23/01/2017

RavensN'Pennies:Designer'sNotes:HiddenKnowledge
7

mais Prximoblog

Criarumblog Login

Caw!Caw!Look,it'sablog!Aboutgamingandwritingand...andstuff!Mostly,aboutgaming.Itserveschieflyas
mygamingblogformyowncampaigns,ponderingsonGURPS,andgeneralwordsmithery.Thesearemymagpie
meanderings,mytwocentsoftenmakingnosense.
Home

About

SessionRecaps

DisclaimersN'Stuff
CarpeBlogiem

Patreon

SupportingThisBlog

Gamemaster'sGuideposts

GameDesignCredits

GURPS101/MeleeAcademy

AssemblyRequired

ProductReviews

BoilandBubble

TheHurtLocker

TripleThreat

Thursday,February19,2015

Designer'sNotes:HiddenKnowledge

Johnny3d6
ShootingDice

HiddenKnowledgewasoneofthosethings
I'dalreadywritten,buthadn'treallyknownit
untilsomeoneknockedmeontheheadand
said"Hey,considerwritingthis."Inthiscaseit
wasSean"Dr.Kromm"Punch.I'daskedhim
someadviceonaparticularsubjectandhe
gaveittoinspades(andthat'swhattheguy
does,whichisawesome)."Secretmagicmight
befunforDungeonFantasy,"andthatjust
explodedinmyheadlikeatinynuclearbomb
filledwithelectrons,ink,paper,andahurble
blurbleofgamemechanics.I'dpreviously
writtensomematerialforusingspellbooksin
GURPSforoneofmycampaigns,butitlay
discardedinmyContentCemeteryfolderon
myharddrive.It'stheplacewhereideasgoto
languishinahalfdead,halfalive
Schrodingerianfelinelikemanner.halfstarted
blogentries,Pyramidarticles,campaign
detritusfromdiscardedsettings,andsoon.It
justsitsthereandwhenIneedsomething,Igo
intomymemorylibrary,siftaroundforthe
exactidea,andthenhopemymemoryandits
locationonthedrivearethesame.Sometimes
itsnotandItotallyblame...umm.Someoneor
something.Err..Quantummechanics!Yeah,
that'sit.Mumblemumblestrangeaction
mumblemumble.Therestwasahalfformed
thoughtI'dhadafterwatchingFiveDeadly
Venoms:whatifyoucouldmodifyspellsthat
arealreadypublishedandmakethemdifferent
somehow?Moreusefulordangerous?Thus"secretspells"werebornforDungeonFantasy,and"doubly
secret"becauseyouhavetohavethat43rdtechniqueyouneverteachyourstudentsincaseoneofthemtries
tousethefirst42againstyou.ThepiecesIscavengedforthearticleweremaybe500or600wordsandI
wrotetherestinabout20hours.Unfortunately,thisonewasonewheretherevisionstookforeverandI
wantedtopullmyhairoutatafewpoints.Sevenrevisionslateranditwas,well,"muchmorebetterer"to
quoteCapn'Sparrow.TheIactuallymanagedtoincludemosteverythingIhadwantedto,butlikealwaysI
hadsomeouttakes.

RPGJutsu
TheBlindMapmaker
Pseudoboo
GamingBallistic
DungeonFantastic
OneYardHex
WorldsBeyondEarth
OfPaperMenandPlastic
Monsters
TheCheckboardofthe
Gods
Jason"PK"Levine's
MyGURPS
Sean"Dr.Kromm"
Punch'sLivejournal
SteveJacksonGames
Forums
SteveJacksonGames
GURPS
SteveJacksonGames
w23
BlogArchive

2017(6)
2016(135)
2015(135)
December2015(13)
November2015(11)
October2015(3)
September2015(3)
August2015(8)
July2015(14)
June2015(10)
May2015(14)
April2015(15)
March2015(17)
February2015(12)

