Five New Practical Magic Spells

[Rick_Smith]

Originally Posted by The Wyzard

Is there a spell that would undo just burning the thing? Because I'm having trouble imagining spending an IQ point for a spell when you can just throw a document into a fire, or tear it up, or eat it I guess. ...

Hi Wizard, everyone.
Paper is expensive historically, and parchment is even more so. I see the main use for this spell is spending a bit of fatigue ST to make a page clean. A scribe might well make good money reusing old bills of lading and other scrap paper.

And the spell might occasionally be useful to get rid of a document quickly. (Parchment is actually fairly tough.)

Warm regards, Rick.

[JLV]

Originally Posted by David Bofinger

Hard to imagine very many people will learn to Delete Writing. I presume it also erases drawings, paintings, etc.?

I'd imagine it erases scrolls and books, so magic users might well learn it to prevent others from using them.

[ak_aramis]

Assay: IQ 14, 1 St. The castor picks a coin or billet of metal, and touches it, knowing what the ratio is of one metal within. The caster must pick which metal; it will reveal as a ratio of that metal to all other metals in the item.

@guy consider this errata to my submitted article.

[Chris Goodwin]

Originally Posted by luguvalium

Do "germs" as we know them exist on Cidri? Germ Theory is only 150 years old on Earth before that diseases, fermentation, etc could have just as easily been explained as magic.

In my version of Cidri, they do...

[Steve Jackson]

Good comments!

Designer's intent is that microorganisms exist whether they are understood or not, but the spell was probably the outcome of experiments in "making food better" rather than "encouraging tiny beasties" - it is not intended to cause disease. Certainly if I ever wanted to write Five Downright Evil Spells, PLAGUE would be a good one. I have drafted AMPUTATION but am not happy with it yet. But I digress.

I bet if there is not an ASSAY spell out there, the Dwarves are researching it right now.

It may be that professional calligraphers need an erasure spell more than anyone! Though . . . Fire is overt and can be hard to control. If you want to eliminate one piece of writing among hundreds, the spell would have its advantages.

I am willing to edit the base rules to say that a wizard can use all his summoned creature's senses - if I do that, what blows up in my face? Tentatively: Its other senses are also available, though the wizard will not understand everything that a rat smells or a bat hears!

Yes, Pathfinder uses IQ. Edited.

[zot]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

I am willing to edit the base rules to say that a wizard can use all his summoned creature's senses - if I do that, what blows up in my face? Tentatively: Its other senses are also available, though the wizard will not understand everything that a rat smells or a bat hears!

This helps out theurges! ;)

[Chris Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Good comments!

Designer's intent is that microorganisms exist whether they are understood or not, but the spell was probably the outcome of experiments in "making food better" rather than "encouraging tiny beasties" - it is not intended to cause disease. Certainly if I ever wanted to write Five Downright Evil Spells, PLAGUE would be a good one. I have drafted AMPUTATION but am not happy with it yet. But I digress.

In my games, if a PC thinks of using the spell in the way I mentioned, I'll let them, because I think that's just too neat. (I've always been of the assumption that "medieval fantasy" folk aren't necessarily ignorant, especially wizards; those who make a career out of delving into the secrets of the universe, will most likely know "mundane" science, at least to a basic level; things like germs, combustion, lightning, and so on, won't be a complete mystery.)

[The Wyzard]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Good comments!

Designer's intent is that microorganisms exist whether they are understood or not, but the spell was probably the outcome of experiments in "making food better" rather than "encouraging tiny beasties" - it is not intended to cause disease.

This implies that a Wizard may research a spell without even remotely understanding how it works. NB: Which is not a problem! It's interesting.

Alternately: The Mnoren brought beings from all over creation. The "typical" medieval-tech-level resident of Cidri might not know what a bacterium is, but the Mnoren certainly did, and wizards in their employ might have been educated in arts and sciences from across the multiverse. The spell could have been created by those who had greater knowledge than the poor inheritors casting it now.

[Anomylous]

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Designer's intent is that microorganisms exist whether they are understood or not

My fan-theory is that no Industrial Revolution has happened on Cidri due to a lack of fossil fuels, the fact that the best and brightest tend to go into magical rather than scientific research, and possibly a lack of political stability - that sulfur-metabolizing organism that keeps firearms from being practical on a large scale probably contributes, as well.

But that doesn't mean scientific progress can't or doesn't happen. I've assumed that Physickers and Naturalists have advanced the study of biology, possibly even to early or mid 20th century-equivalent levels. So nobody bats an eye when PC's use alcohol to sterilize things, insist on digging a proper latrine away from the source of drinking water, or otherwise act in accordance with our modern understanding of sanitation.

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

Certainly if I ever wanted to write Five Downright Evil Spells, PLAGUE would be a good one.

I think you already did! Control Person, Possesion, Geas, Curse, and Word of Command: Kill would be my Top 5 Evil Spells from the AdvWizard table.

But I could probably also name Five Good Uses for PLAGUE as a Plot Device without breaking a sweat, so...

Originally Posted by Steve Jackson

I am willing to edit the base rules to say that a wizard can use all his summoned creature's senses - if I do that, what blows up in my face? Tentatively: Its other senses are also available, though the wizard will not understand everything that a rat smells or a bat hears!

Can you (or someone) clarify something? It's been a pretty standard tactic, in my group, to use small Images and/or Illusions as scouts. Illusory bats are a popular choice, as are hawks and owls, under the theory that bats can echolocate and birds of prey have good eyesight. Does the SUMMON SCOUT spell invalidate this application of Image/Illusion? (Also...does the scout mammal come from another dimension, or does the spell function more like a combination CALLING and CONTROL ANIMAL, limiting the wizard's choice of scout to whatever's in the neighborhood, but possibly explaining the low cost to maintain?)

[zot]

Originally Posted by Anomylous

Can you (or someone) clarify something? It's been a pretty standard tactic, in my group, to use small Images and/or Illusions as scouts. Illusory bats are a popular choice, as are hawks and owls, under the theory that bats can echolocate and birds of prey have good eyesight. Does the SUMMON SCOUT spell invalidate this application of Image/Illusion? (Also...does the scout mammal come from another dimension, or does the spell function more like a combination CALLING and CONTROL ANIMAL, limiting the wizard's choice of scout to whatever's in the neighborhood, but possibly explaining the low cost to maintain?)

Summon Scout is the same cost as 1-hex image, makes a physical creature, and you can maintain it more cheaply than a 1-hex image or illusion (which cost double to maintain). It doesn't sound like it invalidates that application of image/illusion as much as crush it completely :).

Seriously though, images and illusions are creations, just like summoned creatures so I'd be very surprised if it invalidates that use of image/illusion.