Wizardry: Lightning Spells I
Surprisingly, there are only five lightning spells in the Player's Handbook, so let's convert them all in one post. Call Lightning calls down a lightning bolt during a storm. While it is weather-dependent, an overhead attack with no 1/2D is nice. Call Lightning Storm is a persistent area bombardment version of the former. I decided to make the area fixed, not leveled. Chain Lightning is a very interesting spell. While usually I try to be very careful with rapid-fire attacks in low-tech games, this one doesn't look very offensive in that regard. Still, I decided to increase the casting time to 2 seconds, since it can hit multiple targets (and to avoid fractional costs). Lightning Bolt is a lightning line attack, and Shocking Grasp is a lightning touch attack. Overall, there's not much special here (aside from Chain Lightning), but these spells are useful for simple blasting.
Call Lightning
Keywords: Missile, Obvious.
Full Cost: 10 points/level.
Casting Roll: Skill. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to hit.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: 100 yards.
Duration: Instantaneous.
When you have storm clouds above your head, you can cause a lightning to strike your victim, dealing 1d burning surge damage per level. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of injury, or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Lightning behaves unpredictably around conductors; see Lightning (GURPS Magic, p. 196) for more details.
This attack has no 1/2D range, and has Acc 2. This spell bypasses any cover that does not provide overhead protection, and negates attack penalties to hit crouching, kneeling, sitting, or prone targets. (If you are already above or below your target, adjust this appropriately.)
Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Environmental, Storm, -40%; Inaccurate 1, -5%; Increased 1/2D, +15%; Magical, -10%; Nuisance Effect, Behaves erratically around conductors, -5%; Overhead, +30%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, +50%) [10/level].
Call Lightning Storm
Keywords: Area (Fixed).
Full Cost: 17 points.
Casting Roll: Skill. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 2 FP.
Casting Time: 2 seconds.
Range: 100 yards.
Duration: 30 seconds.
When you have storm clouds above your head, you can cause lightning bolts to repeatedly strike a 4-yard-radius area. Use Innate Attack (Gaze), at +4, to center the area; see Scatter (p. B414) if you miss. Everyone who spends even part of their turn in the area is attacked with an effective skill of 12, modified only for their SM. This spell bypasses any cover that does not provide overhead protection, and negates attack penalties to hit crouching, kneeling, sitting, or prone targets.
Each lightning bolt deals 1d burning surge damage. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of injury, or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Lightning behaves unpredictably around conductors; see Lightning (GURPS Magic, p. 196) for more details.
Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Bombardment, Skill-12, -10%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Environmental, Storm, -40%; Extended Duration, 3x, +20%; Magical, -10%; Nuisance Effect, Behaves erratically around conductors, -5%; Overhead, +30%; Persistent, +40%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, +50%; Takes Extra Time 1, -10%) [17].
Chain Lightning
Keywords: Missile, Obvious.
Full Cost: 13 points/level.
Casting Roll: Skill. Use Innate Attack (Beam) to hit.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 2 seconds.
Range: 100 yards.
Duration: Instantaneous.
You fire a coruscating discharge of electricity that does 1d burning surge damage per level. The discharge 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.
Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of injury, or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Chain Lightning behaves unpredictably around conductors; see Lightning (GURPS Magic, p. 196) for more details.
Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Magical, -10%; Nuisance Effect, Behaves erratically around conductors, -5%; Rapid Fire, Chaining, 7 targets, +70%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, +50%; Takes Extra Time 1, -10%) [13/level]. Note: Rapid Fire, Chaining is taken from Ravens N’ Pennies blog post.
Lightning Bolt
Keywords: Cone, Obvious.
Full Cost: 12 points/level.
Casting Roll: Skill. Use Innate Attack (Beam) to hit.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 2 FP.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: 20 yards.
Duration: Instantaneous.
You fire a stream of electricity that does 1d burning surge damage per level. Metallic armor counts as DR 1 against this attack, but nonmetallic armor protects normally. Targets stuck by this attack must make an HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of injury, or be physically stunned. On subsequent turns, they can roll HT to recover. Lightning behaves unpredictably around conductors; see Lightning (GURPS Magic, p. 196) for more details. This attack has the 1/2D range of 4 yards.
This is a 1-yard-wide cone attack that uses the rules for Cone Attacks (p. B413). On the battle map, it is a 1x20 row of hexes. This cone is too tight to affect many targets, but gets better chances to hit. The caster targets a hex right in front of him, at +4, and the cone extends out from there. It is possible to make the cone wider by using the All-Out Attack (Cone) maneuver (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 4: Dragons, p. 10).
Even though a one-hex creature is big enough to block the cone, everyone in the hex where the cone stops is fully affected. If a cone passes between two adjacent creatures, then both are hit. The cone cannot be parried or blocked, but it can be dodged by diving for cover or retreating out of the affected area. If a creature does that, then those behind it may get affected by the cone normally.
Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Cone 1, +60%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Increased 1/2D, 2x, +5%; Magical, -10%; Nuisance Effect, Behaves erratically around conductors, -5%; Reduced Range, 1/5, -20%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, +50%) [12/level].
Keywords: Obvious.
Full Cost: 8.5 points/level.
Casting Roll: Skill. Use unarmed combat skill or DX to hit.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: Touch.
Duration: Instantaneous.
Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Magical, -10%; Melee Attack, Reach C, Cannot Parry, -35%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Surge, Arcing, +100%; Side Effect, Stunning, +50%) [8.5/level].
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