Sorcery: Plant Spells XVIII

Sorcery: Plant Spells XVIII

And at last - last three plant spells from Pyramid #3-68! Plant Zombie animates a dead plant. Poison Thorns covers a plant in poisonous thorns. Rain of Thorns rain poisonous thorns upon your enemies.

Plant Zombie

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 18 points.

Casting Roll: None.

Range: Touch.

Duration: Indefinite, see text.

The caster touches a dead plant and animates it as a bizarre form of undead. The target must be a relatively complete dead plant. Use the skeleton template on p. 152 of GURPS Magic and apply the Body of Wood meta-trait on p. 165 of GURPS Magic. Treat the “original body” as having ST 10+(2xSM), 10 in DX, IQ, and HT, and no skills. The animated dead plant becomes an undead servant of the caster.

If the undead is destroyed, the summoner must wait a full day to call replacements. Dismissing the undead 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 undead creature’s.

Unlike most spells with an Indefinite duration, this spell drains FP at a rate of 1 FP per hour, not minute.

Statistics: Ally (Plant Zombie; Built on 50%; Constantly, no roll required; Adjustable, Small Class, Cannot provide information, +50%; Conjured, +100%; Magical, -10%; Minion, +0%; Requires a body, -20%) [18].

Poison Thorns

Keywords: Buff.

Full Cost: 16 points.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 30 minutes.

The subject plant gains poisonous thorns. This is defensive weaponry, intended to discourage attackers; the subject cannot use his thorns actively. However, he gets a DX-4 roll to hit each foe in close combat with him once per turn, as a free action. Roll at +2 against foes who attacked the subject from behind. Those who grapple or slam the subject are hit immediately and automatically – and those who slam the subject take maximum damage! The thorns have Reach C and do 1d-2 impaling damage with a follow-up poison with a 10-second delay and a HT roll to resist. The poison inflicts 1d-1 toxic damage at 30-second intervals for four cycles.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on plants, -40%; Advantage, Poison Thorns, +40%; Extended Duration, 10x, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [16]. Note: “Poison Thorns” is Short Spines (Magical, -10%) [1] + Toxic Attack 1d-1 (Cyclic, 30-seconds intervals, 4 cycles, Resistible with HT, +60%; Follow-Up, Spines, -50%; Magical, -10%; Onset, 10 seconds, -10%) [3].

    Rain of Thorns
    Keywords: Area (Fixed).
    Full Cost: 7 points.
    Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.
    Range: 100 yards.
    Duration: 30 seconds.

    You cause thin poisonous thorns to rain down upon an area with a 4-yard-radius. Use Innate Attack (Gaze), at +4, to center the area; see Scatter (p. B414) if you miss. Everyone who spends even part of their turn in the area is attacked with an effective skill of 12, modified only for their SM. Anyone hit takes 1d-3 small piercing damage with a follow-up poison with a 10-second delay and a HT roll to resist. The poison inflicts 1d-1 toxic damage at 1-minute intervals for four cycles. Victims may raise their shields as cover, at the risk of damaging them (p. B484). You may always choose (when casting) to scale back the area affected.
    Statistics: Small Piercing Attack 1d-3 (Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Bombardment, Skill-12, -10%; Extended Duration, 3x, +20%; Overhead, +30%; Persistent, +40%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [3] + Toxic Attack 1d-1 (Cyclic, 1-minute intervals, 3 cycles, Resistible, +60%; Follow-Up, Rain of Thorns, +0%; Onset, 10 seconds, -10%; Resistible, HT, -30%) [4].