I seem to have written two different approaches to the same idea - enforced weirdness for wizards in GURPS.
Required Weirdness for Wizards (May 2018)
Weird Wizards (April 2020)
Looking at my current campaign, I do a lot more of the first approach than the second.
Looking at those posts, I really like the direct tie to Magery as it's a very simple approach:
The modified approach I think I'd like is this:
Magery 1: -1 point
Magery 2: -5 points
Magery 3: -10 points
Magery 4: -15 points
Magery 5: -25 points
Magery 6: -35 points
Every 10 points in Energy Reserve, Mana Enhancer, Improved Magic Resistance, Familiar (or other supernatural ally), or Wild Magic is another -1 points in disadvantages and quirks of a "weird" nature.
I think that's a balanced approach. Your Magery 6, Energy Reserve 10, Wild Magic 1 wizard would have -40 of his -55 points in disadvantages in "weird" things. The list from the posts above would be a useful one, plus any other player and GM-agreed disads.
I'm not sure if I'll enforce this in Felltower on PCs . . . but I may use this as a guideline when making NPC wizards. I'll let PC wizards, if they want, be "so normal it's weird." I bet most of them won't.
This is good. I would heartily endorse this for Felltower!
ReplyDeleteI like this a lot. You know I am all about being a weird wizard. Even though I know the answer is no I never stop asking you if I can have weirdness magnet for my characters. I pretty much run all my wizards in their own weird quirky way anyway, along with a dash of callous and uncaring bloodlust.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly do that.
DeleteMy only real complaint with Weirdness Magnet is that it's a passive disadvantage. You don't do anything, the GM has to make stuff happen to you. It's no work, and no roleplaying (except to say, Woe is me, I am a magnet for weirdness! on occasion), and the GM has to make it feel like a big problem. Ugh. The GM has a lot going on anyway, and if weird stuff needs to happen to make the game better, it will anyway. If it has to happen even if it doesn't make the game better, it won't, and then it's free points. Not a fan. Most people have suffered more from quirks than from having Weirdness Magnet.
As I've mentioned before this is definitely something I'm going to roll with 100% in my next game, though I'll probably tighten my definition of 'weird' into a more "fae" approach, as it is from that side of the Fae/Gods/Physics/Squid alignment chart that magic flows in my next world.
ReplyDelete