Discworld: Extra Spells

[Phil Masters]

Another thing that got squeezed out of Discworld was some of the sample spells - so here they are, starting with...

Elementalism Spells

Atavarr’s Personal Gravitational Upset

This spell causes gravity to act at right angles to the norm on one subject, usually a person. They thus begin to fall sideways, in a direction determined by the caster; if they were standing on the ground to begin with, it becomes like a nearby wall, and they may grab fixed projections to save themselves with a DX roll. A second casting of this spell can either cancel the first, or set up a new falling direction, which must still be at right angles to the norm.

This spell has both offensive and helpful uses; for example, it can enable the subject to walk up walls, and might be used to help someone falling into a deep, narrow crevasse. However, its offensive power is more obvious; it can throw an opponent into a wall, and leave them seriously inconvenienced for its duration. Used in the open, it can be truly vicious, especially if there are no solid obstructions for some distance in the direction of falling; the subject’s best hope is to grab something on the ground, but if this isn’t done quickly, the roll will be at large penalties for the speed of falling. Flying beings have fewer problems, although they may need a second or two to orient themselves to the changed gravity; they can simply fly sideways until the spell wears off. -4 to skill, 3 MP, and this spell has a duration of 1 second, although it can be maintained; a quick casting will throw a victim sideways briefly, but accelerating them to serious velocities requires extended concentration and lots of MP.

Quondum’s Attractive Point

This spell creates a field of attraction centred on a point of the caster’s choice; the spell takes distance modifiers from the caster to that point. Anything already at the point is held stationary; anything else nearby is drawn towards it. The spell has a strength value, determined by the MP put into it, which acts to hold objects at the centre; the attractive force further away is equal to its strength minus the distance in yards from the centre. Thus, for example, a strength 20 casting acts at strength 13 on objects seven yards from its centre. Treat objects as being thrown, dragged, or whatever, as appropriate to their weight and the acting strength; of course, as they move closer to the centre, they become subject to more strength, and may hurtle off the floor. People caught up by the spell may make DX rolls to grab some fixed object, then roll a quick contest (p. 166) between their ST and the strength of the magic at their location each second for them to hang on.

Objects move in unguided straight lines under the influence of the spell, but may hit anything fixed that gets in the way; if they have had at least three yards to build up speed, treat them as being thrown by a being of strength equal to the spell strength at the point of impact. Of course, anything that breaks off with the impact will start moving itself. Objects from more than three yards out, light enough to be thrown by the spell’s strength at that point, arrive fast enough to damage anything at the centre.

The spell is cast at -5 to skill and has a strength of 5 for every MP put into it. It also has a duration of 1 second, but it can be maintained. After about five seconds, the attractive force may start pulling loosely-assembled objects apart with its local strength; details are left to the GM. Clothing is unlikely to be dragged off people who are hanging on to fixed points, but heavy armour might break its straps.

[Phil Masters]

Next college up:

Magianism Spells

Mystic Feedback

Some magic (notably that cast through voodoo dolls, p. 216) works through “sympathetic links,” enabling it to disregard distance. However, really skilled victims know that such links work both ways. This spell exploits that, turning the magic flow around. It is cast at -4 to skill and costs 1 MP, and is resisted by the Base Spell Skill of the casting that set up the link, but at -3. If it succeeds, the caster can either cast another spell through the link at either the object used to create the link (such as the voodoo doll) or the person using the link to cast magic through, or send a die of damage at the object simply by seeming to inflict it on themselves – for example, he can set fire to a voodoo doll by sticking his hand in a flame.

Fresnel’s Wonderful Concentrator

This is a famously advanced but frankly only occasionally useful spell. It requires the breath of a demon and $25 worth of other rare ingredients, and must always be cast ritually by at least eight wizards; the preparation and actual casting take a week plus the time spent ritually accumulating the required MP, which cannot be reduced by in known process. It is cast at -7 to skill, and requires 25 MP; the result has a duration of 1 week, and can be maintained.

It produces a large, completely transparent disc, twenty feet across, which lasts throughout the duration of the spell. This disc is completely immune to physical damage, but very easy to move by magic; it weighs about 50 lbs., and spells cast to move it and anything on it are at +5 to the Base Spell Skill and -3 to the final MP cost. Small shapes can be worked into the surface of the disc when the spell is cast, usually so that safety straps and similar can be attached.

The disc is usually used as a form of transport; a competent wizard with some kind of movement spells can use it as a platform to move himself and other individuals or objects around at speed. However, the casting cost and complexity mean that this only tends to be done by very showy wizards, or those who know that they will be in a hurry in a week’s time.

