Sorcery: Assorted Spells III

Sorcery: Assorted Spells III

Here we have last four (for now, at least) D&D/PF core spells that I felt were in need of a conversion, and two GURPS spells I missed. Black Tentacles is a constricting area binding spell. Disjunction is the ultimate dispel. Essential Gunpowder is a spell from Pyramid #3-111. Form of the Dragon is a draconic shapeshifting spell. Globe of Invulnerability is an anti-hostile-magic spell. Transfer Water is a spell from GURPS Thaumatology - Urban Magics.

Black Tentacles

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 66 points for level 1 + 14 points/additional level.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 10 seconds.

You conjure a field of black rubbery tentacles that try to grab and constrict everyone in the area. Placing the effect requires a roll against Innate Attack (Gaze) plus Talent; if you miss, see Scatter (p. B414). Each turn, the tentacles try to grab every creature in the area with an effective skill level of 12. On a hit, the victim is grappled (see p. B370) with ST 14 and rooted in place. He cannot select the Move or Change Posture maneuvers or change facing, and is at -4 to DX. The Black Tentacles actively constrict the victim. Until he breaks free, the Black Tentacles attack him each turn with a Constriction Attack (p. B43), at ST 14.

The effect lasts for 10 seconds, continuing to grab new people who blunder into it. To break free, the victim must win a Quick Contest of ST or Escape skill against the ST of your Black Tentacles. Each attempt takes one second. If the victim fails to break free, he loses 1 FP but may try again. Alternatively, he may try to destroy the tentacles. Innate Attacks hit automatically; other attacks are at -4. External attacks on the Black Tentacles take no penalty, but risk hitting the victim on a miss (see Striking Into a Close Combat, p. B392). The Black Tentacles have DR 4. Each point of damage reduces ST by one. At ST 0, the Black Tentacles are destroyed and the victim is freed.

The basic (66-point) version of this spell lets you affect an area up to 2 yards across. Each additional doubling of area adds 14 to full cost; the GM sets the cap on this increase, but 128 yards is the recommended maximum.

Statistics: Binding 14 (Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Bombardment, Effective Skill 12, -10%; Constricting, +75%; One-Shot, -10%; Persistent, +40%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [66]. Each additional level adds more Area Effect [+14].

Disjunction

Keywords: Area (Leveled), Resisted (Will or spell).

Full Cost: 170 points for level 1 + 25 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Instantaneous.

Attempts to negate every instance of magic within the area, even if it is normally immune to Dispel Magic or Remove Curse. It even attempts to permanently disenchant enchanted items. Disjunction dispels all magical effects, both beneficial and harmful. Casting Disjunction on another magician will remove any Buff spells and such that he’d previously cast upon himself, but does not affect any of his more distant ongoing spells nor his spellcasting ability.

Note how much the sorcerer’s Will roll (minus range penalties) succeeds by; every spell in the area resists separately with a Quick Contest. Use the spell’s level (if a skill) or the caster’s Will + Talent (if a power); for the latter, the Talent is usually Sorcery Talent or some type of Magery. If the sorcerer wins, the spell dissipates; it may be recast normally. Magical items lose their enchantments permanently.

You even have a small chance to dispel an Antimagic Field. Antimagic Field resists Disjunction at +8. If the Antimagic Field survives the disjunction, no items within it are disjoined.

Statistics: Neutralize Magic (Accessibility, Must target subject, not caster, -10%; Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Cosmic, Can affect spells normally immune to Dispel Magic, +50%; Cosmic, Can affect spells normally immune to Remove Curse, +50%; Extended Duration, Permanent (Accessibility, Only on magic items, -20%), +120%; Interruption, Not on magic items, -50%; Ranged, +40%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [170]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) [+25].

   

Essential Gunpowder

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 4.5 points/level*.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Touch.

Duration: 10 seconds or permanent; see text.

This spell allows you to turn regular gunpowder into the magical essence of gunpowder. To do so, touch the matter you wish to transform, take a Concentrate maneuver and roll vs. IQ. Success means you transform the matter successfully. Failure means nothing happens. Critical failure means the transformation happens, but in a way that’s inconvenient or dangerous – the GM should be creative!

Transmutation costs 1 FP per use.

The final product can weigh up to 10 x (level squared) lbs. – 10 lbs. at level 1, 40 lbs. at level 2, 90 lbs. at level 3, and so on. This limits the weight of the matter being transformed.

Essential Gunpowder does not spoil, get wet, or ever go bad. This improves the Malfunction number by 3 when using ammo that contains Essential Gunpowder. If used in the manufacture of match-grade or extra powerful ammunition, it doubles the normal benefits and drawbacks. This can also be incorporated into explosive powders, but not something like C4 or detonating cord. For explosive powders enhanced with Essential Gunpowder, only double the REF.

If the product is worth more than what you started with, it’s unstable and will revert to its original form after 10 seconds unless you stabilize it with your character points – in which case point cost depends on the difference in value. Each point spent stabilizes a quantity worth 10% of the campaign’s average starting wealth. (This is just the tradeoff used for Trading Points for Money, p. B26.) The GM determines the cash value per pound of matter – a ton of iron costs more to stabilize than a ton of stone.

