So, I'm on a
Chivalry and Sorcery kick, as evidenced by photos of my collection. C&S has an amazing magic system, the most comprehensive and challenging I've ever seen, with tons of tasty goodness. One of the features of the magic system is a large number of different types of magic users, such as Enchanters, Shamans, Alchemists, and Mechanician-Artificers. These diverse styles have very different ways of casting spells. I've always wanted to translate them all over to one of my other favorite systems,
GURPS.
This week I wrote up one of the more unusual mage types -- the
Drug Trance Mage. Drug trance mages are part of the Natural Magician mode of magic from C&S. Most natural mages do not have masters that they learn spells from, nor can they learn from books or scrolls. Their magic is not academic in nature. The other natural mages are the Primitive Talent, the Dance/Chant Mage, the Shaman, and the Medium. Only the Shaman has a master that teaches them spells.
Without further ado, here is my version of Drug Trance Magery. Let me know what you think. All comments appreciated.
Drug Trance Magery 3 points/level
This form of magery allows the mage to make magical drugs in the form of potions or powders. By taking the drug, they gain the ability to cast a spell. The nature of this kind of magic does not require the person to be a full-time mage.
The drug-making process is a form of Enchantment using a special spell: Enchant Drug (IQ/H). Each drug has a cost to enchant of 30 energy and requires seven different ingredients worth $100, four of which must be either liquids for potions, or herbs for powders. Each recipe is unique -- the mage must write down the recipe. The same recipe will produce the same spell effect. Unlike regular enchantment, the Drug Trance Mage only needs two hours a day for enchanting. The GM should make the enchant spell rolls secretly. On a normal failure, the mage knows the enchantment has failed and the batch is destroyed. If a critical failure is rolled, impurities have been unknowingly been introduced and the drug is
Tainted. The drug mage doesn’t know what spell is in the drug until they test a dose. This process produces 2d doses of the drug. Only the mage who made the drug can use it. Also, recipes are specific to the mage who created them -- recipes cannot be shared with other drug trance mages.
To test the drug, the mage consumes a dose. The GM determines the spell by rolling d66 (1d for the first digit and 1d for the second digit, so a roll of 2 and then 4 is 24) on the Spell College Table. Then roll 1d for each spell in the college in the order given in the book, skipping spells already in the drug repertoire of the Drug Trance Mage, as well as spells for which the mage does not have the Magery prerequisites. A roll of 1 indicates that spell has been enchanted into the drug.
Spell College Table
d66 Spell College
11-12 Air
13-14 Animal
15-16 Communication and Empathy
21-22 Divination
23-24 Earth
25-26 Fire
31-32 Food
33-34 Healing
35-36 Illusion and Creation
41-42 Knowledge
43-44 Light and Darkness
45-46 Plant
51-52 Sound
53-54 Water
55 Body Control
56 Gate
61 Making and Breaking
62 Mind Control
63 Movement
64 Protection and Warning
65 Weather
66 Roll another 1d: 1-4=Necromantic, 5-6=Summon Demon
Potions are drunk and powders can either be smoked, snorted, or mixed with food. Many drug trance mages have a preferred delivery method. The drug takes effect after 5 seconds and lasts 3d6 minutes (the GM makes the duration roll secretly). During that time, the mage can cast the spell within the limits of their fatigue. If drugs are mixed or taken while under the influence of another magical drug, treat as if Tainted (see below) but at a -2 HT penalty. Mages can use these drugs safely up to 4 times a day. If this limit is exceeded, the mage has ‘overdosed’ -- treat as per Tainted (below) but with a -2 HT penalty for each dose over the maximum.
If the drug is Tainted (or the mage mixed drugs or overdosed), the caster must make a HT roll to avoid a ‘bad trip’. On a failure, the caster passes out for 2d minutes. On a 17, the caster loses consciousness for 2d hours. On an 18, the caster falls into a coma for 2d days.
On the Summon Demon result on the Spell College Table, the demon of the drugs appears when the drug is tested. The caster rolls a Quick Contest of Will against the demon’s will of 16. If the caster wins, the demon will enchant the drug with a spell of the caster’s choice. If the demon wins, the caster is afflicted with a form of demon possession -- drug addiction! Each day the caster must make a Will-2 roll or they must take a dose of the drug. If the caster already has an Addiction, the roll is Will-5. If they take the drug, roll 1d to determine length of unconsciousness: 1-3=2d minutes, 4-5=2d hours, 6=2d days. 24 hours after regaining consciousness, they will crave the drug again and need to make another roll. If the mage gets a critical success on the Will roll, they have broken the addiction.
