GURPS - Magic.pdf

The Mage’s Touch
Touching a subject negates any distance
penalty; a wand or staff may be used. And
some attack spells require that the caster touch
the subject. This is “the mage’s touch.” First
the mage casts the spell. As his next action
(assuming the spell roll was successful). the
mage tries to strike his foe with his hand, wand
or staff. In combat, roll this just like any other
attack. If a touch is scored (the mage hits, and
the foe’s defense fails) then the spell succeeds.
If the mage misses, or if the foe defends
successfully, the spell is lost. Note that PD
from armor and shield will not normally help
against the “mage’s touch,” and a parry with an
arm won’t save the subject.
A bare-handed or staff attack does its
normal physical damage (if the mage wishes),
in addition to whatever damage the spell does.
A wand touch does no damage. Note that a
wand is very light, and has a 1/3 chance of
breaking if parried by anything heavier than a
knife!
The Mage’s Touch in Close Combat
A wizard who steps into close combat with
a foe and attempts a touch on the same turn
must roll it as a normal attack; the foe may use
any active defense.
A wizard who is already in close combat at
the beginning of the turn may “touch”
automatically, unless both his hands are
grappled or otherwise immobilized. In that
case, he must Break Free, and then touch on a
subsequent turn. However, since it is
impossible to concentrate while in close
combat, no spells can be used this way except
those the mage knows so well that he can cast
them in zero time!
Skill 15-17: The wizard must speak a word or two and gesture - a couple of
fingers are enough. He is allowed to move one hex per turn while taking the
Concentrate maneuver. At level 15, the spell’s energy cost is reduced by 1.
Skill 18-20: The wizard must speak a word or two or make a small gesture,
but not necessarily both. At level 20, the spell’s energy cost is reduced by 2.
Skill 21-24: No ritual is needed. The wizard simply seems to stare into space
as he concentrates. Casting time is halved (round up), and if this would reduce
casting time to less than a second, it takes effectively no time. The wizard can
cast it while taking another maneuver - fighting, talking, etc. You still may not
cast two spells during the same turn, unless one is a blocking spell!
Skill 25 or over: As above, but casting time is halved again (round up, as
above). At level 25, the spell’s energy cost is reduced by 3. Each further 5 levels
of skill will halve casting time again and reduce energy cost by 1 more.
Some spells always require a certain ritual or item; this is noted in the spell
lists, and overrides the general rules given above. Note that time to cast missile
spells is not reduced by skill.
Distraction and Injury
If the caster is hurt, knocked down, forced to use an active defense or otherwise
distracted while concentrating, he must make a Will-3 roll to maintain his
casting. A failed roll means he must start over. If the caster is injured while
concentrating, his effective skill for that spell is lowered by the total number of
hits he suffered.
Example: While concentrating on a spell, Wat the Wizard is hit by an arrow
for 2 hits of damage. He must make a Will-3 roll to maintain concentration. Even
if he succeeds, he will be at -2 when he casts the spell.
Energy Cost to Cast Spells
Each spell has an energy cost. When you cast a spell, it costs you energy -
either HT or ST. The better you know a spell, the less energy is required to cast
it. If you know it well enough, you can cast it at no cost.
The mana level of the area (see sidebar, p. 6/B147) affects a wizard’s effective
skill. Low mana will also prevent his use of the Recover Strength spell (p.
49/B162) and therefore the frequency with which he can attempt spells.
If your basic skill with a spell (modified by mana level) is 15 or more, the
cost to cast that spell is reduced by 1. If your skill is 20 or more, the cost to cast it
is reduced by 2 - and so on. The energy is still going into the spell - but your skill
lets you draw it from the surrounding mana rather than supplying it yourself.
Thus (for instance) at Skill 20 you can cast a 2-die fireball (requiring 2 energy
points) at no energy cost. To build it into a 3-die fireball, you would have to add
1 point of your own energy.
Note that the entire cost for a spell is calculated before any subtraction for
high skill. A mage who can create many small fires, one after the other, at no
cost, might still be exhausted by creating a single multi-hex fire.
High skill also lowers the cost to maintain a spell - see below.
Fatigue and Rest
Normally, the energy cost from a spell is considered “fatigue.” Fatigue is
marked off against ST on your Character Sheet, just as injuries are marked off
against HT. When ST reaches 3, you are stumbling with fatigue, and your Move
and Dodge scores are halved. When ST reaches 0, you fall unconscious. Your ST
score cannot go negative.
Lost fatigue can be recovered by rest - see p. B134. A mage who knows the
Recover Strength spell (see p. 49/B162) regains lost ST faster than normal.
PRINCIPLES OF MAGIC
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