Guise

Guise is a ritual in the Path of Cunning introduced in Classic's Classic: Spirits pg 92.
==Spirits==
GURPS Compendium 148 skill Illusion Art was proposed for matching "exact" details or for it to be aesthetically "pleasing".
*due to "looks and sounds" this might refer to giving Appearance or Voice advantages
In regard to S88's "Resistance Rolls", it's not clear if this was intended as an "always resisted" hostile ritual or a "resists only when unaware" beneficial ritual. It's possible that this might be determined by the intent of the caster.
S89's "harm or influence a target against their will" definition for Hostile Rituals still remains vague, as it's not clear whether a spell is against someone's will if they're not aware of it, or only if they're aware of it and reject it.
Whether or not it is hostile is important to know, regarding whether or not there's a 2nd skill roll with the potential to target the client instead of the original intended target.
*Note however that if the client is also the target, one can bypass the risk, because if the 2nd roll fails, they just automatically get affected.
**due to this risk, it should probably require consent to be a client, ie it can't be a hostile spell in respect to them.
***it's not clear if consent requires fully knowing what the ritual will do, or just that a ritual is being done
==Hellboy==
Hellboy Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game introduced some new considerations for this ritual:
*HB124 instead of Illusion Art (not present in the game) suggests the GM requiring an IQ roll instead
*"aesthetically" is dropped, it only says "pleasing"
*unlike the preceding (Cloud Memory) and following (Hallucination) rituals, it does not list "Resisted"
HB123 uses "someone who does not wish to have a Guise placed" as an example of applying the "if the subject is aware of it and chooses to do so" requirement for "Any targeted ritual may be resisted with full Will".
*it's not clear if this refers to being aware of what the ritual is, or just that they are the target of the ritual: some might be willing to resist ANY ritual from an untrustworthy source, while others might conditionally accept it if they think it's something they want
**in either case it might require a Ritual Magic roll to discern who the target is, or what the ritual is intended to do, unless there are other obvious indicators like a physical representation of the victim
Guide thus serves as support in Hellboy that a spell does not need to be listed as "Resisted" to allow a Will roll to resist it: it just requires it be "targeted" and that a subject is "aware of it". The italicized any means it applies to both types: it doesn't matter whether it's beneficial or hostile, and thus helpfully avoids the question in cases like Guise where it might not be 100% clear
*in "unaware of the Ceremony" however, it still would revert to the usual Will-0 for hostile, Will-4 for beneficial
**it's not clear what awareness of ceremony constitutes though: if that refers to knowing there's a ceremony being done, or needing to know if you're the target, or what it's intended to do
Spirits 88 included some incentive for magicians to notify targets of intent (this was absent in Hellboy) because it generates a Reaction Roll which can give a penalty to resist (if Good Reaction or better) or a bonus to resist (if Poor Reaciton or more)
*Phobic/Superstitious folk have a reaction bonus, making them more likely to react "Good" and get a penalty. Westerners' skepticism gives them a penalized reaction, making it likely they'll get a bonus to resist if told.
==BPRD==
Being only a -1 penalty to the path, this is a very accessible spell. The BPRD heads with ritual magic 12 (default path skills 6) had a base skill of 5 in it, which they could have possibly used to disguise their agents. Lacking aptitude they would cast at -5 (skill 0) and so would have had to hunt at least +3 in bonuses to attempt it. A +4 for "Target is Present" would've been adequate, and +1 for food would be easily affordable. Spending triple the time for a +2 (90 minutes to cast) would also be possible.
Given this would only bring +7, it still had a high likelihood of failure and could've been perceived as a waste of time to build a mission's timing around something so unreliable... except that Conditional Rituals could've allowed a delayed effect to be prepped.
For example "if a monster sees Liz Sherman and wants to eat her, make her look like Hellboy" could be parked indefinitely as a protective effect once the casting succeeds. The 12-hour duration only begins counting once the monster sees her.
==4e changes==
No casting time was listed in Spirits/Hellboy meaning it defaulted to 30 minutes.
GURPS Thaumatology reduced that to 20 minutes.
T140 also introduced the alternative Energy Accumulating approach.
It also suggests Artist (Illusion) rather than the Illusion Art / IQ roll in 3e.
A note is also included that it isn't resisted by observers due to creating a visual illusion.
T138 presents Backlash: Instant Karma as an OPTIONAL rule, unlike Spirits/Hellboy where it was mandatory.
"Failure means the client also suffers the ritual’s effects" here is a different phrasing than 3e's "the client suffers the effects" (the lack of "also" might lead some to read "instead of the target" rather than "in addition to")
The Threefold Law under More Magical Laws (T15)
Category:Books and Paths