Mind Over Matter

[Joshua_Jericho]

As you've probably guessed, I'm got a few questions about the Illusion sphere spell, Mind Over Matter. Specifically, this one.

Mind over Matter:
Level required: 10
Class required: Bard, Mage, Magi, Entertainer

Casting method: clomagatk
Defending method: clomagdef

Description: Class restrictions: Bard, Mage, Magi, Entertainer, Nature – X3

If you've ever wished you could trick your enemy into believing they were somewhere else, now is the time to do it. The spell itself must be sung or hummed to come into existence, the words matter only in the creation of what you are trying to get your enemy to see. With but a simple sound of the casters singing voice, he can make a barren area appear to be a lush valley or perhaps the edge of a mountain. Now, this truly isn't real, but to the spell casters enemy, it is what he sees that matters, not what reality dictates. This spell is rather handy to confuse, and make one fear. Sometimes illusions hurt more than the reality we can touch.

:MECHANICS: This spell takes two rounds to cast and is set free at the end of the second round, however if the spell is interrupted such as a successful hit against the caster the spell is lost and must be recast. The caster must spend an immediate 8 stamina and begin a chanting song or hum. The words will matter in how you create the illusion within the mind of your opponent and what they may see. If you are in the forest and wish your opponent to believe they are in the Inn, you begin with your hum... And then the words. It doesn't have to sound pretty nor rhyme. A !clomagatk is rolled vs !clomagdef. If the opponent loses, the spell will last 2 rounds for every slot of the spell used even after the humming or singing ends. Keep in mind as well, that the location they want their opponent to see must be a KNOWN location of the Caster. Beware the Illusionist for he can take you from your world, into his own.

Lovely spell. Was chatting to L about this earlier, and she cleared up most of my questions about the mechanics. We were discussing this a week or so ago in the OOC, and we weren't sure about some bits. She cleared up a few things for me, namely.

• The victim's body is not displaced or moved by this spell.
• The world of the spell, though based on a place of the caster's choosing, is under their control. So the caster can populate it, control it, change it as he or she pleases.
• After the casting period, the control is not based on the singing - the caster can walk away, leave the area, and maintain the spell.

Now, my remaining queries are fairly simple.

1. When you hit someone with this spell, and change their perceived surroundings, their body stays in the real world. Now, say, if they move around in the illusional world, does their real-world body move..? Or just lapse into a coma-like state until they snap out of it? If they can move in the real world, can they, say bump into the bar, and would they feel it?

2. Following on from 1., if you hit someone with this spell at 15 slots, they get 30 rounds of being trapped in an illusional world. During these 30 rounds, can they be attacked, and what kind of defence can they make, if any? I would expect to see a "hostile action against target nullifies the illusion" type disclaimer, but I don't see it in the Mechanics.

3. How "stealthily" could this spell be cast? Discussing in the OOC, it seemed that the first round of casting could be disguised as a normal hum, or song, while the second round would have to involve gestures, shiny lights - whatever usual announcers of spells being cast one uses.

4. Is there any kind of ongoing save to represent "disbelief"? L mentioned that the power of this spell is in whether or not the victim believes the illusion to be real - presumably, this is decided by the !ranmagatk and def in dice combat. In other systems, we might expect to see another !ranmagatk vs def to continue the illusion every round, or possibly every time the caster changes something within the illusional world.

As far as my inexperienced eye can tell, the "dice" effect of this would be that the victim takes slots x 2 rounds during which they are unable to perform any action except defence, and possibly suffer both blindness and deafness disability penalties to account for being unable to see/hear the attack coming.

Any opinions..?

JJ

[Miss Magical]

1. When you hit someone with this spell, and change their perceived surroundings, their body stays in the real world. Now, say, if they move around in the illusional world, does their real-world body move..? Or just lapse into a coma-like state until they snap out of it? If they can move in the real world, can they, say bump into the bar, and would they feel it?

I would personally hope that they cannot move. It could be led to be abusive, otherwise: show an enemy or something the victim would attack in the illusion-world, have them attack someone else in the real world. It could be led to abuse, is what I'm hinting at. I would think it makes sense that, as their "mind" is distant from their physical surroundings, that they would not move during the duration of the spell save for breathing.

3. How "stealthily" could this spell be cast? Discussing in the OOC, it seemed that the first round of casting could be disguised as a normal hum, or song, while the second round would have to involve gestures, shiny lights - whatever usual announcers of spells being cast one uses.

4. Is there any kind of ongoing save to represent "disbelief"? L mentioned that the power of this spell is in whether or not the victim believes the illusion to be real - presumably, this is decided by the !ranmagatk and def in dice combat. In other systems, we might expect to see another !ranmagatk vs def to continue the illusion every round, or possibly every time the caster changes something within the illusional world.

As far as my inexperienced eye can tell, the "dice" effect of this would be that the victim takes slots x 2 rounds during which they are unable to perform any action except defence, and possibly suffer both blindness and deafness disability penalties to account for being unable to see/hear the attack coming.

I might be missing something, but why would the second round of the casting require shiny lights or gestures -- though, this question relates more to Bards than Magi. It's my understanding that bards "cast" spells in a manner different that most others, that it's the music itself that is the method, not the gesture. I might sing a song of a distant forest and force a certain person to -think- they were there, for example, though gestures are easy enough to make for a bard, a sweeping motion to accompany the feel of the song, etc. A magi would still have to use the more obvious gestures, I would "think" since the source of their magic must be called upon in a different manner than the knowledge of how to manipulate songs.

As for #4, I would say that a clomagdef vs the original clomagatk roll should be made any time the illusionary world shifts to something that is a different location than the original illusion.

As for the penalties, I would argue that there should be none against an attack made against them. This is an incapacitating spell, one designed to fool, not to debilitate. I would argue that some part of the deluded mind "is" aware of the "real" surroundings, still, and if an aggressive action is made at them that the spell is broken and reflexes allow for the victim to defend as they normally would. I would apply the same negative effects of a stun: the victim cannot attack but can defend as normal.

[miyuka]

1)They indeed can move, this isn't a stun, it is an illusion. What they see isn't what's really there. So if they bumped into something, then they'd prolyl be really confused.

With but a simple sound of the casters singing voice, he can make a barren area appear to be a lush valley or perhaps the edge of a mountain. Now, this truly isn't real, but to the spell casters enemy, it is what he sees that matters, not what reality dictates.

The spell doesn't pull you into some other world, it just makes you think you're there.


2)Yes, the person can be attacked, this is a battle spell, after all. They can also defend. At current there are no detrimental (sp?) mechanics for this spell, but that is something dev can look into when the time comes to look at this sphere.

3)There's nothing stealthy about casting this spell, being that you have to sing in order to do so.

you begin with your hum... And then the words. It doesn't have to sound pretty nor rhyme.

So round one would be you humming, while the next would be you singing about the location. Regardless of if you're a magi Bard or Mage, you sing it.

4)Currently that is up to the victim as there are no dice rolls whatsoever beyond being enraptured by the spell. As previously stated it's something Dev will have to look at when the time comes.