Quote:
Originally Posted by David Bofinger
I think ideas like this sound fun when you propose them. "Haha, I tied the bandit's shoelaces together!" But what if it's the fifth fight in a row that the wizard has tied someone's shoelaces together? That might get old pretty fast. I think magic is like this is most interesting if there's a bunch of things you might be able to do but don't always get to choose what. Actually, that might be a good rule of thumb for a wizard generally.
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If I were going to do something like this in a variant campaign, I’d call it a hex. (Yes, I know... it is a terrible pun.) The cost would be 1 ST (only) and the effect would be to cause the target to have a random minor misfortune. “Random” means that the GM decides exactly what happens. “Minor” means it can’t trip someone and send him down the stairs or into a pit, or affect whether or not a target’s die roll is successful. Preference would be for minor-league effective or at least annoying, with a bend toward funny if possible.
The effect must always be something so subtle that it could have reasonably happened purely by accident. Yes to having an evil high priest snag the hem of his fine robe and rip it open - or off. No to changing the color of his robe suddenly, or erasing the text in a book. Yes to the target pulling a 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 in draw poker, no to changing his cards once he’s bet.
Yes, it should not be allowed in combat, though if the caster was WELL out of combat himself it could be cast on a combatant. (Think of someone in the arena seats messing with a gladiator to embarrass him.)
A hex must be aimed like a missile spell, although it is an invisible one. This makes it possible to miss and hex the wrong person. The only way to be sure is to touch the person you are hexing, in which case there is no chance to miss. A hex is not necessarily instantaneous, either, but the effect will occur within a minute or so. (As Roger Rabbit put it, “only when it’s funny”.
Oh, and pulling ths sort of thing on a full Wizard is a dangerous sort of proposition, since one of the first things you learn in Wizard School is how to recognize the subtle effect of a hex. If the identity of the hexer isn’t Immediately obvious, however, the target may not be able to figure out who it is. The spell does require a slight hand gesture to aim, so I’d allow the target a standard IQ save to spot it if the caster performs a SECOND hex on him and is visible in a room. I’d give the IQ save on a first hex to someone fairly close to the caster. If he’s already looking right at you, forget it — the target knows.
A subtle hex duel across a crowded room is a common occurrence at Wizard school — until the teacher catches on and hexes both duelists — or worse.
THIS IS NOT A PROPOSAL FOR A CORE GAME SPELL! It is just how I’’d implement the kind of thing you were discussing in a variant game.