New Friday Night GURPS Campaign

After chatting with GUO and SC, I've decided to GM a new Fantasy Swords-and-Spells campaign (Because SC wanted to play a Fantasy game, and GUO wanted to play something he wasn't running)

We'll be running this on Friday nights, online on channels #LegionRPG and #LegionOOC on irc.thisisnotatrueending.com, starting from May 7th, essentially in the slot GUO's Steampunk campaign was being played before our awesome deaths.

I'll be posting a more detailed write up later this week, but for now, here's the basics for creating a character.

This will be your standard TL3 Fantasy Swords and Spells bit. Characters are 200 points, with a 50 point disadvantage limit. This is a fairly low limit since I KNOW WHAT YOU PEOPLE ARE LIKE! THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!

Starting cash is $2000, with the following limits on character creation:

Supernatural (dis)advantages and some Exotic powers are allowed. This represents favour of the Gods. There are two main worshiped dieties - basically, a Good and an Evil one. Such advantages represent blessings from your chosen diety. However, before any powers can be taken, you must first buy the Duty(Diety) for -15 points. If you forsake your chosen diety (Not providing tribute/sacrifices, not acting like an (un)holy warrior) they may forsake you, and you could lose your powers temporarily. Check with me before getting any of these.

Magic is allowed. However, whilst you can learn any spell, you can only cast them if your have a mana source for that spell's respective college of magic. Mana sources are your standard magically imbued items, including Staffs, amulets, precious gems, tinfoil hats, etc. Some of these sources will be available to you to buy at the start of your adventure, at the following prices:

Air: $1600
Body Control: $2500
Communication and Empathy: $1000
Earth: $1400
Fire: $2000
Gate Spells: N/A Also note the requirements for knowing spells from other colleges is waived.
Healing: $800
Knowledge: $500
Light and Darkness: $1200
Meta: $500
Mind Control: N/A
Movement: $1200
Necromantic: $N/A
Protection: $1000
Water: $1200

N/A means you cannot start with these sources, however, you can still learn these spells, and there will be chances to aquire these (and other) sources in your adventures.

You may have noticed they're quite expensive. This reflects the rarity and difficulty in obtaining such items. Mages may require the Wealthy or Signature Gear advantages to have them, especially if they want to have a broad spellbase.


I think that covers the basics for writing your sheets for now. Your characters should be built as career adventurers or mercinaries. They start as members of a guild which dispatches heros to the four corners to vanquish foes, map unexplored lands, and find phat lewt. Your characters meet as they recieve a commission for a job to explore a newly discovered cave network, and if need be, remove any threat to the world you may find down there.

I'll be posting more backstory and details of your quest later in the week. If you wanna sign up for this game or have any questions, post in the thread, PM me, or catch me at Fanboy on Fridays.

Obviously, signing up. Playing as a spellsword type thing, with a religious affiliation, but I'll wait for the rest of the party before I decide which.

Three questions.
Alchemy Y/N?
Herb Lore Y/N?
Cost for Weather source?

Alchemy: Yes. This will mainly be used for creating/enhancing mana sources.
Herb Lore: Yes. Potions will be available to buy, or be brewed.
Cost for Weather source: Dunno. I'd only considered spells from the basic set so far. I'll have a look at the Magic book when I feel less lazy.

Excellent, excellent, and thanks. Now, just need to wait for you to be less lazy, and I can finish my character.

Its on my birthday
You wouldent mind if i just watch ?
i mean atm and on my birthday i cba doing anything besides
Eat
Sleep
CallOfDuty
Eat
Splintercell Conviction
Sleep
Reddeadredemption
Sleep

No objections at all. I'll be writing this in a way that'll allow for our excellent habit of not everyone turning up at once, so feel free to just watch or join whenever.

Well, I be signing up, one question, how would I go about making a Raven my eyes?

I'm basing my character's appearance mostly on Odin, although he only has one eye he prefers to view the world from a Raven's perspective so can you make one or shall I make my own skill or spell to allow me to keep the raven on my shoulder and basically use it's eyes as mine?

Also, thinking along the lines of we are existing adventurers, is there much chance it could be continuous without a pay 1 mana per minute thing considering I've been doing this (Raven=Eye) thing for years?

Sorry for double post btw,

but I've realised I can take an Ally (A bird) and can pay the x4 modifier to make it constant. I can also pay the +50% to make him have special abilities, of which I will have the abilities to converse with him via mind and the ability to look through his eyes.

Any objections from the GM? And also, any chance you could whisk up a suitable bird template for me to use, and also, I am led to believe you play him in game so you want me to make fluff for him or shall I leave it to you?

I'd do this by taking Blindness or One Eye with a -70% mitigator, and then take Clairvoyance (Sight Only) with a -30% limitation. If the bird can also fight, give it basic stats, according to what 3Lance says.

Hmmmm..... just thinking, the bird might be cheaper (and more realistic) as the bird can run away if it wants to (I still have one eye after all) but it costs 1 point for it to be 50 points, and then add the 1 point for special abilities and then times 4 to make it 8 points for portable eyes that can fly and I can commune with, even with your idea, the bird I am using the spell to see through can run away also

Note to everybody - we've discussed this over MSN, and it turns out at 16 points.

Sorry for double post.

Never mind Weather cost, read the spells more carefully. Most of them say "This also counts as a xxx spell." I assume this means it can be powered by either source - Lightning counts as Weather and/or Air, so can it be powered by the Air source?

