Nuclear Beasts

HM Spell Effects: Compel

Okay, the Compel spell restricts the target's actions in some way. Preventing an action is considerably easier than making them do something that they don't want to, so paralysis is much more practical than marionette. It's a psychic compulsion, though, so if you force someone to do something successfully, they'll do it at full skill.

Let's see... in order of difficulty:

1. prevent someone from doing something that they want to
2. prevent an action that they need to perform (they'll be in danger/hardship if they don't)
3. prevent an action that they really need to perform (they'll probably die or be seriously hurt if they don't). Or compel an action that doesn't really harm them.
4. Compel an action that might endanger them (drop your sword).
5. Compel any action, even a suicidal one.

Prohibiting ALL actions should be one step harder than stopping a specific sort. Hm.

I could also see it being less specific... you make a control attempt and then we list off how much control you have over them.

• Level 1: you can prevent them from taking actions so long as this doesn't endanger them or anything that they really care about.
• Level 2:

Hm. Let's try again...

• Level 1: prevent hostile actions (don't attack me unless I attack you first).
• Level 2: prevent a wide class of actions (don't travel past this barrier)
• Level 3: compel actions that don't endanger them or something they really care about (unlock my cell and let me go).
• Level 4: compel actions that might endanger them or something they care about or inflict full paralysis on them (prohibiting all actions).
• Level 5+: compel any action, even suicidal ones.

That makes the caster's Magic Rating pretty unimportant, though... although it does apply to the skill roll and it might penalize the resistance check, too. Another option would be to say that the Compel doesn't vanish the moment that they stop concentrating... a Concentrated Compel could be a one-time zap that lasts for Magic+1 minutes. Or maybe Magic * Magic minutes (Magic 0 means 30 seconds/5 rounds). Should it have a random factor? 1d6 x Magic minutes? That might be better.

Posted by Kiz at April 26, 2005 01:12 PM