I posted an earlier version of this asking about a flight spell and got some GREAT results, so I'm starting a new post here. If anyone has some kewl spell ideas or gaming comments on other people's spell ideas, feel free!!! I'll start with this one:


IN another post here I saw a spell called "Vanish, a created spell that works like improved invisibility with silence added to it. Do any of you think this is overpowering or is it balanced?

There is also a spell I was considering called multi-strike. It allows a mage to hit multiple creatures with it, but only a number of creatures can be struck equal to the force rating of the spell. There is a stunning, killing and object affecting version of this spell. How would you guys create this spell, or is it too powerful and Why?

Technological invisibility - a limited form of improved invisibility, one that only affects artificial sensors. Although, I suspect any GM worth their salt would either veto it or strictly enforce the drain code.
Item invisibility - Concealability code too terrible? Fine! Cast magic on it! Hey presto, that assault cannon is now hidden until you pull the trigger.
Moveable barrier spells - Such as ones shaped to your character. Like a shield, really. But that'd probably be pretty disgustingly overpowered too.

I think your multi strike spell is at best, unnecessary, and at worst, OP. At best, unnecessary, because a caster can already strike multiple targets with the same spell, by dividing your dice pool and adding 1 to the drain for each "copy". And possibly OP, because you're creating this spell to get around that restriction

A modified version of the nutrition spell:

I've often wondered about that... what exactly is the downside to being addicted to a magical spell that is beneficial to you?

No clue. I wish some of these things were more clear as well.

Ritual spells. Spells that are very high powered/unique and must be cast only by ritual magic.

When it starts to, uh, overload your aura with.. outside mana contamination, overwhelming your aura's immune system. Which causes essence loss at the extreme level. That's why.

The fluff for that spell already 'explains' it. Besides, you can be addicted to all kinds of beneficial things in reality. In SR, it wrecks your Essence to have any kind of advanced addiction (simsense, drugs, magic, probably even certain activities), regardless of the biological/metaphysical mechanism.

I thought up this spell a little while ago, because I was unhappy with the Mist / Shadow spells. Could add the Extended Area option here too.

Fog: Manipulation
Type: P • Range: LOS (A) • Duration: S • DV: (F ÷ 2) + 1

Fog creates an obscuring veil of...fog...in the area of effect. The net hits of the spell will impose a negative visibility modifier to anyone in the area (max -6). Vision enhancements (such as thermo and low-light) cut the penalty in half. The area of effect is Force radius in meters.

The spell has to be sustained to reach full effect. When first cast, the spell will impose a -1 visibility modifier. Each successive Combat Turn that the mage sustains the spell, the spell grows in strength, imposing a further -1 visibility modifer, up to the net-hits-worth of modifiers.

The spell's area of effect cannot be moved, unlike other sustained spells. When the mage stops sustaining the spell, the fog will slowly dissipate, reducing the vision modifier by 1 per Combat Turn.

This is just a less effective version of the Shadow spell (SR4A p. 211).

Vanish should be all senses, not just Invisibility+Inaudibility.

They are very similar, but with some differences - some flavorful, some minorly mechanical.

I ended up just using area spells that do the same thing anyway. Just looking for a way to use certain spells to hit enemies and not my allies in the same area. It's actually cheaper than the multi-strike, and I hit more targets. SO it turns out the spell is just unnecessarry and too costly in comparison to area-effect.

I don't mind the flavorful differences, but the fogspell probably won't get much use because of its major mechanical disadvantages: It takes several combat turns for the fog to arrive, whereas Combat rarely lasts more than 2 and there should still be an active mystical link to the caster even after he stopped sustaining it.

It's just like Orgasm/Orgy vs. Agony/Mass agony, but with those spells the difference in effectiveness is even greater.

Depending on the usage, a Fog spell could be quite useful...

Just tell me what it achieves that Shadow doesn't.

Well, it looks fairly natural in the right circumstances, for one thing. Which is handy when you are aiming for negative perception mods (think stealth) rather than negative COMBAT mods. An unusually localized cloud of fog attracts a lot less outside attention (at least in the right weather) than an obviously artificial zone of darkness.
For example, say you need to sneak past a camera. Which is more likely to draw investigation- the camera view goes suddenly black for a while, then comes back, or the camera's vies is gradually obscured by fog, then clears up?

Too bad the spell's description contradicts its effects. I wouldn't consider a spell with 1-3 hits darkness. Darkness is a spell at 6+ hits and thus force.

Unnatural Shadows IMHO are just as noticeable as localized mist, unless you really go to town with enlarging the area and then the effect will be even less.

Dancing Fool (Manipulation, Mental)
Type: M Range: LOS Duration: S DV: (F/2) - 1
Dance Party (Manipulation, Mental)
Type: M Range: LOS(A) Duration: S DV: (F/2) + 1
Dancing Fool instills in a single metahuman target an irresistible compulsion to dance. Each net hit scored by the caster applies a -1 dice pool modifier to all of the target's actions as they shake their moneymaker. At the gamemaster's discretion, a character who suffers a dice pool modifier higher than his Willpower is completely preoccupied and unable to take any action other than dancing. Dancing Fool and its area-effect variant, Dance Party, only affect metahumans.

Absolutely love it...

Do you get bonus dice for playing suitably danceable music?

wife invented a tickle spell. it's fundamentally the same spell as Orgasm, only the fluff is a tad different.

I love this idea

Me too. And for the Evil™ Mages add:

Greater Agony (Realistic, Single-Sense)
Type: M • Range: LOS • Duration: S • DV: (F ÷ 2) – 2
Greater Mass Agony (Realistic, Single-Sense, Area)
Type: M • Range: LOS (A) • Duration: S • DV: (F ÷ 2)
Agony inflicts an illusion of terrible pain on the target. Each net hit scored by the caster temporarily inflicts a –1 dice pool modifier to all of the target’s actions as they writhe in pain. At the gamemaster’s discretion, a character who suffers a dice pool modifier higher than his Willpower is completely incapacitated by the spell.
Greater Agony affects a single target, Greater Mass Agony is area effect.

Shouldn't the Drain for a "Greater Agony" be more than the Drain for an "Agony"?

Why? Mechanically it is the same spell as Orgasm. Only the description of the effect is different.
It's just that I don't like that the normal Agony spell is mechanically so much inferior to the Orgasm spell but with the same drain. Orgasm is more than 3 times as effective as Agony. If you look up the meaning of agony it should be clear that the sensation should be at least as distracting as arousal.

I'm still thinking about whether the Pain Editor and/or Damage Compensators shoud negate/mitigate the spell's effect.

OK, I didn't go beyond the original Agony spell for comparisons. Wherever it lies, there is a Drain discrepancy somewhere.

Lets sum up the two stock spells, only single target version since the only difference to the area spells is -2 drain
Agony:
1 box of imaginary damage/net hit => -1/3 net hits no incapacitation, no mention what happens if the condition monitor is filled.
Drain: (F/2)-2

Orgasm:
-1/net hit + (at GM's discretion) total incapacitation if net hits > WIL
Drain: (F/2)-2

Am I the only one who thinks either Orgasm should be downgraded to the effects of Agony or Agony upgraded to the effects of Orgasm? As if pleasure were so much more distracting than pain...

This is the flip side of what I was saying, that the Drain is off for one of these.

Ok,I thought you meant Greater Agony vs. Stock Agony/Orgasm

Hey, my body language was clear!