MINOR MAGICS FOR GURPS Copyright (c) 1990 by Bob Traynor ** ANIMATION SPELLS ** (NB - I have organized some 40 spells into an 'Animation' college) ANTI-SHADOW Regular, cost 2+1, duration 1 h The shadows of the target are removed. BEND Regular, duration perm, cost 1/2 pt/HT of substance, ct: 3 rounds This spell causes an object to bend in the middle. It is most efficient if the object is thin and narrow; it requires much strength to bend, say, a thick oaken door. The object, regardless of its natural tensile qualities, will bend and not break. If the object is stronger than the spell's power, roll a Contest between the spell and the item's HT; if the spell wins, the object warps in some minor fashion. HOUSEKEEPING Area, duration 10 m, base cost 1/5 This spell cleans up dust, debris, garbage, and assorted junk from an area, tidying up larger items into piles. Alchemists and collectors should be wary of the spell's interpretation of 'debris;' many alchemical ingredients could easily be regarded as loose dust. Prerequisite: 3 Animation spells LAUNDER CLOTHING Regular, cost 2 Any clothing that the caster is wearing is instantly cleaned, and impregnated with the scent of pine, lilac, lavender, rose, or cedar, at the caster's discretion. PLYABLE MAGIC Regular, cost 1/lb, 1 to maintain, duration 10m Creates a volume of barely visible, magical, "plastic" putty. The caster (and any designee with an additional cost of 1 pt per designee) may mold it freely into any desired shape. The caster may cause the substance to harden at will into a material of high tensile strength; hardened PlyableMagic cannot revert to a pliant form. The hardened material has a DR of 1 per quarter inch thickness. Prerequisite: 4 Animation spells REMOTE TOUCH Regular, cost 1 The target receives an invisible light touch, similar to being tapped on the shoulder. The touch can be easily felt even through armor, but has no other effect. SHARPEN Regular, ct: 3 seconds, cost 2/5 lb The edge of a metal, glass, or wooden blade receives as sharp and durable an edge as the material will hold. SPECTRAL GLUE Regular, cost 1/oz, permanent Creates a quantity of fluid magical "epoxy." The glue has a very high tensile strength, equivalent to the best of 20th century super-glues. It is viscous (but not sticky) in the fluid form, and can be spread easily. It hardens within one second at the caster's will. Spectral Glue is soluble in rubbing alcohol. Prerequisite: 3 Animation spells TIE KNOT Regular, cost 1 The caster may tie any knot with which he is familiar into ropes, cords, or strings of any thickness. The ropes magically tie themselves at the rate that a human might be expected to tie with his hands. ** BODY CONTROL SPELLS ** AROUSAL Regular, resisted by HT, cost 2+1, ct: 2 sec, duration 10 m If the resistance roll is failed, the subject is somewhat aroused. This is mainly a physical reaction, and in no way parallels the overwhelming emotional urge that the Lust spell induces. The GM may assess a reaction roll modifier. BIRTH CONTROL Regular, cost 2+1, duration 1 hour Prevents the target from conceiving if female (egg blockage) and from producing viable sperm if male (spermicide). The spell will have no effect if cast on a pregnant female; if the roll is 5 under spell level a pregnancy will be detected. CLEANSE BODY Regular, cost 2 The target is instantly cleaned of all dirt and odors. DIAGNOSIS Information, cost 3, ct: 5 seconds The presence of major internal injuries, severed major vessels, broken or cracked bones, oversized tumors, and foreign objects in a single target is detected. More subtle injuries, diseases, or disorders do not register. Since the intent of the spell is to locate all abnormalities in the body, it may not work on other races - the caster is at -5 to the roll for using the spell on a racial type other than his own. The racial variations may be learned as seperate spells. Prerequisites: 2 Body Control * * BODY CONTROL SPELLS * * NOSEPLUG Regular, cost 1+1, duration 10 m The nostrils become impermeable to water. Normal air breathing is not impeded, but no oxygen is extracted from "breathing" in water. Holding one's breath is still recommended; the spell costs 1 extra ST for each deep breath taken underwater. * * COMMUNICATION SPELLS * * MASK AURA Regular, duration 1 m, cost 1/+4 penalty, 1 to maintain Adds a bonus to resist Detect Aura or to avoid detection through Magical Aptitude, Sense Life, or Sense Emotion. Other detection spells are not affected. OATHBINDING Regular, cost 2 to 10 A spell that seals and magically enforces an oath. Two or more parties swear to a pact, which can be of any length and contain any mutually agreeable