I’m being a bit pedantic but the effect is more about making the person more friendly and less fearful / distrustful. The spell effect has no way to know who has the gift, so would not know if they encountered a bastard or a magus with the gift (or both).
I changed the description to note that the change affects the emotions produced by the Gift or any similar source of negative emotions. For example, it certainly works with someone having Magical Air too, or an appropriate curse.
Tyrell, don't forget to add The Troll's Tablespoon from a few days back.
The Thief's Final Coin
Muto Mentem 13 (Base 3, R: Touch, D: Concentration [Item maintains Concentration; +5], T: Individual, +3 for Penetration +6)
A penny cast from cheap tin doctored to appear as silver, adorned with the face of King John. When a person touches the coin without speaking the chosen magic words (which are often as simple as "Please" or "Thank you"), they find themselves wracked with guilt and paranoia whenever they think about having taken the accursed currency. The extra Penetration allows it to work on the edge of the church's Dominion, where cutpurses tend to dwell. The lab text for this item includes the slight bonus tin provides to enforcing law.
Cursed coins such as these have been minted as far back as the Order of Hermes' third or fourth generation. Their intended use is to shame a thief into giving their stolen goods right back to the victim, though the effect has no such specific instructions. When The Thief's Final Coin is lost in "the wild", it often drives bearers into hermitage or a new life in a monastery, if they don't turn themselves in and become outlaws.
That makes an item for each TeFo combination, darn great! The thread is sticky-worthy imho.
The chart may be filled, but I'm having too much fun making more of these. Tyrrell? What would be another interesting goal for us to reach?
Pluto's Invisible Hand
Intellego Terram 15 (Base 2, R: Arcane Connection, D: Momentary, T: Individual, +3 for Penetration +6, +2 for 3 uses per day)
This homespun linen coin pouch is tied closed with a drawstring tipped with polished granite beads. Thrice per day, scowling at the bag while shaking its contents tells the bearer the general cardinal direction of any one object that was in the bag recently enough to carry an Arcane Connection. Magi who have minted The Thief's Final Coin often fix it as a permanent AC; like its companion, Pluto's Invisible Hand has enough Penetration to find a thief even near the church's Dominion. The lab text for this item includes the material bonus for granite's promise of wealth.
An unassuming bauble, Pluto's Invisible Hand is most famous for the hotheaded Jerbiton apprentice who used one such bag to chase a gold nugget all the way to Egypt. Despite his parens having declared his Gauntlet failed, the endeavor was later declared a success when he came back with some very exotic Arcane Connections...
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I really dislike magic counteracting the effects of the gift in so clean a fashion. For my tastes (which you are obviously free not to share) I would prefer that the description be altered a bit more. For instance, counteracting fear and distrust but not envy, or taking a cue from Soothing Voice of the Stableman and making the target uneasy around gifted people despite their positive feelings towards them. I also, like ironbound tome, don't see how it wouldn't work on everyday, non-supernaturally induced, distrust, fear, and envy.
I missed that, it was a the end of a page I had thought I'd already indexed. I've corrected it now.
I don't see the requisites as essential, so, by my calculation, this is level 30.
Goal for this thread or goal for a different project? I suppose it doesn't matter as the answer for both questions is "I don't know, what do you think"?
Edit: A full set of level four and five spells to use for non fatiguing sponts would be useful.
I’ve enjoyed all the creation threads recently, especially as they discuss different approaches. I’m trying to write a stack of spells to publish one a day in Nov too, might cheat and do one every few days though.
What about a thread about Verdi Grand Designs? House Verditius issues a special competition to seek the best designed puzzle, trap, or maze.
I thought the base effect is to use Rego Terram "to move stuff like the unseen hand" but items also need requisites for the form of materials. My intent was a generic move that stuff spell. If that's OK under Terram and can ignore the res then its as I wanted it.
