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A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
A World of Steam and Alchemy
(A tentative title.)
The first day of November, year 1858
The world is a heady place. Charles Babbage's analytical engine has allowed for previously unmanageable alchemical calculations to produce substances with the most marvelous properties. This in turn has spurred a revolution in the industries, and allowed for hitherto unimaginable machines. At the heart of many of these wondrous new inventions lay steam engines powered by glowcoal, producing incredible heat and energy. The laws of nature, both magical and non-magical, are falling one after another to the inquisitive minds of brilliant men (and, some scandalous rumors suggest, women). The colonies of the great empires are thriving, sending precious reagents, raw manpower, and more to the home countries. Tensions rise across the world, as the powers flex their newfound wealth and power. Mankind looks to the stars, with the skies already conquered by heroic aeronauts. In the shadows and at the highest corridors of power, sorcerous societies lurk. Through arcane rituals they channel the power of magic, producing effects beyond even the most accomplished alchemists. Among the lower classes, dissension stirs, with anarchism and communism leading the way.
The Great Powers
Spoiler
The United Kingdom: Led by Queen Victoria, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is a powerhouse. It has naval superiority, both on and under the waves. Two inventions underpinning the age (glowcoal and the analytical engine) stem from here.
The United States: While considered a cultural backwater, none can deny the overwhelming might of this country's industry. With incredible access to resources, it grows by leaps and bounds. Americans are usually considered adventuresome and energetic, but uncouth and unlearned. Their aerocorps are highly skilled.
France: While still a great power, it is beginning to lose a bit of its luster. The internal strife that has episodically consumed it over the last three-quarters of a century have left it unable to compete with the industrial powers. On a positive side, anything French is considered the height of class and fashion.
Prussia: Prussia eyes the the dying power of Austria as the final obstacle to German unification. Prussian forces are renowned for their discipline and professionalism. The regent Wilhelm looks to expand Prussia's power a solidify his own position.
Russia: Tsar Alexander II looks to modernize his country, using the immense agricultural surplus his fertile lands produce. Russia is considered to be a pale shadow of the great powers of "true Europe". Modernizers compete with traditionalists, and it would take little to set them to open war.
The Chinese Empire: China has been closed to outsiders for centuries. It is known to be advanced in alchemy. Rumors abound of strange beasts, augmented by alchemical formulas.
The Mughal Empire: Having repulsed British attempts to overtake the country, the Indian subcontinent is a fractious state. Though still under control of the Mughals, the states are almost all in some form of revolt, from sedition, to outright de facto independence and autonomy.
The Japanese Empire: Having pulled itself up to a level considered respectable by Europeans, the Empire of Japan is quickly becoming the preeminent power in the Orient. It can challenge England for superiority on the high seas in the Pacific. It has colonized many of the islands in that ocean, and is rumored to be looking towards landing forces on the mainland. While the emperor still sits the throne, true power rests with the shogun.
The Ottoman Empire: A powerful empire, it is, like Russia, torn between modernizers and traditionalists.
The Songhai Empire: In Western Africa, it has been the preeminent power. It is unable to compete with the industrial powers, however, as it functions more as a confederacy than a true empire. Internal divisions keep it from mounting a unified front, and clever diplomats have managed to play off one leader against another.
Zimbabwe: Little is known of this state in south-eastern Africa, but rumors of sorcerous might have kept the European powers simultaneously curious and unwilling to challenge this place.
The Kingdom of Brazil: After Napoleon overtook Portugal, the royal family fled. Some chose to return after the Emperor's downfall, but some chose to remain behind, and build Brazil into a nation in its own right. After a brief war of independence in 1835, the young nation looks to expand its power. Its biological wealth helps it compete with the industrial powers, with herblore highly advance here, combing native knowledge and European methodologies.
The Aztec Empire: Aggressive and expansionist, this empire seeks to grow, but is hemmed in by other nations. Agitators in the country do not let that stop them, and call for glorious war, to capture slaves for the glory of the gods. For now, calmer heads have prevailed.
The Inca Empire: High in the Andes, the aeronaut corps of the Inca defend the empire. The Inca have made little progress in magic.
