Wards
Wards are fun stuff, especially if you know what you're doing. For the most part, I agree with Palladium's working of Wards. However, in order to work with my system, some adaptations need to be made, such as assigning each Ward an M.P. value to prevent abuse, aswell as various tweaks that allow wards to work with my magic systems. Unless noted otherwise, all Palladiums rules on Wards apply (see PFRPG 2nd Edition pg. 121-133).
Alarms
All Alarm symbols cost 5 M.P.
Conditions
Agony: Reduce damage to 1d4 per
level. 6 M.P. to activate. Duration is 15 seconds per level of
experience.
Burning Pain: 8 M.P. to
activate. Duration is 30 seconds per level of experience.
Blind: 6 M.P. to activate. Reduce duration to One
minute per level of experience.
Charm: 5 M.P. to activate. Reduce duration to One
minute per level of experience.
Cold: 4 M.P. to activate.
Confusion: Costs 4 M.P. to activate.
Dark: Costs 6 M.P. to activate.
Death: Costs 25 M.P. to activate. Change damage
to 1d4 direct to hit points per level.
Despair: Costs 6 M.P. to activate.
Evil: Costs 2 M.P. to activate.
Energy: Costs 4 M.P. to activate.
Fear: Costs 3 M.P. to activate.
Fire: Costs 4 M.P. to activate.
Good: Costs 2 M.P. to activate.
Hate: Costs 3 M.P. to activate.
Invisible: Costs 10 M.P. to activate.
Knowledge: Costs 6 M.P. to activate. The Sorcerer
using this symbol in an Inflict sequence can also use it to show
the person who set off the Ward a series of images or share vital
information, rather than bestow mystic knowledge of languages.
Light: Costs 1 M.P. to activate.
Magic: Costs 4 M.P. to activate.
Mystic Energy Drain: Costs 15 M.P. to activate.
When used in conjunction with the Magic symbol, this spell
creates a slow magical vacuum, reducing the ammount of M.P. that
Sorcerers and such can draw in one action by half.
Sleep: Costs 6 M.P. to activate.
Undead: Costs 10 M.P. to activate.
Colors: Costs 1 M.P. to activate.
Numbers: Costs 1 M.P. to activate.
Major Wards
Area Affect: Activating the Area
Affect symbol to a ward sequence requires 25% the cost of the
rest of the sequence. For example, a total sequence costs 20
M.P., so the Area Affect symbol would require 5 M.P. All other
standard rules apply.
Inflict: The Infliction symbol is
very standard, and only requires a minor 5 M.P. to activate.
Power: A very mean enhancing
symbol. Activating this symbol requires 75% of the M.P. cost of
the rest of the sequence. If your sequence were to cost 20 M.P.,
this symbol would cost 15 all by it's loansome for a total of 35
M.P.
Protection by Infliction: A bit more complex,
requires 10 M.P. to activate.
Protection From: Another standard
symbol, requires 5 M.P. to activate.
Permanence: Another powerful enhancing symbol,
requires 100% of the M.P. cost of the rest of the sequence to
activate. If your sequence were to cost 20 M.P., this would cost
twenty M.P. as well. Note in the cast of combining the Power
& Permanence Symbols, account for the cost of Power before
accounting the cost of permanence. So in the afforementioned
case, where the total cost came out to 35 M.P. after the Power
symbol, this symbol would cost 35 aswell, leading to a total of
70 M.P. for the whole sequence.
Warding Weapons & Armour
I've always felt that maybe warding weapons shouldn't be
restricted, however it is very difficult. The symbol inscribed
can only be used by a specific individual, and that individual
must spill their blood as it is one of the necessary components
to writing the symbols. This process can only be achieved by a
full blown Diabolist. If the Diabolist does not attach a
Permanence symbol to the sequence, then the affect of the
sequence must be recharged by another Sorcerer who knows atleast
half of the symbols in the sequence. Also the time for affixing
the wards is doubled, as the Diabolist must be very slow going as
to not damage the weapon or armour. Note: You
cannot place a Power or Area Affect symbol on a weapon or body
armour. Only plate armour can be warded, as it would be pretty
hard to put symbols on chain or scale mail, doofus. All manner of
weapons can be warded accept for crossbows, bows, and the
projecticles they throw, or weapons made of iron.