conditions. These conditions may be so complicated as to comprise full-scale legal contracts, but the entire set of terms must be spoken aloud before the caster. Any party breaking the oath takes 1-1 damage for every 2 fatigue invested (up to 5 dice of damage). When judging violation of the oath, the determining factor is whether the caster's perception of the terms of the was broken or not. It does not matter if the oath is taken under duress. However, each party must verbally avow that the oath is being sworn willingly. Casting time equals the time required to swear the oath (and is simultaneous with the oathtaking), duration is until the oath is fulfilled, broken, or until the death of one of the principals or parties. The death of the caster does not negate the spell. If the strictures of the vow are not fully understood by the caster (as in the case of a complex contract), he is at -5 to cast the spell. Further, if the spell fails by 1-5, neither the principals nor the caster are made aware of the spell's failure. * * CREATION SPELLS * * COINS OF CHANGE Regular, cost 2, ct: 2 A coin of the caster's choice disappears, to be replaced by the monetary equivalent in the next lower denomination. However, one coin of the lower denomination is missing (as a magical "tip," if you will). The new coins will be of the proper bullion, weight, and minting, and would be indistinguishable from other coins of that denomination were it not for the newness and lack of wear. Cast on an [piece of the lowest denomination], the coin disappears to be replaced by something peculiar and/or worthless, at the GM's whim. CREATE BAIT Regular, cost 1+1, duration 2 hours Creates one pt's worth of various live fish bait. Fish will find them quite tasty, and a bonus of +3 is added to Fishing rolls. GOSSAMER Area, base cost 1/3 (min 1) A fine rain of gossamer web floats down into the area. While it is easily visible, it neither impedes vision nor movement. JACUZZI Area, duration 1 h, base cost 3, same to maintain, ct: 3 Creates a magical hot tub. It will comfortably seat one person per two hexes of area. The temperature may be set between 95 and 120 degrees F. MAGIC TOOL Regular, duration 10 m, cost 3+1 Summons one of the following tools: chisel, axe, crowbar, plane, adze, hammer, pick, shovel, handsaw, crosscut saw, file, or awl. Unlike a created object, the tools need not be in continual contact with a living person. They hold a perpetual edge. SHOW BUSINESS Area, cost 2+1, duration 10 m Creates a series of special effects to use as a prop for a stage show. Each sequence requires a seperate spell. Among the possible effects are sound effects, flashing lights, mini-fireworks, loud spectral applause, background Muzak, fog, and other effects that the mage is mentally diseased enough to invent. UMBRELLA Regular, cost 2+1, duration 1 hour A magical umbrella appears over the target. It looks like a translucent grey dome and covers one hex. The umbrella keeps out rain and sunlight (though it blocks nothing else), and travels centered on the target. It floats in mid-air. XEROX Regular, duration 1d6 months, ct: 5, cost 3 The spell copies documents accurately, in black-and-white reproduction. For double cost and 30 seconds casting time, the copy is made in full color. The spell creates a slightly faded copy, so that someone familiar with the original could tell them apart. However, in every other detail the copy will be a faithful duplicate. The spell will only copy one side of one page. At three times the base cost, double-sided copies may be made. Prerequisite: Create Object ELEMENTAL/AIR SPELLS PUFF OF BREATH Regular, cost 1 The target feels a light puff of breath; it will blow out candles, and be noticeable, but not much else. ELEMENTAL LIGHT SPELLS SIGNAL FLARE Regular, cost 1, duration 20 sec A fizzing jet flies straight up from the caster's finger; when it reaches an altitude of 400 feet, it will burst into a brilliant flare of colored light (caster's choice of color). It will remain stationary at that altitude for the full duration. While the flare does not illuminate, it is visible for miles under the proper lighting conditions. The spell does no damage and may not be targeted. WERELIGHT Regular, cost 1+1, duration 1 hour Creates a pale green ball of light in the caster's hand. It is not bright enough to illuminate beyond six inches, but can be seen for up to 10 hexes. Closing the hand will turn the werelight "on" and "off," as with the Searchlight spell. HEALING SPELLS CONTROL BLEEDING Regular, cost 1 Cast on a bleeding target, the wounds clot immediately. The spell will only work on relatively minor wounds, and will not halt