Actually, that's why I am using the Level 4 guideline ("Completely change a person’s emotions") rather than the Level 3 one (" Make a major change to a person’s emotion"). And that's what the "social" effect of the Gift is:
That's a completely different guideline, from a different Technique. Soothing Voice is a Level 2 ReAn guideline "Plant a single suggestion in the mind of an animal." That's completely different from "Completely change a person's emotions". Saying that one should "take a cue from" Soothing Voice when designing Belin's Gift is like saying that one should "take a cue from" Pilum of Fire when designing Rain of Oil. No, they're completely different things.
It would, as long as that distrust, fear and envy came into the same "combined feeling" that the Gift produces. I could very well see a non-supernatural Social Handicap producing the same sort of effect. The Story Flaw Envied Beauty in many cases produces the same sort of effect, but not always. A plain looking, lonesome female redcap, who sees a beautiful, younger, powerful noblewoman about to marry the most eligible bachelor of the duchy? Oh sure, that would qualify, without the need of any Virtue, Flaw or supernatural intervention.
The raw terror inspired by a dragon looming on you? Nope. The rational mistrust you feel for a well-known cheat? Nope, that's reason talking to you, not a gut feeling.
Speaking about the particulars of your spell with regard to the guidelines, doesn't address why I find it distasteful. I never thought the effect was wrong from a technical perspective.
that's the description certainly. The gift is an byproduct of the character's magic, using magic to solve the issues of the gift is a plan that from a story perspective is completely unfulfilling. You wouldn't write fiction that way, at least I wouldn't.
The guidelines are clear on what the item can do, the nature of the gift is such that having anything short of initiating the gentle gift remove the negative consequences of having it is really really unsatisfying. So when you change the target's emotions you should have some other drawback pop up. The gift still works, the spell still works. That is the thrust of why I suggested taking a cue from soothing voice, because it provided a thematically appropriate side effect to stifling the immediate negative effects of the gift.
I find it distasteful and cheesy to get around the stink of magic by using more magic, at least as cleanly as you've done it here. I wouldn't want it at my table.
I think that moving everything rather than something does significantly increase the power of the spell. The example rego Terram spells use casting requisites,yet they're only moving one thing at a time so it's not quite as strong a counterargument as it could be because power jump is smaller, one item is still one item, terram and herbam versus just terram could be ten items versus twenty.
Are there any published examples of items that include casting requisites for free? My first response was based on thinking that they weren't a thing.
I've always played "Unseen Arm" and "The Unseen Porter" (basic ReTe from the core rules) as using casting requisites for free, and they have "casting requisites of an appropriate form for he target are required" so if it's entirely stone/metal then just ReTe is enough, but add He if there wooden stuff, Aq if liquids, etc. Likewise "Supple Iron and Rigid Rope" and "Object of Increased Size" from MuTe.
Does "Curse of the desert" (PeAq 25) need an extra magnitude when it affects a living target? I'm sure the requisite of An for beasts and Co for humans don't add a magnitude.
Hmm. Well. First of all, note that extending your Parma to someone removes the "effect" of the Gift, too! Wouldn't that also be using magic to get around the stink of magic?
Second, note that it's not such a "clean" solution. The choice of removing the effect of the Gift is not left to the Gifted, but the other party. Who needs to activate a magical item (that cost time and vis to create, and if kept active too long will warp the user) and tamper with his own mind to do so. In fact, only someone with long experience with the Gift would probably do so (if already in the presence of the Gifted, it becomes very hard to activate something that you know will tamper with your own mind and make you trust those devious, untrustworthy bastards...)
A possible solution to make the emotional effect of the Gift much more "resilient" would be to house rule that it creates "True Antipathy" in the other party. This makes it proof against Hermetic tampering (and, in fact, tampering by other magical traditions too). Note that Parma in this model prevents the Gift from "reaching" the target, so it does not quite affect the "True Antipathy" but instead prevents it from forming, by removing the cause. However, other spells such as Trust Me from HoH:TL would not work in this paradigm.
that went really fast as well. A set of level 10-15 spells took a full two years to get done, and that was when the board was busier (in terms of views anyway).
Yes, but that was before the modern era, where everyone still on the forums is a complete madman.
