[Thaumatology] Specialist Magic-Users

[AlexanderHowl]

Honestly, the theme of the character would be better served if you gave him IQ 10 [0], Per 20 [50], Attribute Substitution (Seek Water Per) [1], Magery 3 (One Spell, Seek Water, -80%) [7], and Seek Water (H) Per+1 [1]-21.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Honestly, the theme of the character would be better served if you gave him IQ 10 [0], Per 20 [50], Attribute Substitution (Seek Water Per) [1], Magery 3 (One Spell, Seek Water, -80%) [7], and Seek Water (H) Per+1 [1]-21.

Maybe, but I'm not comfortable minmaxing (possibly the wrong term) to that degree.

I have started on a few other specialist mages (with various degrees of specialization), BTW, mainly due to getting inspired. None ready yet, though.

[Prince Charon]

Julius the Pyromancer (Julius Flavius Ignius), in the year Odoacer Sergius Paulus was consul for the third time, and Lucius Aelius Grauccus was consul for the first time (1673 AUC/920 CE)

Age: 42

Attributes

ST 10 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 10 [0]

Secondary Characteristics

HP 10; Will 12; Per 12; FP 20 [30]

Social Background

Languages: Latin (Native) [0]; Elven (Accented) [4].

TL: 3^

Cultural Familiarity: Nova Roman [0]; Elven [1].

Subtotal: 75


Advantages

Danger Sense [15]
Reputation (Master pyromancer, Nova Romans (large class, x1/2), All the time) +2 [5]
Status 1 [5]

Magery 0 [5]
Magery 1 [10]
Magery (Fire College Only, -40%) +2 [12]

Perks

Autotrance. [1]
Cheaper Pyromancy Ingrediants (-40%). [1]
Citizenship (Sum civis Romanum). [1]
Honest Face. [1]
Shield-Wall Training. [1]
Special Exercises (FP can exceed HP by 100%). [1]

Subtotal: 48


Disadvantages

Addiction (Sacred herbs; very expensive, hallucinogenic, legal) [-25]
Code of Honor (Professional) [-5]
Disciplines of Faith (Ritualism) [-5]
Phobia (Cold) (12) [-5]
Sense of Duty (Familias) [-5]
Stubbornness [-5]

Quirks

A little greedy. [-1]
Dislikes goblins, but not enough to refuse their business. [-1]
Likes to take a walk after dinner. [-1]
Talks to the flames. [-1]
Wine snob. [-1]

Subtotal: -55


Features

Fortune-Telling (Pyromancy) is a Complementary Skill of Divination (Pyromancy). [0]


Skills

Area Knowledge (Nova Roma) [IQ/E] [1] 12
Brawling [DX/E] [1] 10
Fortune-Telling (Pyromancy) [IQ/A] [4] 13
Games (Magia Diregentes) [IQ/E] [1] 12
Knife [DX/E] [1] 10
Literature [IQ/H] [2] 11
Occultism [IQ/A] [1] 11
Philosophy (Classical) [IQ/H] [2] 11
Poetry [IQ/A] [2] 12
Psychology (Practical) [IQ/H] [2] 11
Public Speaking [IQ/A] [2] 12
Religious Ritual (Roman) [IQ/H] [4] 12
Shield [DX/E] [1] 10
Spear [DX/A] [1] 9
Sports (Magia Diregentes) [DX/A] [2] 10
Sports (Trigon) [DX/A] [1] 9
Theology (Roman) [IQ/H] [2] 11
Writing [IQ/A] [1] 11

Seek Fuel/TL3^ [IQ/H] [1] 11*

Seeker [IQ/H] [1] 11*
Trace [IQ/H] [1] 11*
History [IQ/H] [1] 11*

Ignite Fire [IQ/H] [1] 13**
Seek Fire [IQ/H] [1] 13**
Create Fire [IQ/H] [1] 13**
Shape Fire [IQ/H] [1] 13**
Flame Jet [IQ/H] [4] 15**
Divination (Pyromancy) [IQ/H] [12] 17**

* Includes +1 from Magery.
** Includes +3 from Magery and Magery (Fire College Only).

