Magic: Air Spells

Magic: Air Spells

So far I have made four additional colleges for GURPS Magic - Gravity, Poison, Time, and Force. Let's expand on the existing ones. To look for inspiration I decided to skim Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Player's Handbook. I've found only 4 spells that do not seem to have an analogue in GURPS Magic. Call Lightning is just Lightning that hits from above. Chain Lightning hits multiple targets. Both of these spells also are Weather spells. Another Air/Necromantic spell is Cloudkill - it creates a toxic cloud. And Whispering Wind is an Air/Sound spell that allows the caster to send a message on the wind.

Additionally, I'm going to update the domain posts with these new spells and spells I find from other sources.

Call Lightning

Missile

The caster attracts a bolt of lightning and forces it to strike from the sky, causing burning surge damage to the subject. This bolt has 1/2D 50, Max 100, Acc 3. Metal armor provides only DR 1; other armor protects fully. Wooden shields may be held overhead as described under Rain of Fire (GURPS Magic, p. 74); metal shields provide no protection! This spell can only be cast outdoors during a storm.

This is also a Weather spell.

Cost: Any amount up to your Magery level per second, for three seconds. The bolt does 1d-1 burning surge damage per energy point.

Time to cast: 1 to 3 seconds (the caster’s fingers sparkle as the spell builds).

Prerequisites: Magery 1 and Lightning.

Item

Staff or wand. Usable only by mages. Cost to create: 800 energy, $1,200 for platinum decorations.

Chain Lightning

Missile

The caster throws a lightning bolt at the target, causing burning surge damage to the subject, and then the bolt arc to another target. This bolt has 1/2D 50, Max 100, Acc 3. For each arc make another skill roll to hit, but consider the previous target the origin point of the attack. If the arcing strike hits, it deals 1d-1 damage less than the previous strike. If the damage was reduced to 0, or the arcing strike misses, then the lightning dissipates. Metal armor provides only DR 1; other armor protects fully.

This is also a Weather spell.

Cost: Any amount up to your twice Magery level per second, for three seconds. The primary bolt does 1d-1 burning surge damage per 2 energy points.

Time to cast: 1 to 3 seconds (the caster’s fingers sparkle as the spell builds).

Prerequisites: Magery 2 and Lightning.

Item

Staff or wand. Usable only by mages. Cost to create: 1,500 energy, $1,500 for platinum decorations.

Cloudkill

Area

Creates a ground-level cloud of toxic gases. It does not block vision, but it inflicts toxic damage to any living creatures standing in it. Sealed creatures are immune to this damage.

This is also a Necromantic spell.

Duration: 10 seconds.

Base cost: 1 to 5; the cloud inflicts 1 point of damage per second for every point of energy put into the base cost.

Time to cast: 1 to 5 seconds, depending on base cost. Cannot be maintained.

Prerequisites: Shape Air and Devitalize Air.

Item

Staff, wand, or jewelry. Usable only by mages. Cost to create: 150 energy, $500 in platinum, and a $500 opal.

Whispering Wind

Regular; Resisted by spells that block sound

Send a spoken message or sound on the wind to a designated spot. Use the long-distance modifiers (GURPS Magic, p. 14). The whispering wind travels to the specified location, provided that it can find a way to the location. If the caster is unfamiliar with the designated place, he is at -2.

A whispering wind is as gentle and unnoticed as a zephyr until it reaches the location. It then delivers its whisper-quiet message or other sound. Note that the message is delivered regardless of whether anyone is present to hear it. The wind then dissipates. Silence, Wall of Silence, and Noise will resist the incoming message.

You can cause the whispering wind to move as slowly as 1 mile per hour or as quickly as 1 mile per 10 minutes. When the spell reaches its objective, it swirls and remains in place until the message is delivered.

This is also a Sound spell.

Duration: Until delivered.

Cost: 1 per 15 seconds of message duration.

Time to cast: Equal to the message’s duration, as spoken by the caster.

Prerequisites: Great Voice and Wind.

Item

A conch one speaks into while concentrating on a mental picture of the target location. Energy cost to create: 1,000.