My troupe has never been too fond of Corpus spells, so I have less experience than I would want with this Form. We have always used spells up to level 20, but not in innovative ways, instead relying in spells already in the books. I was thinking of ways to use corpus in combat in non lethal situations and while watching a soccer game it became obvious that cramps can be quite crippling without impling your magus being a mass murderer. I liked that. So, would like advise on how to generate it, because the level to cause a cramp seems prohibitive to me when I was thinking it would be a level 3-5 spell that apprentices could cast.
RDT:
R: voice (as usual) +2
D: do I need to make it Diameter (+1) or a Momentary spell would cause a cramp? I guess the answer is Mom is enough to cause it, "but will not keep it" as usual.
T: part +1
So we have a+3 total assuming a Momentary duration. OK so far.
Now the base. We have the following guidelines for Perdo or Rego, that should be the usual suspects here:
PERDO CORPUS
Level 3: Do superficial damage to a body (removes its hairs).
Level 4: Cause pain, but do not real damage.
Level 5: Hampered a person, without actually injuring them (make
them lame, blur their eyesight). Recovery like a
Light Wound.
REGO CORPUS
Level 2: Make a target lose control of one body part
I suppose the B2 Rego could work. Perdo seems awfully difficult to pull off. Opinions? ReCo 5 to cause a cramp at voice range?
I'd say the ReCo 2 guideline is right, as is the Voice +2 of course. The core ReCo 5 spells don't require Part +1, so maybe yours shouldn't either. But if you stay with Momentary (level 4 spell), it might make them stumble but it wouldn't last long enough to affect much. With Conc or Diam, you'd get an actual soccer-player cramp that hampered them substantially; that's a level 5 spell.
I would also let the PeCo 4 guideline accomplish the same thing. It probably wouldn't need a duration longer than Momentary; the pain would just go away in a day or so (like getting kicked in the muscle?), so that'd be a level 10 spell. The PeCo 5 (level 15) would make a cramp that lasted a week (healed like a Light Wound).
Yeah a Rego spell I would use the base 2, but make it concentration or even diameter if you are inclined not to deal with concentrating.
As for a hit and walk away spell, I would do a touch level or voice level Pe/Co using base 4 as well. I myself would opt for a touch spell, but that is because often make magi who if they are combantants are the up-close and personal sort.
Nothing like a level 5 spell to hit someone with something that makes their concentration rolls for future casting something like a +12 or so.
With the right penetration and mastery you could score that on nearly any magus you oppose or even mortals with Infernal or Divine protection. Even a fairly new but practiced war mage with this spell could swing over 30 points of penetration. Enough to thwart most of his equals within the Order.
I would invent two spells in one season. The touch level and the level 20 version, base 4, Range: voice, Dur: Mom, Target: Group. Why waste time with the Voice/Ind spell when you go most likely get two in a season?
Ummm.... I am off to see if I can do this for my TT game hahahaha
The ReCo level 2 "lose control of a body part" seems like it would cause most of the desired effects of a cramp, even if it wasn't a "painful muscle" exactly....
Yes, sure, it immobilises the limb. My point is a basically terminological one, depending on how precise the OP's description of the desired effect was.
Pain would be a desirable side effect, but I guess that impairing the use of a limb is the really useful thing here. In order to neutralize the fighting arm of the target, or one of his legs so it cannot move well.
ReCo5 then. B2, Voice+2, Diameter +1. A real cramp sounds really difficult to generate here, though. PeCo base 4 is quite a killer here.
Art & Academe (chapter 4) has new Rego Corpus guidelines which are appropriate:
I would say that a muscle cramp is a minor symptom, so I would offer
Tighten Thews and Stiffen Sinew
Rego Corpus 4
R: Eye, D: Mom, T: Ind
The target suffers a sudden leg cramp. This is enough to make him stumble, and possibly fall. Make a Dexterity + Athletics roll against an Ease Factor of 6 (if walking), 9 (if jogging), or 12 (if running). Failure leaves the target prone, a botch might result in injury from the fall.
(Base 3, +1 Eye)
when I was thinking it would be a level 3-5 spell that apprentices could cast.