Stock #37-2666 Play with the laws of magic! CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR . 3 N HIS I T ALTERNATIVE RITUAL PATH MAGIC . 4 by Christopher R. Rice ISSUE RITUAL PATH SPECIALISTS . 16 by Jason “PK” Levine In the real world, breaking the speed of light isn’t just a bad idea . it’s the law. In fantasy realms, magic often has EIDETIC MEMORY : similar hard-and-fast rules that are not to be trifled with. THE AZURE DRAGON . 21 This Pyramid looks at the fundamental forces of the cosmos by David L. Pulver and the rules that underlie them. Test the laws of the mystical realm with Alternative Ritual THOROUGHLY MODERN MAGIC . 25 Path Magic, one of the meatiest features ever in Pyramid! by Paul Stefko Starting with the foundation of GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic, these optional rules explore numerous THE MATERIAL DIFFERENCE . 29 ways to combine Ritual Path magic with other reality-influ - by Sean Punch encing systems, including Book magic, Divine Favor, effect shaping, realms, symbols, craft, and more. It also provides RANDOM THOUGHT TABLE : new perks and advantages. BREAK THE LAW !. 36 The author of Ritual Path Magic – Jason “PK” Levine – by Steven Marsh, Pyramid Editor reveals how you can take such versatile generalists and turn them into Ritual Path Specialists. Explore new abilities, limita - ODDS AND ENDS . 38 tions, perks, specialties, Talents, and techniques that can really help you to focus your energy. BOUT A GURPS . 40 Every occult-themed campaign needs more grimoires, and GURPS Banestorm: Abydos author David L. Pulver discusses another tumultuous tome in this month’s Eidetic Memory, as he reveals the secrets of The Azure Dragon. Discover its history ® from the 1890s to the present, as well as a few rituals for Book magic contained therein. In a world where enchanters are common, businesses might mass-produce extraordinary items with Thoroughly Modern Magic. Updated from David L. Pulver’s industrial- enchantment rules from GURPS Technomancer, these guidelines bring such marvelous methods to the GURPS Fourth Edition rules – including a new magical style, tem - Article Colors plate, and sample NPC for line enchanters. Each article is color-coded to help you find your Sean Punch – GURPS Dungeon Fantasy designer – consid - favorite sections. ers how to turn the normally ho-hum GURPS item-enchant - ment process into something filled with action and adventure. Pale Blue: In This Issue Give your quests The Material Difference with tips for resource Brown: In Every Issue (humor, editorial, etc.) farming, handling, and preparation, plus a list of sample mate - Green: Columnist rials and associated hazards. Dark Blue: GURPS Features The latest installment of Random Thought Table ponders Purple: Systemless Features the laws of magic, while Odds and Ends wraps up the issue with suggestions for industrial-enchantment adventures, ritu - als that have nasty aftereffects, and more. COVER ART Whether you want to bend reality in new and unexpected Kirk Reinert ways, fire up a occult assembly line, or build an arcane artifact from the privacy of your own lab, this issue of Pyramid has something for you. It’s so magical, it’s almost against the law! Editor-in-Chief T STEVE JACKSON Art Director T SAMUEL MITSCHKE Chief Operating Officer T PHILIP REED e23 Manager T STEVEN MARSH Assistant Art Director T Marketing Director T LEONARD BALSERA GURPS Line Editor T SEAN PUNCH BRIDGET WESTERMAN Director of Sales T ROSS JEPSON Assistant GURPS Line Editor T Production Artist & Prepress Checker T Page Design T PHIL REED and JASON “PK” LEVINE NIKOLA VRTIS JUSTIN DE WITT PYRAMID MAGAZINE 2APRIL 2014 FROM THE EDITOR So, what’s better for you? Bigger or smaller? Is an occa - RULES MADE TO sional “mini-supplement” cool, or do you like a crate of crazy ideas in each issue? Or do you trust us to surprise you? As ever, BE BROKEN ? we want Pyramid to be the magazine you’re happy to buy . This issue of Pyramid deals with magic, especially as it ties and that includes presenting material that supports your cam - into the laws of the universe . those universal rules that you paigns and interest. