Sorcery: Glass Spells

Sorcery: Glass Spells

Pyramid #3-114 introduced us to the new Glass (sub)-college. Most of the spells are variations of some Earth spells, but I still find the addition very neat. Here we have converted spell variations - Create Sand, Earth to Glass, Essential Glass, Glass to Air, and Partial Vitrification.

Create Sand

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 5.5 points/level*.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Touch.

Duration: 10 seconds or permanent; see text.

This spell allows you to create sand. To do so, take a Concentrate maneuver and roll vs. IQ. Success means the sand appears in hand or within arm’s reach (for example, within a container you are holding). Failure means nothing happens. Critical failure means the creation happens, but in a way that’s inconvenient or dangerous – the GM should be creative!

The produced sand 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.

Created sand is unstable. It vanishes in 10 seconds unless you use character points to “stabilize” it. 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.

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 (e.g., melts naturally) 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 Sand (Magical, -10%; Reduced Fatigue Cost 1, +20%) [5.5/level*].

* Calculate the total cost, then round up.

   

Earth to Glass

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 14 points/level.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Touch.

Duration: 10 seconds or permanent; see text.

This spell allows you to turn earth, sand or clay into glass or obsidian. 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.

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 (Transmute Earth to Glass, +40%; Transmute Earth to Obsidian, +40%; Transmutation Only, -100%; Magical, -10%) [14/level].

  

Essential Glass

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 8 points/level.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Touch.

Duration: 10 seconds or permanent; see text.

This spell allows you to create the magical essence of glass. Essential Glass is three times as strong (DR and HP) and utterly flawless. In addition to being stronger, optics that are made from such glass get an extra level of Telescopic Vision, Acute Vision, or Microscopic Vision compared to similar, mundane versions of the same size, weight, and TL. To create essential glass, take a Concentrate maneuver and roll vs. IQ. Success means the essential glass appears in hand or within arm’s reach (for example, within a container you are holding). Failure means nothing happens. Critical failure means the creation happens, but in a way that’s inconvenient or dangerous – the GM should be creative!

The produced essential glass 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.

Created essential glass is unstable. It vanishes in 10 seconds unless you use character points to “stabilize” it. 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.

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 (e.g., melts naturally) 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 Essential Glass (Cosmic, Essential Material, +50%; Magical, -10%; Reduced Fatigue Cost 1, +20%) [8/level].

Glass to Air

Keywords: None.

Full Cost: 2 points/level.

Casting Roll: IQ.

Range: Touch.

Duration: Permanent.

This spell allows you to turn glass or obsidian into breathable air. 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 initial matter 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 volume of produced air as shown in the table below. 1 cubic foot of air is enough for one person to breathe for 1 minute.

Level	Mass	Glass/Obsidian (140 lbs./ft3)
1	10 lbs.	0.07 ft3
2	40 lbs.	0.29 ft3
3	90 lbs.	0.64 ft3
4	160 lbs.	1.14 ft3
5	250 lbs.	1.79 ft3
6	360 lbs.	2.57 ft3
7	490 lbs.	3.50 ft3
8	640 lbs.	4.57 ft3
9	810 lbs.	5.79 ft3
10	1000 lbs.	7.14 ft3
+1	=10*lvl2	=mass/density

Statistics: Create (Transmute Glass to Air, +50%; Transmutation Only, -100%; Magical, -10%) [2/level].

  

Partial Vitrification

Keywords: Resisted (HT).

Full Cost: 54 points.

Casting Roll: Will. Use DX or unarmed combat skills to hit.

Range: Touch.

Duration: Permanent.

With a touch, you can partially turn a living subject into glass! You can affect anything from a single finger to the whole body from the neck down, but you cannot affect the head. If the subject fails to resist, the body parts selected by the caster and anything he is carrying on those parts become glass. This does not affect magic items, backpacks, and things carried in hands. The subject’s metabolism is magically altered to survive the experience. Vitrifed parts are Fragile (Brittle) and DR 2. This cannot be undone via Dispel Magic (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 21); countering it requires Remove Curse (GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery, p. 21) or the equivalent of Stone to Flesh (GURPS Magic, p. 53).

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Can’t vitrify the head, -10%; Cosmic, Immune to Dispel Magic, +50%; Extended Duration, Permanent, +150%; Malediction 1, +100%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; No Signature, +20%; Paralysis, Variant, +150%; Selective Effect, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [54].