Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 10:57:07 -0400 () From: Greg Littmann Subject: 89 Spells Part 4 META-MAGIC CONTROL RANDOMNESS Regular. In any case in which a random outcome is deliberately being generated, the mage can control this outcome. Such deliberate randomization includes the shuffling of a pack of cards, the casting of lots, or the roll of dice. If the randomizer in question occupies more than one hex (!), the mage must pay the casting cost for each hex in the radius. Time to Cast: 2 Seconds. Duration: Until one outcome is produced. Cost: 2, cannot be maintained. Prerequisites: Enchant, Find Weakness. FORM LOCK Blocking. This spell will prevent Shapeshifting. It will do so even if the subject is Shapeshifting back to their original form because a previous Shapeshift spell is no longer being maintained! The spell is resisted by the Shapeshifting spell cast on the subject. If the subject is willing to be Form Locked, the Form Lock spell is at +2 in this contest. If the subject is not willing to be Form Locked, but is Form Locked all the same, then the original Shapeshift spell will resist the Form Lock spell again each hour at a cumulative -1 to the Shapeshift. Duration: 1 Hour. Cost: As for the original Shapeshifting spell. Prerequisites: Dispel Magic, Shapeshifting. FORTUNE Regular When a mage casts Fortune, the mage determines how the subject may maximize their luck. The G.M. will inform the mage of the requisite act. This will usually be reasonably easy (visit the temple of Vharan in this town, or give a gold coin to an old beggar-man, or draw a prick of blood from each of your wrists). The G.M. may wish to roll to see if it is more difficult, perhaps rolling on the reaction tables without modifiers and taking a bad reaction as requiring a more difficult act. Occasionally, in folk-lore, some very difficult acts have been requested. A character who has a Fortune spell upon them may carry it until they need a bit of extra luck (player's choice as to when). They may at any time choose to use up the spell in return for taking back a die roll that has already been made, making two more in it's place, and choosing the one out of the three that they like best. Fortune may only be cast once per day, but does not count as a spell "on". If a difficult act is required, but is not performed, the subject must wait for at least a week before having "fortune" cast again. Fortune's cannot be stacked, nor can they be combined with Blessings. Yes, the mage CAN cast fortune on themself. Time to Cast: 1 hour. Duration: Until used. Cost: 10. Can be cast for 5 if 2 hours are taken. Prerequisites: 2 Spells from 10 different collages, including Meta- Magic. Good status is not required. OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE Regular Outrageous Fortune works like fortune save that: a) The tasks required are usually harder. They are still not standardly Herkulean though. Examples might be 'stay inside all day tomorrow' or 'kill a dog' or 'on your journey to Hesherket, ensure that you do obescience at every shrine that you pass'. Truly difficult conditions are still the exception, but more likely now than was the case with Fortune. b) If a character performs the required task, give them 4 Luck Points. A Luck Point may be spent at any time on either a new die-roll, or a bonus to all die rolls in which the Luck Points are being used. For example, one might add 1 to four different die rolls, or one might re- roll four different rolls, or re-roll one roll four times, or reroll three rolls with a +1 bonus on each rerolling, or reroll two rolls with a +2 bonus on each rerolling, or reroll one roll with a +3 bonus, or just add +4 to any one die roll. Obviously, this means that the subject will frequently have to decide ahead of time just what form their luck will take. After all, if they spend a luck point on gaining a +1, then they will get that +1 afresh each time they spend any of their 3 remaining luck points. It is thus vital to keep track, not only of remaining luck points, but on what previous luck points have been spent! Time to Cast: 2 hours. Duration: Until used. Cost: 20. Can be cast for 10 if 8 hours are taken. Prerequisites: 3 Spells from 10 different collages, including Meta- Magic. BACKCAST (VH) Regular Backcast involves some major and dangerous messing about with time. The spell allows the mage to produce the effect of a spell instantly and then perform the casting in reverse. Backcast is cast at the same time as the spell it effects. The mage may take a fatigue-reduction for the spell that is cast backwards if they would normally be able to do so, but may not take a time-reduction for it and must go through the full casting ritual for it as if they knew the spell at level 12. If the mage successfully casts the spell, but then fails to immediately perform the casting-ritual backwards, they will weaken reality in their immediate vicinity. Roll three dice. Never modify this roll, nor reroll it for any reason - luck and magic are equally helpless here. On 6-15, the mage takes 4d of damage which can not be magically healed. This is caused by the havoc wrecked on the mage's internal system by a local altering of the laws of physics. On a 16-18, something awful happens. Be creative without killing the character outright. Transport to another, worse, dimension would be a possibility, as would be the conferral of undead status on the mage or the attraction of some powerful malign being. On a 3-5, something strange but wonderful happens. Again, be creative without conferring godhood on the magician. An extra level of magical aptitude might be gained, or the ability to regenerate a point of damage every hour, or a capacity to understand the language of the birds. The mage must complete the post-casting in a place that the casting could have taken place. Hence, Backcast does not go very well with many Movement and Gate spells. For example, the mage may backcast Teleport to instantly escape from a dragon, but because they are not now able to perform the spell ritual in the place that the spell originated from, they would suffer backlash for it. There are also several attack spells that Backcast does not go well with. For example, a mage may be able to instantly summon a three dice Fireball, but is the mage going to spend the next second throwing it, and thus suffer from the backlash, or will the mage spend the next three seconds performing the Fireball ritual, in which case they have gained no time at all? Cost: 3. Prerequisites: Magery 3, Great Haste, Create Gate, and 2 spells from each of 10 different collages. SIMULCAST (VH) Regular Simulcast allows the mage to twist time in such a way that they may simultaneously cast two spells which would normally have to be cast alone. In fact, the mage simultaneously casts three spells at once - Simulcast, and the two others that Simulcast targets. Any fatigue reduction that the mage would be entitled to for high skill with the target spells is halved, round down. This spell does not allow two spells to co-exist easily in space. For instance, you can produce two Fireballs at once, but you will need to put them in different hands, and if you are no good throwing with your left, then tough luck. For another instance, you can produce two simultaneous Steam Breaths, but if you have two Steam Breaths in your mouth at the same time, the G.M. is absolutely entitled to let one of them do you damage. Cost: 3. Prerequisites: Magery 3, Create Gate, 6 Meta-Magic spells, and 3 spells from each of 10 other collages. POWERSTONE SELF Regular For every 3 levels above 10 of Powerstone Self a mage has, they may store one point of mana energy within themself exactly as if they were a powerstone. One must roll successfully against one's skill with Powerstone Self prior to the collection of any power by this method. One's presence interferes with the recharging of powerstones and vice versa just as they interfere with one another. On a critical success, twice the amount of energy may be stored until used. On a critical failure, the mage loses 1d of fatigue that can only be recovered by powerstone-style recharging. Time to Cast: One Minute. Duration: Until recharged. Cost: 1 per point to be eventually recovered. High skill does not reduce this cost. Prerequisites: Magery 2, Alter Self, Create Earth, Purify Earth, Powerstone. MIND CONTROL CONSCIENCE TAP Regular, Might be Resisted. Conscience tap forces the subject to have their beliefs about what is right come to the forefront of their mind. It doesn't make them do anything. It doesn't even make them think about what is right - just about what they think is right. At G.M.s discretion, it may, in the right circumstance, cause the subject to gain a one-time bonus to will roll, up to the amount that the spell was made by but not to exceed +4. It can backfire, in that someone acting in accordance with their moral code may make them treat you worse than they otherwise would. For example, you are held up by a highwayman. You cast Conscience Tap in order to convince him to let you go. Unfortunately, he turns out to be a lapsed thugee, and deep down feels that, rather than rob you, he ought to kill you for the glory of his Goddess. This spell requires a lot of G.M. winging, because she will have to decide on the spot what sort of code the target has deep down, and how they will react to having it suddenly surface. As a default, have the subject resist the spell with their Will. If the mage wins, adjust the subjects actions in order to make them accord more closely, if possible, to their underlying moral beliefs. The amount of shift should depend on the amount the roll was made by. If need be, the G.M. can use the shifts in attitude represented on the reaction tables to model the degree of shift in behavior caused by this spell. However, it is important to remember that people will not go beyond what they consider exemplary behavior. If the subject believes deep down that generosity to