Sorcery: Movement and Communication Spells

Sorcery: Movement and Communication Spells

Who said that envoys, ambassadors, and messengers cannot use magic? Create Mount will create a horse for the messenger. Haste will accelerate the messenger, and Great Haste will do so even better. Inscribe will inscribe the message on any surface. Teleport will transport the messenger instantly. Walk on Air will allow the messenger to navigate the terrain with ease.

Create Mount

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 21 points.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Touch.

Duration: Hours equal to margin of success on the casting roll.

Create a stupid but obedient mount on which to ride while it exists. It can also be used as a draft animal. The mount appears within the arm’s reach. The mount’s traits are equivalent to a pony (p. B460), but the caster sets its appearance at casting time; it can be a horse, camel, dolphin, dwarf elephant, huge ostrich, or anything else the GM agrees to (use the Create Animal guidelines). The mount can only understand very simple spoken commands, such as stop, go, left, right, about face, etc. It is under the GM’s control and cannot fight or handle confusing situations; it has no skills. Faced with danger, it will whimper, bolt, or simply vanish. At the end of the casting, you must pay 1 FP and make a Will roll to create the mount. If you are victorious, the created mount serves you for margin of success hours.

The caster may also choose to create a Brute mount with ST 35, a Winged mount with Move 7/14, a Racing mount with Move 18, or a War-Trained mount that remains calm in dangerous situations and can be ordered to trample or attack.

If the mount is killed, the summoner must wait a full day to call replacements. Dismissing the mount is a free action, but you may only dismiss him if he is physically present. You can only cast this spell if your character’s point total is at least 2 times bigger than the mount’s.

Statistics: Ally (Mount; Built on 50%; Constantly, no roll required; Adjustable, Mounts, +25%; Conjured, +100%; Magical, -10%; Maximum Duration, hours equal to margin of success, -5%; Minion, +50%; Requires Will Roll, -5%) [21]. Notes: The Maximum Duration limitation is priced based on Maximum Duration, 12 hours. As a special effect, this spell breaks sorcery rules by allowing free maintenance, but this is offset by imposing a FP cost to cast.

Great Haste

Keywords: Buff.

Full Cost: 88 points.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 10 seconds.

You make the target’s rate of time perception faster than that of a normal human. This spell lets the target experience time twice as fast as a normal – that is, he experiences two subjective seconds for each real second that passes.

This spell lets your target take one additional maneuver on his turn in combat, allowing him to cast spells quickly by taking multiple Concentrate maneuvers, run very fast by taking multiple Move maneuvers, etc. Your target’s turn doesn’t come any sooner, however! This advantage affects how fast your target moves when he reacts, but not how quickly he reacts in the first place.

Out of combat, Great Haste allows your target the luxury of extensive planning, even in crisis situations, as everything seems to happen in slow motion. Your target may always attempt a Sense roll, or an IQ-based skill roll to make plans or recall information (GM’s decision), at no penalty to additional actions.

In order to do anything that depends on someone else’s reactions, your target must deliberately “slow down” and function at his speed. This applies both when making a Feint in combat and when making an Influence roll (B359) out of combat. For instance, if your target chooses to Feint, that is all he can do on his turn – he cannot take extra actions. (On the other hand, he could make an All-Out Attack followed by an Attack in order to beat down his defenses through sheer blinding speed!)

When the spell’s effects wear off, the target immediately loses 5 FP.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage, Great Haste, +780%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Reduced Duration, 1/10, -20%; Sorcery, ‑15%) [88]. Notes: “Great Haste” is Altered Time Rate 1 (Aftermath Costs 5 FP, -12%; Magical, -10%) [78].

   

Haste

Keywords: Buff.

Full Cost: 30 points for level 1 + 18 points/additional level.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 3 minutes.

You increase the target’s Basic Speed by 1.00, which will also increase the target’s Basic Move and Dodge scores by the same amount.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage, Haste 1, +180%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [30]. Additional levels add further Haste to the Advantage enhancement (+180%) [+18]. Note: Each level of “Haste” is Basic Speed 1.00 (Magical, -10%) [18].

  

Inscribe

Keywords: Resisted (Will).

Full Cost: 12 points.

