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: 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: Necromantic Sorcery Spells
Sorcery is quickly becoming one of my favorite magic systems – though it’ll probably never eclipse Ritual Path Magic. This is mostly due to the fact that Sorcery as a new system is the same as the old system. It uses the standard advantages and disadvantages to create a workable, cohesive frame of magic. What’s more, it’s fairly […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Magical Tradecraft
This one was another one of those things that was a blast to write. I mainlined Burn Notice for several days, while taking notes for cool feats of skill or times when magic would have just been insanely useful to have. I then watched a few spy movies, made a few more notes, and then […]
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: Magical Styles – Luna di Fiamma
GURPS Thaumatology: Magical Styles is probably one of the most groundbreaking books on standard magic that has yet to come out for GURPS 4th edition. It describes various ways to tweak standard magic into a more flavorful – yet formulaic – way. The following magical style works best for a contemporary campaign, but can fit […]
Continue readingGURPS101: Lens for Bard – The Meistersinger
My other half’s favorite “class” is bard. She loves playing bards no matter the system and when she came to me and asked if I could help her make a “meistersinger” for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy I couldn’t say no. So here’s what we came up with… …if you’d like to read more, consider becoming a patron! (If […]
Continue readingGURPS101: The Fifth Attribute
I like to toy around with game mechanics when I create campaign settings. It allows me to make a campaign setting feel unique and give it its own flavor. The rules for a single attribute for all paranormal powers came to me after a discussion on physics (of all things) and how you might apply […]
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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