SpellbooksforAll!
IftheGM'ssettingcallsforit,thefirstlevelofthenewSpellscribepowerupmightapplyequallyacrossthe
boardtoallspellcasters.Bardshavesongbooks,clericsandholywarriorshaveprayerbooks,druidshave
codices,andwizardshavegrimoires.Insteadofaoptionalbonus,itbecomesrequiredforallcasterswhomust
startoutwithexpensivebookstorepresentthatknowledge.
http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/02/designersnoteshiddenknowledge.html#.WIah_Vj57IM

TheHurtLocker:Deck
ofWonders
SicatraTheLostLad
GameSession1
TripleThreat:The

1/5

23/01/2017

RavensN'Pennies:Designer'sNotes:HiddenKnowledge
startoutwithexpensivebookstorepresentthatknowledge.
DungeonsandDragonsstylesorcererswouldinsteadusethestandardrules,musttaketheWildTalent
advantagefromthewizardtemplate,andhavethenewadvantage(whichwouldbeafeatureforthemunder
theserules,butaadvantagein"regular"DungeonFantasy):

TripleThreat:The
SlenderMan
Gamemasters
Guidepost:Tainted
Blood
Designer'sNotes:
HiddenKnowledge

MagicintheBlood
1pointforMagery0,and1point
peradditionallevelofMagerythereafter
YouignoreprerequisitesforlearningspellsaslongasyoumeettheminimumMageryforthespell.
Optionally,GMswithGURPSThaumatology:MagicalStylescanusetherulesRestructuringPrerequisites
(p.17)todeterminewhatlevelofMageryyouneedtohavethespell.

GURPS101:Cultures
inDungeonFantasy
CarpeBlogiem:
MusingsonSicatra,
PartI
SicatraThePilgrims'
PleaGameSession
1

Advantage:AddtheenhancementLimitedNoSpellPrerequisites(+10%)toMagery.Thisisaweakerform
ofNoSpellPrerequisitesfromGURPSThaumatology(p.67)

GURPS101:Callofthe
Wild

NewModifierforBooks

Gamemasters
Guidepost:Madas
Bones

AouttakebecauseIjustdidn'thaveanyspace:
EnhancedCapacity:Themanualiswritteninsuchawayinthattheinformationcontainedwithinitis
denserthannormal.Eachlevelofthismodifier(uptotwo)increasesthenumberofpointsagivenbookcan
haveonaparticularsubjectmatterby50%(roundup).Skillsortraitsmustberelated.Forexample,aprimer
withenhancedcapacity1couldcontaintwoFireCollegespellsorasinglespellandThaumatology,butcould
notcontaininformationonClimbingandThaumatology.+9CFforlevel1or+19CFforleveltwo.

TripleThreat
Gorillaphant
Gamemaster's
Guidepost:TheArt
ofMakingNPCs
January2015(15)

NewSpellOptionforSecretSpells

2014(160)

AouttakebecauseIjustdidn'thaveanyspaceandeventuallyjustfoldeditintoUniqueEffectsorRules
BreakerbecauseDungeonFantasydoesn'tfocusonenchantmentspells:

2013(43)

Enchantment:Thespellcanbeenchantedinawaythatisnottypicalofit.Forexample,aspellthatcanbe
enchantedintoawandorstaffmightbeabletobeenchantedontoaweaponorshield.Forspellsthatare
notnormallycapableofhavingenchanteditems,thismakesitpossible.TheGMwillhavetocomeupwith
theenergycostsforthis,butagoodguidelineis500perpointofFPthespellnormallycoststocast.Ifthis
latteroptionischoice,ittakesuptwoslots,notone.

