Requesting Help for Making a Druid/Pigmancer

[Raekai]

Hello, all!

In my awesome campaign that I, as an awesome GM, have come up with... My players are getting the opportunity to create new characters. There's a time skip in the story, and since we have all been playing for quite a while, they have been able to really get a feel for GURPS since this is all really their first times playing. I would consider myself... Hmm... Seasoned, but with not too much pepper. Background aside, one of my players is not like the other! She is more into "cute things". However, that isn't too say that she won't bludgeon an old lady to death with a tetsubo just because she can.

So we talked about druids. I was considering something more along the lines of a D&D route for this. She loves pigs, and I figured that she would enjoy having a boar animal companion! She squealed (har har) at the thought! We got into talking about her potential role as a druid. I want my players to be much, much more involved in character creation this time around. Last time, it was too easy for them to pick and choose from templates and whatnot. Yet, at the same time, I will continue to guide them to make sure they are on the right track because I am more used to GURPS, and I know what I think is appropriate for my campaign.

However... Here's the problem: I've never had a GURPS druid before.

Now, I really like to stem away from the normal GURPS Magic book because it has its own problems. However, I am thinking this may be unavoidable. Now I know about the Druid Power Investiture, but I am sure that there are other ways to go about this, but I don't know how. She and I both ran out of ideas fairly quickly. How does one a druid make?

The campaign is roughly TL 3+2 and is heavily fantasy. Anything technology-related is almost always definitively magic-related as well. Not to mention that the continent that these guys are on is more or less stuck in the past. Magic is a very heavy force. A majority of people have Magery 0. Also, jungles everywhere. She doesn't really know what she wants her druid to do so I'd just like to have a HUGE repertoire of druid powers to run by her and let her choose from. However, the other side of this is the pigmancer. She really, really loves pigs. So I wanted to come up with maybe a few unique things for her. If we must go the spells route, then maybe some kind of Partial Shapeshifting stuff that deals with pigs. I dunno. My creative juices have been running kind of low lately.

I'll let this thread sit overnight and I hope to be back tomorrow for discussion and with many thanks. For now, I must go!

Thanks for your help!

[Joe]

This is no help at all, but for what it's worth you can tell her that I love the word "Pigmancer".

Great word.

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by Raekai

Now, I really like to stem away from the normal GURPS Magic book because it has its own problems. However, I am thinking this may be unavoidable.

Do you have Thaumatology? Both Path magic and Realms magic could make a very interesting Druid (especially if you haven't been using default GURPS magic until now).

They're both very different in feel and tone and have some of their own problems (Path/Book magic requires a lot of planning ahead (casting charms the night before) to be effective and Realm magic requires a willingness to improvise heavily on effects.)

Additionally, a Powers based Druid is very possible.
Suggested Advantages: Allies (with summonable and minion), other allies (as cheap Alternate Abilities), Binding (with area effect and Accessibility (only in heavy vegetation), Oracle, Speak with Animals, Mind Control (Suggestion, Animals Only), Possession (Animals Only), Altered Form or Morph, Control (Weather, Earth, Plants, Fire, etc...).

Buy them with a Pact Limitation (Disciplines of Faith, Vows, etc...), Requires Gestures, Requires Speech, Costs Fatigue, etc...

And since they're representing "Spells" pay full price only for the most expensive one, then buy all the rest as Alternate Abilities (for 1/5 cost) since you can only cast one spell at a time.

[EDIT] Perhaps I could be more helpful if I knew how many points this druid will have (or at least how many she will have to spend on magical abilities).

[Raekai]

I do have Thaumatology. I'm also familiar with Ritual Path Magic from Monster Hunters. However, I'm not too familiar with Book/Path Magic.

Also, the character points will very likely be very close to 200.

[aesir23]

Okay, well take a look at Path/Book Magic (Thaumatology 121). Path of Form, Path of the Elements, Path of Nature, Path of Health, and Path of Protection all contain rituals appropriate for Druids. Alternately, if you can get it down to a reasonable list, you can make a "Book of the Druid" with all of her rituals in one skill.

