Imbuning or Enchanting
There isn't a word for enchanting. Thats boring, after all. Instead it will be handled via Engraving. Basically, engrave the word or words you want into whatever object you want and they are imbued permanently into that object. Once enchanted like this, the object can't be "unenchanted". This will be handled in much the same way as spells, with potency scores that accumulate. You can add more words later, but it would still count the existing words as though they were being used too. (Ie, take a sword and enchant it with a 3 score word and it needs 3 successes. Take that same sword and enchant it with a 2 score word and it would need 5 successes to be successful.) Adding multiple of the same word would increase the magnitude effect.
Enchanted things aren't transformed into the elements used, rather they take on properties of it. A sword engraved with "Fire" could glow red hot, or be wreathed in flames. A sword engraved with the word for "Book" might be covered in constantly moving, changing text and its blade might be comprised of hundreds of paper thin blades all tightly clusted together. A sword Engraved with "Ram" might transform into a shotel like curved blade, shaped like a ram's horn, and give strength bonuses for charging attacks. This sort of enchanting can be used on anything EXCEPT casters.
To enchant an item like this, first the words must be engraved (which takes 1 turn per word) and then it must be set. Setting an enchantment is when the pool is drained and the potency check is made. Until it is set, the engraved word has no effect.
Transforming:
Transforming is done in much the same way as enchanting, however, rather then engraving, the word must be inlayed into the thing that is going to be transformed. AND the word being inlayed must be formed out of whatever that substance is. In other words, to transform a brick of lead into gold, you must inlay the word for gold with letters made of gold into the lead. Creating a gold plate with the word for gold scratched into it works also; as long as the word is there, the substance it's on or made of is the substace that the word represents, and it is physically being placed into the other substance, then it works. Once in place, it is "set" just like with enchanted items, with magical energy being poured into it to activate it. Again, this is when the potency check and pool usage comes into play.
For example, if you wanted to transform that brick of lead into gold, creating a gold nail with the word for gold and then nailing it into the brick would work. This process works on everything that is a discrete object, including casters. If used on something like the ground, or something extremely large, it merely transforms part of it. Transformed things still function, even if they really shouldn't. However, attempting to transfrom something into something that isn't solid (Ie turing a rock into water) will result in the solid losing its form, unless the modifier "Solid" is included.
For example, if a caster wanted to turn his summoned stone golem into a golem made of lightning, he would need to make a solid lighting object, inscribe the word for "Solid lighting" on that object and then in put that object into the golem. If he just inscribed "Lightning" on the solid lightining object, it would turn the golem into lighting that would immediately dissipate. Same with something made of fire, wind, water, or anything that isn't solid.
Unlike with imbuing, non-substance words can't be used on their own. If you want to transform a large boulder into a wolf, for instance, you'd have to insert something like a steel rod with the words for "Steel Wolf" into it.
Transformations on non-caster things can NOT be undone.
Personal Transforming
Personal transformations, ie transforming a caster, works the same way as transforming other things, HOWEVER, casters don't transform as a whole. A Caster is broken into several sections, specifically the Head (which includes the neck), the torso (The upper part of the body, basically from the shoulders to the end of the rib cage) the Abdomen (from the end of the torso, down to where the legs attach to the hips) The right upper arm, right lower arm, right hand, Right upper leg, Right lower leg, right foot and all the left equivents of those leg and arm parts.
These sections are considered distinct from other sections, each would need to be transformed as though it were a distinct thing; with something inserted in to each section. Also, it should be noted that these sections, though they should still work with each other as though normal (a metal arm should still function like a normal arm, though it won't bleed or feel pain) they can damage each other. For instance, if a caster were to turn his right hand into soild fire while his right lower arm is still made of flesh, his hand will effectively burn itself off the flesh at the wrist. A lightning hand could electrocute the caster, etc. So, in order to transform into something potentially dangerous, the caster would need to use stages of transformation – first becoming something more resistant, then something dangerous- or use "containment" parts: Ie turn the forearm to steel before turning the hand into solid fire.
Unlike with other things, removing the inserted or inlayed objected will reverse the transformation and destroy the inserted or inlayed object.
Personal Imbuing and Control
Casters can imbue their own body or the body of other casters in much the same way as enchanting objects. The words to be used must be tattooed, cut or otherwise etched into the body. Where on the body they are placed is irrelevant, the effects spread through the whole and loss of the original words doesn not remove the effect. The effect is permanent and will persist until death.
First, this differs somewhat from normal enchanting because it puts a great deal of strain on the caster. The magic does not want to be contained and controlled by them; it actively fights them. During the setting process, the caster who is having the magic imbued into them has to make an endurance check, with a difficulty equal to the Potency score of the magic being embuned into him. If he fails, the magic overtakes him and transforms his body into whatever the spell was that was being put into him, except greatly magnified. IE, if a caster failed while having the word "Fire" set into him, he would be consumed in an enormous burst of flame. (anyone caught in the effects of such a thing can use it as their reaction for that turn.)
However, if the potency check and Endurance check are both passed, The caster is permanently imbued with the chosen spell, which not only alters their physical body but gives them control over the elements of the spell used. For instance: A caster imbued with "fire" would partially become flame; they would burn and smolder with inner heat, as though they have a fire buring inside them. If they wanted, they could increase the degree to which this manifested and becoming a being entirely of flame or suppressing it to the point of not being noticable. Beyond this, they gain the ability to use Will checks to control fire and things made with fire, as well as to produce fire by draining their pool.
To control elements:
Will check equal to either the potency of the spell that used the element, or roughly equal to the potency check needed to create that much. (Ie, since you can create more of something by repeating the word, how many times would you need to say the word to get that much of the element? Multiply that by the potency score of that element and you'll get the will check)
So if fire has a 1 for its potency score and the form word "sphere" has 2 for its potency score, then the will check for taking control of a fire sphere spell would be 3.
Likewise, if there were a fire in a fire place, taking control of that fire would be a 1 will check, while controlling a large bonfire might be 2 or 3.
To Produce Elements:
Same as controlling, really. You drain pool equal to the amount that you would drain via saying the word to get it (Creating the same amount of fire as a fire place is 1 pool, same amount as a large bonfire is 2 or 3, etc). The plus side here is that you can't fail to create it. The element must be physically produced by the body; it can't just appear somewhere, it has to come from the body.
Combining production and control
So, the caster we've been using as an example, the one imbued with fire, wants to create a fireball the size of a softball.
First, he would have to pay 1 pool to create the fire he needs. Then, since he's controlling an amount of fire about equal to one use of the "fire" word, it would be a will check of 1 to form it into the ball shape. Will rolls are determined via the AMOUNT of a substance being used, not by the action being done with it. However, the controlled element is still bound to realistic actions. Ie, the Caster can't produce some flame and then will it to teleport into someone's chest or something like that. The flame must physically move from where it was made, to its final destination. The GM is free to make rolls harder/deny them if actions being done seem unreasonable.
Limits on Imbuing and related aspects
Like with enchanting and everything else, adding more words later is possible, but you have to count the potency of them as though you were adding them all at once.
Tsuchi sprints away from GWG who gives chase, but tsuchi is too fast. It gets rather benny hill-esque really.
Perfect, wonderful toxic orbs hiss horrifically into existence...and then hiss horrifically out of existence a few seconds later because toxin isn't solid.
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Topic: Perpublicon: Round 1: Toaster Vs Tsuchi (Read 134790 times)