Casting Roll: DX or Artist (Calligraphy, Illumination, etc.).

Range: 10 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

Creates an inscription (either writing or images) on any surface within 10 yards. Appropriate specializations of Artist (Calligraphy, Illumination, etc.) should be used to assess the aesthetics of the result. The image can be as stylish as the caster desires: letters of silver flame, simple block-lettering, reflected light on the surface of water, and so on. The inscription is integral to the subject’s surface, fading only when the spell is washed off or dispelled.

An unsuspecting or unwilling subject resists with Will. A willing target can waive his resistance. This spell can never cause damage or an affliction.

Statistics: Accessory (TK Pen) (Magical, -10%) [1] + Telekinesis 1 (One Task, Inscription, -60%; Reduced Time 10, +200%; Requires DX vs. Will roll, -10%; Results can be dispelled, -10%; Sorcery, -15%) [11]. Notes: See GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p.14 for the One Task limitation. Here, Reduced Time is used to shorten a 10-minute inscription to one second, which was chosen because it costs the same as an Average technique to buy off the -10 for “instant use.”

Teleport

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 90 points.

Casting Roll: IQ; Special casting time and FP cost.

Range: Self.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You can teleport to any place you are able to see with your own eyes, or view it remotely, or visualize it clearly (which is only possible if you have visited it previously in person). You can carry up to Medium Encumbrance when you travel.

As a Concentrate maneuver make an IQ + Talent roll to cast this spell, modified as follows:

Distance: Distance penalties appear on the table below. If actual distance falls between two values, use the higher.

Distance	Penalty
10 yards	0
20 yards	-1
100 yards	-2
500 yards	-3
2 miles	-4
10 miles	-5
100 miles	-6
1000 miles	-7

Add an additional -1 for each 10x increase in distance.

Preparation Time: The amount of time taken to prepare for the teleport affects the IQ roll, as follows:

Preparation Time	IQ Modifier
None	-10
1 second	-5
2 seconds	-4
4 seconds	-3
8 seconds	-2
15 seconds	-1
30 seconds	0
1 minute	+1
2 minutes	+2
4 minutes	+3
8 minutes	+4
15 minutes	+5
30 minutes	+6
1 hour	+7
2 hours	+8
4 hours	+9
8 hours	+10

This table is not open-ended; +10 is the maximum possible bonus.

Removal: If you have a “second-hand” view of the destination, you are at -2 per level of removal. For instance, seeing it on TV or through someone else’s eyes would give -2, while seeing it on a television set that you are viewing through someone else’s eyes would give -4. There is an additional -2 to teleport to a place you have visited but cannot see.

Fatigue Points: Apply a bonus of +1 per additional FP spent. You must declare this before you roll, and you lose the FP whether you succeed or fail. You never have to spend FP, but it is usually a good idea if you must travel far or without much preparation.

On a success, you appear at your target destination. On a failure, you go nowhere and strain your teleporting ability: you are at -5 to cast this spell again in the next 10 minutes. On a critical failure, you arrive at the wrong destination. This can be anywhere the GM wishes! It need not be dangerous, but it should seriously inconvenience you. In addition, your spell temporarily “burns out” and will not function again for 1d hours.

You can cast this spell to evade attacks in combat. Once per turn, you may teleport to any location you can see within 10 yards, instantly. This is considered a dodge. Of course, the IQ + Talent roll will be at -10 for instant use, so you might want to spend FP to improve your odds!

Statistics: Warp (Extra Carrying Capacity, Medium, +20%; Requires Concentrate, -15%; Sorcery, -15%) [90].

    

Walk on Air

Keywords: Buff.

Full Cost: 30 points.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 3 minutes.

Air, smoke, and other gases are like solid ground beneath subject’s feet, allowing it to walk up and down “invisible stairs” at its ground Move. This won’t work in a vacuum – there has to be some kind of air present. If the subject gets knocked down or slips, it falls! The subject may attempt one DX roll per second of falling. If it succeeds, it stops in thin air, unharmed. Otherwise, it hits the ground for normal falling damage (see Falling, p. B431).

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage, Walk on Air, +180%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [30]. Note: “Walk on Air” is Walk on Air (Magical, -10%) [18].