Two New Common Magic Spells

[Lord High Munchkin]

Being slightly flippant, I'm not quite sure where courts come in... they don't crop up that often in fairy stories or legends.

What I'm getting at, is that the urge to cast a curse is altogether a much more basic and primal thing... sneaky yes, cruel, sometimes undeserved, and definitely malicious.

Right or wrong in an absolute sense doesn't need to come into it at all, and often doesn't. The infliction of a curse is typically in tales down to an aggrieved sense of vengeance (or even strong whim) in the eyes of the curser.

Of course in a setting in which legality and "correct" social/spiritual relationships are paramount, curses could be seen as a form of judgement.

 

[rust]

In order to turn a spell into a curse, the following conditions must qualify.

- First, the person throwing the curse must have suffered some great outrage by the victim.

- Second, the recipient must be absolutely unrepentant.

I think I see why you want these conditions for a curse, but I agree that
this would not be the typical curse of fairy tales and legends, where the
curse or geas is not always connected with a wrong done by the cursed
person and often includes a specific method to lift the curse (like being
kissed by a princess ...).

There the standard form of a curse is more like "You are cursed to A un-
til you succeed in B", or in a reversed more beneficial form "You will be
gifted with A (e.g. long life, strength, invulnerability, etc.) until B hap-
pens (e.g. you eat the meat of a dog, step onto a goat, or whatever)".

 

[Simulacrum]

Two highly inconvenient curse-like effects from the AoT Companion, both from the Beggar Cult of Sorandib, which worships Nothsagre, The Little God of Lost Things

Miracles

Beggar’s Curse
This Miracle costs 3 POW and allows a beggar to strike someone else with an Affliction*. The target must be named at the point at which the POW is dedicated. The beggar must subsequently touch the target, or something he is wearing, and speak his curse. The curse may only be lifted by a Miracle granted by a more powerful deity, or by the Afflicted living as a beggar for a year and a day as a form of penance.

*these are quite unpleasant - reduce a stat to species minimum-1, for example, or reduce a limb to 0 HP permanently

Divine Magic

Unlucky
Duration Special
The beggar can share some of his misfortune with someone who has injured him in some way. This spell causes the target's next use of a Hero Point to fail. The Hero Point will be burned nonetheless, it simply will not bring the Adventurer the lucky success they had intended – potentially with disastrous consequences. While additional uses of this spell can be taken, each use of the spell cannot be regained until it has been triggered. The recipient of this spell may be unaware he is afflicted with it, however it is visible to Soul Sight as a miasma on the victim’s spirit.

Don't abuse the beggars...

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Here are my thoughts, a bit different than what is expressed above:

In order to turn a spell into a curse, the following conditions must qualify.

- First, the person throwing the curse must have suffered some great outrage by the victim.

They must have PERCEIVED it as an outrage. It might not be an outrage to everyone (especially to the person committing the act), but the cursor must think it is an outrage. It should also be possible that someone else was outraged and the cursor it doing something to help that victim. Thus someone could "buy" a curse.

- Second, the recipient must be absolutely unrepentant.

Nope, completely disagree. In mythology, people got cursed all the time who either didn't realize they had done something wrong or were sorry, but got cursed anyway.

- And third, above and beyond the regular spent Magic Points, the curse utterer must dedicate 1 permanent Magic Point.

I would make the dedicated Magic Point only be sacreficed until the curse is lifted or until the Cursor releases them from the curse. The Cursor has to maintain the curse, even if it is just a minor drain. For those who have read Guy Gavrial Kay's "Tigana", that is how I envision the curses working.

I do like the idea of curses being around. Of course with everyone having access to Common Magic, many people might have access to Curses as well... Makes the whole concept of giving someone the Evil Eye MUCH more dramatic and powerful; it now represents a REAL threat to someone (like drawing your sword or pulling a gun on someone).

 

[alex_greene]

I do like the idea of curses being around. Of course with everyone having access to Common Magic, many people might have access to Curses as well... Makes the whole concept of giving someone the Evil Eye MUCH more dramatic and powerful; it now represents a REAL threat to someone (like drawing your sword or pulling a gun on someone).

Coincidentally giving a whole slew of additional material to gnaw on in the "Common Magic and The Law" thread.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

For many societies The Evil Eye is perceived as a real menace... such a malicious act (or even the suspicion of having cast such a spell), could, and still can, get one killed.

Sadly such killings still go on today. If you are an albino child in some areas of sub-Saharan Africa, life can be risky. People that are scared of unknown misfortune can be violently nasty.