Subtotal: 55

Total: 123


Equipment

Good clothes
Good boots
Nice toga
Knife
Money-pouch

Notes

Julius lives on an alternate Yrth where the Banestorm happened over a thousand years earlier (or accessed an Earth that had an earlier present), and some Roman settlements got swept up, mostly between 50 BCE and 150 CE. The city of Nova Roma was founded around where Megalos would be on mainline Yrth (as that's where a few buildings and people from within the Roman Pomoerium arrived), and this Rome is a republic. The Senate meets in the Temple of Janus, which contains a statue of the god that was brought from Rome by the Banestorm. Christians are present in-setting, but are not in the majority outside the Principality of Araterrium - a version of the classical Roman state religion is dominant in the Republic.

I've built him using the Diviner template from GURPS Historical Folks p44 (and the 4e conversion hosted at RPK's MyGURPS.com, p19). Being one of the top pyromancers in the capital of the Republic, Julius gets a steep discount on the sacred herbs that need to be burned as the spell is cast. This is a good thing, given that the sacred herbs are addictive. It is likely possible to use magic or alchemy to treat this, but the Republic benefits from having pyromancers want to keep working.

He despairs of his niece Megara, who is far more talented, has embraced the more martial aspects of Fire Magic, but is obsessed with one spell: Explosive Fireball.

Trigon is an ancient Roman ball game that seems to have involved three players standing in a triangle tossing a ball back and forth. Magia Diregentes is a rather tiring sport adopted from the elves, involving casting an attack spell at various targets (Flame Jet in his case, and fire spells are pretty popular with the crowds), some of which are moving. Advanced players do this while moving through an obstacle course; Julius is nowhere near that level, though he has a cousin who is. The cavalry variant requires casting from horseback. In combat, Julius relies on Flame Jet and the capabilities of his allies (if any), but would rather stay out of it outside of an emergency. Nonetheless, like all able-bodied citizens of Nova Roma, he is trained to stand in the shield-wall in defence of the Republic (though he's a bit rusty, and would be standing with the mages unless something went very wrong).

I'm assuming that Divination Spells are in both the Knowledge College and in the Colleges that their important prereqisites come from, so Pyromancy is a Fire spell as well as a Knowledge spell. I'm also assuming that Autotrance grants its bonus to Divination. Both of these probably depend on the GM, though.


Thoughts?

[Prince Charon]

Another of the 'standard system' specialists that I've recently been inspired to make:

Dr. James Wilcox, 1583

Age: 38

Attributes

ST 10 [0]; DX 11 [20]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 11 [10]

Secondary Characteristics

HP 10; Will 13 [5]; Per 12; FP 17 [18]

Social Background

Languages: 16th-century English (Native) [0]; Classical Latin (Accented/Native) [3]; Classical Greek (Accented/Native) [3]; 16th-century French (Accented) [2]; 16th-century German (Accented) [2]; Gaulish (Accented) [2]; Common Brittonic (Accented) [2].

TL: 4^

Cultural Familiarity: 16th-century Western Europe [0]; Classical Roman [1].

Subtotal: 108


Advantages

Ally (Thomas Wilcox (his brother), Built on 100% of points, Available on a 9 or less) [5]
Claim to Hospitality (European Universities) [5]
Contact (George Wilcox (his uncle), Magic Contact, Skill 21, Available on a 6 or less, Completely reliable) [6]
Language Talent [10]
Status 1 [5]
Wealth (Comfortable) [10]

Magery 0 [5]
Magery 1 [10]
Magery (Knowledge College Only, -40%) +2 [12]

Perks

Alcohol Tolerance. [1]
Dabbler (Current Affairs/TL4^: Business 9, Headline News 9, Magic 11, Politics 9, Science & Technology 10). [1]
Far-Casting (Shape Earth) 2. [2]
Magic Tent. [1]
Special Exercises (FP can exceed HP by 100%). [1]

Subtotal: 74


Disadvantages

Bad Temper (15) [-5]
Clueless [-10]
Code of Honor (Profession - Academic) [-5]
Curious (12) [-5]
Pacifism (Reluctant Killer) [-5]
Sense of Duty (Family) [-5]
Stubbornness [-5]

Quirks

Doesn't like fighting - he has people for that. [-1]
Fond of cats. [-1]
Left-handed. [-1]
Particular about his wine. [-1]
Pretentious - calls magic 'the Recondite Art.' [-1]

