Projectile shield

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

So, is there a spell that acts as some kind of forcefield against projectiles, giving DR against them?

The reason why the spell only protects against projectiles is that it only protects against light objects because if it protected against heavy ones it would repel the ground making it harder to walk on it.

Would the existence of such force field spells justify widespread use of melee weapons in the military if each and every soldier could reasonably be equipped with one (objects replicating spells are widespread) but the DR it provided was semi-ablative, turning melee into a high risk/high reward option into battle, just in case the soldiers need to make a charge or the enemy makes one? What if the shield could be recharged using the life force of a soldier in an emergency (using HP to regen the DR because the immediate loss is less than being vulnerable to guns again)?

Thanks!

[Maz]

What sort of society are we talking about? What TL? Is this fantasy or modern with guns?

With widespread forcefield spells, are there other spells?

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

Originally Posted by Maz

What sort of society are we talking about? What TL? Is this fantasy or modern with guns?

With widespread forcefield spells, are there other spells?

TL 10 with FTL interstellar travel depending on paranormal abilities, anyone with the IQ (as in the stat) high enough can learn magic, roughly 20% of the population are "natural" psionics, and anyone who went through "psi awakening training" (which includes total sensory deprivation, being suspended in a tank of water with nontoxic antifreeze at -10°C while wires directly stimulate several pain zones in the brain, non-lethal suffocation, and other forms of torture just since a psi awakening if you are not born with psi abilities relies on intense stress so it's either life or death situations on the battlefield or literal torture which awakens your abilities) can then use psionics, with Superfine Vibroblade available but no monowire blades, gauss weapons that can draw on the life force of the user to power itself up should the power cell run out, and most non-superscience TL 10 tech available (drones being technically available, but due to technomancers (mages with magical affinity for technology) being able to easily hack them they're not used often).

The most widespread spells are lightning spells (for powering electrical devices), healing and shielding spells, and various offensive spells in the form of grenades and defensive/utility spells in the form of modules (electronic device with power stone) since there is a war going on, but if you really wanted to you could copy just about any spell

[Maz]

With both magic and TL:10, I think your well into the area of "you can do whatever gives you the result you want - and just explain it with 'magic' or 'science'.".

So I would personally be more interested in looking at how it works re. gameplay rather than logi.



So, it grants Ablative DR (It should probably be Hardened). That only works against fastmoving light projectiles. As long as the DR is enough that a person can take several solid hits from the gaussguns then yea, melee might be a good option. You wouldn't even need vibro-blades if the forcefield doesn't work against melee weapons at all.

How does the shield work with regards to explosions? Because indirect fire might be much more preferable if it ignores the shield.


To make the setting make some sense, force-fields should probably not be available to just about anyone. So your average criminal/terrorist/mercenary would not have it. Only the military (and maybe only elite groups). This is to make sure guns still makes sense as a weapon at all.



Side note: Probably someone would try to invent (or already have) "shield breaker" ammo that combine some magic with guns to make them break through the forcefields... but could be extremely rare/illegal/expensive... or just not exist. ... or be a plot at some point.

[Kromm]

Start with the Armor spell, which costs 2 energy per level of DR (maximum DR 5) against everything, and note that Missile Shield provides total protection against projectiles for a mere 5 energy. For an anti-missile spell that "just" offers DR to be attractive in the context of these two things, you'd have to allow a high DR per energy point. If you're strict about it being useless against melee attacks, energy attacks, falls, collisions with anything heavier than a bullet, and massive projectiles, and the DR is semi-ablative, it's easy to justify high DR per energy point. Something like this would pass muster in my campaigns:

Projectile Shield

Regular

Adds to the Damage Resistance of the subject, but only against projectiles that weigh 5 lbs. or less. It has no effect on melee attacks (punches, slams, swords, etc.) or energy attacks (like beam weapons, flamethrowers, and for the purpose of this spell, all Missile spells), nor does it work against collisions, falls, or other situations where the subject is effectively the projectile.

This DR is semi-ablative: Every 10 points of basic damage rolled removes one point of DR, regardless of whether the attack penetrates DR. As long as any DR remains, however, the caster can "heal" this by paying 1 energy per TL/2 (round up) points of DR restored. This cost is never reduced by high skill.

DR from this spell is treated for all purposes like DR from armor, and is cumulative with that from actual armor.

Duration: 1 minute.
Cost: 1 energy per TL/2 (round up) added to the subject's Damage Resistance, to a maximum of 5 energy. Half that to maintain.
Prerequisite: Shield.

In a classic fantasy campaign with nominal TL3, this would give DR 2 per energy point, so 1-5 energy would grant DR 2-10, whereas Armor costs 2-10 energy for DR 1-5. It would be four times as effective against nearly all low-tech missile weapons and thrown weapons. Most people would prefer Missile Shield, but the ability to maintain DR 4 for free all the time at skill 15 would be tempting. I can't see it breaking the game.

In a futuristic fantasy campaign with TL10, this would give DR 5 per energy point, so 1-5 energy would grant DR 5-25, which is now 10 times as efficient as Armor. It would work against all bullets, gyrocs, and needles, and in fact just about anything lighter than a tank cannon shell or guided missile. Missile Shield would remain superior for those who can afford it, but now the "all day, every day" DR at modest skill is 10. I still can't see it breaking the game.

If it seems too weak, consider going to full TL per energy point, both for casting and healing. In low-tech fantasy, that's DR 3-15 for 1-5 energy, and people will walk around maintaining DR 6 for free all the time; it amounts to a way to stop ordinary arrows, and Missile Shield is still more tempting. In the higher-tech game, you'll be looking at DR 10-50, with maintaining DR 20 for free being common. If the weapons are deadly enough, it's probably balanced.

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

Thanks for the heads' up.

Though total protection against projectiles would be really too much (tanking direct hit from a tank shell doesn't fit my vision of the universe), so missile shield doesn't exist in my setting. Thanks again!