GURPS Spells with no prerequisites

[beccaelizabeth]

Because if I put it on my journal I can find it again later: a list of spells an absolute beginner can learn. If they put in 200 hours. On that particular spell. And nothing else.

Many of these also list prerequisites, like sorts of Empathy, but also Magery 1 or 2. In a learned-Magery setting M1 or M2 isn't actually for beginners, they would need a lot more hours of study. So I'll italic the M1 or M2 spells.  Some of these have prerequisite spells if you lack those advantages, but I deleted them because this list is only for beginners.

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142  Apportation         Reg./R-Will            Movement                      M1
30    Beast-Rouser      Regular                  Animal                            Animal Empathy
29    Beast-Soother     Regular                  Animal                            Animal Empathy
166  Block                     Blocking                 Protection                      M1
35    Climbing                Regular                  Body
121  Counterspell        Regular/R-spell    Meta-Spell                     M1
149  Death Vision        Regular                  Necro.                             M1
36    Debility                   Regular/R-HT       Body
101  Detect Magic       Regular                 Knowledge                      M1
133  Dull Sense             Regular/R-HT      Mind
100  Far-Feeling           Regular                 Knowledge                      M1
139  Fear                         Area/R-Will           Mind                                 Empathy
89    Final Rest              Regular                 Healing/Necro.                M1 or Spirit Empathy
101  Find Direction       Information          Knowledge                       M1
134  Foolishness          Regular/R-Will     Mind                                   IQ 12+
142  Haste                      Regular                 Movement
72    Ignite Fire               Regular                 Fire
115  Inspired Creation* Regular                Making-Breaking
35    Itch                          Regular/R-HT       Body Control
133  Keen Sense          Regular                  Mind Control
89    Lend Energy          Regular                  Healing                            M1 or Empathy
110  Light                        Regular                  Light-Dark
166  Magelock              Regular                  Protection                        M1
100  Measurement       Area/Inform.          Knowledge
23    Purify Air                Area                        Air
121  Scryguard             Regular                 Meta-Spell                       M1
181  See Radiation       Regular                 Tech
23    Seek Air                  Information          Air
50    Seek Earth             Information          Earth
72    Seek Fire                Information          Fire
77    Seek Food              Information          Food
179  Seek Fuel/TL         Information          Tech
175  Seek Machine/TL Information          Tech
161  Seek Plant             Information          Plant
182  Seek Plastic         Information           Tech
179  Seek Power/TL    Information           Tech  
184  Seek Water          Information           Water
166  Sense Danger      Information           Protection                        Danger Sense
44    Sense Foes           Inform./Area         Communication & Empathy
45    Sense Life             Inform./Area         Communication & Empathy
167  Shield                     Regular                 Protection                        M2
95    Simple Illusion      Area                       Illusion                             not blind, IQ 11+
171  Sound                     Regular                Sound                             
171  Sound Vision        Regular                 Sound                             Acute Hearing
121  Suspend Spell      Regular/R-spell   Meta-Spell                      M1
100  Tell Time                Information            Knowledge                    
77    Test Food               Information            Food                               
179  Test Fuel/TL          Information            Tech                                
35    Touch                     Regular                  Body                                
122  Ward                      Block/R-spell        Meta-Spell                       M1
51 spells, 13 of them actually requiring Magery, so that's 38 starting points for an absolute beginner in a learned Magery setting, 30 if they have no E.

So now I'm looking at that lot and wondering what would be appealing enough to get you started?
Probably Seek Water, in a low tech or underdeveloped setting.  Or Seek Food or Test Food.  Something that deals with things you have to do every day anyway would be an advantage.
Ignite Fire has the daily chore advantage plus the way it leads to greater destructive power later.
Sense Danger and Sense Foes would get popular quick for soldiers, and could be taught intensively to new military recruits.
Simple Illusion is a career or three in the making.
Debility would be handy against bullies, since it decreases Strength briefly.
But anyone that starts their magical practice with Death Vision has a story behind it, and not a nice one.

Comments

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about this on and off all day, and would it wreck the setting if magery, or at least magery level one, was innate? Just have it be another of the senses that people are born with. That the vast majority of people are born with, like color vision.

[beccaelizabeth]

Magery 0 is required for spellcasting at all, unless in a High Mana setting. So if I want everyone able to cast spells without Magery, I just up the background mana level. Making everyone be born with Magery 0 would mean most characters have to waste points on something they don't intend to use, though in a story it would only mean that everyone can cast any spell they learn, making magic learned rather than innate for all practical purposes. But Magery 1 etc are there for game balance reasons, making the more powerful spells harder to access. Those spells are useful enough on adventures that it makes a character worth more to have the potential to earn them. Some of the higher up ones can be game wreckers if you don't think them through carefully. They're certainly world changers. So giving every last human the potential to learn them all without having to study hundreds of hours first? Would make them vastly more common and rather define the world.

Only cool if I want to write a story about what those spells do to civilisation.

[beccaelizabeth]

took Scroll off the list cause it needs a spell to enchant into the scroll