Ward: distance, resistance and beneficial spells

finn · 03-11-2017, 10:36 PM

I have an antagonist wizard in a game that I'm running who knows Ward. He also knows many of the spells that a PC wizard knows. (he's the ex-master of the PC wizard)

So, I plan to to use Ward a couple of times in my next game, and I have some questions regarding Ward.

[1] Does Ward have a penalty of -1 per yard, if you are defending someone else?

Though the spell description does not specify this, I assume the answer is yes.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...0&postcount=23

[2] When a spell resists against Ward, does the original caster roll against the effective skill of the spell, or the unmodified skill?

Say mage X casts Stun against mage Y, 3 yards away from him. X knows Stun at 15. Y knows Stun and Ward at 15.

X has an effective skill of 12 because of the distance. X rolls 10 and succeeds (at a margin of 2, but this should not be relevant to the Ward).

Y casts Ward with a effective skill of 15. Y rolls 10 and succeeds at a margin of 5.

Does X roll to resist the Ward at 7 (= 12-5) or, 10 (= 15-5)?

Saying that it is 7 will make Ward quite powerful against regular spells when protecting yourself, as long as you know the spell you are warding against. Which I'm OK with.

Saying that it would be 10 will make Ward quite week when you want to protest anybody at a distance from you, as the X's range to the target will be ignored but the range from Y to the target would still count.

[3] Can you use Ward to disrupt a friendly spell?

Can you cast Ward to disrupt a friendly spell cast against an enemy? Such as disrupting an enemy mage from casting Great Haste or Great Healing on an enemy warrior?

I'm guessing not, as such a spell will not be an "attack" described in the second sentence of the spell description. However, the first sentence only says "cast immediately after a spell is thrown at a subject", so there may be room to interpret to allow disruption of friendly spells.

finn · 03-13-2017, 10:29 AM

I checked the rules under "Resisted Spells" (Magic p13-p14), and found that "a spell resists using the caster's effective skill at the time of casting", so I found my answer to question 2. Should have checked that before I posted.

Since I already self-proposed answers for the other 2 questions in my first post, I guess I am ready for my game.

The result is that Ward is quite effective in protecting the caster from a regular spell cast at at distance, but not as effective if cast to protect an ally, which is fine with me.

Disrupting friendly spells cast by enemies (the PCs) would be cool, but should probably be a separate, new spell. If the antagonist wizard survives and returns for another encounter, he might have developed just that spell.

03-11-2017, 10:36 PM	#1
finn Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tokyo, Japan	Ward: distance, resistance and beneficial spells I have an antagonist wizard in a game that I'm running who knows Ward. He also knows many of the spells that a PC wizard knows. (he's the ex-master of the PC wizard) So, I plan to to use Ward a couple of times in my next game, and I have some questions regarding Ward. [1] Does Ward have a penalty of -1 per yard, if you are defending someone else? Though the spell description does not specify this, I assume the answer is yes. http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...0&postcount=23 [2] When a spell resists against Ward, does the original caster roll against the effective skill of the spell, or the unmodified skill? Say mage X casts Stun against mage Y, 3 yards away from him. X knows Stun at 15. Y knows Stun and Ward at 15. X has an effective skill of 12 because of the distance. X rolls 10 and succeeds (at a margin of 2, but this should not be relevant to the Ward). Y casts Ward with a effective skill of 15. Y rolls 10 and succeeds at a margin of 5. Does X roll to resist the Ward at 7 (= 12-5) or, 10 (= 15-5)? Saying that it is 7 will make Ward quite powerful against regular spells when protecting yourself, as long as you know the spell you are warding against. Which I'm OK with. Saying that it would be 10 will make Ward quite week when you want to protest anybody at a distance from you, as the X's range to the target will be ignored but the range from Y to the target would still count. [3] Can you use Ward to disrupt a friendly spell? Can you cast Ward to disrupt a friendly spell cast against an enemy? Such as disrupting an enemy mage from casting Great Haste or Great Healing on an enemy warrior? I'm guessing not, as such a spell will not be an "attack" described in the second sentence of the spell description. However, the first sentence only says "cast immediately after a spell is thrown at a subject", so there may be room to interpret to allow disruption of friendly spells. Last edited by finn; 03-11-2017 at 10:37 PM. Reason: typo

03-13-2017, 10:29 AM	#2
finn Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tokyo, Japan	Re: Ward: distance, resistance and beneficial spells I checked the rules under "Resisted Spells" (Magic p13-p14), and found that "a spell resists using the caster's effective skill at the time of casting", so I found my answer to question 2. Should have checked that before I posted. Since I already self-proposed answers for the other 2 questions in my first post, I guess I am ready for my game. The result is that Ward is quite effective in protecting the caster from a regular spell cast at at distance, but not as effective if cast to protect an ally, which is fine with me. Disrupting friendly spells cast by enemies (the PCs) would be cool, but should probably be a separate, new spell. If the antagonist wizard survives and returns for another encounter, he might have developed just that spell.