Wizardry: Necromantic Spells VII
False Life imbues the caster with death resistance. Finger of Death is a costly, ranged spell that has a chance to kill the victim. Magic Jar... oh boy, this was a difficult one. I had to think very hard to make it affordable, but even now it's one of the very expensive spells. And I think it should be. I found Shield Other to be a very interesting spell. The focus component (a pair of platinum rings) had to go - while these rings cost 50 gp in D&D, each ring costs $9,600 in GURPS.
False Life
Keywords: Buff.
Full Cost: 15 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 2 FP.
Casting Time: 2 seconds.
Range: Self.
Duration: 5 hours.
You harness the power of unlife to grant yourself a limited ability to avoid death. You gain Hard to Kill 4 (p. B58).
Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Self Only, -50%; Advantage, False Life, +80%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Extended Duration, 100x, +80%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Magical, -10%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Takes Extra Time 1, -10%) [15]. Note: “False Life” is Hard to Kill 4 (Magical, -10%) [8].
Finger of Death
Keywords: Resisted (HT).
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 3 FP.
Casting Time: 2 seconds.
Range: Unlimited (standard).
Duration: 3 seconds or instantaneous; see text.
You point your finger at your victim and utter a vile incantation. The victim is wracked by terrible pain (p. B428) for three seconds. If you win by 5 or more, or if the victim rolls a critical failure, the victim instead suffers a heart attack (p. B428).
Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on living beings, -10%; Based on IQ, Own Roll, +20%; Costs Fatigue, 3 FP, -15%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Magical, -10%; Malediction 2, +150%; No Signature, +20%; Reduced Duration, 1/60, -35%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Secondary Heart Attack, +60%; Takes Extra Time 1, -10%; Terrible Pain, +60%) [31].
Magic Jar
Keywords: Resisted (Will).
Casting Roll: Skill to cast; Per to detect life, skill to analyze; see text.
Components: V, S, F.
Cost: 6 FP; see text.
Casting Time: 4 seconds.
Range: Touch or Unlimited (standard); see text.
Duration: Instantaneous.
By casting Magic Jar, you place your soul in a gem or large crystal (known as the magic jar), leaving your body lifeless. Then you can attempt to take control of a nearby body, forcing its soul into the magic jar. You may move back to the jar (thereby returning the trapped soul to its body) and attempt to possess another body.
The first casting of this spell targets the magic jar itself. When you transfer your soul upon casting, your body is, as near as anyone can tell, dead. You must touch the magic jar to transfer your soul into it.
While in the magic jar, you can sense any life force around you. The GM will roll against your Per (plus Talent), minus the standard range penalty to the living beings. If you do succeed, you may immediately make a follow-up skill roll (plus Talent) to analyze what you’re detecting. If successful, the GM will give you details for each being based on your margin of success (e.g., success by 0-1 might just give “human,” while success by 4-5 could be “152-year-old high elf male in great shape except for a bad arm”).
Attempting to possess a body requires another casting of Magic Jar. To do that, you have to sense the being first, as described above. Unlike when transferring your soul to the magic jar, when casting this spell from the magic jar, you can affect targets at a distance. Your casting roll takes standard range penalties. Since you have no limbs and FP, your casting attempt is free. The victim is at +5 to resist, if he’s in combat with you or otherwise wary of you (thus, casting other spells from the magic jar is not advisable). If you lose or tie, you are mentally stunned for 1d seconds. In addition, you may never attempt to possess that subject again.
If you are successful, your life force occupies the host body, and the host’s life force is imprisoned in the magic jar. You can remain swapped indefinitely, though the GM may charge you character points if you decide to retain an “upgraded” body – see Mind Transfer (p. B296) for more.
You gain your new host’s ST, DX, and HT (and secondary characteristics calculated from these scores), as well as his physical advantages and disadvantages. You keep your own IQ, Perception, and Will, and all of your mental traits. Your social traits may apply, depending on the laws and values of your society. Your IQ-, Perception-, and Will-based skills are unchanged. Other skills remain at the same relative skill level.
By casting Magic Jar again, you may shift back to your magic jar and return the life force trapped within to its original body. You must touch the magic jar to do that.
If the host body is slain, you return to the magic jar, and the life force of the host departs (it is dead). If the magic jar is destroyed, then you die, when your host body is slain. If the magic jar is destroyed while your life force is in it, you return to your original body. If you transfer your life force to another body due to death, you must make an immediate Fright Check (p. B360). After an accidental death, or a peaceful death in your sleep, roll at no penalty, providing there was nothing especially horrible about it. Roll at a -2 penalty for an ordinary combat death. A messy or lingering death requires a roll at -5. A death by torture, or involving a Phobia forces a roll at -10 or even worse! Your first “death” always adds an extra -10 modifier, your second an extra -5, and your third a -2. Should you acquire a mental disadvantage as a result of the Fright Check, it should be related to the circumstances of your proxy “death.”
Focus: A gem or crystal worth at least $1,000.
Shield Other
Keywords: Buff.
Full Cost (Touch): 35 points for level 1 + 17 points/additional level.
Full Cost (Short-Range): 38 points for level 1 + 17 points/additional level.
Full Cost (Ranged): 43 points for level 1 + 17 points/additional level.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 2 seconds.
Range: Touch – Unlimited (-1/yard) – Unlimited (standard).
Duration: 30 minutes.
This spell creates a mystic connection between you and the subject so that some of its wounds are transferred to you. When you cast this spell, choose the damage limit up to twice this spell’s level. For example, if you have Shield Other 2, you can choose a damage limit from 1 to 4. When the subject takes damage from any attack, subtract this damage limit from the penetrating damage before applying wounding multipliers. This subtracted damage instead is received by you, and your DR does not apply. Hit location and other special effects remain the same. If you do not have an identical hit location, the damage is applied to your torso instead.
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