Logos (sometimes referred to as “power words” or “prime words”) are the literal words of Creation itself. Logos are the selfsame words that were spoke in the making of the universe. Despite having such a divine provenance they can be learned by mortal men and women who have sufficient strength of will…. …if you’d like to read more, […]
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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: Air Spells for Sorcery
Jason “PK” Levine came up with this clever magic system in Pyramid #3/63: Infinite Worlds II. It garnered some attention when it came out, but hasn’t really seen much then. I think it comes as close as you possibly can to a working powers-based magic system that doesn’t feel like comic-book supers magic. It’s ranked […]
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 […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Outlaws and Arrows
I was one written article away from finishing the wish list in 2014. My brain was starting to become mush, and nothing in the Vault was working for the Wild West theme. Now, some of you might know this, but for the rest: I’m a huge fan of westerns. Huge. Old, new, whatever, their is […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Latin Isn’t the Only Magical Language
During a recent character creation session, two of the three players choose a name based on a Latin word or phrase. One ended up discarding his choice later and the other mixed his up so it was a bit more different. But this made me think, “Why is Latin the first thing that pops up […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Cursed Thou Art
I’ve been thinking about coming up with guidelines for some of the fluffier disadvantages for a while now. And this article was the culmination on the one I felt needed it the most: Divine Curse. Divine Curse is one of those traits that is the equivalent of a multi-tool in the GM’s toolbox. It can […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Magical Styles – Demonology
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 […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: A Familiar Path
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 […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Hidden Knowledge
Hidden Knowledge was one of those things I’d already written, but hadn’t really known it until someone knocked me on the head and said “Hey, consider writing this.” In this case it was Sean “Dr. Kromm” Punch. I’d asked him some advice on a particular subject and he gave it to – in spades (and […]
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