beggars is good, but that morality does not require giving all one's money away to beggars, then no-matter what the roll is made by, they won't give all their money away to beggars. The only exception to this rule is a critical success on the caster's part or a critical failure on the part of the subject. In such cases, the subjects morality will become more extreme, perhaps permanently if the G.M. would find that interesting. After one failed casting, repeated castings on a given subject will have no more effect until there is some significant and ethically-relevant change in the circumstances. Duration: Until it is time for a new moral decision, or new circumstances prompt a rethink of the old one. Cost: 1. Prerequisites: None. DEMONS FROM THE DEEP Resisted by IQ. Demons of the deep takes some aspect of the subjects personality and magnifies it out of all proportion. A coward might be frightened of everything, a Sadist might immediately hurt whoever is closest, one who loves chess may be forced to seek out a chess game, losing sight of all other concerns in his attempt. Any psychological advantage or disadvantage, of any point value, including quirks, may be affected. The caster may specify the trait to be affected, or the trait may be determined randomly, with all having an equal chance, regardless of their point value. If the caster specifies a trait which the subject does not have, the spell will have no effect. If the subject cannot reasonably act on the trait, then the spell will have no effect either - for example, if one always prays before meals, but it is not time for a meal, being obsessed over praying before meals will have no effect. If a psychological trait, other than the one which is effected, would require a different course of action than the effected trade requires, then one may add a bonus to one's resistance roll. If the non-affected trait is 4 or more points higher, +1 may be added to the roll. If the non-affected trait is 9 or more points higher, them +3 may be added to the roll. If the non-affected trait is 14 points or more higher, +6 may be added to the roll. If the non-affected trait is 19 points or more higher, the spell is automatically dispelled. For example, as a quirk one loves onions, but as a disadvantage, one had a 15 point Chivalric Code of Honour. One's love of onions is exacerbated by a casting of Demons From the Deep. There are onions present, but near them is a knight who has just offended your liege. You would get +6 on your roll to go for the knight rather than the vegetables. A new resistance roll is allowed each time the situation changes is a significant way. For example, were one eating the onions, and one's horse began to wander off, a new resistance roll might let one shake of the spell and recapture it. Each time one's HT goes down counts as a significant change in the situation - being attacked is a good way to be put off one's dinner. Duration: 1 Hour. Base Cost: 3 to cast, 2 to maintain. Time to Cast: 4 seconds Prerequisites: Any 3 Mind Control Spells. MASS LOYALTY Area As loyalty, but for multiple targets. Duration: 1 Hour. Base Cost: 2 to cast, 2 to maintain. (Minimum radius = 2 hexes) Time to Cast: 1 Second per 5 energy points. Prerequisite: Loyalty. MASS CHARM Area As Charm, but for multiple targets. Duration: 1 Minute. Base Cost: 6 to cast, 2 to maintain. (Minimum radius = 2 hexes) Time to Cast: 1 second per 3 energy points. Prerequisites: Charm. MASS ENSLAVEMENT (VH) Area As Enslavement, but for multiple targets. Duration: Permanent. Base Cost: 30 (Minimum radius = 2 hexes) Time to Cast: 10 seconds per hex or radius. Prerequisites: Enslavement. SENSORY OVERLOAD Resisted by IQ Subject's senses become acute to the point at which they are unmanageable. Subject receives the Low Pain Threshold disadvantage (or loses the High Pain Threshold advantage, but this is only the start of their troubles. If the subject is allowed to remain stationary or move slowly in a dark, quiet environment, there will be no effect. Every round spent in a normal environment requires them to make an uncontested against IQ or be stunned that round due to the masses of sensory input they are receiving. If they are subject to loud noises in reasonably close proximity (shouting would do), or have bright lights shone in their face, or suffer any damage, then, on top of the distractions caused by their Low Pain Threshold, they must resist the spell with their IQ. or be stunned that round due to the masses of sensory input. Every subsequent round they must roll again vs the spell or remain stunned. If the bright light etc. stops, then they get a cumulative +1 each round to get their senses back. A critical success dispels the spell. A critical failure will bring unconsciousness for ten to sixty minutes. Prolonged exposure to this spell will drive someone crazy as a loon. Duration: 30 Seconds. Base Cost: 4 to cast, 2 to maintain. Time to Cast: 10 Seconds. Prerequisites: Magery 3, 2 Body Control Spells, Alertness.