Converting some Shadowrun Spells

[Kesendeja]

I recently converted a long running campaign from Shadowrun to GURPS, and while we’ve managed to fix almost everything the Mage wants a few of his standby spells, and I would like some help converting them.

I’m hoping to get prerequisites and costs, and use the descriptions as close to what they were, We’re using standard magic.

Fashion
Manipulation (Area, Environmental) Type: Physical Range: Touch (A) Duration: Permanent DV: F-1
This spell instantly tailors clothing, transforming garments into any fashion the caster wishes. The net hits over the clothing’s object resistance (defense pool for the clothing can be between 6 and 9, depending on the complexity of the material and whether it interweaves electronics into the threads) measure the degree of style in the tailoring. The spell cannot change clothing’s protective value, only its cut, color, pattern, and fit. The weight of the clothing does not change, and it must cover approximately the same amount of area (for example, a jumpsuit can’t be converted into a bikini).
The caster must touch the clothing.
The following list provides guidance on what a character can do per each net hit:
1 - The tint of the color can change (e.g., dark blue to light blue, but not blue to green); minor adjustments such as mending bullet holes can also be performed
2 - Adjustments to the fit of the clothing can be made, but nothing drastic about the nature of the clothes (for example, pants are still pants). Color can change slightly (e.g., blue to green or purple, but not red).
3 - Full spectrum of color can be manipulated. Simple geometric patterns and designs can be added, but nothing as elaborate as corporate logos or name tags. Modifications such as the addition or removal of pockets or pants to a skirt can be done.
4+ - Clothing can be changed with enough specificity to mimic a uniform, provided enough material is available. Color changes can help mimic missing accessories such as buttons, labels, badges, ribbons, etc. These changes, however, are only convincing at a distance if the physical accessories are not present. The closer a target gets to the subject, the more likely they will notice the actual accessories are missing (a gamemaster would call for a Perception Test to see if the person notices). Patterns and designs on clothing can be as intricate as the magician desires.
Most shadowrunners know the benefits of having a mage or shaman who can cast the Fashion spell on them. It can literally change a suit into a uniform in a matter of a few seconds, making it that much easier to blend into a crowd or pull off a disguise (such as posing as a KE cop). This can allow a team tremendous flexibility during a run, allowing them to change outfits on the fly.
There are inherent limitations with this spell, however, including not being able to precisely duplicate accessories such as badges, buttons, lapel pins, etc. A Fashion spell can attempt to mimic those accessories and may be able to fool people from a distance, but up close, people are going to be able to tell that “badge” you are wearing is not the real thing. Fashion can only change one type of material into another of a similar size and mass. What I would recommend for extraction teams is to go into a situation with a properly constructed disguise from one of the fixers that I mentioned earlier (with all the right accessories), and then if need be, use Fashion to shift the disguise into something less conspicuous later. Another option is for extraction teams to obtain the proper accessories from someone on site (such as a security guard that they have rendered unconscious) and simply add those accessories to the disguise they have built using the Fashion spell.

Healthy Glow
Health Type: Physical Range: Touch Duration: Permanent DV: F-2
Healthy Glow is a popular spell with the well-to-do, or those who want to appear well-to-do. This spell improves the appearance of the subject by improving their circulation, brightening their appearance and improving their general health. The effect is permanent but can be marred through hard living and natural aging.
Hits on the Spellcasting Test [limited by Force] determine how well the subject is cleaned up. The spell has two effects - increasing the Social limit of the target, and providing a modifier to First Aid or Medicine Tests (per Healing Modifiers, p. 208, SR5 or modifiers to Health spells, p. 287, SR5). The Social limit increases by 1 for every two hits (rounded up) on the Spellcasting Test, while the Healing Modifier is 1 for every 3 hits on the Spellcasting Test (rounded up). These effects last for 24 hours; after that, the health effects vanish, and people adjust to the new appearance, so the increased Social limit disappears as well.

