Yeah, I think you're right. That was wishful thinking on my part
If you add +1 for size, you get 100 cubic paces of clay.
Dry clay is 1.6 tonnes per cubic meter, or 670 kg per cubic pace (1 pace is 75cm), so you have 67 tonnes of clay on your hands.
If you materialize this 200 paces (150m, 500 feet) above your target, it will reach the ground in 5.5s at 190km/h (120 mph)
And that's a lvl 5 spell
If you add another +1 for size, you can easily destroy most castles in a single lvl 10 spell, if they don't have protection from magic.
One thing to keep in mind, is that no matter what the level, if a spell is sufficiently "impressive" in terms of effects, it should be bumped up to Ritual. Personally, I tend to think that affecting a base Ind should never count as "RItual-impressive" in terms of sheer size alone. But the more you add in terms of size magnitudes, the iffier it all gets, particularly if you already have a pretty large base ...
How about trying to achieve the same effect by other means (e.g. a different guideline), or use the same guideline to achieve a slightly different effect?
For example, the current name would be an appropriately sarcastic one for a spell that "crosses" the target's eyes, making him look funny and effectively unable to see things except in the broadest terms, as if from the corner of one's eye. Ideally, with D:Diam or D:Conc. If you edit your original post, we can keep the link on the first page unchanged
Yes, that's a nice safeguard.
For this, +1 size is probably ok, but adding another +1 size or +2 Group (rain of 67t clay boulders) would definitely warrant bumping up to Ritual.
I want to correct this before other people get led astray.
1 pace is approximately 91.44 cm. It looks like you perhaps rounded 1 in to 2.5 cm and used 10 in = 1 ft instead of the correct 12 in = 1 ft. That leads to nearly double the mass you've given: 1223 kg per cubic pace.
200 paces = 600 feet = roughly 193 m.
Not that this is how ArM5 calculates the damage, but this is a bit off. It takes a bit over 6s (more than 1 round), and that's probably assuming it isn't viscid clay. From this point I'm estimating based on knowing the physics but not knowing the values. I'm pretty sure viscid clay would start to break apart with that much air resistance. While the clay sticks together, it's mushy enough that that much air resistance is likely to deform it. At the same time, it may not be falling for enough time to deform that much. But that should mean slightly more resistance, resulting in slightly longer and a little lower terminal velocity.
Now note that a person can casually walk more than 6 m in 6 s. So if a target can move an is aware, it will be very hard to hit the target with a Targeting Roll. Yes, this does work better against structures for that reason. At the same time, something solid works a lot better, like granite. ArM5 does take this into account, viscid clay causing 1/4 the damage of the same size (mass or weight? - have to double check if that's how size is used here) rock.
I actually took the first one I found on Wikipedia.
I couldn't find the definition of a pace used in the book., what page is it on?
I guess you get more stuff, but you need to materialize it a bit lower to achieve maximal damage and reach the floor within 6s, it doesn't change much.
You get 10 times the volume of clay, but it causes 1/4 the damage, it seems like a good deal, especially since rock takes an extra 2 magnitudes...
I would calculate damage from the Impact table at +1 per 2 feet.
Let's say we drop it from 300 feet = 100 paces, that's still at least +75 damage if you count clay as "soft"
I was thinking dry clay, since the guideline doesn't specify.
Not cooked clay, mind you, although I sure hope that my brick road spell will be allowed
Yeah, if you materialize it high enough to need 6s to fall, it can be avoided easily.
You want to materialize it much lower if you're going for a moving target
Note for future flattenings, easy shapes for 100 cubic paces are:
A wooden object held in the caster's hands levitates on the user's command for as long as they concentrate. Young apprentices tasked with stirring pots in the kitchen or other inane tasks eventually learn how to perform the chore with nary a twitch of their muscles.
Well, they didn't really make it glaringly obvious. When you see, you'll know why everyone seems to miss it at first.