I have read all your questions, and will answer them when I'm awake.

Double post for answers.

About the whole eye of Odin bit: What you're looking for is the Clairsentience Advantage (50 points) with the Clairvoyance (-10%) and Visible (-10%) limitations for 40 points. This would cover the ability to displace your sight with a visual marker to show where your eyes are (eg some kind of spirit raven).

That would cover an always-on, no chance of disruption ability. If on the other hand, you want a actual sqwarking pecking raven, this get more complicated. Start by reducing the cost of the Clairsentience advantage to 20 Points (add the Accessibility Limitation: Granted by Familiar for -40%) and buy a Raven familiar as an ally for however many points that'd cost with however many skills and advantages you want it to have - I'll find racial templates for you soonish.

However, note that if you go for the second option, the familiar will be vulnerable, and if it is knocked unconcious, you will lose the ability, and if it dies, you will also lose the points spent on it, no refunds.

I've also had a flick through the magic book, and if a spell is listed under multiple colleges, a mana source from either may be used. I'll also be chnaging a few our the costs of the sources and adding the ones I missed, since the list above was written based only on the basic set.

Only thing is, I think we found it was cheaper and easier to just buy a summonable Raven ally familiar that is always there and has special abilities and telekinesis, it only comes to about 16 points

Aye. However, whether or not it survives if killed is up to him. Still, dismissing it is a free action, and since it's telepathic, you can dismiss him even during the enemies turn. Can't resummon within 24 hours though.

Thank you for that, I've decided to take an Air and a Healing source, since that covers all of my spells. Can people share sources, or lend them to people?

Could be, you'll have to send me a numbercrunch so I can see what exactly you mean.

Well, for 16 points he gets an ally up to 100 points, with special abilities, always around. For 32 points, he gets summonable too.

Working on this basis -
ST 3
DX 13
IQ 10
HT 3

Basic speed 4

Flight speed 8
Telepathy

Factor in these costs, and other relevant ones, as well as applicable skills, you reach just under 100.

Telepathy wouldn't give him the power to recieve sight from the Raven, it's a bit more basic than that. He'd still need the Clairvoyance advantage (at reduced cost for the granted by familiar trait)

Telepathy with the video modifier, allows him to send video via his mind. As long as the raven wasn't distracted, it'd be able to send in real-time.

A bit of background on your first quest (better late than never) and also, can everyone playing get their character sheets to me before the game (just so I can read up on what your abilities are, and we don't have to wait ten minutes when you demand to use a mechanic I'm not familiar with - which inevitably will happen) It'd be great if could either PM them to me via Legion, or if you see me on Friday.

The world exists as a number of independant settlements. Some large cities band together in states, but there is no concept of a nation, and beyond the reach of a town's guard there are no laws in the wild. In the Olden Times there were mighty empires that spanned the world, and tales of non-human races living alongside man, but this was all long ago.

You start as members of a mercinary guild, the Guiding Hands. As one of the larger guilds, they have halls in almost all the larger settlements. They dispatch adventurers, like yourselves, throught the world to where they're needed, for a price. The guild's coffers take all the payment, however, guild members who earn their keep are well looked after in the halls, and sometimes, a mark many have a fine supply of gold which need not be accounted for.

The guild welcomes all able bodied adventurers, and does not discriminate by class, race or religion. Conflicts between members are strictly prohibited, and in the worst cases, resolved by duel, under the watchful eyes of the local hall master - or when one is not available, a local magistrate.

You adventure starts aboard a ship, the Jamyl. It has docked at a small port town on one of the norhtern islands. Your final destination is a farmstead two days away over the mountains, where strange creatures have been sighted in a cave overlooking the fields. You've been commissioned by the guild to find out what these creatures are, and if they pose a threat to the people of the farmstead, eliminate them.

Whilst in the port, you can sleep aboard the ship until you're ready to depart, and once you reach the farmstead, they'll supply limited food and supplies for your mission, all payed for from the guild's coffers, of course. However, you will need to ensure you have the supplies to survive the cold, harsh conditions across the mountains.

Dude, I still need to know how much for animal spell power source and a final word on the raven, can I just keep the eye telepathy thing? (It saves me having to re-do the sheet)

These duels - to the death?

Any non-standard effects for critical failures? I'd assume something regarding the sources, quirks for them every time we critically fail might be fun, but either way, it's good.

I'll probably think of some more for Friday, which one of us can write up on Legion for the other players.

I've PMed my sheet to you, but I'll also bring it along on Friday.

Raven: Sure. Whatever. Just make it work, and explain to me once you know. (however, I recommend using the 'Rider Within' spell. Or telepathic ravens. Or Clairescence)

Animal Source: $1800

Duels: No. It's in the guild's best interests to have living members.

Critical Fails: These'll be on an as-is basis, now I have your character sheet, I can have a look at some of the sugested ones I might like.

And a last note on dice rolls: There will be some rolls I won't be letting you see (eg diplomacy rolls to get info from an NPC) mainly so I can do fun things with critical fails (eg the NPC would lie about the info you need)

This is true. Personally, I'd do the same with every roll where we wouldn't be able to know, so combat you'd let us see, and magic results, but not reaction rolls, and certainly not passive perception rolls, or traps rolls.

In light of this, how many have empathy/detect lies (either the skill or the spell)? I don't.