Powered by Steam
The world of 1858 is driven by steam. Almost anything postulated by Jules Verne either exists or is being researched by somebody (except that it is powered by steam). Deep sea submarines control the depths, and battleships and aircraft carriers rule the waves. In the sky, propeller-driven aerowings flit back and forth, launched from either the surface or gigantic dirigibles. Industry goes ever faster, driven by the great engines. The first automata and steam-driven coaches have appeared, making life easier for the upper classes.
Sorcerous Wonders
Alchemy and ritual sorcery are the other side of the coin in this industrial revolution. Glowcoal, so named for its black color and unearthly blue glow, generates the energy needed to drive the machines. It is only produceable by alchemical processes, and the resources needed for its production are state secrets. Various metals and sorcerous geometries make it possible for the machines to work, even with the energy imparted by glowcoal. Sorcery is primarily an aristocratic school, taught by private tutors, elite universities, and secret orders. This is a low-mana world. Levels of magery are necessary to work the spells. While it is possible to cast spells without ritual magic, doing so is considered impractical (for the difficulty in learning and casting in a low-mana world) and barbaric (without a system, there is no order).
The Big 16
Spoiler
1. What game system are you running? GURPS 4th edition
2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be? Steampunk primarily, with the addition of sorcery/alchemy and some Gothic horror elements
3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many? Right now I'm thinking up to six.
4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)? On this forum.
5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)? 150 points, unless a convincing argument is made for something different.
6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with? As appropriate for your advantages and TL 5+1
7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes? Inventors, adventurers, nobles, industrialists and more. Magic users need to confer with me. Magery is extremely rare, and limited to ritual magic. Many people more are alchemists. A character can have both skills though.
8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species? Humans, unless you have an extraordinarily good reason and well thought out concept.
9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points? 150 points
10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so? Nope.
11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it? Nope.
12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them? You roll your dice, I'll roll mine.
13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules. Nope.
14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)? Cover all the important things. Giving me the occasional hook is bonus. The only thing that is absolutely required is how you came to the Arc de Triomphe on November 1, 1858.
15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above? It will mostly be player driven. If the players are academics, it will be a different game than if they are industrialists.
16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters? Don't use the books that make no sense in this world (Ultra-tech, Infinite Worlds, Bio-tech, etc.) The basic set is the only thing that is really important, but access to High-Tech could
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Hmm, interesting. What kind of things is alchemy capable of creating in this world? Asking since alchemy in this game seems to be a bit different from the standard one, which seems to me to have a bit more of a focus on elixirs and the like.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
As for what exactly alchemy is capable of creating, that is dependent on the player and the available materials and formulas. Alchemy can create elixirs just like usual, but it can do more in this world, thanks to advances in calculations and logistics (primarily time and space management). Your town alchemist is capable of producing things like healing potions, strength potions, love potions, etc., but only the true masters have the ability to go beyond that and create magical materials.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Quote:
Originally Posted by cgrela
As for what exactly alchemy is capable of creating, that is dependent on the player and the available materials and formulas. Alchemy can create elixirs just like usual, but it can do more in this world, thanks to advances in calculations and logistics (primarily time and space management). Your town alchemist is capable of producing things like healing potions, strength potions, love potions, etc., but only the true masters have the ability to go beyond that and create magical materials.
Ah, gotcha. I'm thinking of my character being an alchemist to some degree, hence knowing what it does in this game being useful.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
I'm thinking of playing as a Prussian refugee. A gunsmith of small repute, who's combinations of traditional weaponcrafting and sorcerous magic lead to him being Invited to join the revoultionaries. Refusing lead to him being hunted down by both the revolutionaries and the ruling government, and so he fled to [campaign location] to try and escape his pursuers.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Ooh, lovely! I'm very much interested. I have a bit of experience with GURPS, so I'd be willing to help out with character creation as well, once I get the rust knocked off.
A couple of questions: Is this version of the United States still a slaveholding nation a couple of years removed from exploding into civil war, or have the alchemical advances and the presence of the Aztec Empire in place of Mexico changed/delayed/accelerated that? Also, what is the situation of the American Indian tribes? Are they still being decimated and pushed off their land, or have magic and the Inca and Aztec remaining in power helped their position any?