The first mention of it I believe to be on page 112 of the core book:
though this requires you to know a round is 6 seconds. I believe the first mention of that is on page 172 of the core book:
and shows up more specifically than "about" on page 181:
Then do a little math:
10 paces/round * 3 feet/pace * 1 round/6 seconds = 5 feet/second.
I believe the first direct statement shows up on page 121 of the core book:
5 paces = 15 feet, so 1 pace = 3 feet.
Ya, I made that mistake, too. You'll notice the formula for that +1 damage/2 feet doesn't include anything about the object itself that is falling, such as a grain of sand v. an enormous boulder. That's for a person falling onto ground, a floor, or similar. Take a look at Ominous Levitation of the Weighty Stone.
Notice how those damages don't vary by height. You just need enough height for it to be considered legitimately falling instead of placed on something. I know it's weird from our perspective. But that's how it works in canon.
Frankly, I would not bother with "damage" calculations. One should use common sense here. If a 10-ton roughly spherical blob of viscid clay is placed even a hair's breadth over your head and let fall, you are crushed to death barring a successful dodge or magical aid, full stop. For a modern-day comparison, imagine a 2-ton large car or light SUV falling on your head, even from a hair's breadth, even if impacting with a rubber wheel.
Let a 10-ton blob of viscid clay fall for 100 paces onto a man-made structure ... Should one worry whether it's "soft" and "deformable"? Nah. There are many factors to be considered, but soft vs. hard is not really such an important one at those sizes (even on a smaller scale, have you ever thought why people use lead instead of much-harder-steel for bullets). Air resistance in this case is minimal, less than 2% than gravity just before impact; and loss of kinetic energy due to air deformation just negligible. Loss of energy due to deformation on impact is also relatively small: a man-made structure caves in far more quickly and absorbs much more energy than such a large blob of clay does.
I would just assume that one such a projectile devastates any individual stone structure less than 15-feet to the side (like a small tower) or any ship, and seriously damages anything between 15 and 30 feet (like a largish tower or a tiny keep). A few hits will destroy anything between 15 and 30 feet and seriously damage anything larger. Systematic pummelling for a score rounds (Diam i.e. 2 minutes) or three will reduce virtually any individual structure to rubble, and will cause serious damage to even a large castle. An hour's bombardment will destroy the largest castle.
“Perdo cannot sharpen a sword” - Arm pg 78. Perdo makes things a worse example of what they are. Also Perdo destroys the whole property of what is destroyed. Perdo can remove hair, sure, but it will be in a way hair is naturally lost and not in a controlled manor.
I think the effect needs to be Rego. Though I can see making an item that destroys hair it touches or a spell that destroys hair one touches with their finger.
If I may ask, why not upgrade "The Caress of Magic" up to level 5 with R:Voice ?
If you can give climax to any character at voice range, it looks like a gentle way to disturb a prison's guard, a fierce opponent in a fight, or even a subtle way to vanquish another Maga during a Certamen...
The caster causes any object or person they touch to glow with a clear, unwavering, smokeless light until next sunrise. The light is as strong as an oil lamp, perfect for navigating the deep darkness of Mythic Europe. Spell texts for this formula have several names, this being one of the ruder names a parens may give when an apprentice is stealing apples from the pantry with it. Moonlight is the parens -approved alternative for apprentices reading at night.
Anyone targeted by the Debate Ending Curse has the sound of their voice replaced by the croaking of a frog until the spell ends. Casting spells verbally without being able to hear your own voice adds one extra botch die to the roll. The caster's sigil often influences what breed of frog the Curse imitates. Several Tytalus magi have granted this spell to a green apprentice, knowing the child will inevitably bully someone with it so their master can swoop in to apply "discipline".
For as long as the caster concentrates, their body is concealed by a blurry black shroud and an uncanny droning hum, white pinpoint eyes glowing in the dark. Mundane folk spotting the caster might assume they have seen a ghost or demon. This specific version of the Shame Concealing Shroud works better in smaller communities with pagan superstitions; more contemporary cities might demand a white shroud to fit the local stories.
