The goal of my spell is to make it so that a target (or group of targets, for the AOE variation) can neither understand nor be understood by other audibly.

This is what I've come up with thus far.

Babble
Illusion Spell - because I only need it to modify the words of someone. I'd pick Manipulation if I wanted to alter all sounds.
Base Drain of Light - because the target can still hear, just not comprehend speech
Target number of 4 - I forget where I got that from, Sadly, I'm a work at the moment
-1 drain level for it being an Illusion spell
+1 drain level for it being physical (cast it on a surveilance camera so that it can't record your conversation)

Add +1 to the drain level for the area version of the spell

So basically, this is where I stand:

Babble - Physical - Direct Illusion - TN: 4 - Sustained - Drain: (L)
If the target of this spell fails to resist with his Intelligence rating, he is unable to understand any language for as long as the spell is sustained.

=-=-=-=

Any comments? Changes you think I should make? Too easy to cast? Wrong spell type?

Mispeling Vyrus, anyone? Seriously, you might have to deal with Celedyr for copyright issues.

This would also make an interesting basis for an indirect illusion. Cast the spell around a subject or an area. Anyone (or anything) attempting to understand speech issuing from the target or area must resist the spell.

The indirect version would have a TN of 4, since there is no single, specific target. The direct version would almost certainly derive its TN from the Willpower of the affected target(s), though.

I think the idea for the spell is excellent, but I'd prefer there to be a mana version (just affecting metahumans) and a physical version (affecting all kinds), like the invis/imp invis pair. That way you could call the mana version "Babble" and the technological version "Typo."

I'd use Translate as a base and work from there. Not that your rules are bad, just saying.

Babble and gibberish? Babble and gobbledeygook?

~J

When I designed a very similar spell based on Sahandrian 's Garble I made it an Indirect Illusion cast upon a subject making everyone he or she talks to unable to understand him or her and ended up with a drain of M (major single sense, sustained).