New Spells

Index (By College)

Elemental
Autofire Missile
Improved Missile

Necromantic
     Annihilation
     Mass Zombie
     Sacrifice

Annihilation (VH) Regular; resisted by HT.

This spell instantly and irrevocably disintegrates a living being! If the victim fails to resist, the caster rolls 1 to 4 dice (depending on the energy in the spell) and compares the total to the larger of the victim's HT or hit points. If the die roll is equal to or greater than this number, then the victim is annihilated! If not, the victim takes this amount of damage. All possessions of an annihilated victim fall to the ground. A critical failure with this spell costs the caster 1 HT permanently!

Duration: Annihilation is permanent.
Cost: 4, plus 2 per die of effect, to a maximum of four dice (12 fatigue)
Time to cast: 3 seconds.
Prerequisites: Magery 3; Disintegrate, Deathtouch and Steal HT.

Autofire Missile (VH) Missile

This is not one spell but several; for every damaging Missile spell (e.g., Stone Missile), there is a corresponding Autofire version (e.g., Autofire Stone Missile). Like Improved Missiles (below), Autofire Missiles takes but a second to create (which can be reduced for high skill) and all of the energy is spent at the time of casting. However, the Autofire version produces a burst of small missiles instead of a single, larger one.

As per a regular Missile spell, each point of fatigue (up to 12) buys 1d worth of damage. The caster decides on the size of the missiles in the burst (1d, 2d, or 3d). The number of missiles is equal total damage divided by missile size; e.g., 12 fatigue could buy twelve 1d missiles, six 2d missiles, or four 3d missiles.

These smaller Missiles cannot be "held" -- they must be released as soon as the spell is cast. A special Spell Throwing skill is needed for each type of Autofire Missile. Autofire Missiles have ranged combat stats identical to those of a regular missile of the same type, but SS is 10 rather than 13. RoF equals the number of Missiles in the burst. Resolve Autofire Missile attacks using the Automatic Weapons rules on pp. B119-121.

Cost: 2-12. Each fatigue point buys 1d worth of missiles (Explosive Fireballs cost 2 points per 1d).
Time to cast: 1 second.
Prerequisites: Great Haste and the Improved Missile spell of the same type.

Improved Missile (VH) Area

This is not one spell but several; for every damaging Missile spell (e.g. Fireball), there is a corresponding Improved version (e.g., Improved Fireball). It is identical to the usual Missile spell of the same type, except that it does not build up over many seconds, but appears instantly. The spell takes but a single second to cast -- which can be reduced for high skill -- and all of the energy is spent at the moment of casting. Improved Missile spells may be "held" as usual, and are identical to regular ones in every other respect (fatigue cost, damage, skill required, et cetra).

Cost: 1-3; damage depends on the energy used in the spell. All of the energy is spent at once.
Time to cast: 1 second.
Prerequisites: Magery 2 and the regular Missile spell of the same type.

Mass Zombie (VH) Area

This spell is identical to the Zombie spell in almost every respect, except it reanimates all corpses in the area of effect. As per the Zombie spell, only relatively complete dead bodies are affected, and the spell may produce mummies, skeletons, or zombies, depending on the age and condition of the corpses. A single casting of the spell can produce a mixture of the three types of undead. Unlike the Zombie spell, however, the subject corpses must be lying in their place of rest (upon a battlefield, in a grave, et cetra) for the spell to work. They cannot be moved into a smaller area to facilitate the casting. Corpses in graves up to 4 yards deep are affected by this spell, and zombies in graves will claw their way to the surface to join their master!

Corpses animated by this spell become the undead servants of the caster. Orders given to undead raised by this spell must be of the kind that would be given to a group of followers by their leader, such as to a mob by a rabble-rouser, or to a military unit by an officer. Individual members of the undead horde cannot be singled out for specific tasks. Due to the energy costs involved, this spell is often cast ceremonially. In this case, the leader of the circle becomes the master of the zombies and all other mages involved will be viewed by the zombies as being the master's lieutenants. An order from any of the mages will be obeyed, but the master's orders will always take precedence. The undead force can be divided up into smaller units and put under the command of different individuals involved in the casting.

For purposes of this spell, assume that a typical graveyard in civilized parts will contain [3r{r-1} + 1]/4 corpses (rounded up), where r is the radius of the spell. This may vary, depending on where the spell is cast. It would not be unreasonable to halve this number in an upper-class cemetery with crypts and expensive family burial plots, while one should probably double this number for a Napoleonic battlefield.

Duration: The zombies remain animated until destroyed.
Base Cost: 7. Minimum radius 2 hexes.
Time to cast: 1 minute per hex of radius.
Prerequisite: Zombie, and two or more levels of either Charisma or Strong Will.

Sacrifice (VH) Special

This spell makes the live forces released by the sacrifice of a living being available to another spell. The Sacrifice must be cast first, at the moment the caster kills the sacrificed being. The second spell must be cast immediately after, without any intervening delays. The Sacrifice counts as a spell "on" during the second spell's casting. If the caster is not within one hex of the sacrificed being, apply a regular range penalty to both the Sacrifice and the second spell.

The energy released by the sacrifice of a living being is given by HT*IQ. The GM may devise modifiers to suit his world; for example, virgins and mages may be worth double...

Cost: None.
Time to cast: 1 hour.
Prerequisites: 6 Necromantic spells, including Steal HT.