Makeover
Manipulation (Physical) Type: Physical Range: Touch Duration: Permanent DV: F-3
Makeover allows the spellcaster to grant a "makeover" to voluntary subject that mystically alters cosmetics, hair color and style, and nails. These changes are magical in nature and do not depend upon the caster's knowledge of grooming or fashion. The effects of the makeover are as permanent as those made physically in a beauty salon. Each hit scored by the caster measures the degree of style and skill in the makeover.

Sterilize
Manipulation (Area, Environmental) Type: Physical Range: Line-of-Sight (A) Duration: Instant DV: F-3
This spell allows a spellcaster to kill all bacteria (and other microorganisms) and destroy organic material such as skin flakes, stray hairs, and spilled blood. Material affected by this spell cannot be used as a material link. Because the spell does not affect biomaterial attached to a living being, it does not kill the various helpful and harmful microorganisms living inside a creature. Each hit scored by the caster inflicts a -1 dice pool modifier to any skill tests made to collect and use sterilized biomaterial for forensics or material link purposes. Shadowrunners often employ this spell to eliminate incriminating trace evidence, especially if blood has been spilled. The area sterilized equals the caster's Magic Rating in cubic meters.

[Kesendeja]

And the last two.

Hibernate
Manipulation Type: Mana Range: Touch Duration: Permanent DV: F-2
The caster must touch a voluntary or unconscious subject. The spell puts the subject in a form of suspended animation. The subject’s bodily processes are slowed significantly, allowing for the subject to survive perfectly in hibernation without nourishment for long periods of time. In addition, the individual’s respiration also decreases, allowing the character to survive on very limited amounts of oxygen for longer periods of time. For every hit on the Spellcasting Test, a character may be placed in this state of hibernation for up to four hours. So if a caster scores three hits on the Spellcasting Test, the target may be placed in suspended animation for up to twelve hours. Once this period of time ends, the target’s metabolic processes return to normal. If the caster wishes to keep the individual in this hibernation for longer, the character will need to recast this spell. This spell does not keep a subject unconscious, and if the character wakes up and resists against the effects of the spell, their metabolism returns to normal and the spell breaks. This is why a caster normally uses this spell in conjunction with another spell, or uses a drug to keep the target unconscious. The number of hits also determines the factor by which a character can survive without nourishment or in an environment with limited amounts of oxygen. For example, with 3 hits, a character whose body is being influenced by the Hibernate spell can survive three times as long without food or water, and can survive three times as long in a situation where oxygen is limited. Six or more successes are required to be able to fool medkit computers and biomonitors and to convince them that the subject is deceased.
When a runner team does not have access to a Houdini machine to provide nutrients and sustenance to their target, this spell can allow them to adapt by slowing down a target’s metabolic processes through magic. The more powerful the spell, the slower a metahuman’s metabolic processes become. This spell can delay the target’s need for food or water for days if necessary, as long as it is sustained. However, when the spell ends and the subject’s metabolic processes return to normal, they find themselves dehydrated and famished. But that should only happen after you have turned the target over to Mr. Johnson, and that should be their problem and not yours. The Hibernate spell is also notably gentler on a target’s body than the use of the slab drug and can be more finely controlled than the drug. To my knowledge, no one has actually died from the use of the Hibernate spell, giving this spell the clear advantage over slab. With enough net hits (6+), the Hibernate spell can fool a medkit into believing the subject is deceased. Hibernate works against both voluntary and unconscious targets.

Trid Phantasm
Illusion (Area, Multi-Sensory, Realistic) Type: Physical Range: Line-of-Sight (A) Duration: Sustained DV: F
These area spells create convincing illusions of any object, creature, or scene the magician desires. They can create an illusion of anything the magician has seen before, from a flower or a credstick to a dragon breathing fire, as long as the illusion is no larger than the spell's area of effect.
Anyone who might pierce the illusion must successfully resist the spell. Simply make one Spellcasting Test and use the hits scored as the threshold for anyone attempting to resist at a later point.
Phantasm only affects living beings, while Trid Phantasm affects technological sensors as well.