As for a Power based Druid, I'm going to take a crack at that and post something later.

[aesir23]

Okay, so I've put together 205 points worth of Druidic powers. It becomes a lot more powerful if she can't change into a Wild Boar, but it's also more powerful.

Oracle is the only ability that is not directly Pig related. The three abilities she has all the time are her Ally, Oracle, and Speak with Pigs. Everything else is a "Spell" with Alternate Abilities. Meaning only one can be active at a time, and it requires a ready maneuver to switch between.

Ally (Herd of smaller Boars) (50% of starting points) (Alternative Ability; Druid Spell; 12 or less; Group Size (6-10); Minion; Summonable) [12]

Ally (Wild Boar) (75% of starting points) (15 or less; Minion) [14]

Alternate Form (Partial Hog) (Absorptive Change (No Encumbrance); Druid Spell) [13]

Alternate Form (Wild Boar) (Absorptive Change (No Encumbrance); Difference in point costs (+125); Druid Spell) [126]

Mind Control (Accessibility (Porcines Only) (+4); Alternative Ability; Druid Spell; Suggestion) [2]

Oracle [15]

Possession (Alternative Ability; Druid Spell; No Memory Access; Specialized: Porcine's Only) [8]

Puppet (Wild Boar Ally) [5]

Speak With Animals (Porcines Only) (Specialized: one family) [10]

The "Druid Spell" Power Modifier is worth -20% and includes the following: Requires Gestures -5%, Requires Speech -5%, and Pact (Druidic Code of Honor and Disciplines of Faith) -10%.




Alternate Forms: The Boar from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 5 and a partial form with the following traits: Discriminatory Smell, ST +4, HP +4, DR 2 (Tough Skin), Tusks (Impaling Strikers with Cannot Parry and Limited Arc), Hooves, and Monstrous Appearance. Add whatever you feel like to this form, the price doesn't change unless it becomes more valuable than the 125 point Boar Form.)

[Hoosier]

I think DF 5 would be very helpful. It helps flesh out druids with a number of examples of allies. I know I found it very useful when I made a druid, more of a moose riding wild child than your example, and it would probably helpful for the nature priest of the swine you've imagined.

[Nymdok]

I dont have my books at hand, but if your really against using the spells from GURPS:Magic, then the other avenue is Powers.

A few ideas.....

Tusks - Increase Biting Damage
Pigskin - Increase DR
Everybody Loves Bacon - Sensebased reaction bonus of +N, Kosher and Halaal -N
Insulation - Temp Tolerance
Iron Gut - Eat Enything
Pig Snout - Enhanced Smell

Nymdok
p.s. I too love the term 'pigmancer' as well as 'porcerer'.

[Fwibos]

Originally Posted by Joe

This is no help at all, but for what it's worth you can tell her that I love the word "Pigmancer".

Great word.

Psh. Pigmancer. Only a commoner would call us that. We are Porcinomancers.
I would add High Pain Threshold, and Supernatural Durability if you can get enough limitations to drop the cost. In battle, boars don't stop just because you stabbed them.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Raekai

Hello, all!

In my awesome campaign that I, as an awesome GM, have come up with... My players are getting the opportunity to create new characters. There's a time skip in the story, and since we have all been playing for quite a while, they have been able to really get a feel for GURPS since this is all really their first times playing. I would consider myself... Hmm... Seasoned, but with not too much pepper. Background aside, one of my players is not like the other! She is more into "cute things". However, that isn't too say that she won't bludgeon an old lady to death with a tetsubo just because she can.

So we talked about druids. I was considering something more along the lines of a D&D route for this. She loves pigs, and I figured that she would enjoy having a boar animal companion! She squealed (har har) at the thought! We got into talking about her potential role as a druid. I want my players to be much, much more involved in character creation this time around. Last time, it was too easy for them to pick and choose from templates and whatnot. Yet, at the same time, I will continue to guide them to make sure they are on the right track because I am more used to GURPS, and I know what I think is appropriate for my campaign.

