Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [Sorcery] Creating a weapon buff out of a missle spell

BoneWolf17 · 08-13-2020, 12:04 AM

Thanks for the suggestions Varyon, those are good points. Here's my new write-up of the spell:

Living Force
Keywords: None
Full Cost: 40 points/level
Casting Roll: Parry skill
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous

This spell may be cast as an immediate reaction to incoming missile spells. If the casting roll is successful and the incoming spell’s damage is less than (Living Force level) dice, the incoming spell is infused into whatever the caster used to parry with (probably either their hands or a weapon).
The next attack the caster makes with the infused weapon/hand/etc gains follow-up damage equal to the damage of the absorbed spell. For example, if the caster uses Living Force to parry an incoming fireball that deals 2d burning damage with his or her broadsword, the caster’s next attack with the broadsword will deal 2d burning follow-up damage.
The casting roll is modified by Talent and Combat Reflexes. If the caster tries to cast Living Force more than once in a turn, the casting roll takes a cumulative -4 penalty per attempt after the first within a turn. The caster rolls at -4 if stunned and cannot cast Living Force in situations where they would not get an active defense. If the casting fails, all future castings cost an additional 1 FP until the next successful casting. If the caster drops to 3 FP or less from casting Living Force, they cannot cast this spell until all FP are replenished. This spell does count as an active defense for the purpose of cumulative defense penalties and cannot be combined with other active defenses.
Note that due to requiring physical movement as part of the parry, Living Force cannot be cast without spending fatigue, and will always cost 1 FP.
Living Force can only hold one spell at a time.

Statistics: Damage Resistance 4 (Accessibility, Requires gestures, -10%; Active Defense (Parry), -45%; All-or-Nothing, -10%; Cosmic, Can change the target for Reflection, +50%; Force Field, +20%; Limited, Missile Spells, -40%; Follow-Up, +0%; Reflection, +100%; Sorcery, -15%; Triggered Delay on Reflection, +50%) [40/level]

I lowered the given DR to 4 to make the spell more scalable. It's a pretty expensive spell so the party will likely have to take more limitations on it (such as limiting uses per day) in order to bring it within their price range. They can always cast it with extra effort too. Most missile spells in the campaign don't deal more than 2d damage anyway.

08-13-2020, 12:04 AM	#12
BoneWolf17 Join Date: Jun 2014	Re: [Sorcery] Creating a weapon buff out of a missle spell Thanks for the suggestions Varyon, those are good points. Here's my new write-up of the spell: Living Force Keywords: None Full Cost: 40 points/level Casting Roll: Parry skill Range: Self Duration: Instantaneous This spell may be cast as an immediate reaction to incoming missile spells. If the casting roll is successful and the incoming spell’s damage is less than (Living Force level) dice, the incoming spell is infused into whatever the caster used to parry with (probably either their hands or a weapon). The next attack the caster makes with the infused weapon/hand/etc gains follow-up damage equal to the damage of the absorbed spell. For example, if the caster uses Living Force to parry an incoming fireball that deals 2d burning damage with his or her broadsword, the caster’s next attack with the broadsword will deal 2d burning follow-up damage. The casting roll is modified by Talent and Combat Reflexes. If the caster tries to cast Living Force more than once in a turn, the casting roll takes a cumulative -4 penalty per attempt after the first within a turn. The caster rolls at -4 if stunned and cannot cast Living Force in situations where they would not get an active defense. If the casting fails, all future castings cost an additional 1 FP until the next successful casting. If the caster drops to 3 FP or less from casting Living Force, they cannot cast this spell until all FP are replenished. This spell does count as an active defense for the purpose of cumulative defense penalties and cannot be combined with other active defenses. Note that due to requiring physical movement as part of the parry, Living Force cannot be cast without spending fatigue, and will always cost 1 FP. Living Force can only hold one spell at a time. Statistics: Damage Resistance 4 (Accessibility, Requires gestures, -10%; Active Defense (Parry), -45%; All-or-Nothing, -10%; Cosmic, Can change the target for Reflection, +50%; Force Field, +20%; Limited, Missile Spells, -40%; Follow-Up, +0%; Reflection, +100%; Sorcery, -15%; Triggered Delay on Reflection, +50%) [40/level] I lowered the given DR to 4 to make the spell more scalable. It's a pretty expensive spell so the party will likely have to take more limitations on it (such as limiting uses per day) in order to bring it within their price range. They can always cast it with extra effort too. Most missile spells in the campaign don't deal more than 2d damage anyway.