Welcome to my new project for this blog, a series of posts developing a setting and following up on previous posts.
“She flies with her own wings!” – Motto of the State of Oregon
This series will detail a North American (English Language, Western CF) “low fantasy” secret magic modern day (TL 8) Earth city in southern Oregon, a place named Whistleleaf City.
In the city of Whistleleaf City, monsters are lurking below the surface and real magic is kept secret by a covert subculture of shady occultists. The city’s occult underground (“The Scene”) is a loose web of shifting alliances, rivalries, gangs, independent operators, grey markets, cults, forbidden knowledge, eldritch locations and monster populations. Being involved in the shady subculture (or just being a magician and/or alchemist) is a Secret worth at least -10 points. (Player Characters are recommended to be worth 100-150 points to start, if the campaign is not a full Monster-Hunters campaign.)
Players in a campaign visiting or living in Whistleleaf City must navigate a modern sandbox of intrigue, adventure, mystery and crime. Movers and shakers in the occult underground live a precarious existence, and so they keep certain strategic principles in mind when they consider their next moves (so will the PCs, if they know what’s good for them);
Don’t fight unless the rewards or risks are too great to avoid it. If you’ve got power or money, abuse it to keep yourself safe and your interests protected. Confront enemies directly only when you’ve got the force to bully them into backing down or surrendering; otherwise, strike from ambush. Use the extent of your cunning or guile. Be wary of crossing other powerful interests, like the law or organized crime; strike surgically whenever possible. Wait for the right moment.
Whistleleaf City has all the usual markers of the Pacific Northwest; lots of rain, hills, foggy, tall trees. (Terrain type is mostly Woodlands.) The region in the winter gets very dark (even totally dark) once the sun goes down (6 PM) very quickly. Darkness penalties should become high in the late afternoon and get higher when night falls, only easing up when the sun rises again. This makes the cloudy and wet cold even worse. The biggest business active in the city’s surface level economics is a large-scale logging operation that employs quite a significant segment of the city’s working class (more on that later). The city of Whistleleaf publicly has a mediocre public bus system (and no subway), an old freight yard, a dock by a large lake connected to rivers, a population of 56,574 (full City Stats to be given later), relative ease of access to a highway, an university, a nearby state park and a forest surrounding it. The criminal elements of Whistleleaf City are unknown to most, not to mention its supernatural features. (Later on, they will be detailed in GMs-only sections.) The city’s inhabitants have the same Languages and Cultural Familiarities as what you can find in modern day America.
Sidebar: Gun Laws in Oregon
Right now, a permit or license is not legally required to purchase or possess a firearm in Oregon, as the relevant ballot measure is stuck in litigation and not in effect. Firearms are required to be registered, but the state police keep a record of firearms sales from FFL holders for a period of 5 years, after which the records are destroyed. You must be at least 18 years old to own a handgun and 21 years old to own a long arm. A license is required for concealed carry but not for open carry. Private party firearm transfers must be conducted through a licensed firearm dealer while both parties are present. The dealer is required by federal law to conduct a background check and keep a record of the sale. Transfers between family members (spouse, parent/stepparent, child/stepchild, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt/uncle, first cousin, niece/nephew, spouse of any of the above) are exempt. If a person appears to be in imminent danger of hurting themselves or another person, a police officer or a member of the person’s family or household may petition the court for a one-year order that would prohibit the person from possessing a deadly weapon.
Sidebar: Previously on my blog…
Long-time readers will note that this series of posts will follow up on past material. Most of the stuff in the links below can be re-used for this series. (The only exception I can think of right now is a single NPC who is a metrophile, as the setting here does not have a subway system.) Particularly notable is magic systems used in those posts is the same here.
https://tabletoprpg333.home.blog/tag/the-kings-head-tavern/
You should assume that The King’s Head Tavern and Bernard Woods are both active in this setting.
Recommended/Useful Books
The following GURPS supplements should help both players and GMs use this setting in their campaigns, either because I directly reference them or any urban fantasy campaign works well with them. Relevant Pyramid articles may be referenced later. Bolded titles should be considered REQUIRED.
Magic
Magical Styles, Magical Styles: Horror Magic
Thaumatology, Urban Magics
High-Tech
Tactical Shooting
Martial Arts
Social Engineering
Horror
Loadouts: Monster Hunters (prices and stats for manuals on Ritual Magic)
most of the Monster-Hunters series, for high powered campaigns
the Psionics series, if psionics features
Magic in the Setting
“The greatest action is not conforming with the world’s ways. The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.” – Atiśa, as quoted in Perspectives on Mankind’s Search for Meaning (2008) by Walter Taminang, p. 63
There are at least two magic systems that will be used in this setting, with others more optional and on the margins.
Main System number 1 is as per Chapter 5: Paths and Books of GURPS Thaumatology, and is using Effect-Shaping, Books, Magery optional (Magery 0+ can roll Per + Magery to sense Books and other magic items upon sight or touch), No Adept advantage available for anyone, and Magery adds to Rituals. Each Book is a VH skill with no default, Rituals are Hard Techniques. Starting Player-Characters may know one Book skill and improve the Ritual Techniques with their starting points. They may learn new Books and improve Ritual Techniques in play.