NewPowerUp:FakeCredentials
EvenwhilewritingitupIknewI'dhavetocutit(it'swaytoclosetoDungeonsandDragons3.0/3.5's"Use
MagicDevice"skill).Thatdoesn'tmeanyoucan'tuseitinyourgamesifyouwant...
FakeCredentials
8/13/18/21/24/27/30/33pointsforlevels18*
Prerequisite:Will14+andInfluenceSkillat18+.
Wheneveryoucomeacrossamagicalitemorpieceofgearrestrictedtoaspecificclassorraceyoucan
attempttomakeaWillbasedInfluenceskill10rollagainstitsHT(orWillforsentientorintelligentitems).
Successallowsyoutouseitforminutesequaltoyourmarginofsuccess.Youcanalsoattempttodothisfor
placesormagicaleffectsthatwouldotherwiseadverselyaffectyou.AssignaHTof13formostsucheffects.
Alternatively,iftheygiveapenalty,addtheabsolutevalueto12andusethatinstead.Forexample,ifthe
HallsofLawgivethieves3onalltheirrolls,thenathiefwiththispowerupcouldmakearolltoconvinceit
he'snotathief...forminutesequaltohismargin.
Level2letsyourollat5insteadof10,whilelevel3letsyourollatfullskill.Level4andhighergive
youa+1toyourrollperlevel.Thispowerupisavailabletoanyone,buttheGMmaywishtorestrictitto
specifictemplateslikethieforbard.
Advantages:Level4andhigheraddsCharisma(Accessibility,OneInfluenceSkill,40%)[3/level]alevelata
time.
Perks:SpecialSetup(Influenceskillcanbeusedonspecifictypesofinanimateobjectsorplaces)[1]
UniqueTechnique(FakeItTillyouMakeIt)[1].
Techniques:FakeItTillyouMakeIt(H)InfluenceSkill10[6]atlevel1,InfluenceSkill5[11]atlevel2,
orInfluenceSkill+0[16]atlevel3.
*GMswhowantwidercapabilitiescanmake"FakeItTillyouMakeIt"awildcardtechnique.Thiswouldchangecoststo20/35/50/53/56/59/62/65pointsforlevels18.

2012(27)
Labels

GURPS RolePlaying
Dungeon
Fantasy
gaming
advice
Gamemaster's Guidepost
MeleeAcademy/GURPS
101 Monster Hunters
magic
systems
worldbuilding Session
Recap magic Triple
Threat creature Patreon
writing Carpe Blogiem
Designer's Notes Ritual
Path
Magic
Aeon
gear/equipment Sicatra The
Awakening The Hurt Locker
Book Reviews
Product
Review Powers Alternate
GURPS Sicatra Session
Recap
The
Awakening
Session Recap Pyramid Aeon
Session Recap Boil and
Bubble Assembly Required
The Chronicles of Ceteri
psionics After the End
Sorcery Crowdfunding Guest
Post The Chronicles of Ceteri
Session Recap standard magic
Supers

templates

GURPS

ConversionUltraTechDiablo II
GURPS

Action

LowTech

Online Gaming Alien Menace

Session

Recap

Incantation

Magic Metatronic Generators

Pyramid

Mentoring

Skills

martial arts reblog Alchemy

Youmightalsolike:

Combat Encounters Final Fantasy

GURPS RolePlaying Mass Combat
Online Gaming GURPS Software
Review Dungeons and Dragons 5th
edition Path/Book Magic Pathfinder
RPG

PowerUps

Swords

and

Wizardrywriting.

Gamemaster's
Guidepost:
Decomplicating
Combat

GURPS101:More
WaystoLearn

CarpeBlogiem:It's
BeenanAeon...

Designer'sNotes:
DungeonFantasy
19Incantation
Magic

BoilandBubble:
ThePowerofthe
Soul

Linkwithin

http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/02/designersnoteshiddenknowledge.html#.WIah_Vj57IM

PopularPosts

Triple

2/5

23/01/2017

RavensN'Pennies:Designer'sNotes:HiddenKnowledge
Triple
Threat:
Collected
PostsI
Today's
postisoneofmy
promisedPatreongoalsa
collectionofmypostsina
singlePDF.It'sonly
accessibletomyPatreon
...