I also need a version of his favorite spirit type, The Watcher, and its summoning spell.

Watcher
(Minion)
Watchers are like spirits, but in actuality are entities born from the ritual leader's own mind rather than the metaplanes.
They are a creation of mana, woven with the personalities of the ritual participants. A watcher can speak any language its creators (which includes the leader and participants) can speak. A watcher is bound only to the leader of the ritual and follows his orders. A watcher lasts for a number of hours equal to its Force times the net hits on the sealing test. A watcher's skills are equal to half the Force of the ritual (rounded up).

A leader can dismiss a watcher bound to him as a Free Action.

Watchers cannot be banished or counterspelled.

This ritual takes (Force) minutes to perform.

[mlangsdorf]

Body Control Spells
Healthy Glow -- Regular
Increases the HT of the subject by 1, and improves their Appearance by one level to a maximum of Beautiful. The HT increase does not stack with HT increases provided by Vigor or Boost HT. High skill does not reduce cost to cast this spell.
Duration 24 hours.
Cost: 10. Cannot be maintained.
Time to cast: 1 minute.
Prerequisites: Vigor, 6 Body Control Spells, and Shapeshifting or Perfect Illusion.

Notes: Basically a combination of Vigor and Alter Visage with a long duration balanced by a high cost.

Makeover
This is Alter Visage under a new name.

Healing Spells
Hibernation
This is Suspend Animation under a new name.

Sterilize
As Cleansing (Magic 94), but also removes bacteria and parasites in the local area, as well as any blood, skins flakes, loose hair, or other tiny bits of formerly living material. Has no effect on large amounts of formerly living material, such as leather or cotton clothes.
Base Cost: 4. Minimum size of 2.
Time to cast: Equal to cost, in seconds.
Prerequisites: Cleansing.
This is Remove Contagion under a new name.

Hat tip: FredBrackin

Illusion and Creation Spells
Trid Phantasm
This is Perfect Illusion under a new name.

Making and Breaking Spells
Fashion -- Regular
Changes the color, fit, and style of a piece or set of clothing.
Duration: 1 hour.
Cost: 3 for a shirt, pair of pants, or similar garment, 6 for all the clothes on an SM+0 person.
Time to cast: Equal to cost, in seconds.
Prerequisites: Dye and Reshape.

Notes: See also Transform Object for a more powerful version of this spell. Fashion is fairly powerful, because Transform Object isn't much harder to learn and is much more powerful.

Meta-Spells
Summon Watcher Spirit -- Regular
Summons a watcher spirit, a creation of raw mana, capable of performing minimal actions in the physical world. A watcher spirit will always obey its creator, but the number of tasks it will perform is strictly limited when the watcher spirit is summoner. Watcher spirits always use the fixed watcher spirit template, unlike other elements.
Duration: 1 hour.
Cost: 5, +1 per task the watcher will perform.
Time to cast: 30 seconds. The watcher spirit may take up to 2d minutes to appear.
Prerequisites: Magery 2, Lend Spell, and 7 other Meta-Magic spells, or Magery 2, Lend Spell, 3 other Meta-Magic spells, and a Summon Elemental spell.

Notes: Technically should be Create Watcher Spirit, but whatever.

I'm not going to come up with the template for a Watcher Spirit; it's too dependent on the power level of your game and how you're treating the Astral plane. The existing Small Air Elemental template from Magic p. 28 is a good place to start; alternately, the small Void/Sound/Ether Elemental from DF: Summoners p 30 is also appropriate.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by mlangsdorf

[B
Sterilize (Mass Cleansing) Area; Special Resistance
As Cleansing (Magic 94), but also removes bacteria and parasites in the local area, as well as any blood, skins flakes, loose hair, or other tiny bits of formerly living material. Has no effect on large amounts of formerly living material, such as leather or cotton clothes.
Base Cost: 4. Minimum size of 2.
Time to cast: Equal to cost, in seconds.
Prerequisites: Cleansing.