As for concepts, my current one is a Mughal refugee, daughter of a noble family whose tiny kingdom was overthrown in the chaos of the revolts against the empire. They fled to France, and now live in a poor, crowded neighborhood in Paris. While her parents lament their fallen fortunes and hatch far-fetched and pitiable schemes to regain power, their daughter has become enamored with the revolutionaries and radicals who they now call neighbors. Sneaking out to meetings, distributing pamphlets and smuggling equipment for them, she's even begun dreaming up wild schemes of her own, a mass uprising of the downtrodden, not just in France, but back in her lost home as well, of toppling the Mughals and dismantling the caste system itself. All things she works to keep secret from her parents, of course.
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Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
I'm more familiar with GURPS' third edition than fourth, but I'd be very keen to give this a go anyhow.
I'm still chewing on an archetype, though. With the more egalitarian political scene, is there any tradition of Orientalism, whether through some sort of science (like Egyptology) or art (for instance, the Japanisme trend)?
I'm seeing a couple of revolutionary characters conceived above... Does it matter if the characters share the same general political bent?
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
I'm interested, though ideas for a concept are still in the works. At the barest however I have ideas for a Prussian adventurer.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I've heard GURPS can be easy to break, (this is my first time in a GURPS game) are there any sort of limits or restrictions that we should be aware of?
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Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ripleycat
Is this version of the United States still a slaveholding nation a couple of years removed from exploding into civil war, or have the alchemical advances and the presence of the Aztec Empire in place of Mexico changed/delayed/accelerated that? Also, what is the situation of the American Indian tribes? Are they still being decimated and pushed off their land, or have magic and the Inca and Aztec remaining in power helped their position any?
The US is still slaveholding, and tensions are rising. The north has an advantage in industry, but the south has a greater tendency towards sorcerous talent.
The Indian tribes managed to hold on longer, but still lost in the end. They were in a better bargaining position though, and managed to keep better lands. Their population is higher as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellisande
With the more egalitarian political scene, is there any tradition of Orientalism, whether through some sort of science (like Egyptology) or art (for instance, the Japanisme trend)?
I'm seeing a couple of revolutionary characters conceived above... Does it matter if the characters share the same general political bent?
The Orientalist trends exist. Sensationalism and the fascination/denigration of the "other" is still very strong. Those who wish to appear refined, or those that actually are, try to act like they understand other cultures and don't care for the trends.
The politics don't have to be the same. Have fun, and make the character you want to play.
Edit: GURPS is indeed breakable. You have to get creative with the advantages though. Just keep it tame, and see where your calculations run.
All pretty average, I'm just a lowlife gunsmith, so I don't see my self having any physical stats out of the ordinary.
Appearance: Attractive
Wealth: Struggling
Times are hard, and the rumours that I might be using magic to make my weapons has hurt the buisness. However, I can still secure contracts, I just need to use my looks to interest dames with rich husbands.
Advantages:
Ambidexterity
Catfall
Danger Sense
Daredevil
Fearlessness 2
High Pain Threshold
I'm a gunsmith. I work In a building filled with molten metal and explosives, so being able to sense danger, (Danger Sense), take falls and punishment (Catfall/HP Threshold) and run into danger to try and save my work, (Daredevil, Fearlessness) are all essential. Being ambidextrious also helps when I inevitably injure myself.
A gunsmith by trade, but curious by nature, I've gotten myself into more trouble that I really should have. Of course, I'm no slouch when It comes to dueling. The stress of leaving prussia In such troubling circumstances meant that I seek any familiarity for home I can find In france. There's a prussian store, down near the Arc D'Triumpe that sells the only type of ciggarents that salve the heartache of missing home.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SirDalyus
I'm not really sure how I can represent the gun-smithing side of things, but any comments so far?
Gun-smithing can be covered by Armoury (small arms) - this covers building, modifying and repairing guns - and also perhaps Engineer (small arms) - this covers designing new types and varieties of guns, if you want your guy to be skilled in that area of things, although it does also need Mathematics (applied).
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starsign
Might I ask what Tech Level entitles when it's 5+1 and not 5 or 6 please? I'm a little confused on that matter.