Books and Rituals in this setting are detailed in a later post.
To go into deeper detail on the mechanics of Book Rituals;
Mana: -5 even after consecration or impossible for no mana, nothing better than -1 for makeshift preparation for low mana, +1 to +3 for high mana, +4 or +5 for very high mana.
Time: 1/10 time to cast plus 1d minutes gives -2, -5 penalty for 1d seconds, 3x basic time for +1, extra 30 minutes of prep work per day gives bonuses (+1 for 2 days, +2 for 4 days, +3 for 8 days, etc.).
Ritual Space: -5 for no prepped space, 1d minutes and Ritual Magic roll gives -1 to next ritual only, no penalty for 1 hour prep work daily for a week, Places of Power give +1 to +5.
Combined Efforts: -1 if all are not in sight of each other or in close mental communication, +1 for 2 magician collaborators, +2 for 4, +3 for 8, etc. Treachery possible.
Materials/Symbols
Sympathy: -2 to -6 for bad representation of target, +0 for quick sketch or piece of clothing or small belonging, +1 to +4 for good target representation, blood/DNA sample gives +2.
Names: -5 for no name, group name or description gives -2, -5 for broad category, no modifier for areas or volumes, no modifier for place name or house address, +0 for clear informal identifier or public name or feared pseudonym, +1 for full legal name, +4 for True Name.
Magical Symbols/Materials: -3 for no symbols/materials, +1 to +3 for large quantities of rare materials or substantial symbols.
Contagion: +1 for clothing or personal item that subject would miss, +2 for physical pieces like skin or saliva or hair or fingernails or stone chip, +3 for blood or semen or fuel, +3 for present unresisting child or spouse.
Sacrifices: +1 for consumables, +1 to +3 for valuables and money, +2 to +4 for animals, +1 to +5 for humans. Extra +1 for magical stuff.
Acolytes: +1 for 3 assistants, +2 for 6, +3 for 12.
Parameters
Multiple Targets: Sketch map or drawing of town plus name gives -2, Thaumatology page 130 for resistance rolls and number affected, 2-3 people gives -2, 4-5 gives -4, 6-7 gives -6, 8-10 gives -8, 11-14 gives -10, 15-20 gives -12, 21-30 gives -14, 31-50 gives -16, 51-70 gives -18, 71-100 gives -20, etc.
Area: Diameter of circle or longest dimension in any direction on range/size/speed table gives SM as penalty. +0 for 2 or less yards, 30 yards gives -7, 25 miles gives -26, 15 yards gives -5, 3 yards for -1, 5 yards for -2, 7 yards for -3, 10 yards for -4, 20 yards for -6, 1 mile for -18, 50 yards for -8, 70 yards for -9, 100 yards for -10.
Duration: -1 for 10 minutes, -2 for an hour, -3 for 12 hours, -4 for a day, -5 for a week, -6 for 2 weeks, -7 for 1 month, -8 for 3 months, -9 for 1 year, each doubling gives further -1.
Complexity of Effect: 2-3 gives -1, 4-5 gives -3, 6-10 gives -4, each +5 to max number past 10 gives further -1.
Main System number 2 is Alchemy, as detailed in GURPS Magic.
Other systems that may be used in this setting if the GM cares for them are;
Gem Injection Magic, see https://tabletoprpg333.home.blog/2023/07/31/gem-injection-ritual-magic/ for my personal take on the system.
Horror Magical Styles, as detailed in its supplement. The three Styles are Forgotten Wisdom, Cult Secrets, and The Dark Path.
Rote Magic, as seen in the Chaos and Ritual article from Pyramid Dungeon Collection. Quick overview; a variant on standard Magic, the system uses Rotes skill (IQ and DX, VH) to cast spells from books (requires one roll against two values of Rites skill, use lower margin of success, 10x time to cast), requires Margery 0+ and Magery requirements for spells still apply, cost and weight of spellbooks are $200 and 6 lbs. for a book of one spell and no bonus (see Loadouts: Monster Hunters).
Psionics, as detailed in Psionic Powers, Psis, Psionic Campaigns and Psi-Tech. This is one of the more optional supernatural powers, not technically magic of any kind. My default assumptions for Psionics used in this setting is: (addressing Decisions, Decisions on Psionic Campaigns page 11) Ergokinesis is not split up, Psychic Healing is not split up, Animal Telepathy does not exist, Dream Control may exist and the dream realm is not entirely separate, Optional Crippling Rules may be used, new mental maneuvers can be used, Jam technique does not exist, Telekinetic Control exists and replaces all separate Telekinetic abilities, Telespeak does not exist, RL Exoteleport does not exist, GM decides if using abilities as advantages, no uber-techniques.
TO BE CONTINUED
Three Hundred and Thirty-Three 