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Redoid
02-22-2005, 02:41 PM
The intent of this spell, inspired by Mars' Glare, is to protect diplomats from harm during truce negociations. You don't want your commander to go with only a white flag to protect him? Have the negociations take place on sacred grounds.

Any non-magical weapon (made of wood, earth, stone...) entering the zone of effect is turned to dust. The spell must be sustained (as an instantaneous wouldn't protect from bringin wepons in after the spell is cast, and acts indistinctely on all weapons (friend's or foe's alike).

Raw abstraction: ob 8, syllables 33

Earth (ob 1, syllables 6)
Destroyer (ob 2, syllables 5)
Personal (ob 0, syllables 2)
Sustained (ob 2, syllables 4)
Double Presence (ob 3 syllables 16)

First distillation: ob 6, syllables 23

Earth (ob 1, syllables 6)
Destroyer (ob 2, syllables 5)
Personal (ob 0, syllables 2)
Sustained-Double Presence (ob 2.5 syllables 10)

Second distillation: ob 4, syllables 18

Earth-Destroyer (ob 1.5, syllables 5.5)
Personal (ob 0, syllables 2)
Sustained-Double Presence (ob 2.5 syllables 10)

Final distillation: capped, extension sigil, major sigil

Sacred Grounds, ob 3, syllables 90

The spells creates a zone, centered on the caster but who don't move with him, where arms are prohibited, and turned to dust. It's a safe zone, as the spell applys to arrows send to the zone: they shatter upon entering. The zone is twice the caster's presence in paces, and lasts as long as the caster sustains it.

Having the zone moving with the caster is a source of abuse (I envision parties of unarmed martial artists gathered around the sorcerer...) The incantation is long enough for this not to be a combat spell, hence the low obstacle. It's a must for leaders fearing assassination, and a nice surprise for players plundering temples.

Kublai
02-24-2005, 05:57 PM
This is cool and all, but wouldn't Turn Aside the Blade better benefit the diplomat as then even unarmed combatants couldn't strike him?

Redoid
02-24-2005, 06:21 PM
This is cool and all, but wouldn't Turn Aside the Blade better benefit the diplomat as then even unarmed combatants couldn't strike him?

Not all diplomats are spellcasters :) And I woudn't want a "single target" version of TASB, without drawback or a very high obstacle... Of course the "mechanic" cost to create that spell with abstraction would be quite low, but as a GM I woudn't welcome it. I don't want a knight in shining TASB mowing through opponents with its great axe.

Thor Olavsrud
02-24-2005, 06:28 PM
Not all diplomats are spellcasters :) And I woudn't want a "single target" version of TASB, without drawback or a very high obstacle... Of course the "mechanic" cost to create that spell with abstraction would be quite low, but as a GM I woudn't welcome it. I don't want a knight in shining TASB mowing through opponents with its great axe.

Actually, you can Abstract it right out of the gate. If a sorcerer knows Turn Aside the Blade AND knows the Single Target Facet, he just adds the Facet to the spell (i.e., tacks on the additional Ob and the additional syllables), and casts.

That's actually the most functional way of casting an Abstraction in Burning Wheel. Raw Abstractions, where the entire spell is built of Facets, are usually too difficult to cast in the heat of the moment.