(TFT) Re: permanence spell

[Stan <srydzews@ix.netcom.com>]

> Permanence (T): Makes a temporary effect Creation spell permanent (fire,
> image, illusion, shadow etc. Also works on Thrown spells cast on inanimate
> objects

Quite powerful!  I hope you don't mind a critique of the spell.  First, I'd
like to suggest a clarification and a limitation:

1) Remove Thrown Spell dispels Permanence (of course), and this also removes
   the spell that was  made  permanent if its normal duration has expired.

2) When a wizard dies, all his existing 'permanency' spells vanish.  I think
   this is good both as a limit to the spell and as a means to clearly 
   differentiate its nature from item enchantments.

I would also suggest a fairly high IQ level. 15?

That being said, let's examine the spells that could be made permanent:

As far as creation spells go, permanent Illusions and Images are currently
done through items.  These items can be used over and over however, and 
most importantly will work with illusions of creatures.  Clearly an 8 ST
permanent illusion can not be as useful or the items would be useless.  
I think that so long as the image or illusion made permanent with this 
spell can not move or change that's probably limitation enough. Touching 
or disbelieving would remove them as usual.

Making Fire, Walls, and Shadow permanent is probably not too overwhelming.  
(There is a Shadow item, but it's mobile, so is much better than this.)  
You have the issue of 'free energy' from permanent Fire spells, but somehow
permanent Walls of Fire never seemed to destroy D&D.  While at first it 
might seem like everyone would want permanent fires in their fireplace 
remember that you can't turn it off even on the hottest day of the summer.  
While a castle made of permanent Walls might sound nifty, don't forget that 
lightning bolts tear through created Walls like tissue paper.

Permanent Rope and Giant Rope would be okay, with the understanding that 
you can't remove the rope and put it on someone else--that's what the Rope
item is for.  A permanent Rope can be removed normally from its target, 
causing the Rope to vanish.

Permanent Magic Rainstorm?  Seems okay so long as the water vanishes when 
it leaves the rainstorm's hex--otherwise it's a permanent source of gallons 
of water per minute forever, which is probably too good of a deal for a 
one-time expenditure of 8 ST.

In regard to thrown spells, permanent Slippery/Sticky Floor, Light, and 
Pentagram again are already enchantments, so this spell probably shouldn't
apply to them.  Permanent, stationary Darkness might be okay since the
Darkness item enchantment produces an item with a mobile effect.  Permanent 
Ward is reasonable, but since Ward lasts an entire day anyway it's probably 
also pointless.

On the other hand, Permanent Blast Trap would probably be too powerful, 
especially since multiple Blast Traps can be stacked on one item.

So I guess my counter-suggestion is:

Permanence (T) IQ 15
 Makes a casting of the following spells permanent: Image, Illusion,
Darkness, Fire, Wall, Rope, Shadow, and Magic Rainstorm.  Also works
on multi-hex versions of these spells.  If the permanency is removed, 
the underlying spell effect immediately vanishes unless its normal 
duration has not yet expired.  When a wizard dies, all of his existing
Permanence spells expire along with him. Costs 8 fST plus 3 per extra 
hex affected.  
Spell-specific notes:
 - Permanent Ropes vanish when removed from the original target.
 - Permanent Magic Rainstorms are immobile and the water they produce 
   vanishes as soon as it leaves the hex that the rainstorm occupies.  
 - Permanent Illusions and Images can not move or change, and the 
   wizard who cast them can not see 'through' them as he could through 
   the eyes of a normal creation.  Touching a permanent Image or 
   disbelieving a permanent Illusion will destroy it in the usual fashion.

It's still a very powerful spell.  If you wanted another limit on it, 
make it so that the wizard must "permanently" devote 1 fST to each 
Permanency effect he has running.  It's basically expended fST that 
rest won't recover.  A wizard can cancel a Permanency at any time, and 
will then regain the fST through normal rest.  Personally, I don't 
think this is necessary, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

One thing to note is that all of these Permanent effects are immobile. 
They are defensive in nature. I think the defense usually gets the short
end of things in FRPG's, it's always the attack spells and whatnot that 
get the most attention.  Viewed this way, Permanency is a good thing.

A cool side effect would be to make spellcasting and/or fST recovery more
difficult in areas with lots of permanent effects--the permanency spells 
are leeching away all the magical power in the area to keep themselves 
going.  Tough to specify mechanics for this though.
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