alex_greene
Guest
At some point in the evolution of sorcery, some enterprising young warlock must have collected the major Phantom (Sense) and Project (Sense) spells, reworked them, united them, optimised them and released the spells as Phantasm and Projection.
Some of the wording might sound familiar to some of you:-
Phantasm
Concentration, Resist (Special)
Phantasm produces an illusion which affects all the basic senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Some variants exist which also cover unusual sensory mechanisms (such as the darksense of trolls) - these variations must be sought out, and are considered "upgrades" to the base Phantasm spell, requiring 2 Improvement Rolls to learn.
Phantasm affects targets with a maximum INT of three times the spell Intensity. Illusions generated can be of any size, from biting insects the size of mustard seeds to deep, bottomless chasms, to roaring dragons the size of palaces. Only the imagination of the caster limits the scope.
Illusions produced by Phantasm are stimulations of the target’s own perceptions and nervous system – not temporary manifestations of reality. Targets must succeed in an opposed test of their Persistence against the caster’s Sorcery (Grimoire), otherwise they truly believe what they are experiencing.
Normally, Phantasm affects every sense, however, the spell can be narrowed down in scope to affect some of the senses, or even a single sense - sound, smell, touch, even taste.
Phantasm cannot cause direct harm, although the illusions may be injurious in an indirect manner,
such as creating an illusion of a cow over a griffon, or by masking the taste of a virulent poison.
However, most effects are psychosomatic in nature and permit further Resistance rolls when used offensively.
Phantasms can react to their surroundings as long as the sorcerer maintains concentration over them. If concentration lapses, then the illusion remains static within the victim’s mind, continuing to produce the last effect imagined by the caster – the smell of roses; a moaning wind; bone biting cold; a solid floor covering a massive, real, hole in the ground; a bridge over a chasm, or just a chasm; and so on. The sorcerer can resume concentration at a later time to change the
illusion as long as the spell has not expired.
Spells providing magical protection block a Phantasm spell of equal or lesser Magnitude.
Illusions generated can be subtle, or they can be overwhelmingly strong. A Phantasm scent can resemble the faint but delectable odour of lotus perfume, or the cloying reek of a decomposing body on a composting midden; a visual Phantasm illusion can look like flickering will-o'-wisps, or a blazing light close up.
Phantasms cannot inflict permanent harm - they cannot directly even inflict damage. However, they can create psychosomatic reactions, hindering attempts at spellcasting and concentration.
Phantasms which can induce physical reactions, such as nauseating scents, require an opposed Resilience roll versus the caster's Sorcery skill to avoid becoming nauseated (use the Nausea Condition, Legend Core Rulebook, p. 79); spells aimed at creating a distraction, such as very loud sounds to block attempts at verbal communication or to distract a spellcaster and prevent her from casting a spell, require an opposed Persistence roll versus the caster's Sorcery skill to allow the target to shut out the distraction and concentrate long enough to complete her task.
Phantasm can also do something that the Phantom (Sense) suite of spells cannot do: instead of creating an image of something that is not there, Phantasm can mask the appearance of something which is.
Used in this way, Phantasm blocks all attempts to perceive the object. It cannot be seen, heard, felt, smelled or tasted. It is as if the object is not there. If placed on a closed doorway, the door still blocks passage through it - but someone looking at the door would see what he expects to see through the door: one way of deducing that there is an illusion would be that two different people would see two different things through the same apparently empty arch.
The spell affects everyone with a maximum INT of 3 per point of Intensity (1 point of Intensity equals one tenth of their Sorcery (Grimoire) spell, sounded up). The Targets manipulation parameter affects the number of objects or people covered by the spell; not the number of people who are looking at the object. A selection of 3 targets by this spell means that the spell makes three objects invisible to anyone looking at it; not that it affects three people looking at the object.
No Persistence rolls are possible to counteract this effect; but if someone suspects that something cloaked is present nearby, whether it is an invisible character cloaked by the sorcerer or an object under concealment, they can make a Perception roll to work out where the cloaked object or person is; this Perception roll is penalised -10% per point of Intensity of the spell.
