New Sorcery Spell: FEAR

[Anonymous]

In Star Wars d20, there is a Fear skill (Dark Side power). Saw this post on ENWorld Star Wars thread and thought it might be a cool addition to Conan:

"i really like the Fear skill. unlike a spell in D&D, there is no save against it. the player must make a conscious decision whether to allow it to affect him or not. (if it affects the character, he takes a penalty to all d20 rolls. if he resists it, he gains a Dark Side Point!)

it's a hard choice. but it's the player's own choice, not the result of a die roll. that can make for some great roleplaying.

the player has to think, "wow, i really can't afford to suffer that penalty in the middle of this combat! it could spell disaster for us... maybe i should just give in to the Dark Side a little... but what are the repercussions of that?"


FEAR (Hypnotism)
PP Cost: 0
Components: Evil Eye
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft. per scholar level)
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 minute/scholar level
Saving Throw: Special
Prerequisites: Entrance, Intimidate skill 6 ranks, magic attack bonus +1
Magic Attack Roll: Not made

The caster meets the target's gaze and fills their head with visions of nightmarish horrors, mocking whispers and feelings of dread.

This spell is unique in that if the target meets the caster's gaze (as per Evil Eye requirements on page 197), the target decides if he is affected or not. If he gives in to his fear, he becomes shaken. He takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If he refuses to give in to fear, he must accept one point of Corruption.

 

[InsomNY]

Interesting idea. I happen to hate the way Fear works in Star Wars, because no amount of Jedi-inspired courage (or even Force Defense) can protect you. Either you take a potentially huge penalty, or you eat DSP. However, the idea has merit for Conan.

As an alternative, you could make Fear a feat instead of a spell.

Corrupting Gaze [Sorcery]
Prerequisites: Steely Gaze, Hypnotism, Lesser Ill-Fortune, Corruption 5+
Effect: Once per round, you may make a gaze attack as a free action. If the target meets the caster's gaze (as per Evil Eye requirements on page 197), the target decides if he is affected or not. If he gives in to his fear, he becomes shaken. He takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If he refuses to give in to fear, he must accept one point of Corruption.
Special: This feat has no effect on a target who has more Corruption than you.

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting idea. I happen to hate the way Fear works in Star Wars, because no amount of Jedi-inspired courage (or even Force Defense) can protect you. Either you take a potentially huge penalty, or you eat DSP. However, the idea has merit for Conan.

As an alternative, you could make Fear a feat instead of a spell.

Corrupting Gaze [Sorcery]
Prerequisites: Steely Gaze, Hypnotism, Lesser Ill-Fortune, Corruption 5+
Effect: Once per round, you may make a gaze attack as a free action. If the target meets the caster's gaze (as per Evil Eye requirements on page 197), the target decides if he is affected or not. If he gives in to his fear, he becomes shaken. He takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If he refuses to give in to fear, he must accept one point of Corruption.
Special: This feat has no effect on a target who has more Corruption than you.

Thanks for the advice. I think it's better as a sorcery feat for Conan! Good job.

BTW: Never played Star Wars d20 (only a few West End SW d6 sessions). Loved the old SW, hate the new prequels, though the Battlestar Galactica new mini-series made Phantom Menace look like Citizen Kane in comparison, and AoTC was a step back in the right direction. Fingers crossed for the next SW. Mongoose should license a Battlestar Galactica OGL game. By your command!

 

[VincentDarlage]

I like both of these ideas - spell and feat... which to choose?

Excellent ideas.

 

[Ravager_of_Worlds]

as a veteran SW d20 GM and Player, Fear was used sparingly on both sides of the aisle. it works amazingly well against goodie-goodie force users but terribly against anyone else.

granted, Fear had no saving throw, but the dark side user employing the tactic still got to roll to see how high the penalty is. most of my players decided to accept the handicap.

for Conan? better off as a spell. use your Power Points- fear isn't always "on" after all.

Edit: yay! i'm a shrew now!

 

[InsomNY]

as a veteran SW d20 GM and Player, Fear was used sparingly on both sides of the aisle. it works amazingly well against goodie-goodie force users but terribly against anyone else.

This is one of the reasons why it makes no sense. If you're strong in the Force, confident in your abilities, and are running a defensive Force power, you should not have to worry about some punk with the Fear skill. No matter the relative power levels, you're always vulnerable to fear. :roll:

Fear had no saving throw, but the dark side user employing the tactic still got to roll to see how high the penalty is. most of my players decided to accept the handicap.

Since it was based solely on the dark sider's skill roll, the penalty could be absurd. I'm sorry for using the prequel films as an example, but imagine if Dooku had used Fear on Yoda. Yoda gets no save, and will wind up with a penalty of -8 or -10, depending on how Dooku rolled. If not, he "gives in to anger and fear" and must accept a DSP. This is Yoda we're talking about. :?

for Conan? better off as a spell. use your Power Points- fear isn't always "on" after all.

My idea for doing it as a feat is that it's a side-effect of your own corruption. A penetrating gaze from you exerts the full force of the madness you've been exposed to, and blasts the victim's mind. There's no reason it can't be a spell, though – I was offering an alternative. IC's spell is fine as is.

Edit: yay! i'm a shrew now!

I'll catch up. :twisted:

 

[Leofwyn]

This spell is unique in that if the target meets the caster's gaze (as per Evil Eye requirements on page 197), the target decides if he is affected or not. If he gives in to his fear, he becomes shaken. He takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If he refuses to give in to fear, he must accept one point of Corruption.

Ok, looking at this in character - why is a hero punshed for having courage? There is no way in this system for a characters raw courage and force of will to triumph over the evil of the sorceror and that does not match with the view I get from Howard's writings. Did Conan get corruption points every time he overcame his fear and fought a sorceror or demon that tried to put the whammy on him?

If you are looking for a player driven method of drama allow a normal save, but if the player fails the save then they can elect to ignore the effect by taking a point of Corruption. I don't know, though, that Corruption really corresponds to calling upon the Dark Side as in Star Wars.

Leofwyn

 

[Yuan-Ti]

I agree with Leofwyn here. It doesn't seem to cost the sorceror anything here (a feat or a spell) to go around automatically hurting his opponents, either. I like the idea but I'm not sure it works.

 

[rook111]

I Would use the Feat version but since there is no save and the potential exist to corrupt the target a very hefty price should be levied. I would make the use of the feat dependent on a the expenditure of a Fate point. That way its not something a sorcer can just willy nilly throw about, but somthing he really wants/need to do. :twisted:

 

[Iron_Chef]

I Would use the Feat version but since there is no save and the potential exist to corrupt the target a very hefty price should be levied. I would make the use of the feat dependent on a the expenditure of a Fate point. That way its not something a sorcer can just willy nilly throw about, but somthing he really wants/need to do. :twisted:

That would limit its use to what... nil? :roll:
I do agree that it might be mechanically messed up as both spell and feat. Flavor-wise, I like it. :twisted: Mechanically, it does bother me a bit. I don't think it's strong enough to warrant sacrificing a fate point to activate, though that idea does have merit!

 

[Iron_Chef]

Corrupting Gaze [Sorcery]
Prerequisites: Steely Gaze, Hypnotism, Lesser Ill-Fortune, Corruption 5+
Effect: Once per round, you may make a gaze attack as a free action. If the target meets the caster's gaze (as per Evil Eye requirements on page 197), the target decides if he is affected or not. If he gives in to his fear, he becomes shaken. He takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If he refuses to give in to fear, he must accept one point of Corruption.
Special: This feat has no effect on a target who has more Corruption than you.

You forgot to say how long the target is shaken for... :?: