Earth

Creating Matter.

Elemental spells all share some common features, they all involve creating or dismissing an amount of the specific material, although it may come in various forms. When matter is summoned it generally begins in the simplest of forms, eg for Air this is generally 'air'. It can however can changed to other forms of air, such as noxious gases, poisonous gases, corrosive gases and various concentrations of air (wind). The temperature might be manipulated to make hot or cold air, and the shape of the air might be changed (blocks, cones tunnels etc).

In all cases where new matter is created it must be able to appear with a minimum of interference. Creating air in air is easy enough as one of them simply displaces with ease. Likewise creating water in air or water is simple as the existing medium can be displaced. Fire can be created around a target as the fire itself can be easily displaced. Stone, and like media (ice), however is more difficult. Solid matter cannot be created in the same place as solid matter, so you cannot create stone inside a person, or inside other stone.

The GM will have to decide for themselves how far they will let this go. In essence however the old or the new matter must be able to displace with a minimum of effort, and a minimum of collateral effect. If the GM decides this is not allowed then the spell cannot be cast. Players can ask for a ruling before they begin casting to make sure. The intent of this is to stop the creation of matter inside other matter, like a person, no exploding people by the creation spell.

To make things easy (I hope), when a Create spell is cast it will create an amount of matter based on a value of 4. This unit can be divided up into any form of cubic values, as long as the three values (the factors) total 4. Eg with a value of 4 you might create a 1x1x2 cubic amount of material, being 2 cubic meteres. The factors add up to 4, 1+1+2. You could also use 0.5x3x0.5, a wall 3 metres long and half a meter tall and wise. Again the factors total 4, 3+0.5+0.5. You will note that this will result in an optimal size if the greatest amount of matter is required, this is accepted.

You can increase the amount of material created by allocated extra successes to that end. Each success allocated to increasing the amount of material will add 4 more points to the total value. So if one success was allocated for extra matter the value would become 8 (4+4). The value 8 can be broken down into various factors, such as 2x2x4 meters, or into 1x3x4, or 1x1x6. In each case the total of the values is 8.

At 9 successes added to extra matter the value is 36, which can be used to make a 12x12x12 meter block (1728 cubic meters).

The same applies to dismissal or removal volumes.

The usefulness of linear measures in a combat system that avoids linear measures is a bit vague. It will be upto the GM and the players to make some guesses and estimates of what may be possible. The number of successes added can be related to the Size value of a creature, so a man (Size 0) could be blocked by a wall of matter with 0 successes (1x1x2), and could be ringed around by the next Size/Success up (+1). A Group of Size 0 creatures can probably be blocked down one side by a wall of +2 successes (relate targeting a Group = 2 successes). A Group with a larger creature in it might need that creatures Size +2 to block on one side, and another success to encircle.

Matter can be changed as part of its creation. It can be concentrated in some cases, it can be changed into alternate forms. In nearly all cases doing so will reduce the amount of matter that is created. For eg earth might be concentrated into rock, which means the amount of earth created will be less (it is compressed into the rock). Air can be created that is various forms of gases, fire can be made hotter etc. Some basic rules will apply however, just to keep the physics simple.

    • Air cannot be concentrated enough such that it liquefies. Air cannot get hot by itself as that is a property of Fire, it can get cold.
    • Water cannot be concentrated at all, water is always water. It can be converted to ice however, or to other liquid forms such as poisons and acids. Again water cannot get hot, so steam is not a normal state of water by itself, it would require some input from Fire.
    • Fire only ever gets hotter, there is no liquid fire or such (although that is a neat idea for a spell, so maybe there will).
    • One element cannot take on properties of another (unless you combine them). So fire controls heat etc.

Unaltered matter will obey its natural laws, water will flow, air will disperse, earth will collapse, fire will burn away. Unless some other change is applied the matter will appear as requested and almost instantly act according to its nature. If you want something to remain in a usable shape you will need to change it, water to ice, earth to stone. Air generally cannot be contained, but if there is no wind it will disperse slowly.

Created matter is NOT normal matter, and at the end of the encounter it slowly begins to vanish (if it hasnt already). Created Fire does not need fuel, or oxygen to burn, it is magical fire and magic provides its fuel. Fire however tends to have a short life span, normally instant.

Create (Element)

Dismiss (Element)

Locate (Element)

Remove (Element)

Summon (Element)

Protection (Element)

Defend (Element)

Resist (Element)

Negate (Element)

Climb Earth

Cloud of Dust

Dig

Dome

Encase in Stone

Meld

Mould Earth

Neutralise Poison

Earth to Earth

Sand Storm

Stone Skin

Throw Stone

D Earth Blessings

D Control Earth

D Detect Earth

D Earth Power

D Gnome

D Petrify

D Restore

D Stone Flesh