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US?! Oh, need to be clever, daring, or daft to break. Curiously, this issue right; this is text. We can’t hear your responses. So how can we also bends one of the rules of the universe . at least, as far as hear from you? Perhaps if we wish hard enough, something Pyramid goes. This issue contains one of the largest articles to magical will happen . appear in these fine pages ( Alternative Ritual Path Magic, pp. 4- 14). It’s reminiscent of the mini-supplements that used to appear in Dragon magazine – oh-so-many years ago – which WRITE HERE , W RITE NOW were printed in the center of the magazine so you could unfold Well, look what we have here! Information on how to con - the staples and take it out separately . (Curiously, this issue tact us! Sorcery! comes on the heals of last month’s Pyramid #3/65: Alternate Was this issue magic for you? Or was it an explosion in GURPS III, which contained the third volume’s largest assort - the lab that unleashed something unto the world it ought ment of shorter articles we’ve ever done.) not have? Let us know what you think about our mad Of course, even if that oversized feature isn’t your cup of experiments by telling us how were doing, either privately at tea, we tried to make sure the rest of the issue has enough [email protected] , or publicly among the world’s interesting going on. There should be something in our bag of coolest gaming fans at forums.sjgames.com . tricks for every armchair mage. Pyramid, GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. e23 and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Pyramid is copyright © 2014 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Submission of your photos, letters, humor, captions, and marginalia constitutes permission to Steve Jackson Games Incorporated to use them in all media. All such submissions become the property of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated and will not be returned. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors’ rights is appreciated. PYRAMID MAGAZINE 3APRIL 2014 ALTERNATIVE RITUAL PATH MAGIC BY CHRISTOPHER R. R ICE The magic system found in GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual found in GURPS Powers , GURPS Powers: Divine Favor , Path Magic is versatile, flexible, and balanced. So, given its GURPS Thaumatology , GURPS Thaumatology: Magical chimerical origin, how else can it be expanded? Styles , and GURPS Thaumatology: Urban Magics . With the following additions and changes, you can merge Ritual Path magic with a wide range of systems, as BOOK MAGIC Instead of Paths – or concurrent with them – Ritual Path 1980s, when a hacker-turned-white-hat wrote a book about magic might use Books ( Thaumatology, p. 163). The effects of “hacking reality” and its “code.” The writer, who goes only by a Book skill can be unrelated, eccentric, and arbitrary. $h@d0V\/ (“Shadow”), gives bizarre instructions on how to The GM will need to decide what each Book covers; this will tap into the “universal code of reality” to gain “superuser usually be a narrower range than the average Path (e.g., Book of access.” It’s full of strange code, odd mnemonic exercises, Hacking may cover anything computer-related). Ideally, he will and blueprints for building computers that “network” with define many of the rituals found in the Book, but this is not reality. When a government agency began rounding up exacting; if a given ritual makes sense for the Book, he should Shadow’s followers and destroying copies of the book, they allow it. To balance these limits, he may let Books contain “spe - hid the book in plain sight: inside the DOD’s “Rainbow cial” rituals that may not be possible using Path skills. Such rit - Series” of books. Every once in a while a programmer will uals might be shortcuts allowing otherwise Greater effects to be stumble upon the message hidden in the otherwise mundane treated as Lesser effects – but only when using the Book skill. books and unlock the magic within . Books are bought as IQ/VH skills, but have no other prereq - In game terms, the Book of Shadow Code covers rituals uisites; they neither require nor are limited by Thaumatology. related to computers (hardware or software), information tech - (The 12+Magery cap still applies.) A book may have no default, nology (codes, programs, etc.), electricity (but only as transmit - may default to Thaumatology at -7 (or worse), or may even ted through manmade means), math, and cryptography. It default to a skill like Computer Hacking. If used at default, the defaults to Thaumatology -7, Computer Hacking -5, Computer usual skill limit of 12 applies. Programming -8, Computer Operation -10, and Mathematics Unlike Paths, each Book has an associated grimoire. This (Computer Science) -8. Additionally, thanks to the strange under - costs 30 times (+29 CF) the listed price, because it covers all rit - pinnings of the Book skill, many things that would normally uals used with its Book skill! A +10 grimoire might be the book require Greater effects instead use Lesser ones.