do I want them to be stricken instantly with some horrible effect (like Calamities and Paradox both favour); I want to create a sense of foreboding as mages sense the approach of this hostile force in the dark places of the world around them over days, weeks and months, and offer them the chance to elude and delay the force if they are willing to resort to desperate and unsavory methods (the game Amnesia: The Dark Descent offers some ideas for this). It should be possible to keep the force at bay given enough effort, although it is always waiting in the wings for the moment that a mage drops their guard.

It seems impossible that there has not been a RPG that has done something similar to this; what systems could I cannibalize for ideas? Further, how might I model a way to depict this with GURPS mechanics? Thank you in advance for your replies.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Just use Reactive Reality from GURPS Thaumatology (p. 193). You can use the system almost wholesale.

[dataweaver]

The Corruption section in GURPS Horror is also worth mining for ideas. Pay special attention to the opening paragraphs, which speak of various “bad stuff happens” systems already in place.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

Just use Reactive Reality from GURPS Thaumatology (p. 193). You can use the system almost wholesale.

Somehow I missed that section in all my read-throughs! My thanks for the recommendation.

Originally Posted by dataweaver

The Corruption section in GURPS Horror is also worth mining for ideas. Pay special attention to the opening paragraphs, which speak of various “bad stuff happens” systems already in place.

While it breaks my heart to say so (Ken Hite being one of my favourite writers for GURPS), I find the Corruption mechanics somewhat uninspired. The rest of Horror is, of course, almost essential for any game.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

Somehow I missed that section in all my read-throughs! My thanks for the recommendation.

Sure, glad I could help. :-)

[dataweaver]

It’s ironic, because Reactive Reality was generalized from GURPS Mage: the Ascension — that is, it’s Paradox with the serial numbers filed off.

[Randyman]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

Somehow I missed that section in all my read-throughs! My thanks for the recommendation.



While it breaks my heart to say so (Ken Hite being one of my favourite writers for GURPS), I find the Corruption mechanics somewhat uninspired. The rest of Horror is, of course, almost essential for any game.

I personally find the gamemastering advice in particular essential for any game, horror-themed or no. And the rest... well, I normally don't go for horror, but if it's going to be run like he suggests, I'm interested.

[dataweaver]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

While it breaks my heart to say so (Ken Hite being one of my favourite writers for GURPS), I find the Corruption mechanics somewhat uninspired. The rest of Horror is, of course, almost essential for any game.

FWIW, the Corruption section wasn’t in the original manuscript. Like the Stress and Derangement rules, it was added during the playtest. If you’re at all familiar with GURPS playtests, you’ll know that time and space are at a premium: any new material needs to be terse. In this case, someone pointed out the need for some sort of Corruption mechanics; I proposed a few paragraphs of advice on how to adapt existing “bad stuff” mechanics for use as Corruption which got incorporated into the book almost verbatim, and several other posters proposed the components that got pasted together into the Sample Corruption system. In essence, the section was designed by the playtesters, not Ken Hite, and the goal wasn’t innovative design so much as something small and functional. I’m proud of it for what it is.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

FWIW, the Corruption section wasn’t in the original manuscript. Like the Stress and Derangement rules, it was added during the playtest. If you’re at all familiar with GURPS playtests, you’ll know that time and space are at a premium: any new material needs to be terse. In this case, someone pointed out the need for some sort of Corruption mechanics; I proposed a few paragraphs of advice on how to adapt existing “bad stuff” mechanics for use as Corruption which got incorporated into the book almost verbatim, and several other posters proposed the components that got pasted together into the Sample Corruption system. In essence, the section was designed by the playtesters, not Ken Hite, and the goal wasn’t innovative design so much as something small and functional. I’m proud of it for what it is.

It is definitely functional as is. I suspect I would like it better if it was not so tied into the standard magic system for GURPS. Unfortunately, since I mean to use RPM in this setting, I would need to revamp the whole Corruption mechanic. You have my appreciation for pointing it out though; I did not catch the reference to the other "bad things" systems in the beginning of the Corruption rules.

[hal]

While this is not directly a take on the game mechanics of Horror or magic in general, there is a game system out there that keeps mages in line. Think if you will, what would happen if you had an angelic order that pretty much detests man in general, and mages in particular. Then imagine them collaborating with a conspiracy to hunt down mages when/wherever they can be found. Then Imagine a 40mm grenade crashing through your glass windows as an occult hit squad shows up to put paid to the mages who are careless enough to let slip they're practicing mages.

Now, if that weren't enough - here's something I hit a player with not too long ago (a few years back to be exact). The guy finds a text written in Latin. He then takes it to the first person he can think of who might be able to identify the really old looking book with the "paper" actually being vellum. A catholic priest. The priest informed the player character "That book is on the proscribed list, why are you even in possession of it?". Long story short, a few game sessions later, the poor player character is framed for cruelty to animals in the form of ritual sacrifice, and made to look demented for his attempts to perform magic. The book gets stolen (but not before the player character had made photocopies of various pages) and not before the player character discovers how to work magic (this from GURPS VOODOO I might add).

In the end? Just having an outside organization that doesn't like practicing mages works well to keep the mages honest in their attempts to avoid unnecessary attention.

Now if you REALLY want to have fun? FANTASY WARGAMING had this game mechanic relating to Grace or its opposite characteristic grace. One was getting nearer to the divine, the other was falling perilously closer to the adversary. Once a person went too far into the infernal graces, he was less likely to find his way back into Grace. Each spell cast was actually a "sin" - digging a deeper hole into perdition. On the flip side, a character was assumed to be gaining points towards Grace providing he didn't sin in any major identifiable fashion. In short, get your hands on a copy of FANTASY WARGAMING via ebay (it is out of print) if the premise is one that sounds promising.