For each additional inflict sequence you place on a weapon or
armour after the first, you pay twice as many M.P. for the
sequence. This is cumulative. (i.e. You place a Fire inflict
sequence, costing 9 M.P. to activate. Then you place an Energy
inflict sequence, that will cost 18 M.P. instead of 9. Then you
place an Agony inflict sequence that will cost 44 M.P. instead of
11 to activate, and so on and so forth). You account for
the cheapest sequence first and then second cheapest sequence,
etc. (no trying to fudge around this boys).
The game rules for warded weapons & armour are as follows.
Weapons
Inflict
This is the standard major symbol
put upon weapons, coupled with an appropriate Condition symbol.
The listed symbols and their affects are applicable to Weapon
Warding.
Agony: Being touched by a weapon warded with this
condition will cause all the penalties listed the Agony symbol.
Cold: The weapon will glow a pale blue and emit an aura
of chill, thus giving it special properties at fighting fire
elementals. It causes all the penalties for the Cold symbol.
Evil: This weapon is specialized at harming
supernaturally or magical good creatures, and causes the weapon
to do an extra D of damage against such creatures. (For example,
a bastard sword with this ward would do 3d6+2 damage against
supernatural or magical good creatures instead of 2d6+2).
Energy: This sword is imbued with mystic energy
enabling it to harm ethereal creatures and mazoku.
Fire: The weapon will glow a pale orange and
emit an aura of heat, thus giving it special properties at
fighting water elementals. It also causes all the standard
penalties inflicted by Burning Pain.
Good: This weapon is specialized at harming
supernaturally or magical evil creatures, and causes the weapon
to do an extra D of damage against such creatures. (For example,
a bastard sword with this ward would do 3d6+2 damage against
supernatural or magical evil creatures instead of 2d6+2, note
that since animated dead do not have minds of their own they are
not considered evil).
Light: This enables the weapon to do damage to
vampires that does not regenerate normally, as if the weapon were
forged from sunlight! Just looking at the weapon requires
Vampires to save vs. H.F. 14
Undead: This weapon is a perfect undead slayer,
doing an additional dice of damage against animated dead and the
undead.
Protection From
The only other major symbol that can be used on weapons.
In this case activating the Protection From symbol costs 10 M.P.
to activate instead of 5. The listed symbols and
their affects are applicable to Weapon Warding.
Energy: An invisible field surrounds this
weapon, enabling the wielder to deflect energy attacks (lasers,
plasma, particle beams, natural blasts made from mutants or
monsters). This parry is done at -3 to parry (with standard
bonuses).
Magic: An magical repulsion field surrounds the
weapon, enabling the wielder to deflect attack magic (fireballs,
etc.). This parry is done with -3 to parry (with standard
bonuses).
Undead: This weapon is as effective as a holy
relic or weapon at repelling the undead and animated dead, they
will want to stay as far away from this weapon and it's wielder
as they can if they can.
Armour
Protection From
The only major symbol placed on armour aside from
Permanence. The listed symbols and their affects are applicable to
Armour Warding.
Cold, Energy, Evil, Fire, Good, Magic: For any of these
symbols, the damage sustained by the condition is half, 25% in
the case of magic. Good and Evil only account for supernatural
and magical creatures of good and evil, and White & Black
Magic respectively. Magic only accounts for Wizard Magic &
Spirit Shamanism.
Mystic Energy Drain: The wearer of this armour
is immune to any kind of mystic energy drain effects.
Undead: Animated Dead and the Undead must make a saving
throw vs. magic if they wish to try and attack the wearer of this
armour.