L. Marcus

Q: Have ya finished installing the bathtub yet? A: No, and now it´s stuck!

Q: Why are you standing on that cat? A: It feels gooood, that´s why!

I did it again! Hope I didn´t wake the neighbors . . .

I´ve been singing, now and again, Jeff Buckley´s Lover, Won´t You Come Over at the top of my voice for three days straight, now. I wonder what´s up with that?

Alas, that would be one of my pet unbegun projects, of which there are now so many, they have started to multiply all by themselves. I´ll have to think of investing in a cage of some sort . . .

Right. The EGO Attack would be resting solely with the magician, and it would look something like this: Mind Strike: 3d6 EGO Attack; 30 Active Points; Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Gestures (-1/4), Incantation (-1/4), Requires Mind Strike Roll (-1/2); 9 Real Points. I´m concidering letting the magician have access to some other mental magic, like Telepathy and Mind Link, but these wouldn´t be accessible to beginners. This campaign is low-fantasy and, actually, low-magic (most folks have seen some magic, but not even one in one thousand people would be able to Call a Spirit), so there will be no Power Frameworks.

Yes, this would also be a valid way of doing it, but the Transdimensional Senses just fits the cosmology of the world better. By the way, "spirit" might be a misnomer, but I can´t find another word that fits. The entities are not noncorporeal minds floating around, but have a body of sorts and live in an Otherworld. As I said, they remind me of the Sidhe, at least as they appear in GURPS Celtic Myth. Strength of spirit! Limited mental attack powers, like a low-powered EGO Attack. Nothing spectacular, but a competent mage would at least be able to defend him/herself. Plus, it never hurts to be owed favors by powerful spirits . . .

Thanks for the kind words, I´m feeling lovely and warm all over . . . This little piece on magic was inspired by the japanese shinto priests, the kaminushi or masters of spirits/gods. The spirits ended up feeling like a cross between kami and the Sidhe . . . Actually, it just struck me that this looks kinda like the dweomer system from Katharine Kerrs Deverry books . . .

Probably through an appropriate VPP, like a water-themed one for a river spirit, a fire one for a forest fire, a martial one for a spirit of an old battlefield . . . These will most probably be ballpark powers , as the players will probably think of more spirits than I could possibly prepare in advance . . . But such is the nature of the game, I suppose. The spirit actually casts the spell, if the mage has "made nice" enough . . . My thinking is that the Call Spirit roll will act as a Complementary Skill to the mages PRE roll in an PRE vs. EGO contest. If the mage wins, the spirit casts the spell. If the spirit wins, it´ll make a bored face and vanish. A really bad loss on the mage´s part will result in the enimosity of the spirit . . . Bad tidings. There is just the one spell, or rather power, of Call Spirit. I´m concerned with making the spirits real to the players, rather than just a dry, on-the-paper justification of their powers. That sweet flava . . . Oh, dear sir, it´s on the top of my priorities, just after getting the last Christmas gifts wrapped and getting enough to eat the rest of the month. I see it rather more like getting the rules to support the feelings I seek in a game . . . But what the heck, the guys will probably just use this system to burn things; they generally do, bless their little, teeny-tiny, microscopic black hearts. All advice is appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks many bunches, guys, I think I´ve got what I need! Now to put it all together . . . And to write up some spirits! Wow. Things looks good right now . . .

Too true. Saw a documentary a while back about a handwritten mathematical treatise by Pythagoras (the greek guy with the orthagonal triangles and stuff . . . ?), a third- or even a secondhand copy, that survived antiquity only to be bleached and reworked into a prayerbook by orthodox monks in the Dark Ages. The underlying writing was discovered in the twenties, and modern imaging and computing techniques has given us unprecedented insights in the thought processes of one of the greatest thinkers of the ancient world . . . Is it just me, or did that look like it came from Discovery channel . . . ?

This sounds about right, but where did you find the numbers? I´ve only got fRED, is it in there? *hope hope*

Oo oo! Forgot! Add a Concentrate disad or a Incantation/Gestures combo, depending on schooling . . .

Nice suggestion, but this would violate the flavour I had in mind. It works like this: Mage meditates/conducts ritual to attract the attention of the wanted spirit, who according to a PsychLim Code has to answer. They would parley, and if they agree the spirit will cast the desired spell for the magi. The power would look something like this: Call Spirit: Summon 200-point Spirit (40 Active Points); Extra time (20 minutes; -2 1/2), Requires Call Spirit Roll (-1/2); 10 Real Points. The actual meeting with the spirit would be roleplayed. As I said, it´s a flava thang . . .

I´m at long last trying to write up a magic system for my very own fantasy campaign, and I´ve hit a little snagette. Being aware of my status as a total n00b at Hero, I turn to you, the-finest-minds-of-Herodom and sundry. The basis of working magic in my little world is through summoning and negotiating with spirits of various kinds, ranging from the guardian of a candlelight to the very foundation of the world, Gnome himself. These spirits live in another world, and magi and spirits meet in the Between, overlaying and just a shadow away from either world. The spirits travel between their world and the Between rather easily (and on to the mundane world with a bit more effort), but all magi except the most powerful has to "stay put", as it were. Now, the tricky part is: How do they communicate from the mundane world to the Between? The advantage Transdimensional (+1/2) fits the bill, but how to use it? Should I give the mages Transdimensional Sight and Hearing? What would that cost? Or should I build a new sense with Detect the Between? How exactly would that work? I´d be happy for any insights and all input will be considered. I think.

So, are we looking at something like GURPS Lite here, at thirty-two pages, or will there be a bit more beef?

Well, that would seem to be true... I just hope that the other guys will appreciate this titanic effort on my part! Many thanks!

...Any good Old West resources out there on the Web at all...? Got a request from my gaming group to put together a cowboy campaign after we all saw Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven the other day...

Considering how deadly combat is in the LW&C universe, I think all optional damage effect rules should be used. Well, maybe not knockback...

O o o! Ultimate Martial Artist! Almost forgot about it! For shame!

Thanks, Markdoc, that seems to be what I need...! Though I'm thinking of picking up Sengoku, but before or after Fantasy and Star Hero...? Hmmm, conundrum...

I've been thinking about it, and all I've come up with is Environmental Movement: Standing in Water, worth 3 points... Oh, and WF: Thrown Sword, but I don't think that would be part of Suio Ryu... How would you do the barehanded-sword-capturing, throwing-it-back-at-the-fella-you-took-it-from technique?

A Hero version of Itto would be nice... Byt, hey, any Hero treatment on medieval Japan would be welcome. Has there ever been an official book on the subject? Are there any good websites? I'm a complete newbie at the Hero system, I got FREd just a few weeks ago, but I really like what I've seen so far, and I really, really like LW&C...

Has anyone done or seen an adaptation of Ogami Itto of Lone Wolf and Cub?

No past blast... Scarily enough, the V series seems to be immortal... Over here in Sweden, it was first aired in the mid-80's, and it's still going strong... Every summer, it seems a new TV company's acquired the rights to it, and the whole mess starts again. I'm considering emigration.