Sorcery: Gunman Spells III

Sorcery: Gunman Spells III

More imbuement-based spells for ranged combatants. Guided Weapon lets the wielder guide the projectiles. Homing Weapon leaves this job to the projectiles themselves. Ricochet allows the projectiles to bounce around the corners. Shattershot transforms projectiles into deadly shrapnel that slows down the game significantly.

  

Guided Weapon

Keywords: Weapon Buff.

Full Cost: 35 points for level 1 + 8 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Three minutes.

This spell enchants a ranged weapon, allowing the wielder to control a projectile after releasing it, guiding it to its target. This works just like the Guided enhancement (p. B106): the attack ignores range penalties and the projectile moves at 1/2D yards/second – regardless of its normal speed – until it hits the target or reaches Max range. Against distant targets, the wielder must take a Concentrate maneuver on turns after the first to control his weapon.

This spell is incompatible with weapons that affect multiple targets by default. It guides one attack to one target.

Each additional level allows the wielder to turn the projectile around for a second attack next turn, at the original effective skill level, in the event that his target dodges the first one. The number of allowed extra passes equals to (spell level – 1).

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on ranged weapons, -30%; Advantage, Guided Weapon, +260%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [35]. Notes: “Guided Weapon” is 26 points, per Enhances or Transforms an Existing Attack (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 11). Each additional level removes -1 in penalties [+8]. This spell is based on the Guided Weapon imbuement skill.

  

Homing Weapon

Keywords: Weapon Buff.

Full Cost: 44 points for level 1 + 8 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Three minutes.

This spell enchants a ranged weapon, allowing its projectiles to guide themselves to a target using the wielder’s vision. The wielder must take an Aim maneuver and make an unmodified weapon skill roll to “lock on,” but he can ignore all ranged combat modifiers except for effects that obscure the wielder’s vision. The weapon then homes in on its target as if it had the Homing enhancement (p. B106): it ignores range penalties and moves at 1/2D yards/second – regardless of its usual speed – until it hits the target or reaches Max range.

This spell is incompatible with weapons that affect multiple targets by default. The wielder can only lock one shot onto one target at a time. You can’t combine Guided Weapon with Homing Weapon, either. The chief benefit of the latter over the former is that it doesn’t require the wielder to take Concentrate maneuvers when engaging foes that require multiple turns (or multiple passes) to hit.

Each additional level allows the projectile to try a second attack next turn, at the original effective skill level, in the event that the target dodges the first one. The number of allowed extra passes equals to (spell level – 1).

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on weapons, -20%; Advantage, Homing Weapon, +340%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [44]. Notes: “Homing Weapon” is 34 points, per Enhances or Transforms an Existing Attack (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 11). Each additional level removes -1 in penalties [+8]. This spell is based on the Homing Weapon imbuement skill.

Ricochet

Keywords: Weapon Buff.

Full Cost: 36 points for level 1 + 16 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Three minutes.

The affected weapon’s projectiles (or the weapon itself, in case of thrown weapons) bounce off “hard cover” in the environment in order to reach the target. The exact DR and HP of the things the wielder’s bouncing the shot off aren’t important. What matters is that these objects are convincingly hard: walls and rocks, not curtains and ferns.

The wielder must plot the course and count the bounces. If there’s nothing but floor or ground around, then only one bounce is possible: from him, to the floor, and back up to his target. The number of allowed bounces is equal to the spell level. Each ricochet off something fragile, like rice paper or window glass, counts as two bounces.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on weapons, -20%; Advantage, Ricochet, +260%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [36]. Notes: “Ricochet” is 26 points, per Enhances or Transforms an Existing Attack (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 11). Each additional level removes -2 in penalties [+16]. This spell is based on the Bank Shot imbuement skill.

  

Shattershot

Keywords: Weapon Buff.

Full Cost: 36 points for level 1 + 16 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Three minutes.

This spell enchants the weapon, causing its projectiles to rupture on impact, scattering harmful fragments. The attack gains the Fragmentation modifier (p. B104). Note that this destroys the projectile – be sure you want to sunder reusable ammo like an arrow or a spear!

The 1^st level of this spell gives fragments that inflict 1d cutting damage – or burning damage, if the affected weapon is burning, incendiary, or simply on fire. The fragments attack everybody within 5 yards as explained under Fragmentation Damage (p. B414). Note that hits aren’t guaranteed, cover protects, and victims may dodge. Shattershot cannot be combined with Conic Blast. The fragmentation damage and area increase with the spell level, as shown on the table below. However, fragment damage can never exceed the underlying attack’s basic damage.

Level	Damage	Area of Effect	Level	Damage	Area of Effect
1	1d	5 yards	4	4d	20 yards
2	2d	10 yards	5	5d	25 yards
3	3d	15 yards	6	6d	30 yards

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on weapons, -20%; Advantage, Shattershot, +260%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [36]. Notes: “Shattershot” is 26 points, per Enhances or Transforms an Existing Attack (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 11). Each additional level removes -2 in penalties [+16]. This spell is based on the Shattershot imbuement skill.