From: Leroy Van Camp III Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 00:50:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: A New Priestly Magic System I have been disatisfied by most of the official attempts at priestly magic for GURPS. I especially dislike the idea of making it just another type of magic, using the spell system. I can't imagine a priest having to roll to suceed, for example. So, I came up with my own. I do not use priestly magic in my GURPS fantasy runepunk world. This was created should I ever decide to use one of AD&D's settings with GURPS, or if I ever work on another fantasy world. Note that this system is fairly bare-boned, allowing for a lot of leeway for a GM. Much of the specifics will vary with each individual god. This system has not been playtested, and may have a few oversights. This is one of the reasons I am posting it here. BTW, Thaumaturgy is the word I use for the basic GURPS magic system. Another BTW, when cutting and pasting between my word processor and my term program all apostrophes and quotation marks are lost, so things might read a bit funny. Here it is. Read (and rip) away... Priestly Magick What is a Priest? Under this system a priest is a devout follower of a god, whose dedication has attracted that gods attention. This deity grants the priest Powers to use to further that deitys interets, as well as the priests. These Powers are manifestations of the gods power, channelled through the priest. Each god has a different suite of Powers they can grant their priests, based on their spheres of influence. The god of darkness does not typically grant the Power to shed light, for example. In game terms these are similar to spells, although their use is different. They tap the strength of the god who granted them, not mana.. Who Can Gain Powers The prerequiste to all powers is the Clerical Investment advantage (pg. 19). Unless the GM rules otherwise this costs 5 points. In addition to this there may be a variety of disadvantages required, such as Duty, Sense of Duty, or Code of Honor, for example. These reflect the tenets the god may require of his priests, and breaking them may result in the temporary, or even permanent, loss of the powers. This, though, is up to the GM and is part of the religion construction process. Powers All Powers are bought as Knacks, using the rules from Magic. In summary, the cost of the Power is 2% of the power cost to make an item of the spell. For example, it takes 500 points to make an item that lets the user Walk on Water, so a Power that allowed the same thing would cost 10 points (.02 x 500). Regardless of the formula, all Powers have a minimum cost of 5 points. Note, though, that this is before application of some of the modifiers below. If a spell does not list an item cost, the GM will assign one, or declare that this spell does not have a corresponding Power. Using Powers Normally a priest does not have to roll for his Powers, they work automatically. If it is a Powers that can be resisted the priest rolls as normal, and is considered to have a skill of 15, minus one for every Power he is currently maintaining. This cannot be raised as a skill, but rather through the Divine Connestion advantage below. If this spell has a direct result on a target the priest must touch that target, unless the spell is normally used at a range, such as Missile spells. Otherwise the spell effects must occur within the priests sight. For example, Pain has a direct affect on its target, so the priest must touch it, but Simple Illusion does not, so the effect can be anywhere within the priests sight. GMs are encouraged to be fair and open with this. For example, a kind GM might not require touch for a spell like Mind-Sending, since this is very limiting. If the priest rolls a critical failure on a contest he has strained his connection to his god. He cannot use that Power for a full day, and takes 2d fatigue. If this brings him below zero raise it to zero and he is knocked unconscious. Normally a Power requires no words or movements to use. The priest simply concentrates for the Powers casting time, then it takes effect the turn following. This can be modified, though, using the modifiers below. The priest pays the cost in fatigue, as usual. Note that Powers are not spells, and the ritual required for using them, as well as fatigue and time, are never affected by their skill, which can be raised with the Divine Connection advantage. Learning Powers Learning Powers can vary from one god to another. In general a priests must spend time in succlusion and prayer. If the god feels the character should have the Power, and the character has the points to pay for it, he gets it. The way a god decides whether a priests recieves a Power is wholly subjective, depending on the god. The god of the wilderness may require a priest to spend a few days in the wild, living off the land without the aid of technology, spending his nights in ritual and prayer. The god of travel, on the other hand, may not ask much of his priests, simply requiring that they have been faithful, and spend one night praying for the gift. Some gods may require that the priest be in a certain location, such as a temple or consecrated land, or that they give some sort of sacrifice. The two best guidelines for all this are the the power of the Power, and the devotion of the priest tot he gods tenets. A priest who has ignored his gods sphere of influence and paid little heed to his tenets is unlikely to have his godgrant new powers to the priest. This is can be used as an excellent sign that the god is unhappy with the priest. And a priest who asks for too much too soon is unlikely to receive. Each god knows when a priest is ready for a certain power. Initiates of the fire god are not taught Explosive Fire Ball after only a month of servitude. The GM will have to decide on this, of course. Powers and Magick Although Powers are often called magick, it must be stressed that they are not the same as Thaumaturgy, and do not tap mana for power. A priest cannot use a powerstone for their Powers, and the local mana level is irrellevent. Despite this, Power and spells can effect one another. A Thaumaturgy spell can be used to counter a Power, and vica versa. The