I feel like I need to apologize for asking questions about so many of the spells in the core book, but I feel like I need to understand them in order to be able to fairly adjudicate the design of new spells (and arbitrate the effects of the existing ones). Anyway, hopefully the forum community will continue to bare with me .
PeHe25 Great Rot (page 138)
This spell is listed as duration: momentary, but the spell description says it takes a minute for the target to rot away. Similar PeHe spells with time elapses for destruction exist, and yet no modification to the magnitude or level seems to be made for this disadvantage. For instance I can't fast cast the PeHe 5 Curse of the Rotted Wood to destroy the shaft of an axe being swung at me because it will take 2 rounds for the shaft to really fall apart (much more than the fraction of an initiative quantum implied by a fast cast interrupt).
ReHe25 The Treacherous Spear (pg 139)
States that the weapon will attack the wielder with his own attack and defense totals? Where does this logic come from? It seems like a significant added effect.
If one made an enchanted arrow with a CrIg burst fire effect, would you need an InCo trigger effect, or is the "physical state" of being stuck in someone significantly major enough to act as a trigger?
CrIg15 Blade of Virulent Heat (page 140)
if this spell were modified to parallel Heat of the Searing Forge, with a base effect of 5 (White Hot), would it not cause the blade so heated to inflict about +10 damage and avoid MR, while being 5 levels lower? Although some folks might point out that it would probably ruin the tempering on the blade, or make render it difficult for anyone to hold (because of the radiating heat) perhaps requiring a Part target to make only the blade hot. For that matter, Blade of the Virulent Flame does not include Target: Part or a Rego requirement to protect the wielder from the flames. I doubt this effect of the spell was designed to fall under "unnatural shape" since the spell double weapon damage or +5 damage, whichever is greater (i.e. a damage effect of more then +5).
CrIg 25 Coat of Flame
Why does this spell require both the Rego requisite and unusual shape? couldn't it get the same effect by just dousing the target in flame for the duration? Only with a higher damage adjustment? It seems like limiting the flame to the coat is cosmetic?
PeVi General Wind of Mundane Silence
lists a target of Room, but in the spell description talks repeatedly about "an area" and things near "the area" of the Wind, etc. implying the spell can be cast in any general area roughly the size of a room, but a Room target specifically states it requires the boundaries of an actual Room? Is this another heritage spell?
ReVi Opening the Intangible Tunnel
Not the only Vim spell that doesn't quite add up, but I'll use it as my question source. OtIT states that it opens a conduit to cast spells on a target, a general level base effect allowing spells of level +5 to be cast through. The spell description, however, states that any spell of equal or lower level can be cast through the conduit, which doesn't add up. (e.g. Level 40 conduit = L15 base effect +4 Arc, +1 Conc, which implies only spells of level 20 or less could be cast through the conduit). With the spell as written, could you cast a Room targeted spell (you have a mystic contact to the target individual at range touch, not to the room he's in?). If one wanted to create a conduit that another mage could cast through, would this add an additional Muto requirement, or be simply impossible? If one made a version of this spell with a target of Group, could one target a spell through an Arcane connection to one member of a band of outlaws (for instance) and hit all the outlaws (or 10 of them anyway), or would it require arcane connections to everyone in the target group (and therein allow you to open one conduit on a disparate and non-collocated group of people?). If you made a Fae Magic version of this spell with Range Road, assuming the target was on the path in question, would he then be able to cast spells of Conduit level +10 (since Road is +2 and Arc is +4?) What about with target Bloodline (same issues as for Group?)