Some spells for moderation

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Pillar of Emptiness

PeTe 10
base 4 destroy stone
range: touch +1 magnitude
duration: momentary
target: individual
10 cubic paces +1 magnitude
precise shape +1 magnitude
level 15

The caster annihilates a column of stone thirteen paces deep (or long) and one pace in diameter.

Annikki of Tytalus created this spell so that she could create an abyss for her laboratory, cripple her foes should they stand close enough to her, and rapidly tunnel through stone obstacles. In her version of this spell, a chill wind will seem to be blowing constantly into the pillar for some days after the casting.

Anybody think this could be lower?

Earthly Prison

PeTe
base 4 destroy stone
range: touch +1 magnitude
duration: momentary
target: individual
100 cubic paces +2 magnitude
level 15

The caster annihilates a block of rock about 10 paces long, wide, and deep.

Annikki of Tytalus created this spell so that she could literally take the ground out from under her opponents, and search for an ancient hero in what may be its burial ground. In her version of this spell, a chill wind appears to reduce the stone to dust and carry it away.

From Ural's Height

ReCo
base 15 move a target quickly in any direction, even if unsupported
range: personal
duration: sun +2 magnitude
target: individual

level 25

The caster can fly rapidly, and hover in place without concentration. The target can support as much weight as she could ordinarily support.

Annikki of Tytalus invented this spell so that she would have a better vantage point from which to spy on her foes and destroy them, and so that she could travel more rapidly. In her version of the spell, she seems to be borne aloft and carried along on a bitingly chill wind.

Breath of Life-Giving Water

MuCo
base 2 change someone to give her a minor ability
range: personal
duration: sun +2 magnitude
target: individual

level 4

The caster can breathe water as if it were air.

Annikki of Tytalus invented this spell so that she could lie indefinitely on the bottom of icy streams, a hobby of hers. When she uses this spell and swims, a chill current seems to move with her through the water.

I think that this is probably too low. Anybody got any ideas on what counts as a minor ability? The only example in the rules that uses this base gives the target the ability to see in near-darkness.

2

I don't think you could use PoE or EP to tunnel through rock or to create pits in the ground without making the Target Part. Cf. Pit of the Gaping Earth.

Nice spells, however. Superb naming!

3

Er, uh, yeah. Oops. Note to self: read about examples of wheels before inventing wheels.

Pit of the Gaping Earth annihilates a cylinder the volume of which is somewhat above 243 cubic paces (pretending that pi = 3, which is good enough for magical work), for a +1 size modifier. Moreover, that cylinder is exactly 6 paces in diameter and 3 in depth, with no "precise shape" modifier. With that in mind, here are the re-imagined spells:

Pillar of Emptiness

PeTe 10
base 4 destroy stone
range: touch +1 magnitude
duration: momentary
target: part +1 magnitude
level 10

The caster annihilates a column of stone thirteen paces deep (or long) and one pace in diameter.

Annikki of Tytalus created this spell so that she could create an abyss for her laboratory, cripple her foes should they stand close enough to her, and rapidly tunnel through stone obstacles. In her version of this spell, a chill wind will seem to be blowing constantly into the pillar for some days after the casting.

Earthly Prison

PeTe
base 4 destroy stone
range: touch +1 magnitude
duration: momentary
target: part +1 magnitude
243 cubic paces +1 magnitude
level 15

The caster annihilates cylinder of dirt or rock 5 paces in diameter and 4 paces deep. (A minor variant on Pit of the Gaping Earth, p. 155)

Annikki of Tytalus created this spell so that she could literally take the ground out from under her opponents, and search for an ancient hero in what may be its burial ground. In her version of this spell, a chill wind appears to reduce the dirt or stone to dust and carry it away.

4

You're awefully generous. Nothing wrong with it per-se, but I would personally require Concentration checks to hover (just at a lower EF).

I'd say it is priced right. In fact, I did say so just last session.
Of course, I also said it had a (free) Animal requisite, and called it "Fishe's Gills". Without the requisite, well, I'm not sure how to treat it.

I hope Annikki is well protected from the water's chill. :slight_smile:

I don't get the size. And by that I mean Pit of the Gaping Earth size, it should have a +2 size modifier.
Base Individual (or Part) is one cubic pace. That will make a pit one pace wide and 1.33 paces deep. A +1 size modifier would hence be needed for a pit thirteen paces deep.
I'd go with the rules rather than the example, and brush it off as a "special" spell invented through some luck of experimentation or something.

Again, I argue the spell needs a +2 size modifier, not a +1.

I invite you to post them to the spell wiki. 8)

Yair

5

When giving things to myself, I often am.

Makes sense. What sort of Ease Factor would you suggest? And would such a requirement block her from casting spells while hovering? (Which is supposed to be the idea, though swooping around invisibly with her sword, hacking the enemy to bits, sounds like fun, too.)

Hmm. Annikki doesn't get animals. Or water, or air. So you can see that I was hoping for a straight Corpus spell. However, at this low a level, I think that she can handle it even if her casting total is determined by her Rego score.

Annikki is the water's chill.

Sigh. Yes, I think you're right. Errata, anyone?

Does this vitiate both of the PeTe spells, or just the one that isn't a minor variant on the off-kilter spell from the book?

Thanks! Will do, once they've been checked out a little more.

