Runequest Thursday #48 - Three Magical Feats of Arms, and a New Elemental!

In past Runequest Thursdays, I have provided Feats of Arms, mostly for the more martially oriented characters. Here is attempt to redress this imbalance, by providing three new Feat of Arms, two for Sorcerers, and one for Shamans. I hope to add more in the coming weeks.

Note: If a spell description refers to having a spell 'prepared', it refers to having the spell ready to cast by devoting INT points to one or more of its ranks. As noted in A New Sorcery, sorcerers must have spells 'prepared' to use them without having to cast them from a grimoire. All ranks of a spell need not be prepared, but only those that are are accessible without having to resort to lengthier casting procedures and a grimoire. For purposes of sorcerous feats of arms, variable effects, such as damage or other bonuses, are based on the ranks of the governing spell that are 'prepared'.

Infuse Weapon – POW 15, Sorcery at 60%, a damaging spell with an Elemental Rune at 60% prepared.

Cost: 7 Hero Points, and you must train for 1d4+2 weeks with a tutor, paying what they demand.

You may spend a Hero Point to infuse a melee or ranged weapon you touch with elemental power of a type you command, up to the number of ranks you have prepared. Infusion lasts for a number of Combat Rounds [or Combat Actions if you are using Combat Actions instead] equal to your Manipulation Limit. Use the following table to determine the extra damage value.

Ranks of Elemental Spell Known             Elemental Damage

1.                                                             1 Pt
2.                                                             1d4
3.                                                             1d6
4.                                                             1d8
5.                                                            1d10
6.                                                            1d12

Each additional Rank                                     +1d4

You may use any of the elemental spells you know in conjunction with ‘Infuse weapon’ but the amount of damage does is based on the rank of the elemental spell you have prepared to infuse.

Example:

Deseneus knows Fire/ Frost 4 and Lightning 2. If he infuses his falx with Fire or Frost, he will inflict 1d8 bonus damage of that type. However, if he chooses Lightning damage, he will only add +1d4 Lightning damage to his falx damage. If he only had 2 ranks of Fire/ Frost prepared, his bonus damage for infusing either of those elements would be based on those ranks, rather than all four that he knows.

Elemental Defense – POW 16, Sorcery 60%, one or more  prepared Conjure/ Dismiss Elemental spells at 60%.

Cost: 6 Hero Points, and you must train for 1d4+2 weeks with a tutor, paying what they demand, or you must have Mastered the Runes for the elements you hope to defend against [in which case you need no tutor, but must still spend the time].

You command of the elements enables you to better defend against such attacks. Increase your Defense against elemental attacks [those for which you have prepared the C/D elemental spell at 60% or higher] by 5% per rank of the spell, and defend against elemental POW vs. POW attacks with +1 POW per rank of the spell you have prepared.

Example:

Deseneus has the spells Conjure/ Dismiss Undine 3 and Conjure/ Dismiss Salamander 5 at 60% or higher, and has them prepared. When an Undine attempts to drown him he defenses with his POW+3. When an enemy hurls a Blast at him [a fire spell] his Defense against it striking him is +25%. Had he prepared only 2 ranks of Conjure/ Dismiss Salamander, he would gain only +10% Defense against the Blast.

Spirit Strike – POW 15, Spirit Binding at 60%.

Cost: 5 Hero Points, and you must train for 1d4+2 weeks with a tutor, paying what they demand.

Instead of shifting your attention into the spirit world, you can attack a discorporate spirit, or a corporeal creature that is possessed by a spirit, with a weapon in melee. Use your melee attack chance to hit. If you are hitting a spirit, you may add half of your weapon damage [round up] to the Spectral Combat damage you inflict. If you are attacking a possessed creature, you may add half of your Spectral Combat damage [round up] to your weapon damage.

New  Sorcery Spell:

Conjure/ Dismiss Fulminar

This spell works in all ways as any other Conjure/ Dismiss Elemental spell in A New Sorcery, but conjures or dismisses a Fulminar, a elemental of lightning instead.

A Fulminar appears as a burly humanoid composed of cloud and lightning. It can:

1. Create Light as the Light/ Dark spell of its Rank +1.
2. At the cost of 1 HP per die of damage it deals, strike at objects or creatures within 5 yards with lightning doing 1d4+1 damage per rank of the Fulminar on a successful POW vs. POW. It may strike up to its rank in targets, doing 1d4+1 to each, or a single target for 1d4+1 X its rank.
3. Take damage normally, but if struck in melee its lightning does 1 damage per rank directly to the HP of the striker.
4. Teleport as a move action up to 24 yards, or 10 times that distance as a full round action. It can carry 5 SIZ in willing passengers per rank while teleporting.
5. A Fulminar fails Stealth rolls automatically in most situations.
6. Mutually destroy a Gnome or Undine, or destroy a Shade or Lune by comparing levels and making a successful attack.
7. Can be added to a weapons damage doing +1d4+1 damage to targets struck. When the Fulminar is placed within the weapon, 1 Point per rank is done directly [ignoring Armor Points] to the HP of the weapon or the wielder, distributed as the caster chooses.

I have included a pdf of the updated Elemental Interaction Table. You can download it by clicking the link just below the art.