Editing GURPS Magical Styles Fan Netbook (section)

=The Seven Books of Ivory    =

Cost:  14 points

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

Before his death, the great mage-king Kessek wrote a treatise on the art of war-magic, seven volumes long. No copies of the original Seven Books of Ivory still exist, but the magical style they encoded lives on thanks to the painstaking work of scholars and the military needs of monarchs who want to harness Kessek’s art to make themselves dominant on the battlefield. A mage of this school does not seek to damage enemy troops directly, but to manage their own troops to devastating effect. The technique is compared by Kessek to chess, to walking a tightrope, and to the skill of a spider who can sense every movement in her web and responds with lethal force. Mages who master The Seven Books of Ivory are employed by regular armies and mercenary companies alike, though they sometimes offend other battle-mages with their arrogance. There is a tendency for members of this school to grow alienated from other people, viewing them as assets to be used. Legend has it that in the style’s most secret writings, Kessek sums up his philosophy with the observation “Life is like a game of chess. You must be the player, not a piece, and you must win”. Legend also has it that Kessek was murdered by his wife, the queen.

Required Skills: Broadsword, Games (Chess), Riding (Horse), Savoir-Faire, Shield, Soldier, Staff, Strategy, Tactics.

Required Spells: Counterspell, Keen Hearing, Keen Vision, Shield.

Perks: Adjustable Spell (Spell Variation, Any attack spell), Area Spell Mastery (Any), Blocking Spell Mastery (Any), Intuitive Cantrip (Muffle), Intuitive Cantrip (Screen), Limited Energy Reserve 1-5, Mana Compensation, Reduced Footprint 1, Sacrificial Blocking Spell (Any), Sanctum 1-2, Secret Spell (Feeling the Ground, Rapid Deployment, White Sacrifice).

Optional Traits

Attributes: Improved IQ.

Advantages: Combat Reflexes, Military Rank, Reputation (An Officer and a Gentleman).

Disadvantages:  Overconfidence, Reputation (Callous Manipulator), any Physical Disadvantage that can be explained by injury (e.g. One Hand, One Eye) or Mental Disadvantage that can be explained by trauma (e.g. Phobias, Flashbacks and Nightmares).

Skills:  Animal Handling, Broadsword, Mapmaking, Public Speaking, Symbol Drawing.

Apprentices begin their training at the level of Pawn.  They are required to learn the following 9 spells.

Pawn

Counterspell, Detect Magic, Foolishness, Keen Hearing, Keen Vision, Levitation, Shield, Simple Illusion, Sound.

When a Pawn has learned all 9 spells, they are promoted to Queen’s Pawn.  This entitles them to learn the following fourteen spells.

Queen’s Pawn

Armor, Create Air, Create Fire, Daze, Flight, Forgetfulness, Hinder, Identify Spell, Keen Taste and Smell, Mage Sight, Minor Healing, Mystic Mist, Recover Energy, Sleep.

When the mage has learned 7 Queen’s Pawn spells, they are promoted to Knight.  This entitles them to learn the following twenty spells.

Knight

Alertness, Analyze Magic, Command, Complex Illusion, Create Earth, Create Water, Flash, Frost, Hawk Flight, Major Healing, Mass Daze, Mass Sleep, Perfect Illusion, Rain of Fire, Rooted Feet, Shape Air, Shape Water, Stop Bleeding, Wall of Wind, Windstorm.

When the mage has learned 8 Knight spells, they are promoted to Rook.  This entitles them to learn the following seventeen spells.

Rook

Air Vortex, Blink, Clouds, Cold, Control Illusion, Create Acid, Fog, Freeze, Ice Slick, Lightning, Peaceful Sleep, Rain, Rain of Stones, Spark Cloud, Spark Storm, Teleport, Wind.

When the mage has learned 8 Rook spells, they are promoted to Bishop.  This entitles them to learn the following 7 spells.

Bishop

Delay, Dispel Magic, Enchant, Powerstone, Rain of Ice Daggers, Sandstorm, Staff.

When the mage has learned 4 Bishop spells, they are promoted to BattleMaster / BattleMistress.  This entitles them to learn the following 6 spells.

BattleMaster / BattleMistress

Feeling the Ground, Hang Spell, Link, Rapid Redeployment, Reflex, White Sacrifice.


Secret Spell:  Feeling the Ground (VH)    Regular

The caster places their bare palms on the bare earth, to feel for the vibrations caused by concentrations of large animals, like soldiers and horses.  Assume that the caster can roughly estimate the numbers and positions of soldiers as if he were overlooking the unobstructed battlefield from a hill on a clear day.  Soldiers who stay absolutely still cannot be detected.

Duration:  1 second.

Cost:  1/1

Time to Cast:  1 second.


Secret Spell:  Rapid Redeployment (VH)    Special

Everyone in the area of effect recovers energy as if the subject of a Recover Energy spell.  Does not stack with Recover Energy.

Duration:  1 minute.

Base Cost:  1/1

Time to Cast:  10 seconds.


Secret Spell:  White Sacrifice (VH)    Blocking

If an ally dies within two yards of the caster and the caster immediately casts White Sacrifice, the caster will regain FP equal to half the dead ally’s ST, rounded down.  The spell will work on mercenary allies, but will not work if the “ally” was intended to betray the mage, or believed themselves to be betrayed by the mage.  The mage may not perform more than one White Sacrifice per second.

Duration:  Instant.

Base Cost:  0

Time to Cast:  1 second.