Sorcery: Creation Spells

Sorcery: Creation Spells

And here's the second and last part of the college of Illusion & Creation. Create Object can be found in GURPS Thaumatology - Sorcery, page 18. Create Mount can be found in this post.

  

Control Creation

Keywords: Resisted (master’s Will).

Full Cost: 10 points.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Special.

You can mentally dominate magical creations you can see or touch. To use this ability, concentrate for one second and then roll a Quick Contest: your IQ vs. your subject’s master’s Will. Use the following modifiers: Range penalties to the subject (see B550); -1 per slave already under your control; +2 if you concentrate for a full minute, or +4 if you concentrate for a full hour.

If you win, your victim will obey your every command until you free him. In effect, he temporarily gains the Reprogrammable disadvantage (B150), with you as his master. Your control persists for as long as you take uninterrupted Concentrate maneuvers.

Once you stop, your control lingers for one minute per point by which you won the Quick Contest. If you are incapacitated (stunned, knocked out, etc.), or attempt to force the subject to act against his principles (e.g., commit suicide or harm his former master), roll another Quick Contest. If your victim wins, he breaks free. Roll at the moment of truth – you can march him to the edge of a cliff, but he doesn’t roll until he’s about to leap.

If you lose, you cannot attempt to control that subject again for 24 hours, and he feels a sense of mental coercion emanating from you. On a critical failure, you also lose control of anyone else under the influence of this ability!

Your victims have no initiative while under your control, and temporarily acquire Slave Mentality (B154).

Statistics: Mind Control (Accessibility, Only on magical creations, -50%; Based on master’s Will, +20%; Puppet, -40%; Sorcery, ‑15%) [10].

Create Animal

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 23 points.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Touch.

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

Create an animal (IQ 5 or less) that does your mental bidding while it exists. The animal appears within the arm’s reach. A living creation must be identical to a “real” living being with which the caster is familiar. You cannot create an imaginary being, or even a real creature of which you have only heard stories. Neither can you create a bear with poison fangs . . . but some wizards occasionally research private variations on the spell to make unusual creatures. At the end of the casting, you must pay 1 FP and make a Will roll to create the animal. If you are victorious, the created animal serves you for margin of success hours.

Create Animal may also be used to create a swarm of small creatures (p. B461).

If the animal is killed, the summoner must wait a full day to call replacements. Dismissing the animal 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 animal’s.

Statistics: Ally (Animal; Built on 50%; Constantly, no roll required; Adjustable, Animals, +50%; Conjured, +100%; Magical, -10%; Maximum Duration, hours equal to margin of success, -5%; Minion, +50%; Requires Will Roll, -5%) [23]. 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.

Create Servant

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 12 points.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Touch.

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

Creates a stupid but obedient servitor (all attributes equal to 9) to do the caster’s bidding. The caster determines the servant’s appearance. The servant appears within the arm’s reach. This same spell can also create a Brute – a servant with ST of 16, and all other attributes at 9. Or it can create a servant with attributes at 9 and one noncombat non-IQ-based skill at level 16. Any created servant follows simple spoken commands, delivers verbal messages, etc. It is under the GM’s control. It cannot fight or handle confusing situations; it has no skills. Faced with danger, it whimpers, flees, or simply vanishes. If questioned, it knows only who its master is and what its orders are. At the end of the casting, you must pay 1 FP and make a Will roll to create the servant. If you are victorious, the created servant serves you for margin of success hours.

If the servant is killed, the summoner must wait a full day to call replacements. Dismissing the servant 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 4 times bigger than the servant’s.

Statistics: Ally (Servant; Built on 25%; Constantly, no roll required; Adjustable, Servants, +50%; Conjured, +100%; Magical, -10%; Maximum Duration, hours equal to margin of success, -5%; Minion, +50%; Requires Will Roll, -5%) [12]. 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.

  

Create Warrior

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 21 points.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Touch.

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

Creates a warrior to fight as the caster commands. The warrior appears within the arm’s reach. He has IQ 10; ST, DX, and HT 12; and skill 16 with any single weapon (or unarmed combat ability) the caster desires. He has no weapons or armor when created, but uses what he is given. At the end of the casting, you must pay 1 FP and make a Will roll to create the warrior. If you are victorious, the created warrior serves you for margin of success hours.

If the warrior is killed, the summoner must wait a full day to call replacements. Dismissing the warrior 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 warrior’s.

Statistics: Ally (Warrior; Built on 50%; Constantly, no roll required; Adjustable, Warriors, +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.

Dispel Creation

Keywords: Resisted (master’s Will).

Full Cost: 63 points.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You attempt to dispel a magical creation. Roll a Quick Contest of your Will versus the subject’s master’s Will. If you win, the creation immediately dies.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (Master’s Will; Accessibility, Only on magical creations, -50%; Based on master’s Will, +20%; Disadvantage, Fragile (Enhanced Unnatural), +100%; Heart Attack, +300%; Malediction 2, +150%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, ‑15%) [63].

Duplicate

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 116 points for level 1 + 4 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: IQ. May require other skills to make alterations. Special casting time (see below).

Range: Touch.

Duration: Indefinite.

Like Create Object (GURPS Thaumatology - Sorcery, page 18), but with the following changes.

This spell duplicates an actual item weighing 3 lbs. or less, which must be held or touched by you while the spell is cast; the duplicate appears in your hand. Note that (e.g.) “a loaded gun” would be a single object; you do not have to duplicate the gun and bullets separately!

This permits a mage with no knowledge of Armoury to create a gun – if he has another one handy to copy. It also permits perfect forgeries of works of art, money, documents, and so on.

The mage may also attempt to alter the creation. For instance, he could copy a sword and add inscribed runes, or forge a passport with a different name or picture, etc. In this case, normal rules for the caster’s abilities apply; Forgery skill rolls may be required. A mage with no knowledge of guns could gold-plate a duplicate, but he couldn’t modify the firing mechanism or ammunition capacity.

Statistics: Snatcher (Cosmic, Allows alterations, +50%; Improved, +10%; Less Weight, 3 lbs., ‑5%; Magical, ‑10%; Reduced Fatigue Cost 1, +20%; Requires a sample object, -20%) [116]. Level 2 removes Less Weight (+5%) [+4] and additional levels add More Weight (+5%) [+4]. Note: The Improved enhancement eliminates the auto-fail on 14+.