Wizardry: Book of Vile Darkness Spells I
The Book of Vile Darkness (for D&D 3.0) is a rather infamous book. I recall writing a review of it a year ago or so, pointing out its shortcomings and praising certain parts. But that aside, let's focus on the chapter with spells. The book has a surprising amount of pretty damn cool spells (and some of them aren't vile at all). However, I will say that the author was quite lazy here. There are many spells that are simply duplicates of innate abilities of fiends (for example, Dance of Ruin is based on the vrock's ability, Dancing Chain is based on the kyton's ability, etc.) Some spells wouldn't be out of place in any other book if you ignore material components, such as a heart of a dwarven child, or a bone of a small child that still lives. These components feel like something tacked on just to make the spell edgy.
Also, the book introduces a whole bunch of new "components" for spells. There are some spells that are limited to demons, devils, fiends, or undead. There are also spells that require the caster to be suffering from a specific disease, which sounds really hard to pull off (especially when 99% of GMs ignore disease rules). Spells that can be cast only under the influence of a specific drug are easier. There are also spells that require the caster to be in a specific evil location - also fine. Certain spells require a captured soul as a component - nothing against this. Finally, there are "Corrupt" spells that deal ability score damage to the caster. In GURPS, you could represent that with the Corrupting, -20% limitation, but I'm not a big fan of that. Instead, I will use a massively extended Backlash, even though that won't be RAW.
Now to the spells themselves:
Absorb Mind is an interesting spell. If one were to translate it 1-to-1 from the original source (like I initially did), one would arrive at a more expensive and limited form of Speak with Dead. Thus, I had to step away and make it work slightly differently. I didn't want to skip this spell, because the fluff is cool.
Addiction is a vile spell with a catch - the caster must be drugged too. Addiction can be either a physical or mental disadvantage, so by RAW, you can only use Mind Control to impose addictions to drugs with a psychological dependency. I decided to ignore this fact as a special feature.
Angry Ache is a simple pain debuff.
Befoul poisons water in a large area.
Absorb Mind
Keywords: Information.
Full Cost: 20 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S, M, Corruption.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 5 minutes.
Range: Touch.
Duration: Instantaneous.
The caster eats at least a portion of the brain of another creature’s corpse. By doing so, he gains the creature’s memories and knowledge to some degree, so that he has a chance of recalling any important fact known to the creature—family history, recent events, the general layout of the creature’s stomping grounds, details about the creature’s death, important plans, passwords, magic item command words, and similar tidbits. Skills, spells, and other such knowledge cannot be obtained in this fashion.
To see if you manage to recall the information, the caster must Concentrate for one second, then roll 3d. He recall it on a result of 8 or lower. Once the caster rolls to determine whether he recalls a fact, she cannot attempt to recall that fact again.
Material Component: A fresh or preserved (still bloody) 1-ounce portion of another creature’s brain.
Addiction
Keywords: Resisted (Will or HT, see text).
Full Cost: 10 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 2 FP.
Casting Time: 1 minute.
Range: Touch.
Duration: Instantaneous.
You can give the subject an addiction to a drug that you are currently influenced by. Drugs taken but that have not taken effect yet due to a delay count as currently influencing you. Roll a Quick Contest of skill vs. the subject’s Will (for drugs with a psychological dependency) or HT (for drugs with a physiological dependency). If the subject is willing, just make an unopposed skill roll. Your roll is at a -1 penalty per full -5 points of disadvantages to be applied. For most drugs, this is Addiction (p. B122), for alcohol, it is Alcoholism (p. B122), and for some weak drugs it may be a Minor Addiction quirk. If you win, the alterations take place permanently – the effect cannot be dispelled, but the addiction can be thrown off via Drug Withdrawal (p. B440). Addictions to drugs with a psychological dependency can also be removed with Programmed Amnesia.
If you tie or lose, the subject can sense coercion coming from you. In addition, you cannot try to affect him again within 24 hours.
Statistics: Mind Control (Accessibility, Only to add addictions to drugs affecting the caster, -45%; Conditioning Only, -50%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Magical, -10%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Slow and Sure, 1 minute, +85%) [10].
Angry Ache
Keywords: Resisted (HT).
Full Cost (Short-Range): 22 points.
Full Cost (Ranged): 27 points.
Casting Roll: Skill.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 1 FP.
Casting Time: 1 second.
Range: Touch – Unlimited (-1/yard) - Unlimited (standard).
Duration: 1 minute.
The caster temporarily strains a living subject’s muscles, causing it to experience severe pain (p. B428).
Statistics: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only corporeal living beings with muscles, -20%; Based on IQ, Own Roll, +20%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Magical, -10%; Malediction 1, +100%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; No Signature, +20%; Reduced Duration, 1/3, -10%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Severe Pain, +40%) [19]. The Short-Range version removes Melee Attack, Reach C, -30% [+3]. The Ranged version replaces Malediction 1, +100% with Malediction 2, +150% [+5].
Befoul
Keywords: Area (Special).
Full Cost: 6 points.
Casting Roll: Skill. Use Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.
Components: V, S.
Cost: 2 FP.
Casting Time: 1 minute.
Range: Touch.
Duration: Permanent, see text.
The caster makes water (or other liquid) foul and mildly poisonous. The depth of the effect is equal to 4 yards, and radius is 64 yards. Every creature that drinks befouled water takes 1 point of toxic damage, ignoring DR, unless it makes a successful HT roll.
If the caster affects only part of a larger body of water, the befouled water mixes with the pure water. If the entire body of water is no more than four times the size of the affected area, all the water in the body of water is befouled 24 hours later, but the HT roll to resist damage from drinking the water is at +3. If the body of water is more than four times the affected area but less than twenty times the affected area, after 24 hours all of the water tastes foul, but has no negative effects. If the entire body is larger than twenty times the affected area, the fouled water mixes with the clean water and loses all effect after 24 hours.
Statistics: Toxic Attack 1 point (Accessibility, Only underwater, -30%; Area Effect, 64 yards, +250%; Blood Agent, +100%; Cosmic, Spreading, +200%; Costs Fatigue, 2 FP, -10%; Extended Duration, Permanent, +150%; Immediate Preparation Required, 1 minute, -30%; Magical, -10%; Melee Attack, Reach C, -30%; Persistent, +40%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires IQ Roll, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Resistible, HT, -30%) [6].
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