Help with these Fantasy spells
 

OK, these are some of the spells I'm working on to include in my upcoming fantasy campaign. Please tell me if they are too powerful, flawed, not powerful enough, and how you would change/improve them. Thanks!

Slow Consumption (Necromancy) Regular
Caster absorbs the life force of the victim to use for himself. The victim must be helpless for the spell to work. For the next 24 hours after the spell is cast, the caster doesn’t suffer any penalties for starvation or dehydration, and recovers fatigue at [twice the normal rate??]. The victim, however, does not heal naturally during this time period, and takes 1 point of damage. As long as the caster touches the victim once per day, and maintains the spell, he gains all the benefits listed above. If the caster is unable to touch the victim after a 24–hour period has elapsed, the spell ceases. If the victim expires due to damage the spell also ends.
Duration: until victim dies or spell ceases.
Cost: 8, 3 to maintain
Casting time: 10 minutes.
Prerequisite: Magery 2 and Steal Energy.

Bestow wounds (Necromancy) Melee
Wreathes the caster’s hand in black flames. The first target struck after this spell is cast suffers 1d of toxic damage for every two points of energy the caster puts into the spell (max 3D6). The caster is simultaneously healed for the amount of damage caused divided by 3 (round down). Armor does not protect, but natural DR does.
Duration: instantaneous
Cost: 2 to 6.
Casting Time: 1 round
Prerequisite: Magery 2 and Steal Vitality

Hurl Weapon (Movement) Regular
When cast upon a thrown weapon (only), the weapon will return to the thrower’s hand afterwards if it misses a target when thrown. The weapon will appear in the thrower’s hand at the beginning of his next turn; this cannot be prevented. If the thrower no longer wishes to use the throwing weapon he must drop or sheathe it. Once any weapon with this spell successfully strikes a target (even an unintended one, such as when the thrown weapon misses the thrower’s intended target and hits someone else in the line of fire), the spell ends.
Duration: 60 rounds or until weapon hits a target.
Cost: 3. Same cost to maintain.
Casting time: 2 rounds.
Prerequisites: Magery 2 and Apportation.

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

3 fatigue per day is pretty cheap, given the rate of fatigue recovery,even without your double speed effect. But the benefits aren't going to come into effect period unless the caster deprives himself of food or drink or somehow knows in advance he's going to be kept from food and water.

I'd suggest the caster steals a fixed number of hp & fp from the victim per day of immunity, drop the maintenence (has to go back & recast it for more, one victim at a time) and has an unfortunate side effect: Until the energy is used up or the caster ends the spell ahead of time for the standard fatigue cost, the caster suffers 1d+2 imp of backlash damage to a randomly rolled body part. Armor is bypassed, actual body DR applies.

He does NOT want to see The Vitals or Brain come up. That would be very painful. Not that the normal 6 to 16 pts of injury a no body DR character will take can be laughed at...

Nothing wrong here AFAICT. If I were inclined to throw evil necromancers at my PCs, (ahem <innocent look>) I'd consider using this spell.

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

What is the ultimate purpose of this spell? Is it to have a necromatic themed 'monk's banquet', a prerequisite for the bestow wounds spell?

As it stands I don't think this spell serves much purpose, even with the double fatigue regen, outside perhaps a torture method.

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

Hmmmm...I hadn't thought that through. I was thinking more of the extra healing/fatigue aspect without having to do much after the spell was cast.

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

Well how about:

Slow Consumption (Necromancy) Regular
Caster tethers the life force of the victim to use for himself. The victim must be helpless for the spell to work. For the next 24 hours so long as the caster does not get beyond <skill * 2> meters from the subject the caster need not, sleep, eat, or even breathe. The victim, however, does not heal naturally, suffers from 'low pain threshold', requires four times the regular food, water, and air during this time period, and takes 1 point of damage every 4 hours. As well, at any distance, should the caster die while this spell is in effect, the victim dies instead (all benefits are lost, and it does not remove what caused the death if say it was because the caster was reduced to -3xHT damage, the caster is still at -3xht damage) As long as the caster touches the victim once per day, and maintains the spell, he gains all the benefits listed above. If the caster is unable to touch the victim after a 24–hour period has elapsed, the spell ceases. If the victim expires due to damage the spell also ends.
Duration: until victim dies or spell ceases.
Cost: 8, 3 to maintain
Casting time: 10 minutes.
Prerequisite: Magery 2 and Steal Energy.

Now a necromancer who's busy studying/enchanting to become a lich has a reason to have a few victims in chains in the dungeon right next to his laboratory, and the evil wizard can tether himself to the hero's loved one in order to extort favours.

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

I would not allow these spells as written in my campaign. However, "Rule 0" applies and if the GM allows it, it's OK. That said, how about:

Steal Sustenance(Necromantic) Regular
This spell draws sustenance from the target to the caster, providing nutrition as if the caster had eaten a meal and drank water. The target can be any creature that is remotely similar to the caster, i.e., a cow, an elf, a Martian, but not an elemental, undead or demon (unless the caster is one of those things). A successful casting means that the caster does not need to eat one meal to avoid starvation and drink for 8 hours to aviod dehydration. If the caster has already missed meals and has lost FP due to starvation or FP and HP due to dehydration, one FP and one HP is regained of starvation/dehydration loss. This spell may be recast to regain multiple FP or HP lost to starvation or dehydration, but cannot otherwise benefit a caster more frequently than a meal or water is needed. Thus, a mage cannot cast this spell twelve times in order to not eat or drink for four days. The target loses one FP and one HP that can only be regained with rest, food and water, just as if the target had missed a meal and not had enough water for 8 hours (see B426).
Duration: Instant
Cost: 6, cannot be maintained
Time to Cast: 1 minute
Prerequisite: Magery 2, Steal Vitality
Item: Staff, wand or gloves, usable only by mages. Energy cost to create:1500.

