Druidic Spells: Plant Spells I

Druidic Spells: Plant Spells I

Let's do the plant spells now. Animate Plants and Changestaff are "summoning" spells. Antiplant Shell is a plant-only Antilife Shell. Barkskin is quite similar to Stoneskin. Blight weakens inanimate plants. Command Plants charms a plant creature, and Control Plants controls it directly.

  

 
Animate Plant
Keywords: Summoning.
Full Cost: 10/94 points for levels 1-2.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, DF.
Cost: 2 FP.
Casting Time: 1 minute.
Range: 10 yards.
Duration: 90 minutes.
 
You imbue inanimate plants with mobility and a semblance of life. Choose a plant creature to animate from the table below. Use the standard statistics, but add Slave Mentality. You may always choose to animate a plant creature from a list of a lower spell level. In any case, there must be an appropriate inanimate plant for you to animate within range. Thus, you cannot animate a shrub into an animated tree. If the inanimate plant was damaged, the animated plant is likewise damaged.
Level 1: Awakened shrubbery (Garden of Evil, p. 4), twigling (DF9, p. 31).
Level 2: Awakened tree (Garden of Evil, p. 5).
The animated plant obeys your verbal commands. If not given a command, it performs the Do Nothing maneuver. It will never harm you.
The animated plant is vulnerable to Dispel Magic. In a no‑mana zone, it deanimates but reanimates if mana is restored before the spell ends. You may still command it from a no‑mana zone but cannot deanimate it early.
You may deanimate the plant as a free action.
Casting multiple Summoning spells per day is difficult - each Summoning spell you cast imposes a cumulative -3 penalty on all subsequent Summoning spells cast that day. In addition, if an animated plant is killed, you cannot cast this spell again for 24 hours; if deanimated voluntarily, you must wait five minutes.
Statistics: Ally (Animated Plant; Built on 25%; Constantly; Accessibility, Longer ritual, -5%; Adjustable, +25%; Conjured, +100%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Extended Duration, 100x, +80%; Divine, -10%; Minion, +0%; Nuisance Effect, Summoning Penalties, -5%; Ranged, +40%; Reduced Range, 1/10, -30%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Requires Plants, -10%) [10]. Level 2 increases the point percentage to 150%.

 
Antiplant Shell
Keywords: Area (Fixed), Resisted (Will).
Full Cost: 27 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, DF.
Cost: 2 FP to cast, 1 FP to maintain.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: Self.
Duration: Indefinite.
 
You bring into being a mobile, 4-yard-radius, hemispherical energy field that prevents the entrance of animated or sentient plant creatures. Whenever a plant creature enters the area, it must resist with a Quick Contest of Will versus your skill. If you win, then the creature must immediately leave the area. It becomes unable to reenter it for margin of victory seconds. If you lose, the creature may stay within the area for its margin of victory seconds, after which it must roll to resist again.
This spell may be used only defensively, not aggressively. If you move in a way that forces a plant creature to be in the area of this spell, then the creature does not have to resist until it leaves the area and reenters it again.
Statistics: Affliction 1 (Will; Accessibility, Plant creatures only, ‑50%; Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Aura, +80%; Based on IQ, Own Roll, +20%; Based on Will, +20%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Disadvantage, Dread with Cannot Be Trapped, +15%; Divine, -10%; Malediction 1, +100%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; Reduced Duration, 1/60, Only after target leaves the area, -30%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%) [27].
  
Barkskin
Keywords: Buff.
Full Cost (Self): 14 points.
Full Cost (Touch): 29 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, DF.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: Self – Touch.
Duration: 30 minutes.
 
Barkskin toughens the subject’s skin and covers it in a layer of bark. He has DR 10 against attacks, both physical and energy. Eyes and worn gear are not protected. This DR is ablative - it stops damage once. Each point of DR stops one point of basic damage but is destroyed in the process.
Lost DR “heals” at the same rate as lost HP (including the effects of Regeneration). Even when this spell has worn off, the subject still recovers “virtual” DR at the same rate. Thus, if this spell granted DR 10, and the subject took 4 point of damage, reducing it to 6, then recasting this spell immediately on the same subject would only provide DR 6, because he hasn’t “recovered” yet.
Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Self Only, -50%; Advantage, Barkskin, +100%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Divine, -10%; Extended Duration, 10x, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%) [14]. Note: “Barkskin” is Damage Resistance 10 (Ablative, -80%; Divine, -0%) [10]. The Touch version removes Accessibility, Self Only, -50% and Requires IQ Roll, -10% and adds Accessibility, Only nonvolitional or non-resisting subjects, -20%, Based on IQ, Own Roll, +20%, Malediction 1, +100%, Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%, and No Signature, +20% [+15].
  
Blight
Keywords: Area (Leveled), Resisted (HT, special).
Full Cost (Short-Range): 35 points for level 1 + 5 points/additional level.
Full Cost (Ranged): 40 points for level 1 + 5 points/additional level.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, DF.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 1 minute.
Range: Unlimited (-1/yard) - Unlimited (standard).
Duration: Permanent.
 
Plants in the area grow more slowly and weakly: Crops produce half the usual yield, vegetation grows half as tall, and any mundane HT rolls made by the plants are at -2. This spell affects only inanimate plants; mobile or sentient ones are immune.
This spell is resisted by the plant with the single best HT+SM value in the area. (If a plant’s HT is unknown, assume HT 12.) If it resists, the spell fails and no plants are affected; otherwise, all of the plants are.
Blight is permanent, but it targets the plants, not the area. Once the plants die or are harvested, the soil is fine for growing new plants. (Plants designed to stick around for years, such as trees, continue to suffer.)
Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Sessile plants only, -30%; All-or-Nothing, -10%; Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Based on IQ, Own Roll, +20%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Disadvantages, Slow Healing 1 and Very Unfit, Variants, +20%; Divine, -10%; Extended Duration, Permanent, +150%; Immediate Preparation Required, 1 minute, -30%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Malediction 1, +100%; No Signature, +20%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Variable, Area, +5%) [35]. The Ranged version replaces Malediction 1, +100% with Malediction 2, +150% [+5]. Additional levels add Area Effect (+50%) [+5].

