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 […]
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Boil 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: 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 readingBoil and Bubble: Words of Creation
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, […]
Continue readingBoil 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 […]
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