FEAT: Call Lightning - Call Clouds - Start Thunderstorm

From: Tim Ellis <tim_at_...>
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 00:36:35 +0100


Call Lightning, Call Clouds and Start Thunderstorm are all Clouds/Rain feats of Hedkoranth, and I'm going to treat them all in one place, because they seem to me to be fairly inter linked.

I think you can only Call Lightning in a Thunderstorm, and you can only start a thunderstorm if there are (Thunder) clouds in the sky. This doesn't necessarily mean you always need to use all three feats - You can call lightening just as easily in a natural thunderstorm as in one you have summoned.

Call Clouds would need to be a fairly lengthy ritual - think of a Rain Dance - with a resistance based on the current weather and season. In Dark or Storm season around the Stormwalk mountains it may rarely be necessary. At the height of Sun season in the middle of Vulture Country you probably need a couple of masteries.

A Critical success with Call Clouds may provide a bonus to "Start Thunderstorm", or even do away with the need to use this feat at all.

Call Cloud could be used as a simple contest, or as an extended contest where you can describe the sky darkening, or clearing as AP's are bid and lost, with participants may be dropping out (If there are more than one) or the caster tiring if he starts loosing to many AP's. An extended contest may be appropriate if you want to rack up the tension if there is a possibility that something may happen before the ritual is finished.

Once sufficient cloud cover is gathered a new contest starts to start the thunderstorm. Again this would require some sort of ritual - drumming is probably involved! It could be a simple contest unless there is a particular need to make it an extended contest. A critical success here (or driving the weather system to a high negative AP total) would give a bonus on the Call Lightning

Once the storm is started then Call lightening can be used as a simple action to call down lightening on a foe. Probably best treated as a simple contest unless the foe is particularly tough (or important to the plot). Simple contest vs appropriate resistance  

Complete victory - Dead/Dying
Major Victory - Knocked Out/Stunned (out of combat) Minor/Marginal victory - Dazed/hurt (still in combat, but at a minus) Marginal/minor defeat - Close miss, or hair standing on end! Major Defeat - Missed completely, or no lightning strike Complete Defeat - Storm blows itself out, no further Call Lightening possible - reduced chance of using this affinity for rest of adventure.

Used in an extended contest I'd require a minimum bid of say 14 (every successful strike could cause a grievous wound) If the Hedkoranthi runs out of AP's this would mean the storm has blown itself out (as above). If driven to a highly negative total (being reduced to only one or 2 AP's then loosing again, or as a result of a fumble or opponents critical) then he may have been hit himself by a stray bolt.

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