This post is going to be kind of long. In it, I’m going to go over a piece of published fiction in detail, looking for references to the use of magic, and I’m going to see how best to express what we read in GURPS terms. The main wrinkle is that I wrote this piece of fiction, although that was a couple of years ago and I wasn’t explicitly using GURPS as a world-building tool at the time.

The story is my novelette “Harmony’s Choice,” published in the spring of 2016. It’s set in the Mycenaean era, in the city of Thebes, and it involves a contention among heroes for the vacant kingship of the city. The protagonist is a young woman named Megara, who is sent by the city’s ruling Queen to select the most likely candidates. The two men she brings before the throne turn out to be two of the great heroes of Greek myth.

Both Megara and her Queen are magic-users, in the same tradition that will carry over into the Danassos stories I intend to write (the Danassos setting can be considered part of the same historical-fantasy timeline, a few centuries later). They both resemble Alexandra, the protagonist for those stories. All these characters are young women who are highly talented in some system of spirit-based magic, in which they produce effects by interacting with a spirit world and call up specific spirits to serve as allies.

What do Spells Look Like?

Let’s start by examining places in the story where a character can be said to engage in some form of “spell-casting.” I think the system I had in the back of my mind when I wrote “Harmony’s Choice” was the Paths and Books ritual-magic system, as detailed in GURPS Thaumatology (Chapter Five, pages 121-165). Keeping that in mind, I’ll mostly be looking to see whether I wrote anything into the story that can’t easily be framed in that kind of magic system.

“Your brother is safe, and will return to the city by tomorrow,” [Megara’s father] assured her. “The spirits you sent with us watched over him well. He took a cut across his cheek in the last battle, but nothing to threaten his life. He might show a scar once it heals.”

[Megara] snorted in derision. “He’ll like that. The girls will think he’s a great hero.”

“Yes, I believe he’s already thought of that.”

Here, Megara is said to have “sent spirits” to “watch over” her father and her brother during a war. This sounds very much like a protective ritual, most likely Chaperone (p. 152 in Thaumatology) creating protective amulets that Megara’s men could wear in battle.

For a long time, Euryganeia sat in silent thought, one hand reaching out to idly caress Megara’s hair. “I have consulted the omens,” she said at last. “Walked in dreams and spoken with my kin upon Olympos. King Laios is dead.”

Queen Euryganeia (who is both a mortal woman and a vessel for the city’s patron goddess, Harmonia) has apparently used scrying magic based on dreams (oneiromancy) to determine the fate of the city’s king.

This could be the working of an advantage like Blessed or (less likely) Oracle. It could also simply be the use of the Dreaming skill with Fortune-Telling (Dream Interpretation), as described on p. 188 of the Basic Set). It would make sense for such a skill to be supernaturally effective in this setting – the ancient Greeks certainly believed in prophetic dreams. Finally, it could indicate that Euryganeia is using the Dreamwalk ritual (p. 142 in Thaumatology).

I think I’ll go with the latter and assume that magical adepts are likely to have some combination of Dreaming, Fortune-Telling, Ritual Magic, and Path of Dreams skills. Of course, none of that is mutually exclusive with a god-touched individual also having the Blessed advantage, for occasional advice straight from the deity.

Megara moved forward to stand by the central hearth, between the contenders, with as much dignity as she could manage. From there, she administered a terrible oath, invoking both Olympian and chthonic powers. By the time she finished, the divine presence had become so thick in the megaron that she could barely breathe.

This priestly act of oath-taking can also be modeled using GURPS Path and Book magic. This could most likely be implemented as the Doom ritual (p. 152 in Thaumatology) with a starting condition (i.e., “when you break the oath you just swore”).

That’s all the “spell-casting” references in the story. All three can be represented using Path and Book magic, and it’s interesting that two out of three of those came from the Path of Luck. Looking at the other Paths, though, all of them look as if they would fit the setting except for the Path of Gadgets.

I’m going to assume that magic-users will invest in the Ritual Magic skill. I’ll assume the Effect Shaping form of the magic system, with most magicians using Paths, although there may be a few Books (grimoires) written by famed practitioners.

Spirit Allies

Another major component of magic, as it appears in the story, has to do with the service of spirits. Megara has a team of small air-spirits, called aurai (the word is related to the English “aura” and literally means “breeze”). These aurai always linger near her and she can perceive and speak with them. They usually act as spies and message-carriers, but they’re also capable of giving her a little help in dangerous situations. An example:

She heard a great commotion out in the grand courtyard: the sudden rattle of chariot wheels on stone, followed by the clatter of bronze and the hoarse shouts of men.

Eyes wide, Megara sent one of her aurai out through the window to investigate. When the tiny spirit returned to whisper in her ear, she rose to her feet at once.

“News of the war?” wondered Klymenos. “Or is it the king at last?”

“It’s my father,” said Megara.

All of this has several implications. First, Megara almost certainly has the Medium advantage (10 points) so that she can see and speak to spirits. Second, she also has an Ally Group advantage, indicating her command over a personal team of aurai. We’re going to need to stat out the aurai, which means analyzing what their capabilities are.

