I've crafted a new spell for a Blood priest type character and it seems perfectly legit, but I'm looking for some feedback, particularly on the lethal nature of the spell. The Rego req is to keep the blood in the other persons airways despite any running around, wretching or coughing. I've used the base 10 from the ReAq guidelines as it was higher than the CrAq guidelines.
Choking Tide of Blood
Cr(Re)Aq25
A terrible way to die, this spell creates an amount of blood and forces it down another person’s throat and nostrils, filling their lungs and drowning them. They can resist this as they would drowning and being affected by this spell isn’t an instant kill. The spell does not require concentration and will most likely take several minutes to kill its victim, but unless the spell is cancelled before this happens, death is inevitable. The target treats this exactly like drowning, rolling stamina every 30 seconds with an ease factor of 3 (increasing by 1 every 30 seconds). A failed roll indicates a fatigue level is lost, until the target drops unconscious at which point the damage taken is a light wound, then a medium wounds, heavy, incapacitating and finally fatal.
This is a potent spell and has a +7 bonus, it requires a bloodstone and a ruby to cast.
(Base 10, +2 voice, +1 sun)
The spell seems fine, except that the final level calculation is off. One should add +1 magnitude for the Rego requisite, and either drop duration to Concentration, or use +2 magnitudes for Sun instead of +1.
Thus, (assuming the Base 10 is correct, I did not check) the spell becomes level 30 with Concentration duration, or level 35 with Sun duration; which seems reasonably balanced to me.
Tmk that "source" is not needed, if the inventor has a sufficient lab total. In particular, with sufficient lab total one can tmk invent a potent spell from scratch if one has a Minor Potent Magic virtue applying.
The character does indeed have major potent magic: Blood, and a magic theory of 5 with puissant magic theory (taking it to 7).
Does it need a magnitude bump for a rego req? I'm undecided on this.
And yes, I flumbed on the sun duration, it should of course be +2. Concentration did occur to me, but the length of time you'd have to concentrate before the target falls over, let alone dies makes it less practical.
I would say yes, it definitely needs a Corpus requisite as written. (See the first paragraph on ArM5 page 121.)
Of course, the spell could simply produce a liquid that is a lot like blood but not actually blood, and it would still have the same drowning effect. (That might require an extra magnitude for a slightly unnatural liquid, depending on your interpretation.)
Oh, I misread... You only need MT 7+ and a source {Lab Text, Teacher or a matching Potent Magic Virtue}. So you can cast it even if you don't have the Virtue.
Yes, if the storyguide let's you first design a custom spell like this topic's blood spell, and then provides you with a lab text or teacher for just that spell as a "source", you would not need a Potent Magic virtue at all.
But this is all besides this thread's topic, and also not what TMRE p. 31 "Potent Magic and Potent Spells" means when addressing "inventing a spell".
I'm still not sold on the corpus requirement (doesn't actually matter for this character as his corpus and aquam are both at the same level). The paragraph on page 121 of the main Ars book specifically says liquids in the body such as blood. This wouldn't require corpus since it isn't affecting liquids in the body, its creating liquid that then forces itself onto the enemy.
Essentially, I'd say that the fact that the spell uses blood rather than just water wouldn't require a corpus req. The spell might require a corpus req for forcing the blood into someones lungs, but not for using blood over water.
Spells to create blood outside the body do not need corpus IIRC.
As per ArM5 p.114, requisites that simply allows the spell to have its do not add to the spell level. For example, the Animal requisite for a spell that turns a person into a bird.
In my opinion, creating blood would be such a case. The spell doesn't do anything extra, so it doesn't add to the level, but since it is real blood (so that the magus' Focus can apply) the requisite would be needed.
The Core Rulebook does say that affecting liquids in a body such as blood requires a Corpus spell. Aquam need not even be involved at all.
Personally, I'd say that it's a simple PeCo spell that inflicts a Wound and design the guidelines as such. Drowning the victim in his own blood would be a cosmetic effect and not need a requisite.
OK, time to gather these comments for a re-design. Bit more difficult than envisaged initially, but still very nasty, and for a specialised magus with Major Potent magic, quite castable. Not in the least a combat spell, although anyone under its effects can probably be ruled out of the fight pretty quickly.
Choking Tide of Blood
Cr(Re)Aq(Co)35
A terrible way to die, this spell creates an amount of blood and forces it down another person’s throat and nostrils, filling their lungs and drowning them. They can resist this as they would drowning and being affected by this spell isn’t an instant kill. The spell does not require concentration and will most likely take several minutes to kill its victim, but unless the spell is cancelled before this happens, death is inevitable. The target treats this exactly like drowning, rolling stamina every 30 seconds with an ease factor of 3 (increasing by 1 every 30 seconds). A failed roll indicates a fatigue level is lost, until the target drops unconscious at which point the damage taken is a light wound, then a medium wounds, heavy, incapacitating and finally fatal.
This is a potent spell and has a +7 bonus, it requires a bloodstone and a ruby to cast.
(Base 10, +2 voice, +2 sun, +1 rego, corpus req free)
Comments:
Avenger314 - Note that it doesn't drown the victim in their own blood, it creates blood that then drowns the victim.
Arthur - Point taken on the free corpus req