Vampiric Strike (Necromantic, Body Control)Melee
The caster must strike the target to activate this spell. Hit location is not relevant and armor does not protect. The subject takes 1d of injury for every 3 energy put into this spell. The caster is healed 1 HP per 3 full HP of damage sustained by the target. This spell does not affect undead.
Cost: 3 to 9
Prerequisite: Steal Vitality, Deathtouch

Hurl Weapon (Movement) Regular
As per the Winged Knife spell, but the weapon also returns to the thrower. The weapon has Move 12 and will avoid obstacles and creatures, otherwise taking the straightest path to return. Attempts to catch the weapon while returning require a successful DX-4 check when it passes within reach. The weapon will continue to attempt to return to the original thrower for 3d seconds after being caught, during which time attempts to fight with it are at -4 to skill.
Cost: 1 per pound of the weapon's weight. Double cost for a weapon that is not normally thrown.
Prerequisite: Winged Weapon.
Item: None, but see Loyal Sword (M63).

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you allow them? I'm asking as someone who's never GM'd GURPS before.

Also, your versions of these spells look pretty good to me!

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

Quote:
Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you allow them? I'm asking as someone who's never GM'd GURPS before.

They just felt out of balance for the kind of game I like to run. For instance, the Slow Consumption spell combines the effects of two other spells: Monk's Banquet and Recover Energy, for the same energy cost as just Monk's Banquet. Though I realize Recover Energy has no cost, the caster would effectively be getting that spell free for 1 day - and doubled if he already has Recover Energy. Add to that the debilitating effects and damage to the target and I felt that it was a bit too much. The Bestow Wounds likewise effectively combined two spells: Deathtouch and Minor Healing. Although the energy cost is roughly the same (depending on the damage roll), you get two effects with one casting instead of having to cast two seperate spells - most likely while in combat, when time is at a premium. Also, the healing provided does not suffer the cumulative -3 penalty for healing the same being repeatedly. That alone is worth a significant increase in the enrgy cost, though it could be mitigated by the fact that the caster can only heal himself (though the use of Share Vitality can easily overcome this limitation). Third is the Hurl Weapon spell which, upon a second reading I think that perhaps it is fine as written. I misread it initially as both launching the weapon and returning it, though I see now that it simply returns a weapon after it has been thrown. A 1 minute duration that is expended after a single return for that cost seems fair to me. One thing I would change in that spell description: the words "this cannot be prevented." I think it would be better to avoid absolutes. Make things very difficult if you like, with large penalties and such, but not impossible. I applied the stats for Loyal Sword when I wrote my suggested changes, as I think they are appropriate here. Only if a divine entity or something of that caliber is taking a direct hand will I make something flat-out impossible. As in, "Thor's hammer returns to his hand, this cannot be prevented." That's just my opinion, though, and I reiterate, if the GM allows the spells because he (or you, if you're the GM) feels they don't unbalance the game, go for it.

Also, as a note regarding the use of spells as a threat to Dependents, some spells come to mind immediately. Specifically I'd look at Malefice, Ensorcel, Lesser Geas, Great Geas and Enslave - all in Magic - since it seems you were looking for a slow, subtle threat rather than an overt one. Certainly there are creative uses for other spells that will fit the bill, too.

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

I feel you are missing some of the requirements and counting them as additional bonuses with regard to the first spell. The victim must be defenseless and restrained for ten minutes- more then 'if I wanted them dead they'd be dead' or 'if I wanted them injured, even in very specific ways, they'd be injured' time, so looking at the damage done as a penalty is not correct- it's an additional requirement consideration that prevents the spell from being used on the same victim indefinitely- it means that the necromancer who uses this magic is going to have a few victims in chains in their basement; with my version it could literally be dozens (so that the necromancer can float 4 extra death checks at once on days they are feeling extra paranoid). The issue with all of the alternative spells you have listed is- they end when the caster dies, likely the exact sort of scenario that a caster might want to avoid when they have access to a hero's loved one, but not the hero- it basically becomes a spell that allows you to effect another indirectly through proxy. Of course it's actual effectiveness SHOULD be compared to those spells, and outside of the specific situation outlined any of those spells would be a superior choice to cast on your bound captive victim.

The second spell already cost twice as much as deathtouch (which costs 1 point per die of damage) and on most die rolls will heal less efficiently and severely then a major healing, but better then a minor one. It is also much more obvious then deathtouch (which does not wreath the caster's hand in black flames).

The third spell is basically winged knife+one shot loyal sword- which is to say; the same effect COULD be achieved with an enchantment, this is just a 'cast on the fly version'; the cost may be a bit low but it does not seem to break anything outright.

Re: Help with these Fantasy spells
 

Thanks for the input, starslayer! So what price would you put on the Hurl Weapon spell?