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 […]
“Bottled Magic” was my fourth ever article and I was still finding my voice. My formatting was still rough as hewn stone and even the time I took to learn better editorial skills didn’t seem to make a damn. I’d stopped writing after Pulp Hunters because I felt I might never be able to get […]
My last installment of magical styles was almost a year ago. The post did prove popular, but I didn’t get back to this until now. Mostly because I’ve been really busy and this sort of intense article requires a lot of research and precise planning – styles take time to make the right way and […]
This started off life as a outtake from the already monstrous “Alternative Ritual Path Magic” and eventually grew into a article all its own. Not counting the time it took me to write the few chunks I excised from Alternative Ritual Path Magic this one took a surprising amount of time to incubate and write […]
Whoa, Black Betty, bam-ba-lam Black Betty had a child, bam-ba-lam The damn thing gone wild, bam-ba-lam Said it weren’t none of mine, bam-ba-lam – Black Betty, Ram Jam It’s a pretty established fact that I produce more GURPS material than I can possibly get published – there is only so much space in Pyramid and […]
Targeting hit locations with magic is fairly straightforward in most cases: If the damage type of the spell can’t target the location – then the spell can too. But what if you want to target a hit location with a spell that doesn’t allow it or specify a damage type (like many spells in GURPS […]
For campaigns where magic is common, GMs may wish to adopt a “Spell Legality Class” or SLC for various spells, colleges, or types of magic. The GM will have to decide exactly what is what in his campaign, but the following might work for most campaigns: Control Rating Examples for Magical Societies CR0 – Anarchy. […]
Last night and early into this morning I tackled a gaming issue than can make Gamemaster’s go mad: How magic fits in his or her game world. Sometimes the easiest thing to say is “THERE IS NO MAGIC!” but that means less design options for your players and overall…well it’s just not as much fun. […]
Designer’s Notes: A Familiar Path Designer’s Notes: A Song of Many Worlds Designer’s Notes: Above the Law Designer’s Notes: Aethyric Space Designer’s Notes: Al-Phasmaq Designer’s Notes – Alternative Ritual Path Magic Designer’s Notes – Born to Be Wild Designer’s Notes: Bottled Magic Designer’s Notes: Chevaliers and Commanders Designer’s Notes: Chi Sorcery Designer’s Notes: Codex Duello […]
This month’s theme for the Brotherhood of Bloggers Who Blog Too Much is all about powers systems we’ve used in our games. What we used “out of the box”, what we’ve adapted to suit the campaign, and what we changed because we didn’t like it. Instead of giving you specifics for what I did dear […]