Again, I wasn’t explicitly using GURPS when I wrote this story, but I can attest I was thinking in terms of the spirit templates developed as far back as GURPS Spirits (2001). I’m fairly certain that the aurai will be easy to set up using something like the Spirit meta-trait on p. 263 of the Basic Set. Let’s do the analysis. I’m going to search for each reference to aurai in the story and make a note of the implications.

Starting with the reference above:

• Aurai can fly. More precisely, they can use the omnidirectional movement that’s typical of the Insubstantiality advantage.
• They are quick enough that they can move out of a building, see something, and report back within a few moments. That may suggest a level or so of Enhanced Move.
• They are also intelligent enough to recognize what they see, for example specifically reporting to Megara that her father (and not some other bronze-armored charioteer) has arrived.

Okay, let’s look for some more data.

Then Megara heard a whisper. Not one of her own aurai. A different voice, cold and accustomed to command.

Oskalos must have seen a shadow in her face. “What is it, little bird?”

She looked up into his eyes, suddenly solemn. “The queen wants to hear your report.”

• The queen (a woman named Euryganeia) clearly has command of aurai of her own, so Megara isn’t the only character with the requisite traits.
• Aurai are intelligent enough to carry a message, and even to convey something of the personality of the person who sent a message.

A thought called up her aurai, and sent the spirits soaring around the two of them, silent and invisible. They examined Alkaios, searching out the secrets of his heart and whispering to Megara of what they saw. She compared the man to what she remembered of the boy.

• This suggests some level of telepathic ability, permitting the aurai to sense Alkaios’s thoughts and intentions. Alkaios doesn’t seem to be aware of the scrutiny or able to mount a Will-based defense of it. That suggests Empathy rather than the more active and intrusive Mind Probe or Mind Reading.
• The aurai are probably quite intelligent, well above the level of even a smart animal, if they are using Empathy to weigh human souls.
• I’ve just realized this, but if Megara is using her aurai to assess another character, that probably means she lacks the Empathy advantage herself.

“If you’re a prince, why are you in exile?” Megara silently called up an aura to watch him. “Did you commit a crime?”

“No, potnia, I’m guilty of no crime there.” He tossed his head ruefully. “In fact, I left Korinthos to prevent a terrible crime. I wish it wasn’t necessary. I love my parents very much, but to rest at ease in their palace is not my fate.”

She listened for the spirit’s protest, but it remained silent.

He is telling the truth. Or at least he believes what he is saying.

• Once again, Megara is using an aura to apply Empathy (and probably the spirit’s Detect Lies skill) while conversing with someone.

Megara barely had an instant to realize what was happening. She pulled out her dagger. Then a man loomed up in front of her in the darkness, all stink and staring eyes, his teeth bared in a snarl. His own knife swept up, ready to tear out her life.

She didn’t have time to think, only to react. She whispered a name. One of her aurai flew forward, half-materializing in the darkness.

Suddenly the man saw not a frightened young woman, but something out of clawed and fanged nightmare, leaping for his throat. He stopped dead, paralyzed with sudden terror, as if he had seen a Gorgon’s face.

• An aura can apparently materialize for short periods of time. This fits the Spirit meta-trait, with the Insubstantiality advantage carrying the Affect Substantial and Usually On modifiers.
• When substantial and visible, an aura can seriously frighten a human target. That suggests the Terror advantage.

Megara calculated quickly, and whispered to another spirit. It picked up a heavy load of dust from the street and hurled it into the faces of the men opposing her brother.

• This doesn’t seem to require much beyond the ability to materialize for a moment and move an object, which seems implicit in the Spirit meta-trait. The aurai don’t seem to be very large or physically strong, otherwise Megara would be calling on them to actually fight for her, instead of engaging in this kind of trickery.

Megara found herself watching Alkaios: jaw set, brows lowered, eyes flashing in anger as he thought hard. The picture of consternation. Her heart went out to him. She felt the sudden temptation to send an aura to whisper in his ear, help him find the answer he needed. Then she quashed the idea, shivering at the thought of what the goddess would do to her, if she tried such a thing under Euryganeia’s watchful eye.

• At first glance, this doesn’t seem to suggest anything new, but I just now realized that Megara is assuming an aura could whisper to Alkaios and he would hear it. Alkaios is not likely to be a Medium or anything like that, just an ordinary man, so this might require explanation. I had to check the GURPS rules to see that Insubstantial characters are assumed to be able to speak to substantial ones, so that’s okay.

Okay, I think I’ve gathered enough information to draw up a template for aurai, which will serve as basic spirit servants for magic-using characters in the Danassos setting as well.

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Aura (300 points)

Age N/A; Spirit; 1′; Negligible weight; Amorphous and diffuse creature, rarely substantial or visible.

ST 4 [-60]; DX 14 [80]; IQ 8 [-40]; HT 10 [0].

