[RPM] When do I use the "Damage" spell modifier?

zeecaptain · 06-14-2015, 04:31 PM

Specifically, it says that if the spell causes damage, whether directly or indirectly, consult the spell modifiers table. I'm slightly confused as to how far the term "indirect" stretches here.

Does that mean that if I use a Greater Control Mind spell to put someone under my command, and then order that person to off themselves via jumping from the Empire State Building, I need to include the cost of doing around 17 dice of damage? If I use a number of Greater Transform Matter spells to turn load-bearing points on a tall skyscraper into air, such that the laws of physics result in the building's collapse, do I need to pay for hundreds of dice of damage as well, as well as collateral damage? If I cast a spell that accelerates any metal that passes through a defined area by 5 m/s, line hundreds of these spells up along a single line, and toss in a penny, do I get a pseudo-railgun or do I have to pay energy for damage somewhere? If I use Greater Destroy Body to inflict a 1-month Terminal Illness on someone, do I pay for damage?

Based on some of the examples given in the RPM book, I'm inclined to think that the answer is "no" for all those scenarios. But that could also be my inner munchkin talking, so...

06-14-2015, 04:31 PM	#1
zeecaptain Join Date: Mar 2013	[RPM] When do I use the "Damage" spell modifier? Specifically, it says that if the spell causes damage, whether directly or indirectly, consult the spell modifiers table. I'm slightly confused as to how far the term "indirect" stretches here. Does that mean that if I use a Greater Control Mind spell to put someone under my command, and then order that person to off themselves via jumping from the Empire State Building, I need to include the cost of doing around 17 dice of damage? If I use a number of Greater Transform Matter spells to turn load-bearing points on a tall skyscraper into air, such that the laws of physics result in the building's collapse, do I need to pay for hundreds of dice of damage as well, as well as collateral damage? If I cast a spell that accelerates any metal that passes through a defined area by 5 m/s, line hundreds of these spells up along a single line, and toss in a penny, do I get a pseudo-railgun or do I have to pay energy for damage somewhere? If I use Greater Destroy Body to inflict a 1-month Terminal Illness on someone, do I pay for damage? Based on some of the examples given in the RPM book, I'm inclined to think that the answer is "no" for all those scenarios. But that could also be my inner munchkin talking, so...