Subject: Re: One College Challenge
From: John Wood <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 18:45:40 +0100

Hal <[email-masked]> wrote,
> Ok, here is the challenge.  Using the LIGHT AND DARKNESS COLLEGE, come
> up with explainations of spells that do similar things to spells of
> other colleges.  Explain them in a manner that fits the concept of
> LIGHT manipulation (or absense of light).

OK, here are a few ideas, including some that don't really match up with
ones in other colleges but which seem like likely possibilities:

STROBE (Area; Resisted by HT)
Causes light to flash on and off at high frequencies.  Due to the stop-
motion effect, all attack rolls against non-stationary targets are at a
penalty of -3 if the attacker is relying on normal vision.  Epileptics
caught in the area of effect must succeed at a HT-3 roll or suffer a
seizure.
  Duration: 10 seconds.
  Base Cost: 3 to cast, 1 to maintain.
  Prerequisites: Flash, Darkness.

OPTICAL STUN (Regular; Resisted by HT)
Equivalent to Mental Stun.  Effective only against sighted foes, but
shutting the eyes doesn't help.  Targets with epilepsy will
automatically suffer a seizure.
  Cost: 3
  Prerequisites: Strobe.

AMBIENCE (Area; Resisted by IQ)
Similar to Persuasion.  Creates a pleasant light in the area of effect,
making creatures more likely to react favourably to the caster.  The
ambience must be tailored to a particular species - the effect on
creatures of other species is up to the GM.
  Duration: 1 minute,
  Base Cost: Twice the bonus to be added to the roll to cast, same as
    the bonus to maintain.  Maximum allowed bonus: +4.
  Prerequisites: Glow.

LIGHTMEASURE
Similar to Measurement, but works by bouncing light off the subject.
The option to detect weight is not available, but the composition of the
surface material is an alternative possibility.
Prerequisites: Light Jet.

HUE
Same as Dye.
  Prerequisites: Light Illusion

BURNING LIGHT (LASER)
The caster's finger gives off a beam of very bright light, hot enough to
set fire to things.  Works as a LOS Ignite Fire.
  Duration: 1 second.
  Cost: as Ignite Fire.
  Prerequisites: Light Jet, Sunbolt.

[I actually prefer Stan Berry's Scorch to this, but thought I'd include
 it anyway.]

CAUTERISE
Like Stop Bleeding, but with potentially nasty side effects.  Subtract
the amount by which the caster made the roll from the number of points
of damage inflicted on the subject by the injury or injuries causing the
bleeding.  If the result is positive, the subject takes this many points
of damage in burn injuries!  The wound must be uncovered for this spell
to work.
  Prerequisites: Burning Light.

GLOBAL VISION
Rear Vision.
  Prerequisites: Shape Light.

SPECTRAL VISION
Functions as the Spectrum Vision advantage.
  Duration: 1 minute.
  Cost: 4 to cast, 2 to maintain.
  Prerequisites: Dark Vision and Infravision.