Damage 1d-5/1d-4; BL 3.2 lbs.; HP 8 [8]; Will 8 [0]; Per 14 [30]; FP 10 [0].

Basic Speed 6 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]; Block 8 (DX); Dodge 9; Parry 10 (DX).

Social Background

TL: 2 [0]. CF: Hellenic (Native) [0]. Languages: Greek (Native) [0].

Advantages

Doesn’t Breathe [20]; Doesn’t Eat or Drink [10]; Doesn’t Sleep [20]; Empathy [15]; Enhanced Move (Air) (1) [20]; Injury Tolerance (Diffuse) [100]; Insubstantiality (Accessibility (Cannot move through solid objects or liquids) (+2); Usually On) [32]; Invisibility (Electromagnetic) (Substantial Only; Usually On) [38]; Resistant (Metabolic Hazards) (Very Common) (Immunity) [30]; Terror (Will-0) [30]; Unaging [15].

Disadvantages

Curious (6 or less) [-10]; Dependency (Open air) (Very Common) (Constantly) [-25]; Invertebrate [-20]; Selfless (12 or less) [-5].

          Quirks: Devoted to its assigned human; Imaginative; Playful and mischievous; Sometimes acts out to get attention [-4].

Skills

Detect Lies-16 (Per+2) [2]; Lip Reading-14 (Per+0) [2]; Observation-15 (Per+1) [4]; Search-15 (Per+1) [4]; Throwing-15 (DX+1) [4].

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A few things to note here:

• An aura has no magical or psionic powers that it can use to affect the substantial world while it remains insubstantial. Even its Terror requires that it be visible and therefore substantial. It can pick up (very small) objects with its ST, but again, only while it’s substantial. I therefore didn’t apply the Affects Substantial modifier to Insubstantiality, as in the Spirit meta-trait on p. 263 of the Basic Set.
• I kept the Doesn’t Breathe advantage, but I also added another Accessibility limitation to Insubstantiality so that an aura can’t move through walls or other solid objects. It also needs open air as a Dependency – close an aura up in a sealed space, or worse yet a small box, and you’re likely to kill it before long.
• Aurai are about as intelligent as a human child, but they are very perceptive, and their few skills are almost all Per-based. Their ability to move or manipulate physical objects is very limited due to their low ST, Invertebrate disadvantage, and lack of physical skills aside from Throwing.
• If aurai come in at 300 points, then a magic-using character with at least that many character points will be able to purchase them as Allies for a base cost of 5 points each. That fits my estimates for the point budget for leading characters in the Danassos stories.

One more item. I’ve mentioned it briefly above, but the character of Queen Euryganeia is a little unusual:

Megara and Euryganeia were the same age. They had grown up together, learning the same lessons, sharing secrets with each other, playing the games that young women of the palace always played. Then Megara’s aunt died, old Queen Iokaste who had ruled for so long, and the goddess of the city chose Euryganeia to be her new vessel. Now Harmonia, the Lady of the Sphinxes, often looked out at the world through the young queen’s eyes. The goddess could be compassionate and wise, but she was also mysterious, and full of holy dread.

This could be implemented through the Spirit Vessel system (pp. 211-214 in Thaumatology), but I think it’s likely to be subtler than that. In the story, Euryganeia’s possession by the goddess doesn’t lead to drastic changes in personality. She spends almost every scene she appears in just sitting on her throne, the “voice of the goddess” becoming more pronounced when she is angry or needs to speak with authority. This can probably be represented by a few advantages (and possibly a point or two of IQ) with the Pact limitation.

So, to summarize:

• Almost all magic in the Danassos setting (and in my Mycenaean-era stories) is related to interactions with spirits (including gods) and a spirit world.
• True magic-using characters always carry a priestly function, so all magic is clerical in nature. Even self-employed diviners and magicians are usually initiated as priests of some god (e.g., Hekate).
• Magic-users will need the Ritual Magery advantage (p. 72 of Thaumatology), with the Path/Book specialization (p. 123 of Thaumatology). This represents an investment in power from a deity, like the Power Investiture advantage from the Basic Set. Magery, as an innate ability to wield magic, doesn’t exist in this setting.
• Especially god-touched characters will probably have some or all of the following: Blessed, Channeling, Clerical Investment, Medium, and Oracle. Many of these advantages may come with the Pact limitation, if they don’t require behavioral standards by default.
• Magical effects are produced using Path/Book Magic as described in Thaumatology. All the Paths are available except the Path of Gadgets. Power Investiture acts as a bonus to IQ for the Ritual Magic skill and all Path skills.
• Magic-using characters are likely to gather teams of spirit allies, such as the aurai detailed above. More individualized spirits, with personal names and specific abilities of their own, are entirely possible. The Ally or Ally Group advantages here are also likely to have a Pact limitation.
• Very rarely, a character may serve as the “vessel” for a god. This is most often simply a special effect.

Okay, I think I’m now prepared to draw up Alexandra herself, and possibly one or two magic-using antagonists for her. I’ll work on that and see how it comes out later this week.