A mage has, in addition to the normal maneuvers he may be taking, a number of additional maneuvers All-out Cast (casts a spell in one second, no other actions possible) Fast Cast (casts a spell as a defense, requires use of a spell parry, gives -2 skill and +1 drain) Cast (casts a spell in 1d6 seconds, physical defensive actions permitted in that time AND (normal spell parry OR -4 difficulty to sorcery roll OR -2 drain)) Subtle Cast (casts a spell in 1d6 seconds, without sound OR without gestures) Hold Spell (holds a spell to be used as a blocking spell, other actions not casting possible) Spell Defend (gives the mage an additional spell parry, or +4 to one spell parry, normal physical actions possible) Most mages are presumed to be using a "spell defend" in any stressful situation unless otherwise specified. A spell parry is used to defend against the effect of an incoming spell. It may be used to defend anyone in the mage's LoS, not just the mage. A spell parry is an active defense, based off sorcery, just as a weapon parry is based off a weapon skill. If there is not a single sorcery skill, use an appropriate magic skill (such as warding-2, or the base of the spell being defended against, a 'spell parry' skill, or Will+Magery...) A mage normally has one spell parry per turn, in addition to any physical actions. "drain" is used to mean the fatigue cost of the spell. The above presumes a free-form spellcasting system, assuming all spells have a casting time of 1 second--adjust times up accordingly. -jesse cox.
Interesting. I see a few immediate problems: the usual definition of 1-turn casting (GURPS, WW) is that you concentrate on the spell this round, and cast it next round. So All-out Cast would be a bit faster than usual, Fast-Cast would be significantly faster than usual... but isn't the sort of thing you'd choose as a maneuver — why use a defense on *your* turn? The 1d6 delay is a nice idea, but what happens if I roll a 6, declare next turn that I'm not bothering and shoot somebody, and then the turn after that declare I want to cast again? Spell parries are something I'd like to have in ShadowDawn. The LoS defense is pretty broad. Normal parries only defend the swordsman; why let Sorcery parry so broadly? Also, why let a mage physically parry and Spell Parry? Let's make his Spell Parry just another ActiveDefense: you get one of each (Parry, Block, Spell Parry) per turn, and as many Dodges as you want. --bts
Replace "in foo seconds" to "after foo seconds of casting," in response to the first comment. That should reconcile it. This is meant as a replacement for the current "magery pool" mechanic, just as combat maneuvers are a replacement for the combat pool mechanic. Thus the spell parry is "using your spell pool for defense"--and can basically be used to replace the difficulty of any magical action directed at someone in LoS of you, or possibly even coming from someone in LoS of you, like devoting your spell pool to defending them. Under the old mechanic, Tristian sort of had this as Mage Static. The 1d6 delay is a little harsh in a world where the whole battle may be over in that time--I want Cast to represent normal, reasonable casting, in contrast to "Gonna cast the sucker NOW!" The "you get your spell parry, or a -4 to difficulty or -2 drain" is supposed ot mimic "and you devote your spell pool in this time to your normal defense, aiding you in casting, or resisting drain" at a much more granular level. If 1d6 is too long, perhaps 1d6/2 would be better? You roll to find out how long it takes after the first second, so if you decide to abort and try again, you've lost a second? I was also imagining this as working with a freeform spell system, with no actual "blocking" spells, which was what Fast Cast and Hold Spell were supposed to do. If using blocking spells, nevermind. Else, it would be good to have something to simulate blocking spells--not really a maneuver, per se, but an action one can take. And you're probably right--just making Spell Parry another active defense is the right way to go. --zebediah
Well, if we make it "N seconds of concentration" instead of "of casting", that'll work. Ah, OK. I like the idea of replacing the magery pool. Especially since that means Intuitive Mages could be made Magery 1 or 2 instead of 6... Spell Parry for anyone within LoS of you is fine, as long as you declare you're guarding them in the first place. Only one person at a time can be so guarded, and the default is that you're guarding yourself. I think what I didn't get across earlier is that GURPS supports four casting times: long (everything from 2 seconds up through days), 1 second, instant, and blocking. To cast a "1 second" spell, you concentrate for a turn, then spend the next turn casting, rolling the dice, and the spell has an effect. For a 0-turn spell, you don't have to concentrate at all, you just declare you're casting, roll, and the spell goes off -- the same speed as a gunshot. Blocking spells are even faster than that, and can be used as Active Defenses, with the same speed as a parry. For most effects, I think All-Out Casting should be a choice of 0-second casting time OR +2 to cast OR -2 Fatigue, Casting should be 1-second casting time, and Slow Casting for more of a chance to succeed should be possible: say, every doubling of time gives you a +1. Hold Spell can be subsumed into the existing Wait maneuver, and an All-Out Spell Defense to allow either two Spell Parries this turn OR +4 to defend against one attack. We should really try a game of Mage to see how its accumulated-successes and Countermagic rules work. -Brian