Points spent to stabilize matter come from your “Creation Pool,” a number of points set aside for the purpose. You can’t apply any modifiers to these points. Points used to stabilize matter are unavailable until reclaimed – which causes the matter to vanish. If the matter is crafted into an object, the item is unmade when the matter vanishes. If the matter is mixed with other materials (e.g., alloyed), you must separate it to reclaim your points; this can be a tedious process. If it’s destroyed or transformed (e.g., eaten), you can’t reclaim your points – they’re gone. You can increase your Creation Pool with unspent points at any time.

Statistics: Create (Cosmic, Essential, +50%; Transmute Gunpowder to Essential Gunpowder, +50%; Transmutation Only, -100%; Magical, -10%) [4.5/level*].

* Calculate the total cost, then round up.

Form of the Dragon

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 60 points or 140 points or more; see text.

Casting Roll: None. Special casting time.

Range: Self.

Duration: Indefinite.

The caster can assume different draconic forms, as if using the Morph advantage (p. B84). The transformation requires 10 seconds. If he is knocked out or killed, he immediately reverts to his native form (which will also be unconscious or dead).

The caster retains his intelligence, but gains all the physical attributes of the new form. Note that FP are not increased for spellcasting purposes. The caster may not add traits to templates, but he may freely omit racial mental disadvantages (e.g., Bestial), and he may always choose to drop the racial IQ modifier from a template and use his own IQ. This spell includes the ability to make cosmetic changes. This lets the caster impersonate a specific member of any draconic species he can turn into.

The caster can always take on the form of a being he can see or touch, provided its racial template cost does not exceed his maximum. Once he has assumed a form, he can opt to memorize it by concentrating for one minute. This allows him to shapeshift into that form at any time. The caster can memorize a number of forms equal to his IQ. If all his “slots” are full, his must overwrite a previously memorized form (his choice) to add the new form. Memorizing cosmetic changes also requires a “slot”.

If the caster can assume any racial template worth no more than his native one, Form of the Dragon costs 60 points. This makes many forms available – anything no more powerful than his native form. If the caster can assume more powerful forms, add the difference between the maximum racial template cost and the cost of his native template to the base 60 points. For instance, a human who can take on any draconic racial template worth up to 75 points would pay 135 points for Form of the Dragon.

In addition, the caster may purchase the improved (140-point) version of this spell. This shortens the transformation time to 1 second.

Statistics: Morph (Accessibility, Dragons Only, -25%; Sorcery, -15%) [60]. The improved version adds Reduced Time 4, +80% [+80].

Globe of Invulnerability

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 100 points for level 1 + 15 points/additional level.

Casting Roll: None.

Range: Self.

Duration: 10 seconds.

This spell creates an immobile spherical zone that negates magic around the caster. It completely prevents all magical powers from affecting anything in the area. Enemies can “burn” through your Globe of Invulnerability and affect those protected by it by winning a Quick Contest of Will with the caster. If the attacking ability already requires a Quick Contest of some kind, the attacker rolls only once, but the target gets +5 to resist. Globe of Invulnerability affects only hostile spells, leaving friendly effects unaffected.

Globe of Invulnerability only interferes with attempts to affect creatures and objects in the area directly. For instance, a mage could not cast Mental Stun on a creature in the area, but he could cast Poltergeist outside the area to throw rocks at the creature in the area.

Statistics: Static (Magic; Area Effect, 2 yards, +100%; Discriminatory, +150%; Persistent, +40%; Resistible, -50%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [99] + Rules Exemption (Magical abilities can coexist with anti-magic Static) [1]. Additional levels increase Area Effect (+50%) [+15].

    Transfer Water
    Keywords: None.
    Full Cost: 30 points for level 1 + 5 points/additional level.
    Casting Roll: IQ. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim. Special casting time and cost.
    Range: 100 yards to the origin point. Unlimited to the destination point.
    Duration: Instantaneous, but see text.

    This spell teleports a volume of water leading to another place you are able to see with your own eyes, or view remotely, or visualize clearly (which is only possible if you have visited it previously in person). You may make the volume of water teleport gradually at a set rate instead of teleporting all at once. The water can only be teleported from the higher to the lower elevation; it can’t be made to flow uphill even via teleportation.
    The casting takes the penalties and bonuses as per Warp (p. B97). On a failure, the spell fails appear and you strain your teleporting ability: you are at -5 to cast this spell again in the next 10 minutes. On a critical failure, the teleportation occurs, but to 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.
    At level 1, you may transfer 120 lbs. of water (14.4 gallons). Each additional level up to 5 increases this limit by 20 lbs. (thus, Transfer Water 5 may transfer 200 lbs.) Each additional level after that increases the limit by 40 lbs.
    Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only to move water, -30%; Advantage, Transfer Water 1, +200%; Increased 1/2D, x10, +15%; May set the rate of transfer, +10%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [30]. Note: “Transfer Water 1” is Warp (Accessibility, Only downhill, -50%; Exoteleport, -50%; Magical, -10%; Modified Capacity, Static, 120 lbs., +30%) [20]. Each additional level improves Modified Capacity, Static by one step (+5%) [+5].