Sorcery Spells Overview: Communication and Empathy
Let's go over the Communication and Empathy college spells. I remember when I first read GURPS Magic, I wondered why is this college split from Mind Control. Nowadays I understand that Mind Control is, perhaps, one of the strongest colleges even without Communication and Empathy, and find the split reasonable. One of my favorite colleges.
I'm going to give each spell a grade:
A - a very good spell that will be useful in almost any situation;
B - a decent spell that may be suboptimal in some situations;
C - a situational spell that requires certain circumstances to shine;
D - you really have to build your character around this spell for it to be useful, or situations where this spell is useful are uncommon;
F - don't you have anything better to spend your points on?
Grade: D
Just read the book normally, come on! On the other hand, you probably can save some time casting spells from scrolls - you do not have to take them out.
Grade: B
This is a good save-or-die spell except when you roll a critical failure. I can such critical failures create plot hooks.
Grade: C
This is a cantrip and a pretty useful one. However, to be able to use it you need to either have two spell slots or have a non-spell way of mental communication.
Grade: C
If you have other dream spells, or if you're the kind of person who likes to watch others sleep from up close, this is actually pretty good and might be worth learning as a subtle (or not-very-subtle) way of manipulating the subject's thoughts.
Grade: B
I love this spell. Even though it can only affect a single target at once (unless you have multiple spell slots), it is a good combat spell - especially for Communication and Empathy.
Grade: C
Just like Ack, this is a cantrip that is only useful if you have multiple spell slots or have a non-spell communication ability. Sure, there is the improved version, but I wouldn't learn it.
Grade: C
You probably will not learn this spell, but why not cast it with hardcore improvisation before going to bed? Getting these extra times of study might be very valuable.
Grade: A
This is a cheaper, less versatile version of Gift of Tongues. If you do not have points for the latter, this is a good choice. Also note that this grants both spoken and written language forms.
Grade: A
Excellent. Even though this is an indefinite spell that must be kept active, its usefulness is great. You can save a lot of points spent on skills, or you can use skills of your friends (or enemies) when they cannot use them.
Grade: A
Well, this spell is the namesake of the first half of the college, so it's bound to be good, right? Yes, it is a very good spell indeed. You can always contact your friends and have a two-way conversation over long distances.
Grade: D
While the effect sounds nice, with this short of a duration it's not very useful. I guess you can force somebody to lie to at least find out what's not true. But why not learn Compel Truth instead?
Grade: B
Just like Truthsayer, this spell does not completely negate all mundane attempts as lying, and I like that a lot. But even with that in mind, the effect is very useful.
Grade: D
Like Compel Truth, but written and lasts ten times as long. I guess there could be situations where this spell is preferrable, but I can't see myself picking it over Compel Truth.
Grade: A
I always wondered why possession spells are in the Communication and Empathy college and not in the Mind Control college. In any case, this spell requires a touch to cast, but once cast successfully, it allows you to simply control the subject like a puppet. Despite the various limitations, this is still an A spell.
Grade: F
While I absolutely love the concept of mindscapes and pocket dimension, this spell is way too expensive, so it gets an F.
Grade: D
This spell is incredibly situational, but is also cheap enough that many Communication and Emapthy mages would be able to improvise it.
Grade: C
If you suspect that somebody is living rent free in your head or the head of another person, you can fix it with this simple trick. It is pretty cheap too, so I wouldn't even mind learning it.
Grade: C
If you don't have good Acting skill, you can use this limited version that has no die roll attached. Could be useful when making a scene and asking to see the manager.
Grade: B
This is a limited form of Communication - still a good spell, but with some shortcomings.
Grade: C
This is a pretty good way to probe the subject's thoughts, even if it can be detected by those few who invest into the Dreaming skill. I like this spell.
Grade: C
The need for interpretation really doesn't do this spell any favor when compared to Message. I guess you can send messages to deaf people - that's the only upside.
Grade: D
I can imagine this being a great form of entertainment, but this spell's practical uses are much more limited. Maybe to eavesdrop on a Dream Projection or Dream Sending.
Grade: C
This is a spell with great potential, as it allows you to get into any person's dream - even without ever seeing them, if you're lucky. However, to utilize this spell to its full potential you'll probably need to learn some other dream spells.
Grade: D
Yeah, this is a divine dwarf-exclusive spell, but I still think that it should belong to this college. It's thematic, but very situational.
Grade: D
This is a powerful buff spell that makes you immune to influence skills and Fright Checks. However, from the point of view of a player character being affected by an influence skill is probably not a concern, and this seems too expensive to be worth using to counter Fright Checks, unless you're encountering them very often.