Subtotal: -45


Skills

Alchemy/TL4^ [IQ/VH] [4] 11
Area Knowledge (Europe) [IQ/E] [1] 12
Climbing [DX/A] [2] 11
Expert Skill (Antiquarian) [IQ/H] [8] 13
Expert Skill (Natural Philosophy)/TL4^ [IQ/H] [4] 12
Hiking [HT/A] [2] 11
History (Ancient Rome) [IQ/H] [8] 13
History (Ancient Greece) [IQ/H] [4] 12
History (Sub-Roman Britannia) [IQ/H] [2] 11
History (Europe) [IQ/H] [2] 11
Hobby (Fossils) [IQ/E] [1] 12
Occultism [IQ/A] [1] 11
Philosophy (Classical) [IQ/H] [4] 12
Religious Ritual (Anglican) [IQ/H] [1] 10
Research/TL4^ [IQ/A] [4] 13
Savoir-Faire (High Society) [IQ/E] [1] 12
Survival (Island/Beach) [Per/A] [1] 11
Survival (Mountains) [Per/A] [2] 12
Survival (Woodlands) [Per/A] [1] 11
Tactics [IQ/H] [2] 11
Teaching [IQ/A] [1] 11
Theology (Christian) [IQ/H] [1] 10
Writing [IQ/A] [2] 12

Subtotal: 59

Seek Earth [IQ/H] [1] 11*
Shape Earth [IQ/H] [2] 12*
Seek Pass [IQ/H] [2] 12*
Earth Vision [IQ/H] [2] 14**

Seek Water [IQ/H] [1] 11*

Seeker [IQ/H] [1] 13**
Trace [IQ/H] [1] 13**
History [IQ/H] [4] 15**
Ancient History [IQ/H] [8] 16**
Prehistory [IQ/H] [12] 17**

* Includes +1 from Magery.
** Includes +3 from Magery and Magery (Knowledge College Only).

Subtotal: 34

Total: 230


Equipment

Nice clothes
Good boots
Cloak
Knife
Monypouch
Personal basics

Notes

Dr. James Wilcox is meant for a hypothetical 'historical Earth, but with standard magic' setting, though it wouldn't be too hard to tweak him to fit Yrth or another European Fantasy setting (changing the magic system would be more annoying, but could certainly be done).

'Magic Tent' is basically the 'Accessory (Tent)' perk, with magic as the justification: A simple dome in roughly the colour of the surroundings that provides about as much protection from the environment (weather, animals, plants, et cetra) as a decent-quality tent would, as long as you aren't in a no mana zone. Takes a few minutes to set up, about half to take down (though unlike a real tent, the caster can walk away after telling the tent to dissolve), but adds no weight or bulk to the user, doesn't catch fire, and is otherwise just more convenient. Sleeps up to four in what would be considered reasonable comfort for a TL4^ tent, and provides about as much camouflage as a normal tent made at the time in the environment's colour would (though more camo can be added manually, as with a normal tent).

James was somewhat built with the Scholar template from GURPS Historical Folks p99 (and the 4e conversion hosted at RPK's MyGURPS.com, p41).

The main reason that his knowledge of fossils is a Hobby Skill and not an Expert Skill is that there just isn't that much known, nor much depth to what is known. James means to change that...

In combat, he prefers to hide behind others and use Shape Earth to help his side. (Out of combat, Shape Earth is mainly used to gently recover items from under ground.) If his brother manages to convince James to learn a proper combat spell, he'll most likely start with Create Earth and then go for either Sand Jet or Stone Missile.

His brother, Thomas, is also quite talented in Knowledge magic, but is far less focused (and thus isn't a specialist mage), being an adventurer largely working as a professional thief-taker and general investigator of crimes. They both learned Earth spells from George, an uncle who is less naturally talented than they are, but more stubborn, befitting a Master of Earth Magic.


Thoughts?

[prospero]

These characters are much appreciated. Thanks.

[AlexanderHowl]

You could make the character better by adding +2 IQ, removing the +1 Per, and keeping the skill levels the same (except where the CP investment would go below 1 CP). You would save 24 CP in spells, 34 CP in skills, and 5 CP in Per which, after spending 40 CP on IQ, would give you 23 CP to spend on additional spells, skills, languages, etc. For example, giving him Status 1 and Wealth (Wealthy) would only cost a net 5 CP, leaving 18 CP.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

You could make the character better by adding +2 IQ, removing the +1 Per, and keeping the skill levels the same (except where the CP investment would go below 1 CP). You would save 24 CP in spells, 34 CP in skills, and 5 CP in Per which, after spending 40 CP on IQ, would give you 23 CP to spend on additional spells, skills, languages, etc. For example, giving him Status 1 and Wealth (Wealthy) would only cost a net 5 CP, leaving 18 CP.

