Mind Magic Spells

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These are spells that either affect another's mind or body, and some of these spells may have been moved to/ from other files. Be sure to check out my save throw notes on mind- altering magic. They make things a bit more realistic.

The following spells can be considered 'mental' magic: Death Trance, See Aura, Sense Evil, Sense Magic, Befuddle, Fear, Levitation, Paralysis: Lesser, Telekinesis, Astral Projection, Blind, Repel Animals, Traitorous Hand, Trance, Calling, Domination, Sleep, Compulsion, Memory Bank, Agony, Second Sight, Hallucination, Locate, Oracle, Curse: Phobia, Mute, Curse: Temporary Insanity, Transferal, Curse: Paranoia, Friend in the Head, Curse: Neurosis, Psychic Drain, Id Barrier, and Someone Makes Them.

GMs might extend this category to include spirit spells (like Commune with Spirit, Banishment, Exorcism, etc.) and to others curses and certain illusion spells (Apparition, Charismatic Aura, and Mask of Deceit for example).

Aphrodesiac

Level: 6
Range: Touch or 1ft.
Duration: Enchanted food or drink remains enchanted for ten minutes per level, and the effects last for 1d4+1 hours.
Casting Time: One melee
Saving Throw: Standard
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 15

Enchanting a container of food or drink with this spell will result in its tranformation into a strong aphrodesiac. The spell will affect a wine glass, a punchbowl, and a tray of oysters all the same. Persons affected by the spell will perceive all people of their sexual preference to have an M.A. and a P.B. six points higher than they really are. The afflicted will flirt mercilessly and attempt to seduce the nearest person of their sexual preference found attractive (almost anyone). A rejection isn't disheartening - they will move on to the next person in their sights.

Those who drink or eat the enchanted sustinence will also be generally giddy and forgetful, though they will still fight to defend themselves, their loved ones, and their principles. Anyone with serious sexual problems/ repression gains a +6 bonus to save vs this spell. This spell is guaranteed to make a party interesting. Also consider this spell an enchantment spell.

Danger Sense

Level: 3
Range: Self, 60ft radius.
Duration: Two minutes per level
Casting Time: One melee action
Saving Throw: None
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 6

For the duration of the spell, the character has a sensing ability equivalent to the sensitive psionic power of Sixth Sense.

Farsense

Level: 5
Range: Self, 20ft per level.
Duration: Two minutes per level.
Casting Time: Two melee actions
Saving Throw: None
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 12

For the duration of the spell, the caster can receive sensations from a distant location. It doesn't matter if the target area is behind a cell door, deep underground, or across the room. As long as he knows the general spatial location of the area he can receive sense data from it. The only drawback to this spell is its disorienting effects.

It takes one melee action to 'send out' the senses and another to 'reel them back in.' While the character's senses are not focused on his own body he is only mildly aware of events around his body. He knows if someone is talking to him (keep the messages simple), how many people are around his body, and when he's under attack. The senses, while crystal clear at the targeted sense location, are very vague at the body's location. Clearly combat and physical skill performance are impossible when the senses are divided from the body. The Farsensing mage can pick up, within range, the areas of sense activity (which are often where living creatures are).

Some might say this spell is basically Astral Projection, but it is not. The astral self never leaves the body, and thus is protected. Also, when perceiving a location the character's spirit is not vulnerable to attack. A psychic or sensitive mage will know that there is a presence in the area (the Farsensing mage registers on Presence Sense) but won't pick up an astral body. For the duration of the spell, any spells cast by the character have a -8 strike penalty and/or half the duration (you can't easily maintain a spell while you aren't sensing normally).

Impression

Level: 3
Range: Touch
Duration: One melee.
Casting Time: One melee action
Saving Throw: None
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 5

The caster can recieve psychic impressions from objects about the previous owner(s). The owner's general alignment, human or non- human nature, old or young, male or female, healthy or sick or hurt, and the value of the object to the owner can all be determined. This spell was taken from page 131 of the Nightbane^tm rulebook.

Mental Blast

Level: 4
Range: 90ft
Duration: Instant, effects last 1d4 minutes +1 per level of the caster (a 6th level caster can put you out for 7-10 minutes).
Casting Time: One melee action
Damage: None
Saving Throw: Standard
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 12

This simple mental attack does no damage to the target, but failing the save throw results in disorientation (and sometimes unconciousness). A Mind Block or other mental defense provides the same bonuses against this spell as it would against a psionic or mental attack (so anyone with a Mind Block gets a +1 to save).

If the victim fails the save throw he suffers the loss of two attacks (always a minimum of one attack), -3 to strike, parry, and dodge, -20% on all skills, and the loss of initiative for the listed duration. When struck with a mental blast magicians and psychics must also roll to keep focusing on any spells or psionic powers. Roll under the M.E. on 1d20 with a +3 penalty (yes, that's +3 - in this case, a positive bonus makes success more difficult). If a success roll fails, then the spell or psionic power for that roll loses its effect - this is a useful way to shake the control of people creating dimensional portals or circle magics (check page 27 of Wormwood^tm to see what Lazarus Vesper's Mental Blast spell does to Salome, Queen of Demons!)

If the victim rolls a 2-5 on the save throw, he is totally unconcious for the listed duration. Rolling a 1 on the save throw makes the victim unconcious for twice the listed duration. Psychics, magicians, Juicers^tm, and anyone with an M.E. of 20 or better recovers from this artificially- induced state in half the usual time.