[Phil Masters]

Just the one Physiomantic spell to add:

Physiomancy Spells

Englebert’s Enhancer

This spell creates a greenish ball of light, which the caster must then drop into some food or drink within 10 seconds. The spell then augments the fundamental nature of the item. If the substance is nutritious, it becomes more nutritious; if it is fattening, it becomes more calorific; if it has medicinal value, it becomes better for the consumer; if it is alcoholic, it becomes more potent, and so on. The visual effects are up to the GM; usually, the substance looks the same, but it may smell a bit nicer and look a bit more sparkly or glossy – or bulky, if it’s fundamentally stodgy. Wizards swear that this spell is safe, claiming that it’s no more “unnatural” than cookery, although they don’t over-use it.

The spell takes a -2 skill penalty. For every 1 MP put into it, two pounds or two pints of food or drink become 100% more “potent.” For example, for 2 MP, a loaf could be made three times as filling and nutritious, an alcoholic drink three times as intoxicating (counting as three drinks for the purposes of the drinking rules), or a sticky pudding three times as sweet. If dice rolls are involved, each 100% improvement shifts them by +2 or -2 as appropriate; for example, a healthy beverage that grants a HT roll to shake off a cold can give a HT+2 roll for 1 MP.

All the effects are permanent, but the food will go stale or mouldy just as usual – actually rather faster, in fact, because the processes involved have more to work with. The exception is food whose essential nature it is to be long-lasting. Enhanced dwarf bread will become nearly indistinguishable from a rock, but it won’t spoil. The spell works just fine on troll food and drink, although few human wizards will recognise the stuff as such to cast the spell on it.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

The spell then augments the fundamental nature of the item.

Aha, this accounts for the mysterious Wow-Wow Sauce-related death of Mustrum Ridcully's uncle.

[Phil Masters]

Just the one in the next category, too...

Psychomancy Spells

Break Mental Walls

This subtle but terrifying spell slips into a subject’s mind and breaks down all the mental barriers that a person erects to help them deal with their own guilt, fears, and self-destructive impulses. It is cast at -4 to skill, and costs 5 MP. It is resisted by the target’s Will, but at -3 because it is insidious. It is not obviously an attack; in a sense, it consists of helping the target to think more clearly.

If it succeeds, the victim can do nothing but stand staring into space with a horrified expression for 1d minutes, plus an extra number of minutes equal to half the points that the character gains from “unpleasant” mental disadvantages and similar quirks. These include Bad Temper and Berserk (unless the character is a good person prone to “righteous anger”), Bloodlust, Bully, Cowardice, Sadism, and so on. Compulsive Behaviour isn’t usually included, unless it is tied in with a malicious impulse; Code of Honour is certainly excluded, unless it is based on some terrible sense of guilt over past actions, and similarly, Secrets may be included if they are dark and terrible. Every vicious or deliberately cruel act in the target’s recent past adds 2 minutes to the total, or 5 if it went against their usual nature. All of this is very much subject to GM’s decisions and options.

After every ten minutes that the effect lasts, and once more at the end of the full duration, the target must roll a Fright Check. If he is physically attacked or injured, he is permitted a Will roll, plus the total injury damage, -1 for every three minutes of duration remaining, to snap out of the condition.

There are, however, one or two snags with this spell. On the one hand, anyone who is truly saintly or really “knows and likes themselves” is partly or wholly immune to its effects. This is left to the GM’s decision again; such people are rare, but True Faith might make someone fully immune, or at least give +5 to resist. Years in psychoanalysis, or southern Californian residence, would, mysteriously, make no difference whatsoever.

Worse, full-blood elves, and a few very dangerous humans (mostly outright psychopaths), are genuinely in touch with themselves and their inner children. Elves are immune to the spell; humans who qualify are affected for a number of seconds equal to half the usual duration in minutes, then snap back to normality, usually laughing. The caster may then be required to make a Fright Check, at the GM’s option. The GM decides who qualifies for this immunity, but PCs are rarely quite this far gone; Callous and Will 12+ are probably required, and Sadism may help. However, anyone with a large collection of poorly-restrained disadvantages probably lacks the requisite self-knowledge.

Most people who know about this spell consider it unethically questionable, and certainly no “nice” character would use it routinely. However, some witches observe that the fact that it works so well tells you a lot about people.

[Phil Masters]

Summonation Spells

Divine Rider

This sort of magic is almost entirely the province of voodoo witches; other spell-casters are too wary of gods and other powerful spirits. However, it’s possible that especially sleazy demonologists might pull off something similar using seriously misinformed volunteers or undead servitors.