... which character are you referring to, please?

[AlexanderHowl]

James Wilcox

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

James Wilcox

Ah, so you meant 'removing the +1 Will,' not '+1 Per,' then. Also, your phrasing suggests that he didn't already have Status 1, though that may not be what you meant. I gave him IQ 12 because characters with high IQs are and should be rare.

Anyway, if I did rearrange the points to be more point-efficient (something that I rarely bother with for characters that I'm not planning on playing, and don't really have the mindset for most of the time), it wouldn't mean that he'd have more points to spend, it would just mean that his point total was lower. For characters like this (NPCs), I don't start with an intended point total and build up to it, I create a character that fits whatever concept I'm working on, and then find out what the point-cost is at the end.

EDIT: I mean, once I see the result, I may decide to make a few changes, but if so it's more likely to be for aesthetic reasons than for point-efficiency (e.g. adding a few things to bring James up to 230, I think).

[Prince Charon]

Bugeon of Ullrmere, 17th year in the reign of King Edrag the Unwise

Age: 33

Attributes

ST 10 [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 11 [10]; MA 12 [20]

Secondary Characteristics

HP 10; Will 10; Per 10; FP 11; ER 15 [9]

Social Background

Languages: Allgemein (Native) [0].

TL: 3^

Cultural Familiarity: Western Kingdoms [0].

Subtotal: 39


Advantages

Eidetic Memory [5]
Messengers' Guild Rank 2 [10]
Legal Immunity (Messenger) [5]

Magery (Blue Magic Only, -30%) +2 [14]
Magery (Teleport Spell Only, -80%) +2 [4]

Perks

Deep Sleeper. [1]
Good with Nobles. [1]
Honest Face. [1]
Inertia Control. [1]

Subtotal: 37


Disadvantages

Duty (Messenger; 12 or less) [-10]
Loner (15) [-2]
Overconfidence (12) [-10]
Vow (Deliver messages swiftly and honestly) [-5]

Quirks

Dislikes pigs. [-1]
Likes blondes. [-1]
Loves a good party. [-1]
Says 'Oh, torrents!' when startled or annoyed. [-1]

Subtotal: -31


Skills

Area Knowledge (Kingdom of the Allgemii) [IQ/E] [4] 12
Area Knowledge (Western Kingdoms) [IQ/E] [2] 11
Heraldry [IQ/A] [2] 10
Housekeeping [IQ/E] [1] 10
Knife [DX/E] [1] 10
Navigation/TL3^ (Land) [IQ/A] [4] 11
Public Speaking [IQ/A] [2] 10
Running [HT/A] [8] 13
Savoir-Faire (Servant) [IQ/E] [1] 10
Shortsword [DX/A] [2] 10
Weather Sense [IQ/A] [1] 9

Apportation [MA/H] [1] 12*
Levitation [MA/H] [1] 12*
Flight [MA/VH] [1] 11*
Teleport [MA/VH] [24] 20**

*Includes +2 from Magery (Blue Magic Only).
**Includes +4 from Magery (Blue Magic Only) and Magery (Teleport Spell Only).

Subtotal: 55

Total: 100


Equipment

Notes

Bugeon is from a version of Generic Fantasyland (to the point that the name of his native language is a German word for 'common'), and can be adjusted for other settings, though he is currently built with a small variation on the standard magic system, which I've seen discussed occasionally (though I may be getting some details wrong, this seems like it would work): Spells and other strongly-magical skills are based on a new attribute, Magical Aptitude (MA), which costs 10 points per level; a spell prerequisite of Magery 1 becomes MA 11+, Magery 2 becomes MA 12+, and Magery 3 becomes MA 13+. Limited Magery works about the same as it does in the standard GURPS magic system (and retains the name to distinguish the advantage from the attribute), but Magery 0 does not exist. ER is a Secondary Characteristic derived from MA; it can normally exceed MA by no more than 30%, but you can get a perk to exceed MA by 100%, just like FP and HT.

The setting uses the alternate college system from the Colours of Magic thread. In short, Blue is the colour of Travel, covering water, motion, and other planes.

He ended up being at 102 originally, so I added 'Loner (15),' which both fit the character, and brought the point value down to 100.

Built using the Messenger template from GURPS Historical Folks p71 (and the 4e conversion hosted at RPK's MyGURPS.com, p29).


Thoughts?