Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [Sorcery] Blade of Grass and Tree Bark Armor

Sorenant · 12-09-2017, 04:33 PM

I've been trying to build the Blade of Grass spell (Magic: Plant Spells p.10) but it has not been easy. First I tried going for Affliction + Innate Attack (based on Weapons of Pure Magic), which failed quite spectacularly. Then I thought about Create (Transmutation Only) but it was so silly I didn't even try. Finally I had a moment of eureka when I saw the perk Charm and realized I might be able to make this spell in a similar fashion to the Imbuements (according to the Under the Hood). I've came up with the following and wish somebody could vet it for anything wrong:

Magery 0 (One-Spell Only, -80%) [1] + Charms [1] + Blade of Grass (H) IQ [4], for a total of [6]
Blade of Grass (Cosmic: No die roll required, +300%; Reduced Fatigue Cost -4, +80%) [29]

I didn't add Magical (-10%) and Visible (-10%) because as far as I understand this advantage, being a normal albeit veiled spell, already includes these characteristics and adding those modifiers would be double dipping.
The value doesn't seem too wrong. Total cost of [29] for an AA cost of [6], right between Imbue 2 and 3 spells.

The Tree Bark Armor was easier, but I'm not confident about the final product:

Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage, Tree Bark Armor, +100%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, x10, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, ‑15%) [22]
Note: "Tree Bark Armor" is Damage Resistance 5 (Can’t Wear Armor, -40%; Partial, Except Face and Feet, -0%; Accessibility, Back Against a Tree, -10%; Magic, -10%) [10]. Feature: Weights 25lbs.

About the advantage, I considered not having face and feet cover to be quite insignificant for limitation purposes so I gave it no cost reduction. Regarding the Accessibility, trees are not uncommon in general but there will most likely be none in indoor locations (eg dungeon) so I gave it just -10%. I couldn't find any limitation to give items weights except for gadget which seems to not give any point for it so I just made it as a feature.
I have no idea if it's legal without some power equivalent to Essential Wood. I don't think so by RAW but it doesn't make much sense given the supposed way it works (turn bark into essential wood).
Edit: Reading the spell description again, it never says the caster can't wear armor (though normal layering penalty will most likely apply) so I might have to remove the limitation and recalculate. Base advantage would be [23] so the Affliction would cost +13 = [35]

Any help will be much appreciated.

12-09-2017, 04:33 PM	#1
Sorenant Join Date: Jan 2015	[Sorcery] Blade of Grass and Tree Bark Armor I've been trying to build the Blade of Grass spell (Magic: Plant Spells p.10) but it has not been easy. First I tried going for Affliction + Innate Attack (based on Weapons of Pure Magic), which failed quite spectacularly. Then I thought about Create (Transmutation Only) but it was so silly I didn't even try. Finally I had a moment of eureka when I saw the perk Charm and realized I might be able to make this spell in a similar fashion to the Imbuements (according to the Under the Hood). I've came up with the following and wish somebody could vet it for anything wrong: Magery 0 (One-Spell Only, -80%) [1] + Charms [1] + Blade of Grass (H) IQ [4], for a total of [6] Blade of Grass (Cosmic: No die roll required, +300%; Reduced Fatigue Cost -4, +80%) [29] I didn't add Magical (-10%) and Visible (-10%) because as far as I understand this advantage, being a normal albeit veiled spell, already includes these characteristics and adding those modifiers would be double dipping. The value doesn't seem too wrong. Total cost of [29] for an AA cost of [6], right between Imbue 2 and 3 spells. The Tree Bark Armor was easier, but I'm not confident about the final product: Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage, Tree Bark Armor, +100%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Increased 1/2D, x10, +15%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, ‑15%) [22] Note: "Tree Bark Armor" is Damage Resistance 5 (Can’t Wear Armor, -40%; Partial, Except Face and Feet, -0%; Accessibility, Back Against a Tree, -10%; Magic, -10%) [10]. Feature: Weights 25lbs. About the advantage, I considered not having face and feet cover to be quite insignificant for limitation purposes so I gave it no cost reduction. Regarding the Accessibility, trees are not uncommon in general but there will most likely be none in indoor locations (eg dungeon) so I gave it just -10%. I couldn't find any limitation to give items weights except for gadget which seems to not give any point for it so I just made it as a feature. I have no idea if it's legal without some power equivalent to Essential Wood. I don't think so by RAW but it doesn't make much sense given the supposed way it works (turn bark into essential wood). Edit: Reading the spell description again, it never says the caster can't wear armor (though normal layering penalty will most likely apply) so I might have to remove the limitation and recalculate. Base advantage would be [23] so the Affliction would cost +13 = [35] Any help will be much appreciated.