Grade: A
Unlimited potential. Basically, a permanent Morph in disguise with the downside of giving up your own body.
Grade: B
Like Gift of Tongues, but for written languages. It is a bit less useful. Imagine the following situation: you're a wizard exploring a dungeon, and then you see ancient etchings in a dead language. The inscription is probably very important. If this was a living creature, you'd be able to communicate with it with Gift of Tongues, but here you have to know what language this is to be able to use Gift of Letters. Invest in Linguistics.
Gift of Tongues (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 14)
Grade: A
With this one spell you can circumvent almost all language barriers, except those where one of the parties has vocal organs incompatible with the language chosen, or when written, signed, or more exotic languages are concerned. An excellent spell for almost any game, and veyr affordable as well.
Grade: A
Honestly, the Mind Control can be quite oppressive, so it's very nice to have a spell that is a big middle finger to the mind mages and telepaths, be they magical or psionic. And it's not even that expensive.
Grade: C
If studying to gain skills is important in your games, then this is incredibly helpful. And I can really see this spell being used as a form of entertainment in-universe.
Grade: B
At level 2, this spell becomes something of a pseudo-invisibility, where others forget about you as soon as they look away. But even level 1 is enough to walk unnoticed in many places where nobody is specifically on the lookout for you. This is a very interesting effect.
Grade: A
How many A's did I give to this college already? Lend Skill is another excellent spell that allows your patry members to save some points spent on skills.
Grade: C
As written, this is a divine spell, so you might want to change the power modifier, making the spell 2 points cheaper. Its effects are neat if you are having trouble with cultural familiarity penalties.
Grade: B
Sure, in a traditional fantasy game, this spell is not very useful, but in a modern or a sci-fi game, this is excellent.
Grade: B
No doubt, this is a very useful spell, but only if cell phones exist in the setting.
Grade: C
While this is a cheap spell, it's actually very valuable if you venture underwater.
Message (GURPS Sorcery: Sound Spells, p. 8)
Grade: B
A cheap long-distance communication spell. What's not to like here? The downside is that you do not get a response, so I'm giving it a B.
Grade: D
I can see situations where this spell might be useful, but I wouldn't learn it. Get Mind-Sending instead.
Grade: D
This is cool, but remember that it really depends on other people having mindscapes. Create Mindscape is ridiculously expensive, so your best bet is to encounter psis with the Psi-Realm ability.
Grade: A
A very costly spell, but with unlimited potential. Plus, you gain free access to the victim's memory as well, which is nice.
Grade: B
This is cheap, but the effects are significant, even if limited to one person. Getting that good reaction roll might be the difference between life and death.
Grade: A
Even a very limited form of possession is an excellent spell that also gives you access to the victim's memories.
Grade: C
This is not a buff spell, so it can be used on enemies. But it can be useful when cast on allies too, if you really want to leave an impression.
Grade: B
This is a weird spell. While this is an area attack that bypasses DR, it is also quite weak and non-selective. So, you will have to exercise caution when using it. However, this spell is also very cheap and produces a psionic effect. So, antimagic DR will not help against it.
Grade: D
Sure, the concept of this spell is cool, but I'd rather just learn Communication.
Grade: F
This spell's effects are varied, but I really do not think that it's worth that much.
Grade: C
I guess it could be good it goblins are extraordinarily common in your setting. But even otherwise it's quite cheap.
Sense Life (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 15)
Grade: B
A great spell to detect living being (especially invisible ones) and even glean some information about them. The improved version is much better, but also much more expensive - and that one can be used to fight invisible enemies or cast spells through walls.
Grade: D
I don't even know. I think this one should be left for improvisation, since it's cheap - only 4 points.
Grade: B
A great spell for spying and entertainment. Now you can live rent free in the subject's head.
Grade: B
This is a good save-or-die spell. More expensive than Accursed Triangle, but it does not have any dangerous side effects. However, it is relatively easy to resist.
Grade: A
This is like Communication, but even better, as both parties are not requires to vocalize the words.
Grade: A
This spell is expensive, but very powerful. This is a continuous sense that basically nullifies all attempts at stealth, including invisibility, and allows you to follow-up with an attack or another spell, if you have multiple slots.
Grade: F
Do you want to learn this spell when you could've spent twice as few points and get Gift of Tongues instead? I do not.
Grade: B
I like the fact that this spell is relatively short-"ranged", so it does not make Acting and Fast-Talk obsolete. It is still a good spell.
Grade: B
This -5 penalty can really mess things up, so I would not consider this spell weak. However, you have to setup a situation for two people to interact, and that's not always easy.
No comments:
Post a Comment