Linkwithin

PostedbyChristopherR.Riceat3:04PM
+7 Recommend this on Google

Labels:Designer'sNotes,magic,magicsystems,RitualPathMagic,writing

2comments:
Anonymous February26,2015at4:20PM
I'mconfusedastotheutilityoftheEnhancedCapacitymodifier.Everyadditionalpointis$25,whiledoubling
thenumberofpointswithEnhancedCapacitymakesthewholethingcostalotmore.
Reply
Replies
ChristopherR.Rice

February26,2015at7:07PM

It'salmostentirelyusefultoprimersonlythat'swhyitgotchucked.

Carpe
Blogiem:
2016A
YearIn
Review
Likemylastthreeyears
inreview.Herearehow
thingswentformein
2016:TheGood(WhatI
didwellorthatwentwell)
Iwa...

Reply

Enteryourcomment...

Commentas:

Publish

Gamemaste
r's
Guidepost:
FairyRings
GuestPost
byAndersStarmarkFairy
ringsareringsof
mushroomsthatgrow
outward,leavingacircle
ofdarkgreenordead
grassbehin...

Selectprofile...

Preview

NewerPost

Home

Subscribeto:PostComments(Atom)

OlderPost

Carpe
Blogiem:
AeonTeam
Rosters
PartIII
Thecurrentongoingsof
myAeonteams.Butfirst,
somenotesforthe
overviewofallteams.
TheStateoftheAeon
CampaignIfinis...
Carpe
Blogiem:
AeonTeam
Rosters
PartIV
Asinthepreviousposts
(seehere,here,andhere
)I'mtalkingaboutmy
Aeoncampaignandthe
variousteamswithinit.
Stateof...
Boiland
Bubble:
Rituale
Romanum
Path/Book
Magic
Path/Bookmagicisoneof
thosemoreinteresting
magicsystemsinGURPS
andlikemostinteresting
thingsitshardtodesign
moremateria...
GURPS101:Other
TrainedbyaMaster
Advantages
Nothinghelpsbuilda
characterconceptlikethe
hintofsomekindofsecret
orspecialtraining.In
GURPSthiscangobe
doneinseveral...
GURPS101:SpellKits
ForCastersThe
Necromancer
"Inglamourythat
necromancerheldhishosts
ofphantomsandof
wanderingghosts..."The
LayofLeithian,J.R.R.
Tolkien...

TheHurt

http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/02/designersnoteshiddenknowledge.html#.WIah_Vj57IM

3/5

23/01/2017

RavensN'Pennies:Designer'sNotes:HiddenKnowledge

TheHurt
Locker:
TheIugum
Mark7
Crossbow
InPyramid#3/82:
MagicalCreationsIwrote
TheHuntersReliquary
whichgaveMonster
Hunterschampionsanew
toolintheirarsenal:...
Carpe
Blogiem:
GURPS
Discord
Happy
GURPSday!So+Mook
Wilsonhastalkedabout
GURPSDiscordonhis
blogandnowIhavetodo
thesame.Theunofficial
GURPSDisco...

Twitter

Tweetsby
@Ravenpenny
Christopher
@Ravenpenny
Onepillmakesyou
grower
taller....cdn.emgn.com/wp
content/upl
17h

Christopher
@Ravenpenny
Todayhasbeena"think
toomuchday."Ihate
thosedays.
ravenpenny.dreamwidth.o
rg/22512.html
23h

Christopher
@Ravenpenny
Madesomebaingan
bhartabutonlybarely
mashedtheeggplant.I
wantedtoseeiftherewas
atastedifference(there
Embed

ViewonTwitter

Google+Followers

ChristopherR.Rice
Addtocircles

122havemein
circles

View
all

Followers

Seguidores(22)Prxima

http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/02/designersnoteshiddenknowledge.html#.WIah_Vj57IM

4/5

23/01/2017

RavensN'Pennies:Designer'sNotes:HiddenKnowledge

Seguir

SubscribeToRaven'sNPennies

Posts

FollowbyEmail

Emailaddress...

Submit

Comments

http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/02/designersnoteshiddenknowledge.html#.WIah_Vj57IM

5/5