IQ 7 spells

[hcobb]

Of course a bug eye's view of the world would only extend to the current hex with smell and sun angle for navigation.

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by phiwum

The summoning spells (bee, mouse, etc.) are pretty cheap versions of summon scout. If you're only after a scout, a bee works at least as well as a bat, after all, and is smaller and less obvious than most mammals.

I'm pretty sure these pre-date SUMMON SCOUT by a decade or three so they probably make more sense in that context. I like the idea of lesser summons, though. Maybe you could forgo the 'senses' as Henry suggests, but replace it with the ability to send a simple message through the critter (i.e. Gandalf's moth).

[warhorse11h]

r

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

I'm pretty sure these pre-date SUMMON SCOUT by a decade or three so they probably make more sense in that context. I like the idea of lesser summons, though. Maybe you could forgo the 'senses' as Henry suggests, but replace it with the ability to send a simple message through the critter (i.e. Gandalf's moth).

Two comments. "Use them as you see fit" is the first. As to the age of them, I believe they date from 1986 or so, possibly as late as 1988. At any rate, at the time they were adapted, I honestly believed that I and the small group I was with were the only ones still playing this game. So yes, they do predate the current edition. They were actually lost to the ages until I found the notes for them and typed them up to provide to the forum.

[warhorse11h]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Really needs to be control insect that only grants movement, not senses.

Guess I left that out. In our games years ago, these summoning cantrips did not grant the senses use of the more powerful spells. They could be used to make a bee fly through the visor of a helmet and sting someone on the nose or similar uses, but you weren't going to use them as a spy.

[TippetsTX]

Originally Posted by warhorse11h

Two comments. "Use them as you see fit" is the first. As to the age of them, I believe they date from 1986 or so, possibly as late as 1988. At any rate, at the time they were adapted, I honestly believed that I and the small group I was with were the only ones still playing this game. So yes, they do predate the current edition. They were actually lost to the ages until I found the notes for them and typed them up to provide to the forum.

I think they're great... lots of cool, low-key uses. I've added a sub-set of your list to my own campaign as 100 XP spells (bearing in mind that simple starting spells like AID, BLUR, etc. only cost 250 XP in my game).

[warhorse11h]

Originally Posted by TippetsTX

I think they're great... lots of cool, low-key uses. I've added a sub-set of your list to my own campaign as 100 XP spells (bearing in mind that simple starting spells like AID, BLUR, etc. only cost 250 XP in my game).

Thank you. When I started to adapt them I was trying to find a way to give a low level wizard more utility in the old game. Wizards were a neat idea, but in a game, they could get burned out quickly and that could lead to a great many fight, rest, fight, rest, etc cycles. Spell selection could also get into a rut as well. I saw more than one wizard fire a ST 8 Fireball or ST 7 Lightning Bolt.
Low level spells that could be used to distract or otherwise mislead, alter a fight, etc without draining all of a wizard's ST were the desired outcome.

[warhorse11h]

One time, the characters were trying to get to the upstairs of a local inn. The stairs were guarded by a big bruiser of a bouncer who could have taken any of the characters. Two wizards, who had cantrips, spent a couple of evenings watching what happened in the bar. They figured out the bouncer was sweet on one of serving maids in the inn and very jealous. So they crafted a diversion to help the thief in the group get up the stairs. One of the wizards waited until the serving maid was serving a loud, boisterous table of local workers. As she was setting ale down on the table, one wizard targeted one of the workers with a wink cantrip, causing him to wink at the serving maid. The second targeted the serving maid with a "Sting" cantrip on her left hip, causing her to jump and look at the worker who was winking. Her beau, the bouncer, immediately attacked the winker and in the ensuing brouhaha, the thief snuck up the stairs to check out the offices upstairs.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by warhorse11h

Thank you. When I started to adapt them I was trying to find a way to give a low level wizard more utility in the old game. Wizards were a neat idea, but in a game, they could get burned out quickly and that could lead to a great many fight, rest, fight, rest, etc cycles. Spell selection could also get into a rut as well. I saw more than one wizard fire a ST 8 Fireball or ST 7 Lightning Bolt.
Low level spells that could be used to distract or otherwise mislead, alter a fight, etc without draining all of a wizard's ST were the desired outcome.

These spells look pretty useful for that purpose. A lot of interesting ideas.

Your tavern example was quite clever.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by warhorse11h

r

Two comments. "Use them as you see fit" is the first. As to the age of them, I believe they date from 1986 or so, possibly as late as 1988. At any rate, at the time they were adapted, I honestly believed that I and the small group I was with were the only ones still playing this game. So yes, they do predate the current edition. They were actually lost to the ages until I found the notes for them and typed them up to provide to the forum.

That IQ 7 Spell list is interesting and would have been very useful additions at the time and still may be.

Per discussions on this forum, I have found that there were many pockets of TFT playing groups well after it went out of print in the early 80's. I was in a group that played into the mid-late 90s. We added some spells. The original TFT didn't have Diamond Flesh. We added that. However, it stopped 10 hits but cost one more ST to initially case that the current Diamond Flesh spell in Legacy TFT. We came up with Unarmed Combat 6 and only had one PC character with it. It had a small advantage over UC5 but I can't remember exactly what it was. I think that it made all hexes front hexes and may have added another attack with it's own DX adj (Just trying to guess from memory here).

Most of our later encounters grew in size to larger scale battles. The game took a more militaristic turn for us. Large battles were a fun way to have both elite and beginning characters able to play on the same board without the obvious overpowering of the lesser characters. That way, just about every character that the players had could be involved.