Mesmerism

Level: 3
Range: 12ft with visual contact.
Duration: Varies with victim and suggestion.
Casting Time: One melee action
Saving Throw: Standard
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 6

This enchantment enables the caster to use simple hypnotic suggestions upon intelligent creatures. Works just like the super psionic ability Hypnotic Suggesion. A series of Mesmerism spells (few of which are saved against) might be necessary to gain dominance over a target (I'd say one spell per 2 M.E. points. is a good guideline. Taken from the PFRPG (1st edition).

Paralysis: Superior

Level: 7
Range: 30ft
Duration: One minute per level.
Casting Time: Two melee actions.
Damage: None
Saving Throw: Standard
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 25

This spell was taken from Nightbane^tm, page 139. It temporarily incapacitates the victim, who can only blink, think, and breathe. He cannot move, speak, fight, or run away. If damage is inflicted on him the spell is broken immediately and the victim can attack next melee action.

Psi Resistance

Level: 5
Range: Self or others by touch.
Duration: Five minutes per level.
Casting Time: One melee action.
Saving Throw: Standard if resisted.
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 12

This spell confers the recipient with a great resistance to mental influence. The character is invisible to all attempts at psionic sensing (including Psychic Diagnosis, Detect Psionics, and See Aura) and cannot be contacted or affected via Telepathy, Empathy, or Telepathic Transmission. The character also gets a +1 to save vs psionic attack (like Bio- Manipulation, Mind Wipe, and Psychic Surgery). Lastly, the character is +4 vs all kinds of possession and mental domination (whether by Hypnotic Suggestion, Domination, Mentally Possess Others, possession by demons and entities, and all mind- altering magic not including any that might have beneficial effects).

In most respects, this spell functions like a Mind Block. In fact, the beneficiary of this spell can't activate any sensitive psionic powers or benefit personally from any psychic sense- enhancing magic spells!

Sleep: Superior

Level: 8
Range: 60ft
Duration: 20 minutes per level of experience.
Casting Time: Three melee actions.
Saving Throw: Standard
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 40

The victim of this spell will fall into a deep sleep upon failing the save throw. The only way to rouse the victim is to attack him, pinch him (enough to leave a small bruise), or give him some sort of stimulant like methamphetamine or adrenaline.

Telekinesis: Superior

Level: 8
Range: 50ft per level.
Duration: One minute per level.
Casting Time: Two melee actions.
Damage: 1d4x10 S.D.C.^tm per 100 lbs. of weight/force.
Saving Throw: Dodge or parry only. Attempts to dodge and parry objects are not penalized. Attempts to dodge and parry pure telekinetic force are made at a -4 penalty
Strike Bonus: +3 (do not combine with any other bonuses).
Parry Bonus: +4 (do not combine with any other bonuses).
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 10 per 100 lbs. of weight/force being manipulated.

Same stats as the standard Telekinesis spell, only stronger and with more reach. This spell emulates the super psionic power of Telekinesis, but is not quite as powerful.

Telepathy

Level: 5
Range: Self or others by touch. Can read surface thoughts - 90ft, or one-way thought sending - 180ft.
Duration: One minute per level (though it is possible to just send a single thought, vision, or sentence to a target).
Casting Time: One melee action
Saving Throw: Standard, if suspected and resisted. Otherwise no save throw is rolled - this is usually the case for reading surface thoughts. A Mind Block prevents all telepathic contact.
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 3 per sentence or image sent, or 12 for full duration.

This spell lets the caster activate the parts of his mind that govern telepathic power. For the duration he can scan surface thoughts (one person at a time) or send a telepathic message. To have two- way telepathic communication between the caster and others, all those who are to be involved in the communication must have this spell cast on them. Deep thought probing is not possible with this spell.

Using this spell while in combat grants the magician automatic first initiative and nets him a +2 to parry and dodge - he gets a vague sense of his enemies' oncoming attacks.

To develop a spell that allows extensive mind probing or two- way psychic communication, the Telepathy spell would be a great starting point.

Thoughtseek

Level: 8
Range: Touch
Duration: One melee
Casting Time: One minute
Saving Throw: Standard
P.P.E.^tm Cost: 25

This is a magic spell that lets the caster scan through memories in a target's head at a rapid pace while looking for memories dealing with one specific concept, image, phrase, or action. The victim gets a save throw to resist the Thoughtseek - success means that the caster's attempt is resisted and he learns nothing. Failure means that the caster briefly experiences everything in the victim's memory relating to the topic of the search, and clearly remembers some of the target memories for 1d4 days per level. If there isn't anything regarding the topic in the victim's memories, then the caster intuitively knows that the victim is ignorant of the topic.

Anyone with an M.E. of 20 or more gets a +2 save bonus against this. A psychic with the ability of Telepathy, Mind Bond, Mind Wipe, or Hypnotic Suggestion gets a +2 save bonus also (resistance to telepathic invasion). The Thoughtseek spell counts as a mental attack, and so the +1 bonus given by a Mind Block is applied. If the targeted memories are blocked (whether by an artifical mental block or natural repression), then the victim gets a +6 bonus to save. Non- sentient creatures and beings with an M.E. of less than 8 are at -4 to save!

Due to the nature of the spell, the caster runs a risk of picking up mental traits of the victim. Roll a save vs insanity (add only the caster's spell strength bonus to this roll!) - failure means the caster acquires a few mannerisms and psychological traits of the Thoughtseek target (moodiness, paranoia, self- righteousness, a nose picking habit, etc.) If the target of the spell is insane, the caster also has to make a save vs insanity for each insanity the victim has! For each failed save throw the caster picks up the corresponding insanity of the victim for 1d4 days.