[Sorcery] Innate Attack-based Cleaning Spell

[Celti]

I've been using and love The Power of Sorcery from Pyramid #3/63, p. 4–10. However, statting up some utility spells as advantages can get a little awkward.

The one I'm struggling with right now is a cleaning spell. What I have:

Corrosion Attack 0d+1 (Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Accessibility, only mundane contaminants, stains, and vermin, -XX%; No DR Reduction, -20%; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -10%; Magical, -10%) [?].

What's a fair price for that Accessibility? It's going to be pretty significant, considering the vast majority of things you'd want to destroy aren't covered by it. I'm envisioning it destroying dirt, blood and bloodstains, fleas and lice (but not monstrous or magical insects) — perhaps even drying out a garment by destroying the water trapped in the weave.

-40%? -60%? -80%? I could justify any of those to myself, but can't decide.

[Varyon]

I wouldn't bother with an Innate Attack - the ability to rapidly and perfectly clean something up seems like a Perk to me, and with it having Magical and Costs FP I'd say it's most certainly Perk territory.

[Celti]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I wouldn't bother with an Innate Attack - the ability to rapidly and perfectly clean something up seems like a Perk to me, and with it having Magical and Costs FP I'd say it's most certainly Perk territory.

I'd agree with you, except you can't stack half a dozen levels of Area Effect on a perk to clean an entire castle at once as a simultaneous show of goodwill and demonstration of might. ^_^

[Walrus]

Destroying things, not characters, is usually built as Create (Destruction only) from Powers. It has built-in limitation of affecting only inanimate objects. Though you still has to evaluate the breadth of category.
Don't forget to add Selective Area. And decide in advance, whether Dirt, Dust and Mud Elementals and Golems are animate or inanimate for this ability.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Celti

I'd agree with you, except you can't stack half a dozen levels of Area Effect on a perk to clean an entire castle at once as a simultaneous show of goodwill and demonstration of might. ^_^

In that case, first off go with Burning with No Incendiary Effect (-20%), because you're really overpaying with Corrosion. So, before Area Effect and the kind-of-not-wounding Limitation, you're looking at a cost of [0.9]. That Limitation is in line with the Temporary (Instantaneous) Wounding modifier I worked up previously, as presumably it only affects vermin that it kills outright, so you're looking at at least -50%, which is going to cancel out the 2 yard Area Effect.

Overall, it's a base [1.5] (call it [2]) ability with a bunch of stuff that changes it to [1], and it starts out affecting a 2 yard radius. Each additional level of Area Effect costs an additional [1], so one that clears a 128-yard radius costs [7].

[Celti]

Originally Posted by Varyon

In that case, first off go with Burning with No Incendiary Effect (-20%), because you're really overpaying with Corrosion.

Corrosion has the special effect of "If it's reduced to -10×HP, it's gone". Burning leaves behind ash (or dust, with No Incendiary Effect). It's not too much of a difference, though.

Originally Posted by Varyon

So, before Area Effect and the kind-of-not-wounding Limitation, [...]

I hadn't thought of it in terms of No Wounding. That's making -40% (-60% if you include No DR Reduction) sound quite good, as it's marginally better than having absolutely no effect (which -70% would).

Originally Posted by Varyon

[...]you're looking at a cost of [0.9]. That Limitation is in line with the Temporary (Instantaneous) Wounding modifier I worked up previously, as presumably it only affects vermin that it kills outright, so you're looking at at least -50%, which is going to cancel out the 2 yard Area Effect.

Hm. 1 HP of damage is more than enough to destroy all but the thickest mud, so basing it off Temporary Wounding like that is interesting. Definitely something to ponder...

[Christopher R. Rice]

Why aren't you just afflicting a perk? Just do Affliction (Advantage, Shtick (Always Clean), +10%) and go from there? You'll need to add Sorcery modifiers, of course.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

Why aren't you just afflicting a perk? Just do Affliction (Advantage, Shtick (Always Clean), +10%) and go from there? You'll need to add Sorcery modifiers, of course.

Probably because that costs a lot more. My suggestion ended up - while overcharging a bit - at a total of [1] per level of Area Effect the ability has. With Magical and Costs 1 FP (which could be dropped, as -5% doesn't change the price at all here), your suggestion costs [10], and a building resists with a roll against HT+SM (a typical building might be HT 10, while a fortress or castle is probably HT 12). So, for the same price as the ability to affect a 1024-yard radius with my version, your version would let the character affect a typical two-story house (SM+6 or so) around one time every 50 attempts.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Probably because that costs a lot more. My suggestion ended up - while overcharging a bit - at a total of [1] per level of Area Effect the ability has. With Magical and Costs 1 FP (which could be dropped, as -5% doesn't change the price at all here), your suggestion costs [10], and a building resists with a roll against HT+SM (a typical building might be HT 10, while a fortress or castle is probably HT 12). So, for the same price as the ability to affect a 1024-yard radius with my version, your version would let the character affect a typical two-story house (SM+6 or so) around one time every 50 attempts.

I don't know - modifying Innate Attack to clean the house feels wrong to me. It's like getting a jackhammer to remove a weed in the crack of your concrete patio.

[Dwarf99]

Originally Posted by Celti

I'd agree with you, except you can't stack half a dozen levels of Area Effect on a perk to clean an entire castle at once as a simultaneous show of goodwill and demonstration of might. ^_^

Cosmic +100% (which is the cheat level of cosmic) "Can stack modifiers onto this perk". Shorten that to "not a perk" and you have an ability you can add Area Effect levels to.

It'll take 8 extra points before you're paying an ability cost other than 1 point, and you don't have to take it if you don't want, but it seems like the most obvious way to get around something annoying to me. And of course there's the fact that there are now canonical examples of "leveled perks"