6

:slight_smile: :smiley:

I've reconsidered - you need Finesse, not Concentration. To be generous, a Finesse EF 3 for hovering, EF 6 for straight line movement, EF 9 for normal movement, EF 12 or 15 for fancy movement like swooping in with swords.

Sadly, yes, this DOES mean you'll have to roll Concentration to cast spells (EF 12, "Maintaining another spell"). You'll normally not need to roll Concentration to control your movement otherwise as your the spell allows you to do so - but do need to concentrate to maintain your flight so doing anything else in addition to flying would require a Concentration check. Not sure of the EFs, but there's a nice table.

Both.

:slight_smile:

7

Aristotle: things move because of a force. But things want to fall down. I guess that's YR7's logic, that if you're not attending then gravity pulls you down. I'd have been happy to let someone park in the air -- maybe drifting with the wind, but not falling.

8

I'm not sure that I agree completely. Finesse is for "Manipulating your spells and performing special feats with them. You would use this Ability to position objects gracefully or to target spells."

Hovering in space and moving quickly is just what the spell is for; the spell doesn't need manipulation, and hovering and movement is not a special feat. On the other hand, I definitely agree that subtle maneuvering would require a finesse roll, possibly a difficult one.

Again, not sure I completely agree (or maybe I'm not understanding you completely); I think Wulfenbach has a good point. To be actively flying and also cast another spell would require a concentration check, since I need to concentrate on both the flying and the new spell I'm trying to cast. But hovering in space is passive and should permit another spell without a concentration check.

The problem I think I see here is that, if you need to make a concentration check every time you're under a constantly active spell and want to cast another spell, you're going to lose Cloak of Duck's Feathers and all sorts of other things that nobody wants to concentrate on. Imagine the difficulty of being invisible while under Cloak of Duck's Feathers and using Eyes of the Cat, if you need to roll concentration to cast a new spell during the duration of another — but I take it that using all three of these spells at a time isn't really supposed to be enormously demanding.

The distinction that I would draw is: if the spell that you're maintaining needs your attention at a time, and you want to cast a spell at that time, then you need to make a concentration roll. If the standing spell doesn't really require you to pay any attention to it at that time, then no concentration roll would be required.

Latest version:

From Ural's Height

level 25

The caster can fly rapidly and hover in place. The target can support as much weight as she could ordinarily support; encumbrance counts against her speed and any finesse (and possibly concentration) rolls that are called for. Subtle maneuvering, such as a melee attack, would require a Finesse roll. Casting a spell while hovering in place is as normal, but casting a spell while moving requires a Concentration roll, Ease Factor at least 15.

9

I think that if you use ReCo to lift you in the air, you only need to concentrate when moving (or if the spell has Concentration duration). But it looks like you'll need to pile up a few magnitudes if you want fast movement (if that's even possible). Compare with Wings of the Soaring Wind (CrAu) which requires constant concentration.

10

I hate to disagree, but.... This spell is based on this ReCo guideline for Base 15: "Move a target quickly in any direction you please." The wording recurs from this guideline for Base 5: "Move a target slowly in any direction you please, even if the target is unsupported." Unless there's some traditional use that I'm not understanding, that definitely gives fast movement. Moreover, since that movement is the spell effect, it shouldn't need any sort of outside help from concentration or finesse, although doing funky things like casting spells or difficult maneuvering would certainly require those. If anything, since this spell is based on a guideline for rapid motion, it should be harder to hover, but hovering is a major point of this spell for its inventor.

The CrAu spell seems to make things hard because it's targeting the air that supports and moves one, whereas this ReCo spell targets the thing to be supported. If you want to move a body around, the most natural thing to do is move a body, not move something else that shoves the body around; or so it seems to me.

However, this spell is more flexible than the relevant CrAu spell, and that should come at some price. Where the CrAu spell really is intended to move you, this spell also lets you hover in place. That should be paid for by, say, making this a ten miles per hour spell, where the CrAu spell is forty miles per hour. Higher speeds would require finesse and/or concentration. Seem reasonable?

Thanks for all the great input, and please keep it coming! Even where I don't agree, I'm learning more about the system by thinking about why I don't agree.

11

Alright, the way I see it a spell only does one thing. You can for example invent a momentary formulaic spell to move you fairly fast in an arch towards a spot (Frog's Legs). No concetration or finesse needed. You could also invent a Sun spell to allow you to fly at a constant speed and direction for the duration, no concentratio needed.

But the spell can't spontanously change whatever it is that it's doing. To move purposely you need to concentrate and direct it. That's why you need Finesse, and that's why you need Concentration to fly and do other stuff. Normally you don't roll this Concentration, but would if there are distractions (like trying to cast another spell).

Perhaps you can concentrate to "order" the spell to keep you hovering, and then cast your spells with impunity. The spell is already busy keeping you hovering, it needs no further "instructions".
I don't know if the spell is that flexible.

My initial thought was the spell naturally exerts no force but you can concentrate to exert the force you want. Without force you fall down, as Fruny said, so you need to concentrate even just to hover.

12

Okay, I think I'm beginning to see the point that you're making. But it seems that, by this reasoning, any change in what you're doing would require concentration. You could, as it were, set your course and then relax. This would make the spell very difficult to use in, say, combat, since continually changing direction and making difficult maneuvers would require constant concentration and finesse rolls. Likewise in bad weather. However, in decent weather you could just hang in space or move in a straight line with no problem. No?

13

That seems reasonable, yes.