5+1 means that the tech is the same as our world up until the point of TL 5, but that it diverges after that. In this case, the divergence is that advances occurred in steam power, mechanics, alchemy, sorcery, etc., rather than electromagnetism.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
So I moved things around to give myself magic one, and the Armoury, math and engineering skills for small arms. Now all I need Is to polish my back story.
Thomas Crenko von Barta, Master Gunsmith
Originally a peasant urchin from the Prussian territory of Barta, Thomas found himself apprenticed to the well-known gunsmith Johann von Dreyse. Though his work was hard, and his master unforgiving, Thomas eventually bought his way out of his apprenticeship with his masterpiece. A smooth, long barreled rifle, with extraordinary accuracy over long distances.
Johann was delighted with his apprentice's work. A rifle of such a high quality, by such a young apprentice, meant that there was a high chance that Thomatz had sorcerous qualities. Johann provide Thomas with a studio to work In, but not out of charity. For Johann was a staunch member of a group of influencial Prussian revolutionaries, who felt that Emperor Wilheim IV was too weak to rule the throne, and who wanted to install his more easily controllable younger brother. By watching over Thomas, he felt sure he could convert him, given enough time.
However, Thomas, a patriot at heart, refused to join them. That night, men broke Into his studio and torched It. Johann begged him to reconsider, but Thomas refused. Thomas snuck away that night, fleeing from the influencial grasp of his former master. His exodus has lead him all the way to Paris, where his ornately crafted pistols are In some demand amoungst the fairer sex.
His workshop Is not far from the Arc de Triomphe. Thomas enjoys spending his spare time sitting watching the Arc, and smoking his distinctive white prussian cigarettes. Though nearly half a decade old, It stands as a reminder to Thomas of the futility of war.
Last edited by SirDalyus : 08-19-2012 at 05:49 AM.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
SirDalyus: Friedrich Wilhelm IV is still technically emperor, and his younger brother Wilhelm is regent. Maybe your rebels think that now is the perfect time to strike for whatever goals they have?
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
I've changed It so that the revolutiobaries are trying to install the younger Wilhelm as Emperor so that they can control him. Is that better? Thomas Is only working off of hearsay, so their true plans may be completely different, and all the more sinister.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Just want to peek back in here and say I’m still working on character concepts. Also trying to go back through my GURPS books. Never actually played yet, and it’s been a while since I read the rules.
Been thinking about something that would have the Enemies disadvantage. Though, I see SirDalyus already is working with that. I’m kind of afraid of getting too many personal antagonists involved, so I might tone down my original concept where that is concerned.
Also, I don’t have time to write it out right now, but I am going to have a few questions about the magic that is available and how it will work out rules-wise. The Ritual Magic you mention refers to the variant in the sidebar on page 242 of the Basic Set, right?
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
All right, the main thing I got is how to actually purchase spells, and I want to be sure I am on the right page.
Example running with the Ritual Magic variant from p. 242 of Basic Set…
Example Character has IQ 13.
He wants to be able to cast spells, so he needs Magery. Buys Magery level 2 for 25 points.
Since we are using Ritual Magic, he also needs a core skill. I am assuming that the relevant skill is Ritual Magic (sorcery). Please let me know if Thaumatology or other Ritual Magic traditions are available.
Anyway, Ritual Magic is a Very Hard IQ skill, and he decides to buy this to attribute +1, which costs him 12 points. Magery applies to the core skill, resulting in a base level of 13 + 1 + 2 = 16.
Having trained in Ritual Magic, he can now use college skills at default, which in this case has a base level of Ritual Magic - 6 = 10. However, since you cannot double-default on a skill, this doesn’t appear to help him cast any spells. It will only help if it turns out there is a way to use a college skill that does not involve casting a spell.
Now, if he actually wants to cast spells, he needs training in a college skill. He decides to be a pyromancer and trains in the Fire Magic college, buying up to his attribute level. Once again, Magery applies, giving him a base level of 13 + 2 = 15. This costs 8 points.
He can now cast any fire spell. The effective level is his Fire magic skill minus the sum total of all prerequisites. Since this is a low-mana world, there is an additional -5 penalty.
