The Spell Pull

[Jerander]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

If the PC was at the center of the Pull effect and he was firing a gun directly out we could easilly write-off they whole thing as negligable. The missile is in range of the spell for far less than 1 second and the effect is only to slow it to a trivial degree.

The slower the missile the more the effect but as long as the spell is only pulling along the axis of flight the effect is still only to slow it down somewhat.

The speed of a Missile Spell is probalby equal to its' Max Range at a minimum so I would at most take 1 yard off that Max Range in this axial siituation.

It's when you fire physical missiles and Missile Spells _across_ the area of effect of the Pull that things get hairy. There should be _some_ lateral pull disrupting accuracy to _some_ extent, but exactly how much becomes complicated.

This is the route I'd likely have gone. Shorten the range by ST of the Pull or add a -x (where "x" is the ST of the Pull) to the chances to hit.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Jerander

This is the route I'd likely have gone. Shorten the range by ST of the Pull or add a -x (where "x" is the ST of the Pull) to the chances to hit.

This is one of the other goofy/dysfuntional things about the way the spell is written.

The spell has a "ST" but that only determines _what_ it can Pull towards its' center of effect and not hos _fast_ it does it.

No matter how strong a Pulll Spell is though, it never Pulls any faster. The Move imposed is always 1 yard/second.

[hal]

Originally Posted by Hippiechild

Just a quick question. An instance came up in our game tonight in which our GM used the spell Pull. My mage, seeing this as but an irritation, let the pull affect him, thinking that he could still cast either of his missile spells (ice Sphere or Spider silk)out of the Pull area. This is where the conundrum occurred. We got into a heated debate on the effects of Pull on a Missile Spell. In our (the other players opinion) we felt that because the missile is but a magical manifestation of a substance it was unnaffescted by the spell. The GM thought differently, believeing that the spell affects missile spells also. As a matter of opinion, who is right?

Ok, having taken the time to look at the spell "Pull" on page 146 of GURPS MAGIC, and reading it with a critical eye...

The spell pulls ALL objects. Now for the bad news...

It has been stated, that if you toss a magical missile into a no mana zone, the missile itself remains in existence despite the loss of mana. That in turn, implies that the missile itself, while formed as a result of magic, remains a physical object. The analogy would be that of using the spell "Create Ice" with a duration of instant (ie the ice remains in existance even after the spell ends, and even if the ice were to enter into a no mana zone).

Not to be mean, but were I the GM (hmmm, come to think of it, I am the GM for my group <g>) I would rule the same way your GM did. ;)

Now, if you were talking about fireballs, then I'd be more inclined towards allowing a little more lee-way here, simply because the fireball concept is nebulous at best. ;)