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Old 02-19-2014, 11:07 AM   #1
Anders
 
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Default Sorcery - Crop Failure power

There's a spell in a system I'm converting that causes crop failure. How do I translate that to a power, to fit it into the Sorcery system from Pyramid 3:63.
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Last edited by PK; 02-19-2014 at 01:35 PM.
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Old 02-19-2014, 01:37 PM   #2
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

Off the top of my head, something like Toxic Attack 1d (Accessibility, Crops Only; Area Effect) might make sense if you want the crops to die immediately. Though I could also see using Affliction (Divine Curse, Barren Land) on the earth itself, if you wanted something more spooky and long-lasting.
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Old 02-19-2014, 03:47 PM   #3
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

Convert Bless Plants to a power and then invert the effect?
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Old 02-19-2014, 04:16 PM   #4
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anders View Post
There's a spell in a system I'm converting that causes crop failure. How do I translate that to a power, to fit it into the Sorcery system from Pyramid 3:63.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PK View Post
Off the top of my head, something like Toxic Attack 1d (Accessibility, Crops Only; Area Effect) might make sense if you want the crops to die immediately. Though I could also see using Affliction (Divine Curse, Barren Land) on the earth itself, if you wanted something more spooky and long-lasting.
I might do something like...

Blight
Basic Cost: 23 points (or more).
Casting Roll: None (Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim).
Duration: Five minutes.


You can curse a area so that any crops (cultivated fields, orchards, etc. - not wild greenery) within it sicken and die. All affected plants suffer 1d-2 points of Toxic damage when this ability is used and another 1d-2 damage every hour thereafter until twenty hours have passed. What's more, this "magical blight" is highly contagious and if any affected plant matter comes into contact with unaffected flora they must make a HT roll (plants have a HT of 11; use the rules on p. B443); failure means they are affected as well and can go on to spread the contagion to other fields.
The basic (23-point) version of this spell lets you create a blight in up to a four-yard radius. Every additional 4 points doubles this radius: eight yards for 27 points, sixteen yards for 31 points, and so on. You may always choose to affect a smaller area.

Statistics: Toxic Attack 1d-2 (Accessibility, Crops only, -10%; Area Effect, 4 yards, +100%; Cyclic, 24 cycles, 1-hour cycle, Highly contagious, +530%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%; Magical, -10%; Persistent, +40%; Variable, Area, +5%) [23]. Improved versions add Area Effect (+50%/level).

Which means that most grains (6 HP, DR 0) are dead within 3 hours and the hardiest of vegetables (12 HP, DR 1) are dead within 12 hours. It'll even make small berry bushes (39 HP, DR 1) very sick and rotting.
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Last edited by Christopher R. Rice; 02-20-2014 at 06:11 AM.
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Old 02-19-2014, 06:05 PM   #5
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

Is there a version of Control that affects plants? perhaps under 'natural phenomenon'?

attacking the plants just doesn't seem right, and sets the basis for some very nasty effects later on: what happens when this power is applied to say ... people. you can wipe out the bandit camp with a single attack. And better targeting actually costs LESS.
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Old 02-19-2014, 07:06 PM   #6
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

Quote:
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Off the top of my head, something like Toxic Attack 1d (Accessibility, Crops Only; Area Effect) might make sense if you want the crops to die immediately. Though I could also see using Affliction (Divine Curse, Barren Land) on the earth itself, if you wanted something more spooky and long-lasting.
I'm not sure he needs the plants to die immediately. He just needs them to fail at some point before harvest, which can probably work very well as a gradual effect.
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Old 02-19-2014, 08:14 PM   #7
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

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I'm not sure he needs the plants to die immediately. He just needs them to fail at some point before harvest, which can probably work very well as a gradual effect.
You could still use Ghost Dancers write up, just change the cycle time and possibly the number of cycles. Instead of hourly make it daily or monthly for a more gradual effect. Maybe apply Onset or Trigger to make it start after you have left the area.
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Old 02-20-2014, 05:54 AM   #8
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

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Is there a version of Control that affects plants? perhaps under 'natural phenomenon'?
Actually, I cover this in A Song of Many Worlds (see Pyramid #3/00: World-Hopping, p. 16) and Lord of Your Own Domain (see Pyramid #3/63: Infinite Worlds II, p. 13) with a new Enhancement for Control and Create: Vital Creation/Manipulation. If you can only effect living plant matter, it's a +0% enhancement. If you can affect dead and living plant matter, it's a +100% enhancement. A theoretical alternate build might look something like: Create Crops (Destruction only, +0%; Vital Manipulation, +0%) [10/level] - but that feels too expensive for just killing plants off.

I went with a 24-hour cycle because most of the literature I've read about witches' curses affecting crops tends to kill them within a day or so or just renders the land barren. So basically - it's fast or "permanent" - I suppose if you wanted to simulate the killing of trees or larger plant life you'd need to perform the spell again or have a more damaging version.

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attacking the plants just doesn't seem right, and sets the basis for some very nasty effects later on: what happens when this power is applied to say ... people. you can wipe out the bandit camp with a single attack. And better targeting actually costs LESS.
So there are no disease-causing spells in your campaign then? Because, basically - this is exactly what that is. It's a magical plague, but for plants. I see nothing wrong with being able to afflict a highly contagious disease on your foes and then wait it out until they're so sick they can't do anything to stop you. That's classic black magic right there - right up there with causing crops to wither and die or livestock to fail to produce.
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Old 02-20-2014, 05:59 AM   #9
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

Yes, I thought about a toxic attack as well... I like it, but I want to explore other possibilities as well.

Could Create w. Transform change the very soil to barren soil?

GD, won't the plants have DR? At least woody plants?
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Old 02-20-2014, 06:10 AM   #10
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: Sorcery - Crop Failure power

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Yes, I thought about a toxic attack as well... I like it, but I want to explore other possibilities as well.
Okay, but you're not going to get quite a more effective "bang for your buck" then a Toxic Attack for that specific purpose.

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Could Create w. Transform change the very soil to barren soil?
I don't see why not, it would be "Control Dirt/Soil" I think and would cost the same as the above Control Crops. Each level would allow you to make the soil that much more toxic to plant life with level 10 allowing for something like sowing the fields with salt.

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GD, won't the plants have DR? At least woody plants?
For most crops I think it would be 0 - but yes, I forgot to take that into account. I'll adjust above. It should still kill most plants within 24 hours though.
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