Sorcery: Phlogiston Spells

Sorcery: Phlogiston Spells

And now it's time for Essential Air spells. Phlogiston Arc and Phlogiston Touch are paralysing melee attacks. Phlogiston Detonation and Phlogiston Discharge are missile spells. Phlogiston Stare is a jet attack. Phlogiston Sphere is a homing missile attack that passes through walls.

Phlogiston Arc

Keywords: Obvious.

Full Cost: 21 points.

Casting Roll: None. Use Force Whip to hit.

Range: Self.

Duration: Instantaneous.

While this spell is active, the caster has a whip of phlogiston in his hand. It is wielded like a normal whip (p. B404), except that it always takes only one second to ready, and it cannot be used to parry or entangle. The whip has Reach 1-4 (changing Reach requires a Ready maneuver) and inflicts swing burning surge damage every time it strikes. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Resist Lightning only reduces this damage to half, instead of granting immunity. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage (-1 per 4 points of penetrating damage with Resist Lightning), or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Those who critically fail this HT roll – or fail it by 5 or more – are instead paralyzed for a number of minutes equal to their margin of failure.

Statistics: Natural Weapon (Burning; Cannot Parry, -40%; Destructive Parry, +40%; Extra Reach, 1-4, Ready maneuver necessary, +90%; Intangible, +50%; Side Effect, Stunning, Secondary Paralysis, +80%; Single, -20%; Sorcery, -15%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Swing-Capable, +20%) [21].

Phlogiston Detonation

Keywords: Area (Fixed), Missile, Obvious.

Full Cost: 18 points/level.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Beam) to hit.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You fire a coruscating discharge of phlogiston that expands to cover an area; it is not technically an explosion, but the term has long since entered common use. Use Innate Attack (Beam) to hit, applying normal range penalties, but at +4 for targeting an area. Everyone within four yards of that spot takes dice of burning surge damage equal to your level of this spell. The GM must determine what the maximum level available in the campaign is.

Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Resist Lightning only reduces this damage to half, instead of granting immunity. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage (-1 per 4 points of penetrating damage with Resist Lightning), or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Those who critically fail this HT roll – or fail it by 5 or more – are instead paralyzed for a number of minutes equal to their margin of failure. Phlogiston Detonation behaves unpredictably around conductors; see Lightning (GURPS Magic, p. 196) for more details.

Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Nuisance Effect, Behaves erratically around conductors, -5%; Sorcery, -15%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, Secondary Paralysis, +80%) [18/level].

  

Phlogiston Discharge

Keywords: Missile, Obvious.

Full Cost: 13 points/level.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Beam) to hit.

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You fire a coruscating discharge of phlogiston that does 1d burning surge damage per level. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Resist Lightning only reduces this damage to half, instead of granting immunity. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage (-1 per 4 points of penetrating damage with Resist Lightning), or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Those who critically fail this HT roll – or fail it by 5 or more – are instead paralyzed for a number of minutes equal to their margin of failure. Phlogiston Discharge behaves unpredictably around conductors; see Lightning (GURPS Magic, p. 196) for more details.

Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Nuisance Effect, Behaves erratically around conductors, -5%; Sorcery, -15%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, Secondary Paralysis, +80%) [13/level].

  

Phlogiston Sphere

Keywords: Missile, Obvious.

Full Cost: 27.5 points/level*.

Casting Roll: None. Use Innate Attack (Projectile) to «lock on».

Range: 20 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

A ball of phlogiston flies off your fingertips towards your target. The ball floats right through windows, curtains, walls, and other nonmetallic obstacles. The ball explodes on the mental command of the caster or upon contact with a living being or metallic object. An explosion does 1d burning surge damage per level of this spell to everyone within four yards of the explosion point. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Resist Lightning only reduces this damage to half, instead of granting immunity. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage (-1 per 4 points of penetrating damage with Resist Lightning), or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Those who critically fail this HT roll – or fail it by 5 or more – are instead paralyzed for a number of minutes equal to their margin of failure. The projectile is homing, so it steers itself. As it uses normal vision to seek its target, it does not ignore darkness penalties. To “lock on,” you must Aim at the target and make an unmodified skill roll. Do not roll against your skill to hit. Instead, use the attack’s skill of 10 – plus Accuracy, if you made your skill roll – and ignore all range penalties. The projectile moves 4 yards per second. For more information, see Guided and Homing Weapons (B412).

Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Cosmic, Passes through nonmetallic obstacles, +100%; Homing, +50%; Increased 1/2D, 2x, +5%; Reduced Range, x1/5, -20%; Sorcery, -15%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, Secondary Paralysis, +80%; Triggered Delay, +50%) [27.5/level*].

* Calculate the total cost and round up.

  

Phlogiston Stare

Keywords: Jet, Obvious.

Full Cost: 13.25 points/level*.

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

Range: 10 yards.

Duration: One second.

A 10-yard jet of phlogiston erupts from your eyes. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to hit. Don’t apply range penalties; treat this as a long melee weapon rather than a ranged attack. It does burning surge damage with dice equal to your level of this spell. The GM must determine what the maximum level available in the campaign is. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Resist Lightning only reduces this damage to half, instead of granting immunity. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage (-1 per 4 points of penetrating damage with Resist Lightning), or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Those who critically fail this HT roll – or fail it by 5 or more – are instead paralyzed for a number of minutes equal to their margin of failure. Phlogiston Stare behaves unpredictably around conductors; see Lightning (GURPS Magic, p. 196) for more details.

Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Increased 1/2D, 2x, +5%; Jet, +0%; Nuisance Effect, Behaves erratically around conductors, -5%; Sorcery, -15%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, Secondary Paralysis, +80%) [13.25/level*].

* Calculate the total cost and then round up.

  

Phlogiston Touch

Keywords: Obvious.

Full Cost: 11.5 points/level*.

Casting Roll: None. Use unarmed combat skill or DX to hit.

Range: Touch.

Duration: Instantaneous.

This spell charges the caster’s hand with phlogiston. The caster must touch the subject to trigger this spell. The touch deals 1d burning surge damage per level of this spell. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Resist Lightning only reduces this damage to half, instead of granting immunity. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage (-1 per 4 points of penetrating damage with Resist Lightning), or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Those who critically fail this HT roll – or fail it by 5 or more – are instead paralyzed for a number of minutes equal to their margin of failure.

Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Melee Attack, Reach C, Cannot Parry, -35%; Sorcery, -15%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, Secondary Paralysis, +80%) [11.5/level*].

* Calculate the total cost, then round up.