So he can cast Ignite Fire at effective level 10, Shape Fire at level 9, or Heat at level 7.
I am assuming the prerequisite count penalty applies to all prerequisites, even levels of Magery. So Fireball has 4 prerequisites (Create Fire, Shape Fire, Ignite Fire, and Magery 1), and would be cast at default of effective level 6.
Now, if he wants to improve his ability with any given spell, he treats it as a Hard Technique of the Fire Magic college skill rather than a skill of its own. So he decides to buy Ignite Fire at Default + 2, which costs 3 points and raises his effective skill level with that spell to 13. This does not appear to affect his ability with spells that have Ignite Fire as prerequisite in any way.
End result:
After spending 60 points on IQ and an additional 48 points on magical traits and skills, he has the following magical abilities:
Spell
Effective Level
Ignite Fire
13
Create Fire
9
Shape Fire
9
Delect Energy
7
Extinguish Fire
9
Heat
7
Cold
6
Resist Cold
6
Resist Fire
5
Fireball
6
Explosive Fireball
5
Other Fire Spells
10 - total prerequisites
Is this correct?
Other questions:
GURPS: Magic significantly expands the number of spells in most colleges. This seems to dramatically increase the power of Ritual Magic due to its ability to allow spells to be cast at default. On the other hand, the low-mana setting counters this by applying a pretty steep numeric penalty; it is unlikely very many spells can be cast at default without a massive point expenditure. Beyond that penalty, will there be any further limits on what spells my character is able to access?
What is the maximum level of Magery available?
Can I take a single level of Magery for basic magical talent and then take an additional level or two of Magery with the Single College limitation in order to represent a powerful affinity for that college?
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SirDalyus
I've changed It so that the revolutiobaries are trying to install the younger Wilhelm as Emperor so that they can control him. Is that better? Thomas Is only working off of hearsay, so their true plans may be completely different, and all the more sinister.
Still missing it somewhat. Wilhelm is already in control. Friedrich Wilhelm suffered a stroke in 1857, leaving him mentally incapacitated and mostly paralyzed. Everyone already expects Wilhelm to be Emperor in a few years. Chancellor, on the other hand, is a very powerful position. The conservative Otto von Bismarck is a likely candidate and a rising star. Somebody else might be vastly preferable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shhalahr Windrider
Just want to peek back in here and say I’m still working on character concepts. Also trying to go back through my GURPS books. Never actually played yet, and it’s been a while since I read the rules.
Been thinking about something that would have the Enemies disadvantage. Though, I see SirDalyus already is working with that. I’m kind of afraid of getting too many personal antagonists involved, so I might tone down my original concept where that is concerned.
Also, I don’t have time to write it out right now, but I am going to have a few questions about the magic that is available and how it will work out rules-wise. The Ritual Magic you mention refers to the variant in the sidebar on page 242 of the Basic Set, right?
Now worries on how long it takes. GURPS is a fairly detailed system, and getting a handle on the rules isn't easy. I'll miss a number of rules and such, no doubt.
You're right on the magic system. The main skill is Ritual Magic. Each sorcerous society has access to certain paths/colleges, and they are notoriously secretive. The best explanation is actually on page 107 the 3rd edition book Steampunk. Magic is largely ceremonial, as magery is rather uncommon. As a PC, however, you are of course excused from such notions as "uncommon".
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shhalahr Windrider
Other questions:
GURPS: Magic significantly expands the number of spells in most colleges. This seems to dramatically increase the power of Ritual Magic due to its ability to allow spells to be cast at default. On the other hand, the low-mana setting counters this by applying a pretty steep numeric penalty; it is unlikely very many spells can be cast at default without a massive point expenditure. Beyond that penalty, will there be any further limits on what spells my character is able to access?
What is the maximum level of Magery available?
Can I take a single level of Magery for basic magical talent and then take an additional level or two of Magery with the Single College limitation in order to represent a powerful affinity for that college?
Your calculations regarding effective skill levels appear to be correct.
