Now that things a bit more settled in my life, I am expanding on my efforts with the dark urban fantasy settings Grimm. In reviewing the two previous campaigns in that setting, I've noted what was lacking and thus what is needed for the next iteration. (Prior games: Grimm 1889 in the American Dakota Territory, and Grimm 1895 in New Orleans)
This next game takes place in the year 1900 in the up-and-coming village of Libertyville, Illinois. Strange disappearances, monster sightings and odd weather are just the first signs of what may be a prophesied doom for their little burg. The characters are pulled together by chance or fate for what may be their last stand against the forces of darkness.
So, with the story line set, what was needed next? Templates in GURPS Character Sheet!
- Characters may present a normal appearance to the public at large, but they very much operate in the secretive shadow world of Grimm. They can be Wesen seeking to blend in, Grimm charged with keeping the dark things at bay, or magi members of the various orders and societies who seek to understand and manipulate the supernatural world for various reasons.
- To make it easier for first time players, clarify the rules being used, and speed up the character creation process, I've put together templates and examples for the monstrous shape-changers known as Wesen, the various flavor of magi, and the Grimm characters.
- Want to know about the Wesen and Grimm that inspire this campaign? Check out this fandom website: https://grimm.fandom.com/wiki/Grimm_Wiki
- The campaign lore expands upon much of what is there, and weaves in historical events.
First Up: Magic
In the previous campaigns, I had taken a 'flexible' approach to magic - i.e., magic by fiat - since no characters were magi. Both campaigns had an enchanted item the characters had to interact with eventually, but we did not have to define the entire magical ruleset for the game. I eventually did define some magic system based on a homebrew approach that ultimately proved less intuitive and useful than another approach published for GURPS, and never really made use of it (see earlier blog entries on that system).
This time I really want to expand on the magical elements and allow for characters that hail from one of the many traditions and cultures that embrace the supernatural powers. GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic (TRPM) is a great starting place. TRPM allows us to model the magic shown in the Grimm TV show, expanding with tweaks into a consistent rule set.
For a more cinematic game, I like 'magic as powers', where we take an Advantage and call it a Spell within a Modular Power group. GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery covers this concept in detail. However I believe that TRPM is the better choice for this setting. For my particular take on the Grimm-verse, all magic users are classified as a 'ritualist' - Incantare in Latin - no matter what culture of origin or traditions they follow.
Each Lens specifies a type of magic being practiced (forgive any Latin errors):
- Figmatarum (Illusionist)
- Magi (Wizard)
- Phitonissa (Natural/Druidic/Pagan)
- Malifica (Evil Witch/Warlock)
- Scaenarfex (Artistic Enchanter)
- Veneficare (Sorcerer)
- Chymiater (Alchemist)
The Lens for each is just a starting point - feel free to customize according to the folklore or supernatural tradition of your choice.
Each of these is defined by the application of Traits such as Higher Purpose and Ritual Mastery to specify a tradition or ritual specialization. The Magery advantage works differently in TRPM and I've further adjusted that with some new limitations and enhancements:
- One Path (College) Only (Mana Reserve 1x per two levels) -20%
- The One College Only limitation from GURPS Magic is -40% but I've combined it with an Enhancement for game balance and thus decreased the benefit.
- The increased Mana Reserve multiplier every two levels (+20%) grants quicker, and more powerful, spell casting.
- Two Path (College) Only (Mana Reserve 1x per three levels) -10%
- Limited Conditional Spells (Only allow spells equal to Magery level) -20%
Further homebrew rules are explained in the Incantare template and I'll cover those in more detail in my next entry.
For those with an interest in GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic, you can pick up a PDF here: https://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ritualpathmagic/
In addition, there are some great online thoughts and rules for RPM found here:
The Ravens N' Pennies Blog is an invaluable resource for any GURPS aficionado. Its worth looking at this alternate take on enchantment and magic item creation: