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This is the third installment of ten spells to go with my Dungeons & Sorcery system for GURPS. This time, they’re based on a mix of 1st and 2nd level AD&D spells.

Blindness (C)
Phantasm, Verbal, Resisted (HT)
42 points/level
Casting Time: 2 seconds
Casting Roll: Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.
Range: 50 yards
Duration: Permanent

Successfully casting this spell on someone causes their sense of vision to shut down, rendering them blind. If you hit the subject with this spell, roll a Quick Contest of your Will + Talent vs his HT; if you win he goes blind and sees nothing more. This is not an illusion of ‘nothing’, nor a condition that can be cured magically or medically. Sight can only be restored by successful use of dispel magic or similar, or entering a No Mana area.

Each level of this spell past the first adds a -1 penalty to the target’s HT.

Affliction 1 (HT; Disadvantage: Blindness, +50%; Extended Duration, Permanent, +150%; Malediction 2, +150%; Reduced Range, 1/2, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Takes Extra Time, x2, -10%) [4.15×10]

Blur (C)
Illusion, Somatic, Verbal
33 points
Casting Time: 2 seconds
Casting Roll: none
Range: none
Duration: 1 minute

Casting this spell causes light near the caster to become distorted, causing the image of the caster to waver and shift about randomly. While mildly disturbing in itself, the actual advantage conferred is that it is difficult to tell exactly where the caster is and exactly what he is doing, and makes him harder to hit. This grants a +2 bonus to all active defense rolls.

Defense Bonus 2 (Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Takes Extra Time, x2, -10%) [0.55×60]

Darkness (C)
Alteration, Somatic, Verbal
35 points + 2 points/level
Casting Time: 2 seconds
Casting Roll: Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim
Range: 50 yards
Duration: 10 minutes

This spell creates a sphere of impenetrable darkness 5 yards across at a point designated by the caster (see Scatter, B414, on a miss). This affects all forms of light, including Infravision, Ultravision, and light-based attacks that pass through the magical darkness.

Light (and continual light) and darkness cancel each other out. Casting darkness so that it overlaps with the source of a light spell will restore normal lighting, as will casting light inside a darkness spell. However, note that neither condition actually eliminates the spells, and if one terminates before the other, the remaining spell will return to full effect.

Obscure 10 (Vision; Extended: Infravision, Ultravision, +40%; Extended Duration, x10, +40%; Ranged, +50%; Reduced Range, 1/2, -10%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Sphere, +0%; Takes Extra Time, x2, -10%) [1.75×20]

Deafness (C)
Phantasm, Somatic, Verbal, Resisted (HT)
37 points/level
Casting Time: 2 seconds
Casting Roll: Innate Attack (Gaze) to aim.
Range: 50 yards
Duration: Permanent

Upon casting this spell, roll Innate Attack (Gaze) to hit the subject, and then roll a Quick Contest of your Will + Talent vs his HT. If you win the Quick Contest, the subject becomes deaf. This is not an illusion that prevents hearing, nor a condition that can be cured magically or medically. Hearing can only be restored by successful use of dispel magic or similar, or entering a No Mana area.

Each level of this spell past the first adds a -1 penalty to the target’s HT.

Affliction 1 (HT; Disadvantage: Deafness, +20%; Extended Duration, Permanent, +150%; Malediction 2, +150%; Reduced Range, 1/2, -10%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Takes Extra Time, x2, -10%) [3.65×10]

Detect Invisibility (C)
Divination, Somatic, Verbal, Information
22 points
Casting Time: 2 seconds
Casting Roll: None
Range: Special; use speed/range table
Duration: 10 minutes

Use of this spell gives the caster great clarity of vision, allowing him to see hidden, invisible, and extra-planar objects, albeit only in a 60º arc in front of him (see Tunnel Vision to determine the area of enhanced vision). His vision extends into the astral and ethereal planes, where they overlap with the caster’s prime material plane, and can see invisible and concealed objects in this one.

The caster gains +4 to vision-based perception rolls (only within the 60º arc!) for the duration of the spell, which may let him see people or things that were successfully hidden from him before. The GM should make new contests of Per and Stealth based on this, as well as making a Per roll to observe any and all invisible, astral, ethereal, out of phase, etc. people and objects around him. Unless he gets a critical success on his Per roll, the caster will not be able to tell the difference between these categories visually, and will have to work it out for himself (except that the silver cord of an astral traveler will be a dead giveaway).

See Invisible (Visual; Extended Duration, x10, +40%; Link, +10%; Restricted Arc, 60º, -75%, Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Takes Extra Time, x2, -10%; World-Spanning, +100%) [1.3×15] + Acute Vision 4 (Extended Duration, x10, +40%; Link, +10%; Restricted Arc, 60º, -75%, Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Takes Extra Time, x2, -10%) [0.3×8] Note: If you want to use this spell in a campaign that does not use AD&D cosmology, drop World-Spanning for a total cost of 7 points.

Shocking Grasp (VC)
Alteration, Somatic, Verbal
12 points
Casting Time: 1 second
Casting Roll: Innate Attack
Range: Touch
Duration: Instantaneous

This spell produces a short-lived electrical charge in the caster that can be discharged into anything he touches (being touched will do nothing) for 1d+2 burning damage. Normal materials will insulate with DR, but metal armor (or anything else conductive, like grasping a metal pole that the caster touches), will simply conduct the attack to the target while acting as DR1.

Innate Attack 1d+2 (burn) (Melee Attack, C, 1, -20%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Surge, Arcing, +100%) [1.45×8]

Spider Climb (VC)
Alteration, Somatic, Verbal, Buff
15 points
Casting Time: 1 second
Casting Roll: None
Range: Touch
Duration: 30 seconds

The subject of this spell gains the ability to cling to any surface, allowing him to climb up walls, and stick to ceilings or other surfaces if they are in direct contact with his skin (i.e., the subject cannot wear gloves or shoes while actually climbing up a wall). All such movement is at 1/2 his normal rate.

The downside of this spell is that the subject’s skin will attempt to cling to everything. While uncomfortable for clothes, the main effect is that the subject will be unable to drop anything weighing less than about 5 lbs.; it will just stick to his hand (or other body part). These objects can be ‘scraped off’, or taken by another person, but dropping is no longer a Free Action.

Affliction 1 (HT; Advantage: Clinging (Accessibility: Bare Skin, -10%; Magical, -10%; Nuisance Effect: Everything Clings, -20%), +120%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Melee Attack, C, 1, -20%; Reduced Duration, 1/6, -15%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%) [1.5×10]

Spook (C)
Illusion, Somatic, Verbal
24 points +8/level
Casting Time: 1 second
Casting Roll: Will
Range: 10 yards
Duration: 1 second

The caster selects one target within 10 yards, and produces an illusion of one of his greatest fears. This is only seen by the target, who must then make a Quick Contest of Will (including your talent) with you. Fright Check Modifiers (B360) apply to the target’s roll; in addition, the worst appropriate phobia the target has can be activated by this illusion, and the target will need to roll against his self-control on that, with failure adding to his Quick Contest result as well. If you win, the target takes a Fright Check with a +1 per your MoS.

Each additional level of the spell adds a -1 to the target’s Will for the Quick Contest.

Terror (Sight) (Active, +0%; Cosmic: Access Phobia, +50%; Reduced Duration, 1/60, -35%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%) [0.8×30]

Unseen Servant (VC)
Conjuration, Somatic, Verbal
10 points
Casting Time: 1 second
Casting Roll: None.
Range: None.
Duration: 100 minutes

Casting this spell creates a magical force that operates as the magic-user directs, generally doing simple tasks such as fetching items, opening doors, and often cleaning and mending. It can only perform one task at a time, but will follow the caster’s specifications to the best of its ability. It will take damage as a diffuse object (B380) from area effects and the like. Also, as a magical force, it can be dispelled or will cease to exist if it enters a No Mana area, and if killed (and it always dies after taking 10 injury) or banished in any way, it cannot be reconjured for five minutes.

The servant’s maximum lift is 50 pounds, and it has DX 10 for any complicated tasks, but is also skill-12 for any housekeeping tasks such as dusting and mending. It could turn a spit, and do other simple cooking tasks under direction, and while it can perform a long series of tasks, it is unable to read a recipe or check progress other than visually. The servant is incapable of attacking someone in any way (including with a ‘held’ object). Though it could try to hold an obstruction in place with ST 5.

Ally (25% Power, Constantly Available; Extended Duration, x100, +80%; Minion, +0%; Requires Gestures, -10%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Sorcery, -15%; Summonable, +100%) [2.45×4] The Ally has: ST 5 [-50], IQ 7 [-60], DX 10, HT 5 [‑50], BL 5 lbs., BS 3.75, Conjured Servant [20], Dependency: Mana (Very Common, Constant; Instant Death, +100%) [-50], Diffuse [100], Doesn’t Breathe [20], Illiterate [-3], Invisibility (Affects Machines, +50%; Extended, Infravision, Ultravision, +40%) [76], Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30], Mute [-25], No Eyes [5], No Neck [5], No Physical Attack (Arms + Cannot Kick) [-20], No Sense of Smell/Taste [-5], Professional Skill: Housekeeping DX+2 [8] = [-5]

Ventriloquism (VC)
Illusion, Verbal
68 points
Casting Time: 1 second
Casting Roll: IQ
Range: 50 yards
Duration: 10 minutes

When a magic-user casts this spell, he can make his voice come from any location he desires within 50 yards (subject to an IQ + Talent roll to hit a desired spot in line of sight with no range penalties). This can be from a statue, another creature, behind a door, or even from the middle of a phantasmal force spell (note that the concentration requirement of the latter means it is best to cast this spell first).

While this is the magic-user’s voice, as it is not coming from him, imitations of other voices and sounds may be harder to detect. To fool someone into thinking that it is a particular person they heard (other than yourself), roll a Quick Contest of Mimicry vs Per (as this is not part of the magic, Sorcery Talent does not help!)

If you have your voice come from your own (or someone else’s) phantasmal force, roll against Mimicry to make convincing sound effects, and either Mimicry or Acting can be a complementary skill roll for the Artist (Illusion) roll for that spell.

Clairsentience (Clairenunciation, -80%; Extended Duration, x10, +40%; Fixed Location, -10%; Fixed Range, -5%; Increased Range, x5, +20%; No Strain, +25%; Requires Magic Words, -10%; Second Nature, +70%; Sorcery, -15%) [1.35×50]

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Ventriloquism has some odd stats in the original, so I arranged it to mirror phantasmal force to make it easy to use as a ‘sound system’ for the main illusion spell of the system. Clairenunciation is one of a number of great new modifiers for Clairsentience featured on Christopher R. Rice’s blog. Darkness also builds off of the light spells, but isn’t nearly so closely related.

Detect invisibility took more to work out than I expected, as I didn’t recall that the original had all the extras in it. Still, I like the idea of it being a ‘see everything that’s here’ ability, with the extra perception to help make it happen.

I’m also happy with the idea to use a low-level Cosmic to tap into an existing disadvantage when appropriate. People with phobias really should have problems with any ‘confront your greatest fear’ powers.