Monday, January 6, 2014

A&A School of Magic: Transmutation

Transmutation

Super Science in your School of Magic

When I was devising spell lists I wanted to keep Enchantment and Transmutation very distinct from one another.  I decided that Transmutation would mean physical alterations whereas Enchantment would deal more with stupendous changes often affecting the target's mind while trying to avoid stepping on the toes of PSI.  Canopied Caboose is levitation whereas Whimsied Flight involves a change in density.  The spells below for the most part deal with changing an objects physical parameters, volume, density, viscosity, and in the case of Vaporize and Disintegration we're dealing with localized high speed energy deposition blast waves and atomic fission.  Super Science in your school of magic.



Cantrips

  • Feldoon’s Curious Ever-Expanding Bubble
    •  The caster and any friends nearby find themselves in a large bubble that is lazily drifting upwards.  The bubble continues to expand in size which as a result propels it further upward at a leisurely pace.  Remember that this is a mostly ordinary bubble and when it is constrained or otherwise punctured it will pop giving those within a date with unforgiving gravity.
  • Liam’s Slippery Restraints
    • Only a fool forgets to silence a wizard.  With a few hushed words the magic-user finds their skin extra oily, their wrists and ankles slightly thinner enough to easily slip out of manacles, bonds, stockades, ropes or other manner of man-catching device.
      • Some Intrepid Magic Users have been able to appropriate this spell for the simplest of locks in a jail cell.
  • Reconstruction
    •  In the labs of the alchemist and the workshop of the wizard few things remain whole for long.  This simple spell can put together a simple object back in working order, reassembling scattered pieces and broken mechanisms.  A more complicated object will not be restore perfectly, a book may be missing pages, a watch may be missing gears and a lock may be missing tumblers.
Lesser

  • Vaporize                                                                                   Save Diminishes: Reflexes
    • A small object near the caster sees a rapid influx of ambient energy and that provided by the magic-user.  This rapid energy deposition vaporizes the small object creating a localized impulse shock.  Those holding or wearing an object have a brief window to hurl it away before the ticking time bomb hits zero.  If they are not quick enough then they lower their lowest HD.  Magic items target in this way have a bad habit of releasing a magical mishap on the caster.  
    • There will unfortunately be no earth shattering kaboom.
  • Mwu’s Unfailing Remedy
    • Despite being the best swoop rider in the kingdom Mwu had an untenable drinking problem.  Rather than curb his drinking he turned alcohol into his greatest asset.  This spell transforms the a bottle of booze into powerful cure, the more potent the alcohol the more powerful the cure.  The weakest beer becomes the perfect hangover cure, the stronger spirit have been known to cure poison and the acrid stuff that turns a man blind has been known to cure petrification, paralysis and weak knees.
  • Edgar’s Formula for Inscrutable Decrepit Reinforcement
    •  This alchemic transformation drastically improves the sturdiness of a frail and feeble object without altering it's appearance for a limited time period.  Barrel lids become the most stalwart of shields, a crumbling wall becomes an impressive bulwark and flimsy rope bridges suddenly make for safe travel provide the caster and comrades have some hustle left.  
  • Ricocheting Surface
    • A curious charm with a straightforward name, when applied to wall, shield or other flat surface any missile weapon or beam of energy that strikes it immediately ricochets at an arbitrary angle without losing any energy of the initial projectile.  Assuming the flat surface is at the 0-180° line and moving in 45° increments roll a d6 to determine where the projectile ricochets.  1 = 0°, 2= 45°, 3=90° straight back at the firing source, 4=135°, 5=180°, 6=GM's choice. 
  • Whiskers of Whimsied Flight
    •  All ancient Wizards have a beard some have turned theirs into the most excellent of utilities.  Flapping like a bird their beard carries them aloft and often with a mind of it's own preferring aerial acrobatics to bombing runs.  The spell can allow you to cross small distances but never more than a mile before it's magic fades and the caster's body is no longer lighter-than-air prompting an emergency beard landing.
    • Those without grizzly facial hair are expected to at least have long flowing hair.
Formidable
"There can be only none!" -Sealab 2021

  • Dynamite Dunamis’ Scintillating Disintegration                                Save Negates: Reflexes
    •  From the casters fingertips a extends a stream of green subatomic particles.  Whenever it strikes a high density object (any that are iron or heavier including most arms and armor but excluding Lead) it disintegrates the object (or a sizable portion of a very large object) leaving behind tiny glowing green motes.  Those near the object are hit with a sudden shock wave and radiation.  This deals one die of damage for handheld object, 2 dice for those that require 2 hands or armor, 3 or more dice for large objects such as golems, doors, buildings, dragonscales, steam-crabs and the like.  The damage dice are d12s if the character happens to be wearing or is made of the object.
    • Any objects of the same or very similar material nearby close range have a chance to disintegrate as green motes hurtle out of the destroyed object looking for new objects to fission with.  
    • The chance is a 6+ on a d6 with a +1 if the object contains a great deal of the material such as a statue or wall, +1 if the object is magical and a -1 each time this roll is repeated from a new disintegrated object.
    • Disintegrating an iron golem there is a chance on a 5 or 6 to disintegrate any of the nearby golems or iron wall in Short Range.  If one in short range were disintegrated the resulting green motes flying out of it would disintegrate another golem on a 6 but would have zero chance of working on a more modest amount of iron nearby such as a arms or armor unless they are magical.
  • Highlander Bifurcation (Reaction)
    •  Whenever the magic-user is maimed, dismembered, or otherwise killed they regenerate as two identical casters.  Their memory is fragmented but they are aware of what killed them and are filled with the right amount of vengeance.  Treat them as fully healed characters with a full heroic reserve but without any spells memorized.  Equipment is divvied up based on the circumstances of the death, usually all or most is with one clone.  
    • The team-up generally ends victoriously for the caster but afterwards the pair must fight each other to establish the one true successor.  Afterwards their memory and magical aptitude returns to them.
  • Wash’s Forcible Viscerous Switch
    •  "I shall turn your entrails into your extrails"  Once spoken by a dinosaur-wizard easily prone to bouts of extreme violence.  The spell has been adapted for less violent excursions.  The spell causes a dungeon or similar cloistered structure to regurgitate most organic creatures from inside of it.  The enclosure twists and buckles ejecting the party and every creature left on levels above them to the entrance of the labyrinth or suitable counterpart.  At such a juncture it is best advised that you apologize to your hosts and beat it out of there.

No comments:

Post a Comment