Editing GURPS Magical Styles Fan Netbook (section)

=Pure Circle of Shining Illumination    =

Cost:  7 points

Style Prerequisite: IQ  13+, Magery, (not One College Only).

The Society of Practical Historians was founded centuries ago by sages with a passion for archaeology. However, it did not take students of this school long to realize that the style developed by the society, the Pure Circle of Shining illumination, had particularly practical and profitable applications. The skills that allow a historian to penetrate a dangerous environment and return with items of historical interest are the skills that allow an adventurer to penetrate a dangerous environment and return with treasure. Today, the Society mostly attracts students who are looking for wealth, though the heavy emphasis on academics quickly weeds out those seeking easy money. Less pragmatic schools might sneer at such mundane ambitions, but it cannot be denied that the school produces both brilliant sages and wizards of temporal power.

Required Skills: Archaeology, History, Literature, Research.

Required Spells: Light, Scroll.

Perks: Adjustable Spell (Spell Variation, Any attack spell), Huge Subjects, Intuitive Cantrip (Any), Magical Weapon Bond. Mighty Spell (Any melee or missile), Power Casting (Any missile), Scroll Reading, Secret Spell (Evocation of Sulfurous Corruption, Impenetrable Armor of the Arch-Mage or Wings of the Golden Phoenix), Wizardly Dabbler.

Optional Traits

Attributes: Improved IQ.

Advantages: Combat Reflexes, Wealth.

Disadvantages:  Callous, Enemies (Monsters), Greed, Miserliness, Reputation (Glorified Bandit).

Skills:  Cryptology, First Aid, Geology, Innate Attack (Jet), Innate Attack (Projectile), Knife, Mathematics, Merchant, Occultism, Staff, Symbol Drawing, Thanatology, Throwing (Knife).


A mage joins the society at the level of Journeyman, entitling them to learn the following twenty-three spells.

Journeyman

Apportation, Beast-Soother, Climbing, Counterspell, Detect Magic, Far Feeling, Find Direction, Ignite Fire, Foolishness, Haste, Keen Vision, Levitation, Light, Magelock, Measurement, Scroll, Seek Air, Seek Earth, Seek Fire, Seek Water, Shield, Simple Illusion, Sound.

When a mage has learned 8 Journeyman spells, including Light and Scroll, they are promoted to Thaumaturgist, entitling them to learn the following twenty-eight spells.

Thaumaturgist

Continual Light, Create Air, Create Fire, Daze, Detect Poison, Flight, Glue, Identify Plant, Identify Spell, Infravision, Lockmaster, Locksmith, Mage Sense, Mage Sight, Mage Stealth, Mystic Mist, Night Vision, Purify Water, Recover Energy, Seek Pass, Shape Earth, Shape Fire, Silence, Sleep, Slow Fall, Tell Position, Test Load, Wallwalker.

When a mage has learned 8 Thaumaturgist spells including Continual Light, they are promoted to Sorcerer.  This entitles them to learn the following twenty-three spells.

Sorcerer

Body of Air, Blur, Complex Illusion, Create Water, Darkness, Flame Jet, Hawk Flight, Hush, Fireball, Flash, Know Location, Lightning, Manipulate, Spider Silk, Mass Daze, Mass Sleep, Pathfinder, Rain of Fire, Seeker, Shape Air, Shape Water, Trace, Wizard Eye.

When a mage has learned 8 Sorcerer spells including Fireball, they are promoted to Wizard, entitling them to learn the following thirteen spells.

Wizard

Ancient History, Earth to Air, Explosive Fireball, Explosive Lightning, Fire Cloud, History, Inscribe, Invisibility, Remember Path, Shocking Touch, Teleport, Wizard Hand.

When a mage has learned 7 Wizard spells, including Explosive Fireball, they are promoted to Archmage, entitling them to learn the following seventeen spells.

Archmage

Control Air Elemental, Control Earth Elemental, Control Fire Elemental, Control Water Elemental, Delay, Dispel Magic, Enchant, Evocation of Sulfurous Corruption, Impenetrable Armor of the Arch-Mage, Link, Mapmaker, Staff, Summon Air Elemental, Summon Earth Elemental, Summon Fire Elemental, Summon Water Elemental, Wings of the Golden Phoenix.


Secret Spell:  Evocation of Sulfurous Corruption (VH)    Area

Causes a cloud of flesh-eating acid to engulf an area.  The acid will burn any living organic tissue, but is completely harmless towards everything else.  This is unfortunate if fighting something not composed of organic tissue, but often handy for rubbing out the opposition while leaving the treasure unscathed.  Creatures in the cloud take damage on their own turn.  If less than an entire second is spent in the area, damage is halved, round down.  Manufactured armor protects normally up to a number of seconds equal to its DR.  After that, the armor can be considered to be slick or wet with acid.

Duration:  10 seconds

Base Cost:  1 to Magery level; the cloud inflicts on point of damage per second for every energy put into the base cost.  Same cost to maintain.

Time to Cast:  1 to Magery level seconds, depending on base cost.


Secret Spell:  Impenetrable Armor of the Arch-Mage (VH)    Regular

The mage’s skin becomes hard like rock, providing DR, cumulative with any other DR the mage may have, including from the Armor spell.  The mage takes half damage from non-magical weapons made of wood, such as clubs, staffs and primitive spears.

Duration:  One Minute.

Cost:  2 + (twice the DR given up to a maximum of 6).  Half that to maintain.

Time to Cast:  1 second


Secret Spell:  Wings of the Golden Phoenix (VH)    Regular

He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.  If Wings of the Golden Phoenix is cast immediately prior to the caster casting Teleport on themselves, that Teleport spell is at +3 to skill for the purposes of defeating anti-magic/anti-teleport systems only.  The caster may only teleport themselves – no friends and no more treasure than they can carry.  The caster must teleport to relative safety, never into equal or greater danger.

Cost:  0

Time to Cast:  1 second