Used to cloak objects or people in this way, the spell is considered Autonomous on inanimate objects, and Concentration on people - in effect, they can only move at Speed while the spell is on them, and not perform any other kind of actions, such as casting spells, attacking or defending.
Some of the wording might sound familiar to some of you:-
Phantasm
Concentration, Resist (Special)
Phantasm produces an illusion which affects all the basic senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Some variants exist which also cover unusual sensory mechanisms (such as the darksense of trolls) - these variations must be sought out, and are considered "upgrades" to the base Phantasm spell, requiring 2 Improvement Rolls to learn.
Phantasm affects targets with a maximum INT of three times the spell Intensity. Illusions generated can be of any size, from biting insects the size of mustard seeds to deep, bottomless chasms, to roaring dragons the size of palaces. Only the imagination of the caster limits the scope.
Illusions produced by Phantasm are stimulations of the target’s own perceptions and nervous system – not temporary manifestations of reality. Targets must succeed in an opposed test of their Persistence against the caster’s Sorcery (Grimoire), otherwise they truly believe what they are experiencing.
Normally, Phantasm affects every sense, however, the spell can be narrowed down in scope to affect some of the senses, or even a single sense - sound, smell, touch, even taste.
Phantasm cannot cause direct harm, although the illusions may be injurious in an indirect manner,
such as creating an illusion of a cow over a griffon, or by masking the taste of a virulent poison.
However, most effects are psychosomatic in nature and permit further Resistance rolls when used offensively.
Phantasms can react to their surroundings as long as the sorcerer maintains concentration over them. If concentration lapses, then the illusion remains static within the victim’s mind, continuing to produce the last effect imagined by the caster – the smell of roses; a moaning wind; bone biting cold; a solid floor covering a massive, real, hole in the ground; a bridge over a chasm, or just a chasm; and so on. The sorcerer can resume concentration at a later time to change the
illusion as long as the spell has not expired.
Spells providing magical protection block a Phantasm spell of equal or lesser Magnitude.
Illusions generated can be subtle, or they can be overwhelmingly strong. A Phantasm scent can resemble the faint but delectable odour of lotus perfume, or the cloying reek of a decomposing body on a composting midden; a visual Phantasm illusion can look like flickering will-o'-wisps, or a blazing light close up.
Phantasms cannot inflict permanent harm - they cannot directly even inflict damage. However, they can create psychosomatic reactions, hindering attempts at spellcasting and concentration.
Phantasms which can induce physical reactions, such as nauseating scents, require an opposed Resilience roll versus the caster's Sorcery skill to avoid becoming nauseated (use the Nausea Condition, Legend Core Rulebook, p. 79); spells aimed at creating a distraction, such as very loud sounds to block attempts at verbal communication or to distract a spellcaster and prevent her from casting a spell, require an opposed Persistence roll versus the caster's Sorcery skill to allow the target to shut out the distraction and concentrate long enough to complete her task.
Phantasm can also do something that the Phantom (Sense) suite of spells cannot do: instead of creating an image of something that is not there, Phantasm can mask the appearance of something which is.
Used in this way, Phantasm blocks all attempts to perceive the object. It cannot be seen, heard, felt, smelled or tasted. It is as if the object is not there. If placed on a closed doorway, the door still blocks passage through it - but someone looking at the door would see what he expects to see through the door: one way of deducing that there is an illusion would be that two different people would see two different things through the same apparently empty arch.
The spell affects everyone with a maximum INT of 3 per point of Intensity (1 point of Intensity equals one tenth of their Sorcery (Grimoire) spell, sounded up). The Targets manipulation parameter affects the number of objects or people covered by the spell; not the number of people who are looking at the object. A selection of 3 targets by this spell means that the spell makes three objects invisible to anyone looking at it; not that it affects three people looking at the object.
No Persistence rolls are possible to counteract this effect; but if someone suspects that something cloaked is present nearby, whether it is an invisible character cloaked by the sorcerer or an object under concealment, they can make a Perception roll to work out where the cloaked object or person is; this Perception roll is penalised -10% per point of Intensity of the spell.
Used to cloak objects or people in this way, the spell is considered Autonomous on inanimate objects, and Concentration on people - in effect, they can only move at Speed while the spell is on them, and not perform any other kind of actions, such as casting spells, attacking or defending.