Sneaky, Subtle Spellcraft

[Lysander]

Magic is pretty showy, isn't it? FIREBALL! *KABLOOOOM*

But sometimes you just want to be really subtle with your magic. I don't being OBVIOUS subtle like casting invisibility and sneaking around. I mean magic so effective nobody but the caster ever even needs to know there was a spell at all. Let's see what we can come up with.

Wasting Sickness
Necromancy 4
Range: Touch
Saving Throw: Will Negates

This spell requires the caster prepare a vile potion of snake venom mixed with rat's blood, containing a strand of the target's hair which is enchanted in a ten minute ritual. Then the caster must touch the intended victim to begin the spell (this is when a will save occurs). From then on, once per day, the caster can take a sip of this potion, but rather than suffer any harm themselves the victim has their maximum HP permanently lowered by 1 point. If the caster foolishly drinks a second sip in a 24 hour period then they have their own HP lowered. The caster can continue lowering the victim's health until they run out of potion. Each potion contains 100 sips. A person cannot be linked to more than one potion at a time, so you can't brew two potions and sicken someone twice as fast. Restoration can be used to recover lost hp, however rather than gain all HP back instantly their max HP will just rise 1 point per day on its own until it gets back to normal. If another sip of the potion is drunk it will neutralize (and be neutralized) by the 1 point of healing that day, and halt the restorative process.

[OverdrivePrime]

I actually like that quite a lot. 4th level seems appropriate for it. What about if the caster grinds up a part of the target as a reagent (an once of hair, fingernails, blood, etc) the target suffers -4 penalty to their will save.

I have the humorous image of the target making their save and the caster, none-the-wiser, devotedly taking a sip of this potion once per day for a hundred days, wondering just how freakin' healthy their target could be! :smallbiggrin:

[martyboy74]

Can you link someone to another potion if the first one runs out? Does the caster know if the spell failed because they're already linked to a different potion? Can the wizard have this on multiple people (presumably having multiple potions)? Does the potion have an aura? Can they tell that they're being wasted away? Can the subject trace the caster?

[Lysander]

You can link someone to another potion when the first runs out, but that gives them another will save. The wizard can have multiple potions, but only one per person. The person does feel ill as time goes on, but they might only suspect a mundane illness. How bad they feel depends on how much hp is missing...a 100 HP barbarian might not notice 1 point missing.

The potion does have a magical aura.

Oh, some additions to the spell:

If the subject succeeds on a will save they cannot have Wasting Sickness cast on them by that magician for 100 days.

and

Remove Curse will end the spell, preventing further loss of hp but will not restore maximum health. This also turns any remain potion into a black inert sludge.


Another subtle spell:

Clue
Level 1 Enchantment
Target: Book, papers, or other written material
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 year/level

This spell is useful for drawing people's attention to written materials. Anyone who comes within ten feet of the enchanted object will become aware of it, feeling a sense of unexplainable intuition. For instance it could draw attention to one specific book on a shelf teeming with tomes. It even works if the subject can't see the material; drawing attention to a closed drawer or box that has the material inside, or even in an unlikely place like behind a bookshelf or taped inside a lamp. This is not a compulsion, just a notice; a person can choose to ignore it.

[olelia]

Clue
Level 1 Enchantment
Target: Book, papers, or other written material
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 year/level

This spell is useful for drawing people's attention to written materials. Anyone who comes within ten feet of the enchanted object will become aware of it, feeling a sense of unexplainable intuition. For instance it could draw attention to one specific book on a shelf teeming with tomes. It even works if the subject can't see the material; drawing attention to a closed drawer or box that has the material inside, or even in an unlikely place like behind a bookshelf or taped inside a lamp. This is not a compulsion, just a notice; a person can choose to ignore it.

This spell almost feels like a 0-level spell because there is nothing "forcing" the person to the object. Balance wise...I don't think anything ever has that long of a duration until you hit like 5th level spells or higher...I might be wrong because I don't have all of the optional books. Here's a question though...if a person takes it does that mean everyone within 10 feet will have there attention "drawn" to that object? This could make this spell very VERY dangerous.