only exception to this is when the spell specifically states that it affects another through the manipualtion of mana. Magick Resistance does not help versus Powers. New Advantages Divine Connection (10 per level) A characters level in this advantage is added to all Contests involving his Powers. So, a priest with Divine Connection 3 would have an effective skill of 18 when rolling Contests of Resistance. It is also added to the skill level of a priests Recover Strength Power, if he has it, to determine how quickly he recovers fatigue. Channeling (15 each for the first two levels, 30 for each level after that) This advantage represents the characters resistance to the fatiguing effects of chanelling divine energy. Channeling subtracts its level from all fatigue costs, both casting and maintenance. For example, Walk on Water costs 3 to cast and 2 to maintain. A priest with Channeling 2 would only pay 1 to cast, and maintenance would be free; he could keep it up indefinitely. Limitations and Enhancements Below are a variety of things that can modify the use and cost of a Power. Most have a corresponding percentage modifier which raises or lowers the cost. Simply add up all of these that apply and add them to the total cost. It is up to the GM to decide which of these apply to Powers, and it can vary from one priesthood to another, or even from one power from another. One option is to let the priest himself choose for each power. This represent s the priests gradual mastery over the power he has been given. At first he needs chants and items to focus his gods energy, but as time goes on he learns that all he really needs his his force of will. Plus, this saves the GM from having to design it all. Also, if the GM allows, over time any limitations can be bought off by paying the difference. For example, if a priest learned a Power that normally costs 40 points with a -30% limitation, the final cost would be 28 points. Over time the character could pay the difference of 12 points, losing the limitation. In turn, a priest may also be able to pay add an enhancement, by paying the difference. So, if a character wanted to add a 25% enhancement to his 20 point Power, it would cost 5 points. The limitations and enhancements are... Fatigue Damage Only (-20%) This only applies to Powers that cause damage. Instead of doing damage in Hit Points it does it in Fatigue. Limited Use (varies) This Power can only be used a certain number of times per day, after which the priest can not use it again until he has had a full eight hours of sleep. Normally, a use of this Power is obvious. Each time a priest tosses a Fireball he has used it once. For spells that can be maintained a priest has made one use when he activates the spell, and when a DM ordained amount of time has passed. This is often an hour, but can be more or less, as the situation calls for. For example, a priest with Flight has been flying for an hour and a half. This counts as two uses, since the priest is into his second hour. If a priest is maintaining a power that is on its last use, it will cease to function at the end of its hour. This cannot normally be stopped, and may have disastrous effects. Thus, most priests know to keep track of the time and end their Powers when safest. The value depends on the number of times the priest can use it per day... No.# Value 1 -40% 2 -30% 4 -20% 6 -10% 7+ None Requires Extra Time (-10%) Use of this Power takes twice as long to cast as normal. This limitation can be taken multiple times, each level doubling the time required. Requires Verbal Ritual (-15% or -5%) To cast the Power the priest is required to use a verbal ritual during his concentration. For -15% the priest must perform the ritual for the entire time. This must be done at at least a conversational volume. For -5% the priest need only say a few words, which can be whispered. These words must be properly pronounced, and cannot be done through a gag or other such bindings. Requires Somatic Ritual (-15% or -5%) To cast the Power the priest is required to perform a somatic ritual during his concentration. For -15% the priest must perform the ritual for the entire time. This is usually arm motions or dance. For -5% the priest need only move a few parts a bit, such as finger or hands. These actions must be properly performed, and cannot be done through bindings that prevent them. Requires Sacred Object (varies) To use this Power the priest must have an object related to the god he serves. This is usually a holy symbol of some kind. The priest must hold the item in his hand while concentrating, but does not need brandish it. This Power cannot be used unless the item is present. The cost of this depends on the object. For simple, naturally occurring things such as a tree branch or a rock this would be -10%. A man made, yet simple item, such as a spoon, is worth -15%. After this the cost is up tot he GM, up to -40% for expensive, hard to find items, such as a finely crafted Diamond. Touch Only (-20%) This limitation requires the priest touch his target for the Power to take affect. This is only available for Powers that don't already require the priest to touch the target. Requires Less Time (10 each for the first two levels, 20 per lever thereafter) This is the opposite of Requires Extra Time. Each level halves the casting time for a Power. If this take sit to less than one, the Power can be activated without concentration, allowing the priest to perform another action that turn. Still, no more than one Power can be used per turn. Unlike other modifiers, this enhancement is not figured as a percentage, but rather a flat cost added to the Power after modifiers. This enhancement cannot be used in conjunction with the -15% versions of Requires Verbal Ritual or Requires Somatic Ritual. No Touch Required (+15% or +25%) With this enhancement a priest does not have to touch the target for the Power to take effect. There are two levels of this enhancement. The first, +15%, is for Powers that do not cause direct damage or severe hindrance. Examples of such spells are: Heal, Soul Rider, Borrow Language, and Water Vision. The second level is for spells that hinder or damage the target, such as Death Vision, Deathtouch, Clumsiness, or Paralysis.