I had an interesting conversation with +GodBeastX the other day about how I might go about creating a magical system that would be good at creating a “combo-chain.” I totally misinterpreted what he said and the conversation devolved into other methodologies on how to do what he wanted. But it sparked an idea of my own. So […]
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Boil and Bubble: The Return of Magic – After the End
Guest Post by +Asta Kask aka Anders Starmark What if magic returned? What if it never went away? How would magic interact with the post-apocalyptic world? Are magic and technology antithetical or are they capable of enhancing each other? The most important thing to figure out is probably what magic system to use – GURPS has a […]
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Boil and Bubble: Subtle Sorcery
I had a burst of inspiration hit me (thanks O Lady Muse) over the weekend regarding the kind of campaign I wanted to run for my face to face game. I got my players involved and they’re game for it. Originally, I wanted to run a full on high-powered supers game. Force blasts, people changing […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Magical Ability Defaults from Skill
Sometimes I have entire rules or systems download themselves into my head. This usually happens while I’m asleep or getting there. This came to me last night after I was trying to figure out how to make Thuamatology: Sorcery-style magic have a more urban fantasy/realistic feel. (No, I’m not using Ritual Path Magic – I know, a […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: The Power of the Soul
Recently a poster on the forums asked: “I was wondering how someone would model soul stealing spells and creating soul gems (that function basically the same way as Mana-stones). I don’t see any spells, besides maybe soul jar, that represent ripping the soul of of a being and converting its energy into a Mana-stone.I was also […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Money On My Magic and Magic On My Money
So Matt Riggsby’s “GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Treasures: Glittering Prizes” came out recently (I was one of the playtesters) and it’s useful for worldbuilders in general, not just those who play Dungeon Fantasy. (See here for Matt’s Designer’s Notes.) One of the things he included there was a cool little throwaway line: “For example, if mystical techniques […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Inaugural Post
Since I talk about magic a lot on my blog, I figured that it might deserve its own post.header, so today I’m launching “Boil and Bubble.” So what will this series cover? Just about everything to do with magic (except actual magic gear or enchanted items – the Hurt Locker covers that!), alchemy, magical systems, […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Ritual Path Magic Sacrifices
There were a couple of interesting topics recently on the forums about Ritual Path magic and sacrifices for energy. Some were about how much energy you could give or how much you could gather from a stadium of people or my personal favorite: summoning a demon and then forcing it to give you energy or be […]
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Boil and Bubble: Ritual Path Magic Mana Batteries
Ritual Path Magic is one of the more flexible magical systems GURPS 4th edition has yet to produce. It’s got its share of perceived woes (lack of “power stones” or an enchantment system that conforms to how the system itself functions), but it also can shine brilliantly in just about any genre with the right […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: How to Build a Spell Thief
Recently, Shieldbunny from the Steve Jackson Games forums asked: I’ve been kicking around the idea of building a character based off of the spellthief class in That Other Game. For those of you that don’t know, the idea is a stealthy character that steals the spells from her enemies minds to cast herself. After some […]
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