However... Here's the problem: I've never had a GURPS druid before.

Now, I really like to stem away from the normal GURPS Magic book because it has its own problems. However, I am thinking this may be unavoidable. Now I know about the Druid Power Investiture, but I am sure that there are other ways to go about this, but I don't know how. She and I both ran out of ideas fairly quickly. How does one a druid make?

The campaign is roughly TL 3+2 and is heavily fantasy. Anything technology-related is almost always definitively magic-related as well. Not to mention that the continent that these guys are on is more or less stuck in the past. Magic is a very heavy force. A majority of people have Magery 0. Also, jungles everywhere. She doesn't really know what she wants her druid to do so I'd just like to have a HUGE repertoire of druid powers to run by her and let her choose from. However, the other side of this is the pigmancer. She really, really loves pigs. So I wanted to come up with maybe a few unique things for her. If we must go the spells route, then maybe some kind of Partial Shapeshifting stuff that deals with pigs. I dunno. My creative juices have been running kind of low lately.

I'll let this thread sit overnight and I hope to be back tomorrow for discussion and with many thanks. For now, I must go!

Thanks for your help!

Neat. Can I suggest another route? In my own fantasy campaign druids don't use magic - they use psychic abilities. In fact I had so much extra campaign material I wrote a Pyramid article for it. For a Pigmancer (Porcinomancer?) I'd probably use a combination of Plant Telepathy, Psychic Healing (maybe with a emphasis on enhanced ST or DR or if you split this power into Biokinesis and Psychometabolism, the later more than the former), and Animal Telepathy (Specialized in pigs). Using psionic powers instead of magic produces a very unique feeling fantasy druid/ranger. I'll probably revisit the subject in a later article :-)

So maybe something like:

• Animal Empathy (Animal Telepathy, -10%) or Animal Empathy (Animal Telepathy, -10%; Specialized, Pigs only, -60%) [5 or 2 points]
• Animal Speech 9 (Pigs) [21 points]. This is basically the Animal Speech power from Psionic Powers p. 71 with the Specialized, Pigs only, -60% limitation.
• Aura Reading 2 or 3 (Psychic Healing) [7 or 13 points]
• Beast Control 2 (Pigs) [13 points]. This is basically the Animal Speech power from Psionic Powers p. 71 with the Specialized, Pigs only, -60% limitation.
• Cure 1 or Cure Disease 1 or Cure Injury (Psychic Healing) [18 or 6 or 12 points]
• Damage Resistance (Psychic Healing, -10%; Tough Skin. -40%) (Psychic Healing [2.5 points per level]
• Extra ST without HP (Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Psychic Healing, -10%) (Psychic Healing) [6.8 points per level]
• Floral Speech 1 or 2 (Plant Telepathy) [8 or 9 points]
• Metabolism Control (Psychic Healing, -10%) (Psychic Healing) [4.5 points per level]
• Plant Telepathy (Plant Telepathy) [5 points]
• Resistant to Ingested Poison +3 (Psychic Healing, -10%) (Psychic Healing) [3 points]
• Reduced Consumption 1-4 (Cast-Iron Stomach, -50%; Psychic Healing, -10%) [0.4 points per level]

I'd also purchase a pig ally as a catalyst creature. Basically you're just buying a Ally and putting Special Abilities on it.

If the GM allows (that's you I assume) consider toying with some of the devices from Psi-Tech. Especially Psi-Amplifiers (p. 12) (perhaps as a crown or crystals) and Psychotronic Generators (p. 13-14).

For some additional inspiration check out Dungeon Fantasy 14: Psi on how to possibly integrate mind powers in a fantasy campaign.

Anyways, just another option to using magic.

Ghostdancer