Sorcery: Sound Spells V

Sorcery: Sound Spells V

GURPS Sorcery: Sound Spells is out! The coauthor who helped yours truly in writing it also has a great blog, I suggest checking it out (it's mostly about OSR though). The supplement is my first foray into writing, and I want to thank not only my coauthor, but also my gaming group, my readers and supporters, the editors, and other SJGames staff members that I was dealing with. I hope that I will get a chance to write another similar small supplement in the future. Of course, all the spells that are printed in the supplement have been changed and polished. The old versions were purged from the blog. Let's commemorate this with a batch of new sound spells! Hearing Protection should be useful when fighting banshees and sound sorcerers. Muffle is a boon for thieves. Noise Amplification is a bane of thieves. Sonic Scream is a signature move of one of the most forgettable Mortal Kombat characters.

  

Hearing Protection

Keywords: Buff.

Full Cost: 17 or 21 points.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 30 minutes.

The basic (17-point) version of this spell makes the subject’s hearing less prone to overloading. The subject may ignore -1 in Hearing penalties due to noise and gets +1 to HT rolls to resist deafening effects. The improved (21-point) spell lets the subject’s hearing rapidly adapt  to the most intense of stimuli, allowing them to function normally after a maximum of two seconds of impairment. The subject will never suffer permanent damage to their hearing as a result of excessive sensory input, ignores -5 in Hearing penalties due to noise, and gets +5 to rolls to resist Hearing-Based attacks.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage, Hearing Protection, +10%; Extended Duration, 10x, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [17]. The improved version changes the advantage to Improved Hearing Protection (+50%) [+4]. Notes: “Hearing Protection” is Robust Hearing (Magical, -10%) [1]. “Improved Hearing Protection” is Protected Hearing (Magical, -10%) [5].

Muffle

Keywords: Buff.

Full Cost: 25 points for level 1 + 9 points/additional level.

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

Range: 100 yards.

Duration: 30 minutes.

The caster changes makes the subject less noisy. The subject gets +4 per level of this spell to Stealth skill when they are perfectly motionless, or +2 if moving (even in armor, etc.). These bonuses help only in the dark, or against listening devices, blind creatures, and others who must rely on hearing to find you.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage, Muffle 1, +90%; Extended Duration, 10x, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, 10x, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [25]. Notes Each level of “Muffle” is Silence 2 (Magical, -10%) [9].

Noise Amplification

Keywords: Resisted (Will).

Full Cost: 33 points.

Casting Roll: Will.

Range: Unlimited.

Duration: 30 minutes.

All noises emitted by the victim are greatly amplified. The victim is producing noise constantly, even his breathing is very loud. This gives +10 to Hearing rolls to hear the subject or -10 to Stealth rolls, as the situation warrants. In some circumstances (for example, in the theater or library), this might impose a -5 Reaction penalty.

Statistics: Affliction 1 (Will; Based on Will, +20%; Disadvantage, Noisy 5, +10%; Extended Duration, 10x, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Malediction 2, +150%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [33].

Sonic Scream

Keywords: Obvious.

Full Cost: 12 points/level.

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

Range: 20 yards.

Duration: Instantaneous.

You unleash a loud scream that does 1d burning non-incendiary damage per level. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage, or be deafened for (20 – HT) minutes. The spell spreads to affect everyone in a cone-shaped area. Cones use special rules; see Area and Spreading Attacks (p. B413). The cone has a maximum width of 5 yards at the spell’s maximum range. This spell has the 1/2D range of 2 yards. The scream requires a sound-transmitting medium to work and is blocked by Silence or Wall of Silence, but works identically both in air and underwater (provided the sorcerer has the Speak Underwater advantage to scream underwater).

Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Cone 5, +100%; Environmental, Sound-transmitting mediums, -10%; Increased Range, 10x (Accessibility, Underwater only, ‑50%), +15%; No Incendiary Effect, -10%; Reduced Range, 1/5, -20%; Requires a scream, -10%; Side Effect, Deafness, +70%; Sorcery, -15%; Underwater, +20%) [12/level].