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Flambeau's Bloody Greeting
Muto Herbam (Terram) 8 (Base 4, R: Touch, D: Momentary, T: Individual, +3 Restricted Trigger)
Two dozen cherry stones in a sackcloth pouch, collectively enchanted as a charged item. When any person or animal which does not live in the enchanter's covenant steps upon the stones, each seed simultaneously transforms into a rough iron caltrop for a brief moment. Trespassers with soft shoes must pass an Athletics+Quickness stress test of 12, or take +4 damage. A horse who is wounded by caltrops may be frightened and routed without an experienced rider's help. The lab text for this item includes the cherry's bonus to causing bloodshed, though it has not realized its full potential. To the surprise of the young enchanter, they managed to invest two charges into what they assumed would be a single-use trap.
Originally named Flambeau's Christmas Greeting, the apprentice's parens took umbrage at the casual blasphemy and spanked the boy for the rest of the night. Quite unfortunately, his shield-grogs liked the original name better. This started a long tradition of threatening enemies by sending them dried fruit for Christmas, to the confusion of every other covenant in the area.
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Mark of the Mundane
CrIm, final effect 14.
This enchanted ring causes the image of very brief mark to appear on someone's knee for just a fraction of a second. The main utility of this item is the instances where it doesn't work. It is designed with no penetration, at a target the magus suspects has magic resistance. If the wearer sees a brief image flicker on the target's knee, the target has no magic resistance. If nothing appears, then for some reason, magic resistance is in play. Admittedly, the target will know a spell was cast against them and fail, but will not immediately know what kind of effect or who did it. The momentary duration and innocuous location will help make sure that most casual observers won't notice anything happening, if the target is indeed a mundane.
Base 1, +3 Sight, +10 for uses per day
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I've been trying to be too clever. I think it's time for something... simple. Something obvious. Something an apprentice would think of when asked to make an enchantment. Something like a sweet magic sword.
Consummate Sword of Fire
Creo Ignem (Rego) 15 (Base 5, R: Personal, D: Diameter, T: Individual, +1 Rego modifier, +-0 Once per day)
An iron longsword with a soft leather wrap over the hilt, and a pommel of basalt imported from the Mediterranean. The blade has a single chopping edge, more common in barrow artifacts than modern weapons. When the bearer recites the first line of the Lord's Prayer, the blade is wreathed in fire for one diameter. This flame doubles the weapon damage score for the blade (or adds +5, whichever is greater), and can start fires as well. The Rego requisite prevents the flames from damaging either the sword or the bearer's hand. The lab text for this item includes the material bonus for basalt's Ignem sympathy.
The Consummate Sword of Fire was smithed at a covenant deep in the Rhine. When the covenant drove the local highway robbers out of the area, continued rumors of banditry attracted faeries who took on the same role. A clever Merinita spread stories of monsters who were afraid of bright light, and the faeries were honor-bound to follow the rule. Of course, a flaming sword will dissuade human robbers as well.
Gladius Plus Ultra
Rego Terram 15 (Base 3, +2 metal manipulation, R: Personal, D: Concentration [+5 holds concentration], T: Individual)
A bronze shortsword, simple and solid in construction, with a hilt wrapped in gold wire. The name Gladius Plus Ultra is engraved along the flat of the blade. The enchantment on this sword causes it to repair itself to the best of its ability whenever it is damaged; it reshapes itself when bent or dented, and sheds rust the moment it forms. The Gladius appears largely the same as it was when first forged, with only a small amount of bronze worn away like a bar of soap. The lab text for this item is either lost or buried in a library somewhere.
This sword was a product of House Verditus' third generation of apprentices, in a more innocent time when an "indestructible sword" was a novel idea. The Houses' early internal vendettas eventually saw this sword fall into the Mediterranean Sea, where it rested under the seafloor until it was dredged up recently. The value of this centuries-old artifact is mostly sentimental.
Not sure on the Gladius Plus Ultra, as 1) there is a published CrTe 15 guideline to repair items in MoH (pg 31, example use on page 32), 2) the ReTe box says great precision may require extra magnitudes and 3) the enchantment skips a finesse roll on what is arguably a Rego Craft Magic spell.