Sorcery: Artillery Spells IX

Sorcery: Artillery Spells IX

This post covers Protection & Warning artillery spells.

Diminishing Dome

Keywords: Area (Leveled).

Full Cost: 64 points for level 1 + 10 points/additional level.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 1 second.

Creates a Force Dome that lasts for just long enough to appear, shrink (squashing its contents), and then collapse. To place the effect at a distance, use Innate Attack (Gaze), with normal range penalties, but at +4 for affecting an area. Once the spell is cast, the dome takes a full second to form. This is obvious, and everybody within the area has one turn to leave.

On the caster’s next turn, the dome shrinks out of existence. Magical creatures inside it – anything Pentagram could affect, including creations, demons, elementals, golems, spirits, and undead – are unaffected as the moving surface of force washes past them. But everybody else in the dome is dragged into the center, regardless of ST.

Everyone remaining in the area suffers 4d crushing damage as large-area injury (p. B400). The GM decides how cramped things get before the dome expires, as well as where people end up. On a battle map, five human-sized victims per hex works. The number of hexes in radius R is 3xR² – 3xR + 1. Multi-hex figures count as one victim per hex of size, and may be forced into unnatural positions. Anybody crushed into the same hex as a being with Spines or an Aura is affected.

The basic (64-point) version of this spell covers a two-yard radius. For each additional 10 points, you may double this radius; e.g., four yards for 74 points, 8 yards for 84 points, or 16 yards for 94 points. The GM must determine the maximum level allowed; 128 yards is recommended. You may always choose to affect a lesser area.

Statistics: Crushing Attack 4d (Accessibility, Not on magical beings, -10%; Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Cosmic, Clusters subjects up, +200%; Delay, 1 seconds, +0%; No Knockback, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Variable, Area, +5%) [64]. Further levels add Area Effect (+50%) to the advantage [+10].

  

Force Ball

Keywords: Missile, Obvious.

Full Cost: 10 points/level.

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

Range: 50 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You fire a ball of force that does 1d crushing damage per level. This damage is doubled for the purpose of knockback, and this spell can affect insubstantial beings. The ball leaps to other available targets after hitting the initial target! If that attack succeeds, immediately consult your margin of success. If the margin is high enough to hit a separate target after accounting for range penalties plus -2, the next target is struck unless they make an appropriate active defense. If the target is hit then check the margin again until the attack fails to hit or seven targets (the maximum) are hit. This attack has no 1/2D.

Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d (Affects Insubstantial, +20%; Double Knockback, +20%; Increased 1/2D, x10, +15%; Rapid Fire, Chaining, 7 targets, +70%; Reduced Range, ½, -10%; Sorcery, -15%) [10/level]. Notes: Rapid Fire, Chaining is taken from Ravens N’ Pennies blog post.