 
Changestaff
Keywords: Summoning.
Full Cost: 9 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, F, DF.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: Touch.
Duration: 5 hours.
 
You plant your wooden staff into the ground, and the staff transforms into an awakened shrubbery (Garden of Evil, p. 4). Use the standard statistics, but add Slave Mentality. The awakened shrubbery obeys your verbal commands. If not given a command, it performs the Do Nothing maneuver. It will never harm you.
The awakened shrubbery is vulnerable to Dispel Magic. In a no‑mana zone, it deanimates but reanimates if mana is restored before the spell ends. You may still command it from a no‑mana zone but cannot deanimate it early.
You may deanimate the awakened shrubbery as a free action.
Casting multiple Summoning spells per day is difficult - each Summoning spell you cast imposes a cumulative -3 penalty on all subsequent Summoning spells cast that day. In addition, if an awakened shrubbery is killed, you cannot cast this spell again for 24 hours, and the staff used to cast this spell is destroyed; if deanimated voluntarily, you must wait five minutes, and the wooden staff used to cast this spell becomes proportionally damaged.
Focus: A wooden staff at least 1 yard long.
Statistics: Ally (Awakened Shrubbery; Built on 25%; Constantly; Conjured, +100%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Divine, -10%; Environmental, Ground, -20%; Extended Duration, 300x, +100%; Minion, +0%; Nuisance Effect, Summoning Penalties, -5%; Pact, -10%; Requires a wooden staff, -10%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%) [9].

  
Command Plants
Keywords: Resisted (Will).
Full Cost (Touch): 20 points.
Full Cost (Short-Range): 30 points.
Full Cost (Ranged): 35 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, DF.
Cost: 2 FP.
Casting Time: 2 seconds.
Range: Touch – Unlimited (-1/yard) – Unlimited (standard).
Duration: 30 minutes.
 
This spell makes a plant creature regard you as its trusted friend and ally. If you or your allies threaten or attack the subject, the spell is broken. The spell does not enable you to control the affected creature as if it were an automaton, but it perceives your words and actions in the most favorable way. You still need to convince it to perform the desired actions normally.
If you tie or lose, the subject can sense coercion coming from you. In addition, you cannot try to affect it again within 24 hours.
Statistics: Mind Control (Accessibility, Only on plant creatures, -50%; Cosmic, Can affect undead immune to mind control, +50%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Divine, -10%; Extended Duration, 10x, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Independent, +70%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; One Emotion Only, Friendship, -80%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Takes Extra Time 1, -10%) [20]. The Short-Range version replaces Melee Attack, Reach C, -30% with Short-Range 1, -10% [+10]. The Ranged version removes Short-Range 1, -10% [+5].
  
Control Plants
Keywords: Resisted (Will).
Full Cost (Touch): 18 points.
Full Cost (Short-Range): 28 points.
Full Cost (Ranged): 33 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, DF.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: Touch – Unlimited (-1/yard) – Unlimited (standard).
Duration: 3 minutes.
 
This spell enables you to command a plant creature for a short period of time. You command it by voice and it understands you, no matter what language you speak. In effect, it temporarily gains the Reprogrammable (p. B150) and Slave Mentality (p. B154) disadvantages, with you as its master. It has no initiative and requires orders.
If you are incapacitated (stunned, knocked out, etc.), or attempt to force the creature to act against its principles (e.g., commit suicide or harm a loved one), roll another Quick Contest. If your victim wins, it breaks free. Roll at the moment of truth, not when the command is given.
If you fail the casting, you cannot attempt to control that creature again for 24 hours, and it feels a sense of mental coercion emanating from you.
Statistics: Mind Control (Accessibility, Plant creatures only, -50%; Cosmic, Can affect undead that is immune to mind control, +50%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Divine, -10%; Hearing-Based, -20%; Independent, +70%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; Puppet, -40%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%) [18]. The Short-Range version replaces Melee Attack, Reach C, -30% with Short-Range 1, -10% [+10]. The Ranged version removes Short-Range 1, -10% [+5].
 
Detect Plants
Keywords: Information.
Full Cost: 17 or 37 points.
Casting Roll: Skill. Use skill for analysis.
Components: V, S, DF.
Cost: 1 FP to cast, 1 FP to 10 seconds to maintain.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: Unlimited (standard).
Duration: Indefinite.
 

After you cast this spell, you can take uninterrupted Concentrate maneuvers to sense plants around you. The GM will roll against your skill (plus Talent), minus the range penalty to each plant in your vicinity, and inform you if you succeed. You may exclude any plants from the search. 

With the basic (17-point) version of this spell, you only learn the direction to each plant. For each detected plant, you may roll an additional follow-up skill roll to analyze the plant – to find out its species, condition, etc.

The improved (37-point) version of this spell works as above, except that you know the precise location of each plant. This allows you to cast spells on any of them for as long as each remains in that location – or for the next second, if one is already on the move.

The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.

Statistics: Detect (Plants; Based on IQ, Own Roll, +20%; Blockable, -20%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Divine, -10%; Reduced Duration, 1/6, -15%; Reflexive, +40%; Requires Concentrate, -15%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Holy Symbol, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Selective Effect, +20%) [17]. The improved version adds Precise (+100%) [+20].