GURPSよろず

　A common image in fantasy is the group of metal armored, sword-wielding warriors accompanied by a wizard who wears a lightweight robe and carries a flimsy dagger. This could merely be a literary convention, partly excused by the suggestion that the wizard has been too busy studying magic to learn to fight. In game terms, spending many points on magical abilities leaves him unable to afford much ST, so he’s likely to avoid heavy equipment that would slow him down.

　The problem may instead be social. An armor-clad wizard might be seen as admitting that he isn’t good enough at magic to defend himself, and be mocked by other wizards.

　There might be other justifications, reflected in optional rules:

　The weight and bulk of equipment may make the physical process of spellcasting more difficult. If so, apply the caster’s current encumbrance level (p. B17) as a penalty to spellcasting rolls; e.g., Medium encumbrance gives -2. To make the problem more severe, double the penalty (so Medium encumbrance gives -4). Logically, this penalty might only affect wizards who must make significant gestures, applying to those with skill 14 or less and perhaps doubling for anyone with skill 9 or less. But in many stories, even the most powerful wizards avoid armor, suggesting that the penalty should be universal if exists at all.

　It’s sometimes suggested that metal, especially iron, somehow disrupts magic, perhaps because of its ability to conduct energy; thus, too much metal (armor, swords, iron chains or manacles . . .) close to a caster’s body prevents spellcasting. To simulate this,
estimate the total weight of metal within 6” of the wizard’s skin (count a spearhead as 0.5 lb., a polearm blade as 1 lb.), divide by 5, round to the nearest whole number, and apply the result as a penalty to casting rolls. A wizard with pocket change and belt buckles totaling 0.5 lb., a large knife (1 lb.), and a dagger in his boot (0.25 lb.) has no penalty – but replacing that large knife with a 2-lb. shortsword would give him -1, and an 18-lb. breastplate would give him -4 all by itself. (At higher TLs, firearms present similar problems.) Of course, this leaves wizards free to wear heavy leathers and fight with staffs and clubs; raises doubts about how wizards can enchant swords, much less armor; and confronts the GM with the practical problem of keeping track of quantities of metal in, say, building structures.

　For a full set of fantasy-game clichés, some spellcasters – notably clerics and members of particular races – can wear armor, while secular human wizards of the pointy-hat-and-robe variety must avoid it. If problems with encumbrance or metal are the rule, then any exceptions the GM allows have an enhancement to Magery or Power Investiture. “Casts Without Encumbrance/Metal Armor Problems” is worth +50%. If the penalty is merely halved, that’s +30%. If the standard penalty is twice encumbrance, these enhancements are +80% and +50%, respectively.

　If such problems are the exception, then they work better as limitations on Magery or Power Investiture: -20% for an encumbrance penalty, or -25% if the encumbrance penalty is doubled, and -20% for a penalty for nearby metal.