GURPS - Magic.pdf

Wand and Staff
Wands and staffs are magic items, made by
the Staff spell (p. 47/B161). Many wands are
enchanted so that only their owner may use
them; some contain other powerful spells as
well. Only once-living materials (wood, bone,
ivory, etc.) can be used to make a wand.
Touching an item with a wand is as good as
touching it with a finger, for casting purposes.
Likewise, a “jet” spell can be fired from a wand
or staff instead of a finger. Thus, the basic use
of a wand or staff is to increase the mage’s
“touching” reach. Pointing with the staff also
reduces range to the target by 1 hex. A wand or
staff can’t extend range on a missile spell
unless it is specifically enchanted to contain
that spell.
he must be told if it has been penetrated; a wizard can sense the weakening of his
spell if he thinks about it!
Resistance by or against Area Spells: If an old area spell can resist the spell
being cast, or a new area spell can be resisted by people or things in the area, roll
normally to see if the new spell is cast. If it is, each subject in the area rolls
separately to see whether he (or it) succumbs to the new spell.
Example: A Divination spell is cast with an adjusted skill of 17. The target is
in an area protected by a Scrywall (an area spell) which was cast with a skill of
20. The caster rolls an 8 (succeeding by 9). The GM rolls for the Scrywall,
getting a 14 (succeeding by 6). The Divination did better than the Scrywall, so
the caster can “see” his subject. The Scrywall is now weakened by 1, and thus
has an effective skill of 19 if it has to resist another spell.
Another example: Joshua throws Mass Sleep on a section of tunnel
containing six Ores. Mass Sleep is resisted by Health. Joshua’s effective skill is
15. He rolls a 12, succeeding by 3.
Orc 1 has HT 9. He rolls a 10. He fails automatically and sleeps.
Orc 2 has HT 9. He rolls a 7. He succeeded, but only by 2. He sleeps.
Orc 3 has HT 9. He rolls a 6. He succeeded by 3 - a tie. He resists.
Orc 4 has HT 9 and Magic Resistance 3 - an effective 15, because MR counts
double to resist an area spell. He rolls an 11, succeeding by 4. He resists.
Orc 5 has HT 9 and 3 points of Strong Will - an effective 12. But he rolls a
13, and fails. He sleeps.
Orc 6 rolls an 18 - a critical failure! The GM rules that Orc 6 falls into a
coma.
Enchantment Spells
These are the spells of the College of Enchantments. They are used to make
or unmake magical items. See Chapter 2 and p. 42 for more details.
Special Spells
These are spells that don’t fit into any of the other categories; follow the
rules given in the spell description.
Ceremonial and Group Magic
Ordinary magic is cast by a single wizard, and is relatively quick.
Ceremonial magic is much slower (since it involves complex ritual), but it allows
other mages to help the caster. Thus, more powerful spells can be cast, and they
can be maintained longer. Spells like Resurrection are almost never cast except
by ceremonial methods. Blocking spells cannot be cast by a ceremony.
Time required: When ceremonial magic is used, casting time is ten times as
long as shown on the Spell List.
Energy cost: Same as normal. All the energy required is spent at the end of
the casting, when the caster rolls to see if the spell succeeded. Whether it
succeeds or fails, all the energy is spent at this time.
There are two ways to cooperate in ceremonial magic:
Circle. Any number of mages can “link” to cast a spell, if they all know it at
level 15 or better. They must he physically joined in some way - e.g., holding
hands, touching a common center, etc. Any one of them can act as the caster and
make all die-rolls.
The energy cost may be shared among the linked mages in any way they
agree on. If there is a backfire, the GM may either assess one huge result, or roll
separately for each person in the Circle. A backfire involving a dozen mages can
be a chaotic event indeed!
PRINCIPLES OF MAGIC
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