[David Bofinger]

I wrote IQ 7 spells for Prootwaddle wizards:

IQ 7 Spells Distinctive to Prootwaddles

BIG HAIR (T, ST 3) For the next day the target's hair (wherever on body) grows at twice the normal rate. If the target does not have hair then effects are unpredictable.

CHANGE FROM FOOD (T, ST var) Places a glamor on an item of food, making it seem rotten and unwholesome. Unless the diner makes a 3/IQ roll they are likely to discard the food. The caster can then make a 2/IQ roll to remove the glamor so he can eat the food.

CHANGE TO FOOD (T, ST var) Permanently transforms an object into something a prootwaddle considers food: non-prootwaddles can take their chances. ST cost is 1 for a snack, 2 for a meal, more for larger amounts. Works especially well on precious metals. Works best if in the caster's possession and unlikely to work if the object is e.g. a sword in someone's hand being waved around.

DETECT FOOD (S, ST 2) As Detect Life (q.v.) but detects something a prootwaddle would eat. That includes things of no nutritional value which a prootwaddle can eat, food that is almost but not quite completely rotten, animals substantially smaller than a prootwaddle, etc. The caster can also search for one kind of food but the description must be given in terms a prootwaddle would understand – e.g. “The white food that is smelly.”

LITERACY (S, ST 2) Allows the caster to read and write any languages he knows, but disorders his common sense and reduces his IQ to 5. (This is very low human-style intelligence, not animal.) The spell lasts one minute: long enough to, for instance, write a slogan on his own or another prootwaddle's body. The negative effects of the spell, however, pretty much guarantee the slogan will be bizarre at best and gibberish at worst. Similarly, anything he reads will be filtered through the spell's mental derangement.

PROOT! (T, ST 1) Makes a loud “Proot! Proo-oot!” noise – louder than a prootwaddle can make. Prootwaddles find the sound reassuring. Non-prootwaddles find it irritating.

SMART (T, ST 2) Cast on a prootwaddle this spell makes it believe it is smart, and smarter than anyone else in the room. Cast on a non-prootwaddle, effects are unpredictable. Does not actually increase IQ, though some prootwaddle wizards seem to believe it does.

STINK (C, ST 3) Creates a smelly area: most intense in a megahex but detectable in a disc 7 megahexes across, centred on the principal megahex if there is no wind and displaced downwind if there is. Prootwaddles like it, everyone else finds it disgusting. Depending on circumstance may create a +1 or -1 modifier to reaction rolls. Does not affect most figures but a character with a particularly sensitive sense of smell might suffer IQ and/or DX penalty and a non-prootwaddle couldn't rest or sleep in an affected area.

SUMMON PROOTWADDLE (C, ST 1/1) Summons a prootwaddle [ST 10, DX 10, IQ 7, MA 10, carries club 1d, 1d-3 unarmed in HTH] to fight for the caster. Will misuse and/or lose any weapons or equipment the caster gives him. If the wizard fails a 2/IQ roll then he and the summoned prootwaddle will become confused about which of them is which.

IQ 7 Spells Used by Prootwaddles and Others

BLUNT WEAPON (T, ST 1) A blunt weapon does 1 point less damage. A weapon can be blunted up to 5 times, subsequent uses of the spell have no effect. Blunting is a permanent effect and can be corrected by Repair or 5 minutes with a whetstone. Ineffective against weapons that are already blunt.

FOG (C, ST 1) Fills one hex with a magical fog that somewhat obscures vision. -2 DX for missiles per hex of fog, and -2 DX if attacking into or out of it. Anyone in or entering the fog also becomes slightly damp. Lasts 12 turns, or less in wind, and immediately dispersed by a fire cast in or adjacent to its hex.

KILL RAT (T, ST 1) Causes 1 point of damage. Does get stopped by armour.

MAGIC ROCK (M, ST var) Creates and flings a magic rock to damage a single target. Does 1d-3 (minimum 0) for each ST point used to cast.

PUSH / PULL (T, ST 2/-) Victim must roll 3 vs DX, or 4 vs ST, victim's choice. If he fails he must step directly away from (for push) or toward (for pull) the caster, or fall down. (As though forced to retreat.) Can also be used to push around inanimate objects, or even friends.

SUMMON HOUSE CAT (C, ST 1/1) Summons a house cat [ST 4, DX 14, IQ 5, MA 14. 1d-2 in HTH only, -3 DX for enemies to hit it] to fight for the caster.

SUMMON VERMIN (T, ST 1/1) Summons vermin to fight for the caster: rats, vampire bats, piranhas, piranhakeets, scuttles or something similar at GM discretion. Roll one die for the number, -1 if the environment is not really suitable, -2 if highly unsuitable, -1 for vampire bats, -2 for piranhakeets, minimum 0. If the caster is not familiar with the kind of vermin he asks for then he is likely to get something a little different from the description in the rules.

THICKSKINNED (T, ST 2/1) Target's skin becomes thick and leathery, it stops 2 hits but the target suffers -1 DX.

UNREALISTIC IMAGE (C, ST 1/-) Creates a translucent 1 hex image that wouldn't normally fool anyone. Can be disbelieved on 2 vs IQ. Can be as effective, or almost as effective, as a normal Image spell in difficult seeing conditions (fog, etc.), if the creature being simulated happens to be translucent, or if the observer is a prootwaddle.