This spell summons a spirit – a (very) small god, when it’s cast by a voodoo specialist – and gives it temporary control of a human or other mobile body, its “mount” (which cannot be the caster’s own body). The mount retains a certain amount of control, but tends to be heavily influenced by the spirit and its personality, and gains a fair amount of power, which can take the form of anything from physical strength and vitality, through amazing charisma, to the ability to spit fire. The tricky part is finding a spirit which will respond to the summoning – full-power gods sneer at the idea. Voodoo witches resolve this problem by deliberately cultivating a small group of small gods – often beings that they’ve virtually created themselves and raised up to useful levels of power by their own faith or with the aid of a small cult. Any other sort of caster might have a lot more trouble with this process; only voodoo witches usually have enough idea about religion. As noted above, demonologists might pull off a similar trick after identifying a suitable demon, but demonic possession is generally considered a bad thing.

Voodoo witches usually install their small gods in human cultists, where they remain for relatively short periods. However, it’s perfectly possible to work this sort of magic with other creatures, and even with zombies and perhaps other low-grade undead. Few small gods are happy with that arrangement, though, unless the zombie is physically intact and has an unusually powerful mind; trying to take charge of a body run by a decayed mind with a slave mentality is both difficult and boring.

If a caster does know of a suitable spirit, treat the process of summoning and binding it into a mount as a spell with skill modifier -4, taking 5 minutes to cast. The GM should come up with a list of attribute modifiers, advantages, disadvantages, removed disadvantages, and skills which the spirit gives the mount, and work out the total point value. (Players can suggest some possibilities, especially if the PC has taken time to identify and cultivate the spirit, but the GM has the final say.) The MP cost of a casting is 1 per 10 character points in that total or fraction thereof, with a minimum of 4, and the possession lasts for 1 hour; the effect can be maintained.

Once the spirit is in place, you have a composite being with traits from both the mount and the spirit. Make a reaction roll to determine its opinion of the caster and the situation. Remember that the sort of spirits who go in for this sort of thing tend to be whimsical, opinionated, self-important, and a bit sneaky. They may go along with the caster’s plans, but they are independent beings. Even if the mount is a PC, the combined being is ultimately an NPC. Also, if the spirit’s nature is powerful, it may regard the mount’s body as a temporary home, and not worry too much about it.

Example: Mama Halfdollar needs someone to help her deal with a bunch of crocodile cultists gone bad in the deep swamp. Fortunately for her, the cult have also attacked a group of worshippers of Flaming Jango, a small god of lightning, and after a lot of negotiation with their priest and eventually with the god, Mama Halfdollar arranges something involving one of Flaming Jango’s most devout followers.

She and her allies set up a Divine Rider casting at the end of an extended religious ceremony with much chanting, dancing, and consumption of raw rum, with the follower as the mount. Flaming Jango gives his mount +3 ST [30], +2 DX [40], +2 HT [20], +4 Will [20], Burning Attack (Lightning Bolt) 3d [30], Combat Reflexes [15], Indomitable [15], Mind Shield 4 [16], Temperature Tolerance 3 (Heat) [6], Absent-Mindedness [-15], Bad Temper (9) [-15], Berserk (12) [-10], Impulsiveness (9) [-15], Odious Personal Habits (Shouting) [-5], Overconfidence (12) [-5], Pyromania (6) [-10], the quirk “Giggles a Lot” [-1], Brawling at DX+1 [2], Innate Attack (Beams) at DX+3 [8], and Intimidation at Will+1 [4], and removes his Mild Shyness [5] and Scotophobia (15) [7]. This adds up to 142 points, so the cost of the casting would be 15 MP; however, as a voodoo witch who has carefully followed standard procedures, Mama Halfdollar can halve that cost to 8 MP – still a lot, but perfectly feasible with a small ritual casting with a few trusted Jango-worshippers at the end of that ceremony. Unfortunately, spells cast ritually can’t be maintained, but no matter; for the next hour, the mount becomes a supernatural warrior who turns out to be perfectly willing to roast a few crocodiles.

If the caster stops maintaining the spell, the spirit normally leaves. However, if it is having too much fun or feels that it’s doing something important, it can try to stay around; roll a quick contest between the combined being’s Will and that of the mount. (And yes, many rider spirits give a Will increase.) If it succeeds, it can stay for another ten minutes before trying again. If it ever wins such a contest by 10 or more, it can stay for a full day. If it remains for three days, the interval between future contests becomes a week. After a while, an exorcism may seem necessary.