No, Cleansing ejects foreign bodies from within tissue. This effect is Remone Contagion (which was called Sterilize in 3e). When it was Sterilize it destroyed all biological matter (and even did damage to living organisms).

If you really don't think Remove Contagion is enough the add-on is Clean rather than Cleansing.

[AlexanderHowl]

Healthy Glow is a really minor spell in Shadowrun, so I really do not understand it costing 10 FP.

[mlangsdorf]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

No, Cleansing ejects foreign bodies from within tissue. This effect is Remone Contagion (which was called Sterilize in 3e). When it was Sterilize it destroyed all biological matter (and even did damage to living organisms).

If you really don't think Remove Contagion is enough the add-on is Clean rather than Cleansing.

Thanks, I remembered Sterilize from 3e but couldn't find the analog on a cursory search.

[mlangsdorf]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Healthy Glow is a really minor spell in Shadowrun, so I really do not understand it costing 10 FP.

Because +1 HT normally costs 2 FP per minute as a GURPS spell. You're getting +1 HT for 24 hours. My GURPS version is a reasonably powerful spell.

[AlexanderHowl]

I also think that the maintenance cost of sustained spells in GURPS is excessive for a Shadowrun campaign. I can sustained a spell in Shadowrun, regardless of initial cost, for nothing as long as I accept the skill penalty to my actions. Just converting the spells to the nearest GURPS Magic equivalent tends to weaken Shadowrun magic to a tremendous degree (remember, magic is supposed to be equal to tech in Shadowrun, not tech's 'special' sibling).

For example, if I am willing to take physical drain, I can have a beginning mage cast a Force 10 Flamethrower spell. Since it is a normal combat spell, it possesses LOS range (if I can see it, I can hit it). Since it is an elemental spell, it halves any armor that it encounters. Since it is an indirect combat spell, I use Spellcasting plus Magic as my accuracy pool, so I boost the base damage by one for every success on my 10 dice pool to hit. In effect, I can snipe anyone in my LOS, at no speed/range penalty, with enough dice of damage to kill the average runner with a beginning character. Just another reason why I think that Shadowrun characters start at 500 points.

[Kesendeja]

Considering we made the move after about eight years, you don't even want to know how many points they ended up being. But I agree that 500 is a good starting point.

On another note, Sterilize is the one spell that was giving me a problem. The wanted design of the spell is that it will destroy any biological samples connected to the targets aura. He also wants to use this as an enchantment on a weapon.

As a note we're running 2121 as a setting and cloning is a real threat.

[mlangsdorf]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I also think that the maintenance cost of sustained spells in GURPS is excessive for a Shadowrun campaign. I can sustained a spell in Shadowrun, regardless of initial cost, for nothing as long as I accept the skill penalty to my actions. Just converting the spells to the nearest GURPS Magic equivalent tends to weaken Shadowrun magic to a tremendous degree (remember, magic is supposed to be equal to tech in Shadowrun, not tech's 'special' sibling).

That's all valid, but besides the point. The original poster wanted a list of spells from Shadowrun translated to the GURPS standard magic system. I assumed that meant he had made whatever accommodations he felt necessary to bring the GURPS standard system in line with his view of Shadowrun. So the job was to translate those spells into the GURPS idiom, with costs in line with similar GURPS spells, not to decide how to change the fundamentals of standard magic to make it match the magic of (some) version of Shadowrun.

I may have gone overboard with Healthy Glow. Here's an alternate version:
Healthy Glow -- Regular
Gives a minor boost to the HT of the subject. During the duration of the spell, any magical or mundane healing performed on the subject heals 1 extra HP. The subject also gets a +1 on HT based Sex Appeal and Carousing rolls.
Duration: 24 hours.
Cost: 5. Cannot be maintained.
Time to cast: 1 minute.
Prerequisites: Lend Vitality.