Spells, spells and more spells

[The_Fey]

Hi guys.  I'm Dave, the crazy guy writing Sorcery and the Fey.  I'd love to hear any suggestions that you guys have for spells, and if you want to post any spells that you've created here, I'd be more than willing to include them in the book.

I'd like to keep this topic strictly for posting of spells though.  Any questions, comments or suggestions about the upcoming book in general should be posted in the 'Sorcery and the Fey' topic.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Dave,

One of my first test characters for The Riddle of Steel was a sword-wieldin' sorcerer. I figured that getting a decent Combat Pool and a decent Sorcery Pool to work together would be possible, given just a bit of imagination. So imagine a character who's primarily sorcerous, but spent a fair amount of Proficiency dice on a Combat Pool (probably longsword) as well.

I haven't worked it out entirely yet, but a spell like I have in mind might be something like this:

Formalized Spell of Three
Cast and "held" if possible
Vagaries: Movement 2 or 3, Summoning (for the Duration), and Vision 1

The idea is to enhance combat effectiveness using sorcery; the Vision permits a look into the opponent's mind and the Movement permits faster, more accurate, slightly superhuman abilities or swordwork.

It really wouldn't be so terrible a CTN, given the formalization and so on, especially if the character were able to cast it at leisure.

My real question is applying it. Given my own preferences, I'd probably just take the successes from the spell roll and roll them straight into the Combat Pool as more dice. But that's Sorcerer-think and potentially too abstract for The Riddle of Steel.

Conversely, I might actually apply the spell as an attack against the opponent's Will (for the Vision) or Reflex (for the Movement) and thus get some kind of dice effect for specific effects of the combat sequence, like being able to control the d6 hit location roll, or being able to boost damage, or whatever. Such things can make a Riddle of Steel fighter terrifyingly effective, especially in combination with well-constructed Spiritual Attributes.

What do you think? I realize it's still pretty half-baked, but I remain convinced that a sword + spell character is a viable concept in the game, and this might be a good route to building one.

Best,
Ron

[Lance D. Allen]

I'd like to chime in with Ron here, that my first instinct was a sword and sorcery type of character. (Think Paladin, and you're in the ballpark.) I decided to leave it alone until I had a better idea of Sorcery, though.

Anyhow, to keep this thread on topic, Lemme post a few of my ideas (some of which will have been mentioned in other threads, but here for a repost)

IRON MAIDEN I
Spell of One
CTN= 4 (casting time: 4 seconds)
T) 1 R) 1 V) 1 D) 0 L) 1
Vagaries: Sculpture1
Effect: Intricacy1, Composition1, Concept1
Instantaneous (with permanent effect)

Requires that the caster possess an iron spike as a visual aid, and a successful attempt to touch the armor of an opponent. If successful, it will create a spike going into the target's body from their own armor at the point of contact. Damage is equal to number of successes, and counts as piercing. Armor, of course, does not apply.

IRON MAIDEN II
Spell of One
CTN= 5 (casting time: 5 seconds)
T) 1 R) 1 V) 2 D) 0 L) 1
Vagaries: Sculpture1
Effect: Intricacy1, Composition1, Concept1
Instantaneous (with permanent effect)

Requires that the caster possess an iron spike as a visual aid, and a successful attempt to touch the armor of an opponent. If successful, it will create spikes going into the target's body from their own armor wherever metal armor covers the body. Damage is equal to armor value of each piece of armor, plus the number of successes, and counts as piercing. Location of the attack is ALL points covered by metal armor. Armor Value does not count toward damage reduction.

BATTLE HEALING
Spell of One
CTN= 6 (casting time: 6 seconds)
T) 3 R) 1 V) 1 D) 0 L) 1
Vagaries: Growth1
Effect: Maturing1
Instantaneous (with permanent effect)

Directed at a pre-dressed(appropriate skill check of First Aid or Chirugery) and cleaned wound, it will naturally heal the wound as though it had been a month's time. Successes from spellcasting roll add to the 4 HT checks (see Healing and Wound Recovery, Book Five) taken for the simulated month. They also reduce the target's knockout attribute, after which the target must roll to avoid knockout.

ARMOURIAL BETRAYAL
Spell of One
CTN = 5 (casting time: 5 seconds)
T) 1 R) 1 V) 2 D) 0 L) 1
Vagary(s): Sculpture 1
Effect(s): Intricacy 1, Composition 1, Concept 1
Instantaneous

Causes all metal armor to bind together as a single piece, and hinder/immobilize the wearer. For piecemeal armor, it doubles the CP modifiers of all pieces, for chain it locks up the upper body entirely, and for any full suit, the character is effectively fully immobilized.

Here's one for Ron. Tell me if this is sorta what you had in mind...

BATTLE READINESS
Spell of Three
CTN =  (casting time:  minutes)
T) 0 R) 0 V) 2 D) 1 L)
Vagary(s): Vision, Movement, Summoning
Effect(s): Divination1, Clairvoyance1, Telepathy1, Speed1, Lift1

(This is all very theoretical) Battle Readiness actually confers a number of abilities for it's duration. Div: allows you to "know" what will happen in the immediate future - in effect, allows you to drop your die in Initiative after seeing what your opponent drops, without the penalties due to hesitate. Clair: allows you to be fully aware of your surroundings - in effect, you cannot be surprised, cheapshotted or blindsided. Telepathy: You know what your opponent intends to do, so you may act accordingly - in effect, you are able to change your action after your opponent declares intent and dice. Speed: You move and react much faster than normal - in effect, add the number of successes rolled in the spellcasting to your Reflex. Lift: You can perform superhuman jumps and when you fall, it's less painful - in effect, add the number of successes from the spellcasting roll to your jump ability, and as AV to any falling-type damage.

Does this seem to jive with what you had in mind, Ron?

FLAMETHROWER
Spell of One
CTN = 5 (casting time: 5 seconds)
T) 1 R) 2 V) 1 D) 0 L) 1
Vagary(s): Movement1
Effect(s): Speed1, Lift1
Instantaneous

There must be a fire nearby of campfire size or greater. The spell snatches a sphere of flame out of the existing fire, and throws it at a target. The target must be within 10 ft. or else the fire dissipates before reaching them, having exhausted whatever small amount of fuel was transported with it. Damage is equal to the number of successes, and uses the General Damage chart. Flammable objects may ignite.

That's all for now. I had some other ideas, but having had to log offline twice while trying to write these, I've forgotten the others. I'm sure I'll come up with a few spells.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Lance,

The Battle Readiness is similar to what I had in mind, although I was aiming for as stripped-down a design as possible. Again, my question concerns the degree of abstraction when magic acts as an enhancer upon non-magical activities, rather than (a) doing something else entirely (e.g. flight) or (b) replacing the mundane activity altogether (e.g. manifesting a magical sword).

Best,
Ron