bleeding due to dismemberment. No actual HT damage is healed, but further HT damage under the Bleeding rules is prevented. Prerequisite: Lend Health KNOWLEDGE SPELLS ASSAY COMPOUND Information spell, cost 2, touch only The caster can determine the material components of any liquid or solid compound. If necessary, chemical names are learned. However, the caster does not necessarily know the individual properties of the components, nor does he necessarily know what the compound does. Prerequisite: Trace DETECT ALTITUDE Information, cost 1, duration 1 m Detects altitude of a location or target on which the caster concentrates in the caster's LOS. DETECT OBSERVATION Regular spell, cost 1 Detects whether the subject is under any form of magical observation. DETECT POSSESSION Regular spell, cost 2 Detects whether the subject is possessed, under the effects of Exchange Bodies, or any similar enchantment. FIND DISTANCE Information spell, cost 1 Gives caster the distance in feet to an object within LOS. HERO POINTER Area, duration 1 m, base cost 1/4 The figure with the highest character point total is limned with a visible ruddy glow. Prerequisite: 3 Knowledge MEASUREMENT Area, ct:2 sec, base cost 1/2 Measures exact (to desired decimal point) volume, weight, and numbers of any discrete substance or item in the area. MOVEMENT SPELLS FLAMBOYANT TELEPORT As for Teleport stats and cost, +1 ST The caster may choose to accompany a teleport with a flash of light, a pillar of smoke, crackling of electricity, a burst of flame, a crack of thunder, or any of the above in combination. In all other respects the spell is the same as Teleport. Prerequisite: Teleport PLANT SPELLS WEED KILLER Area, base cost 1/2 All weeds in the area are killed, decaying into compost within the day. No other plants are affected. WOODLIGHT Regular, duration 1 hour The subject (which must be made of wood) glows with soft golden light. At a cost of 1, it illuminates a megahex; at a cost of 2 it illuminates as a torch. The cost is the same to maintain. SENSE SPELLS DYSLEXIA Regular, ct: 2 sec, duration 1 hour, cost 3+2 The subject loses the ability to read. Prerequisites: Magery, 4 Sense spells RECORDING Regular, ct: 2 seconds plus recording time, dur 30 m Cast on a small item (less than five pounds), any sound generated or heard for up to 30 minutes within a 10 hex radius of the item will be "recorded". The sound pickup and quality is as faithful as a modern boom mike and tape player would reproduce. A command word or phrase is designated at casting. Upon recitation of the command word, the object will play back whatever was recorded. A number of playbacks equal to the fatigue cost squared is provided. At a cost of 20, the recording is permanent. At a cost of half again the expended fatigue, an additional 30 minutes of playtime is gained. Prerequisite: Voices SUNGLASSES Regular, duration 10 m, cost 1+1 The subject has some visual protection against strong light. However, it provides no protection against light attacks such as Flash. SUMMONING SPELLS SUMMON BARTENDER Regular, duration 1 m, cost 3 +1, ct: 2 The spell summons an ebony circular bar with six barstools. Behind it is a balrog barkeep, who will produce and serve any drink that the caster can name. Only the caster can name drinks, and the drink takes as much time to make as it would in real life. The bar is well-stocked, though no one can see the actual ingredients. Further, the bar is liberally stocked with pretzels. It is advisable to tip the barkeep well, though what constitutes a good tip is up to the GM's whim. Prerequisites: Magery, 3 Summoning spells SUMMON MARBLES Regular, duration 1 m, cost 2+1 Summons 1d100 marbles which appear in a open container in the caster's hand. The marbles are "standard" modern glass marbles, but are far more resistant to breakage. SUMMON TEAPOT Regular, cost 1, duration 5 m A silvery-violet teapot will appear (and float) in midair. The caster may choose to put any kind of tea and sweetener inside the pot; it requires no water. When this is done, the pot will brew away, producing 1 quart of the tea, appropriately sweetened. If no tea is placed into the pot, it will brew a basic pekoe blend. The pot will pour itself, continuing to levitate as it does so, at the caster's command. UNSEEN ACCOUNTANT Regular, duration 1 hour, cost 2+2, ct: 3 Summons a demon accountant from the Celestial Auditing division of the IRS. It possesses the Economic, Accounting, and Mathematics skills at level 15, and the Merchant skill at 12, along with a 13 IQ. It has no other stats. Within the boundaries of finance and bookkeeping, it will do the caster's bidding. Prerequisite: Magery 2