You are free to use the additional colleges and spells from Magic. It was my intention to create a setting where anything was possible, but group conformity is valued (Victorian social values), and magic isn't a common, everyday thing, but something terrible and powerful that the common folk rarely interact with on a high level, besides the ubiquity of alchemical items, which in themselves do not require powerful sorcery. The only limit besides the numeric penalty is what colleges your sorcerous group had access to. More will become available throughout the game, based on roleplaying. Essentially, each group has tricks, tips, and styles for performing better in a college. Your knowledge of ritual magic will allow you to identify the group another caster belongs to, or what that mysterious diagram on the floor is supposed to be.
As for maximum magery, how about...three? That would put you at the higher levels of magic users in this world, upper mid-tier.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Sounds like a Contact Group and maybe even some form of Rank would be appropriate for a wizard due to this association with the sorcerous society. Maybe a few other social advantages as well. What would appropriate ranges of such advantages be for a sorceror that nonetheless is in a position to be acting more or less independently? (Not certain I want such affiliations to be a major, frequently occuring aspect to my character at this point.) Similarly, what Duties or Codes would such a character be expected to follow?
On the other hand: If, for whatever reason the character left or was expelled from the society, what penalties and Disadvantages would he be looking at? Would he still be able to study sorcery on his own? Would the secretive nature of these socities imply some sort of Enemy relationship after such a split?
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
I've been thinking about an exiled British ex-sailor that uses something akin to the alchemy of Full Metal Alchemist and the soul casting of The Way of Kings. The best translation I have to GURPS so far is grabbing the create power from Powers with the transform only modifier (for non-skill based) or symbol magic from Magic and Thaumatology (for skill based). It seems like skill based would be most appropriate for the campaign, so I'm mostly working to wrap my mind around how to set that up. Would symbol magic be allowed?
Currently I'm debating between two ways of ordering/ranking the symbols and thinking about which makes more sense thematically and mechanically.
(I) Broad-power symbols contain narrow-power symbols (eg. the symbol for metal contains the symbols for iron, bronze, copper, etc.). Thus, you'd only be as good with broad symbols as you are with the worst component of them, and you could logically be better at transmuting iron than metal in general.
(II) Narrow-power symbols contain broad-power symbols (eg. to make the symbol for iron, bronze, copper, etc. you begin by making the symbol for metal and then add to it). This suggests you could never be better at transmuting iron than metal in general.
I'll come back and post some more of my thoughts when I have time (hopefully tonight).
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
After sufficient thought and more reading, it seems like the latter best matches GURPS standard (it is a little difficult to tell since all of the example symbols are disjoint and not nested).
In terms of character development, I've learned that the European tradition of tattooing started with sailors (who encountered the art elsewhere). This fits oddly well. I wanted to have a lexicon based on geometric patterns and a character that feels a little bit like a Renascence man. Having the sailing background makes him a bit more gruff, as does his current living as a tattoo artist. It will require skills in artistic rendering to make it as a tattoo artist, much like many great scientists of that time developed to better record observations of the natural world. While it may then seem out of character to have skill in creating geometric patterns, which are quite unlike observed natural phenomena, it fits well with stories like Giotto's.
Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
Manwhoisthisman: Sorry, but I'm a little uncomfortable using the symbol based magic. Part of the internal logic of this world is the answer to "Why aren't wizards in obvious control?" Rather than "Society wouldn't stand for it" which fails under the pressures of a) magic-users would hae been around a long time and b) you don't argue with the people that can set you on fire with their minds or "Other super-powerful magic users wouldn't stand for it" which fails due to the tendency of powerful groups to form cartels to maximize their own profit/power, I prefer the answer of "Large-scale/extremely powerful magic is time and energy consuming, and thus is best done with a group." Now, if your ritual groups methodologies relied on the use of magic symbols tattooed onto participants and drawn on the floor, we could work something out.
Zale: There is no proof that the Aztec Empire still practices human sacrifice. Their equivalent of the foreign office vehemently denies such activities, and the last recorded sacrifice took place more than seventy-five years ago. Certain scurrilous newspapers and penny dreadfuls will occasionally put forth stories claiming that the Aztecs still carry out human sacrifices when nobody is watching.
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Re: A World of Steam and Alchemy (GURPS 4th, Recruiting Players and a co-GM)
