Sorcery: Artillery Spells III

Sorcery: Artillery Spells III

In this post we're covering Earth and Healing artillery spells.

Boulder Barrage

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 11 points (or more).

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You cause boulders to rain down upon an area. Use Innate Attack (Gaze), at +4, to center the area; see Scatter (p. B414) if you miss. Everyone in the area is attacked with an effective skill of 12, modified only for their SM. Success means one hit plus one more per two full points of success; e.g., for an SM 0 target, one hit on 11-12, two hits on 9-10, three on 7-8, and so on, but no more than four hits. Each hit deals 1d crushing damage.

Victims may block or dodge, at -2 for an attack from above (p. B402), but not parry; shield DB adds normally. Success avoids one hit plus additional hits equal to margin of success. Determine hit location randomly. Overhead cover provides its usual benefits; Dodge and Drop (p. B377) is only effective if there’s cover to dive for!

You may always choose (when casting) to scale back the damage or the area affected.

The basic (12-point) version of this spell lets you affect an area up to 2 yards across. Each additional doubling of area adds 2.5 to basic cost; the GM sets the cap on this increase, but 128 yards is the recommended maximum. For an additional +5 to base cost, the damage can be upgraded to 2d or 3d crushing. This is summarized in the table below.

Damage	2 yards	4 yards	8 yards	16 yards	32 yards	64 yards	128 yards
1d	11 points	14 points	16 points	19 points	21 points	24 points	26 points
2d	22 points	27 points	32 points	37 points	42 points	47 points	52 points
3d	33 points	41 points	48 points	56 points	63 points	71 points	78 points

Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d (Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Blockable, -5%; Bombardment, Skill-12, -10%; Extra Recoil 1, -10%; Overhead, +30%; Rapid Fire, RoF 4, +70%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, +5%; Variable, Area, +5%) [11]. Improved versions add Area Effect (+50%/level) and/or improve to Crushing Attack 2d or 3d.

  

Sand Blast

Keywords: Obvious.

Full Cost: 12 points.

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

Range: 10 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

Shoots a 10-yard-long cone of high-speed grit from one hand, inflicting large-area injury (p. B400). Maximum width is 5 yards. This spell has the 1/2D range of 2 yards.

Use the rules under Cone Attacks (p. B413), rolling vs. Innate Attack (Beam) to hit the target point. As for any cone, anybody completely screened from the caster is behind cover, and targets may use Dodge and Drop (p. B377) to leave the area or get to cover.

Beings with eyes stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage, or be blinded for (20 – HT) seconds.

Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d (Cone 5, +100%; Increased 1/2D, x2, +5%; Reduced Duration on Side Effect, 1/60, -35%; Reduced Range, 1/10, -30%; Side Effect, Blindness, +100%; Sorcery, -15%) [12].

Seismic Shock

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 7 points for level 1 + 2.5 points/additional level.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You may trigger a massive, momentary shock in a two-yard-radius area that lifts anyone of the ground into the air. On landing, they suffer falling damage from that height. To place the effect at a distance, use Innate Attack (Gaze), with normal range penalties, but at +4 for affecting an area. The initial attack roll places the effect.

Everybody in the area is dealt 2d crushing damage for the purpose of determining vertical knockback. This damage deals no actual injury, only the falls and collisions do. A successful Acrobatics roll reduces effective falling distance by five yards. Thus, it’s possible to avoid all damage from hitting the ground. This doesn’t mitigate damage from being slammed into the ceiling first, however! Upon landing, victims capable of standing may make a DX or Acrobatics roll at -3 to land on their feet.

Seismic Shock also causes general chaos. Objects that require checks for breakage if dropped (like potion bottles) must roll for breakage, people taking Aim or Concentrate maneuvers must make Will rolls for distraction, those engaged in long actions must roll vs. the relevant skill or start over, and machinery requires a HT roll to avoid breakdown (e.g., locks on portals would pop open). For targets not securely anchored to the ground – and people rarely are – these rolls are at an extra -3.

This spell has no effect on targets not in contact with the ground.

Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d (Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Cosmic, Vertical Knockback, +50%; Double Knockback, +20%; Environmental, Ground, -20%; No Wounding, -50%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [7]. Further levels add more Area Effect (+50%) [+2.5].

  

Disinfect

Keywords: Area (Fixed), Resisted (HT).

Full Cost: 18 points.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: Instantaneous.

This extreme version of Remove Contagion doesn’t limit itself to mere microbes. It aggressively cleanses a 4-yard radius area in a way that’s no safer for living beings than being autoclaved, bleached, fumigated, and irradiated. All living victims in the area who fail to resist take 1d toxic damage, ignoring DR. Additionally, the area is rendered sterile from microbes.

Statistics: Toxic Attack 1d (Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Based on HT, +20%; Cosmic, Sterliziation, +50%; Malediction 2, +150%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, ‑15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [18].