Curse Calls

Curse Calls
Combat Call
Call:	Curse
Call Type:	Offensive Effect
Description:	Set an enemy's maximum body to 1.
Common Sources:	The Curse spell
Associated Condition(s):	Cursed
Condition
Condition Name:	Cursed
Effect:	Set an enemy's body to a maximum of 1.
Duration:	10 minutes
Common Sources:	The Curse spell, Spyderbyte, some creatures
Common Cures:	Waiting, the Heroism spell

Curses can make the toughest of enemies much easier to defeat.

Description

The 'Curse!' call represents making foes more susceptible to injury. This can be through Necromantic magic or through alchemicals designed to create vulnerability. Some undead creatures also have access to this call in their attacks.

'Curse!' is tremendously useful against opponents with high numbers of body points. Especially those with Monstrous Body. One single application of 'Curse!' will deal with all of their body except for the last point. In this situation it's more useful than the 'Slay!' call for dealing with a monstrous creature.

Calls

The 'Curse!' call never inflicts damage. By itself it always counts as a spell and may not be blocked by a shield. Characters hit by an attack with the 'Curse!' call get the Cursed condition.

The 'Poison Curse!' call never inflicts damage. It can be blocked by an unbroken shield. Characters hit by the attack get the Poisoned condition and the Cursed condition. The 'Poison Curse!' call is not a spell. The 'Acid Curse!' call never inflicts damage. It can be blocked by an unbroken shield. Characters hit by the attack get the Acid Residue condition and the Cursed condition. The 'Acid Curse!' call is not a spell.

The Cursed Condition

A character with the Cursed condition have their maximum body set to 1 if it would be higher than 0.

This condition lasts for 10 minutes. It can be removed by 'Dispel Magic!'.

The Heroism spell sets a character's maximum body to 10. The Cursed condition sets a character's maximum body to 1. When these two things interact, the one that was applied second is the relevant effect. Both continue existing for their respective durations, so if there is a way to remove one effect without removing the other, the remaining effect will still function. This would be a circumstance where a character might benefit from casting a spell already affecting them might be relevant, the new casting will displace the old one.

References

Setting Body

If an effect sets a trait to a certain number it overrides all other modifiers to that trait for as long as it lasts. When two different effects set a character to two different numbers, the effect that was applied second is the only one that matters.

For example: A character has 2 body. They cast the spell Toughness (which grants 2 additional body points) on themselves bringing their total body up by two to a total of 4. Someone else casts the spell Heroism on them, which sets their body to 10. The character now has 10 body, not 12. If that character gains the Diseased condition (which among other things causes a character to have -1 body), they still have 10 body, because Heroism sets your body to 10. If the character then gets hit with a 'Curse!' call, they gain the Cursed condition (which sets their body to a maximum of 1), they now have 1 body point.

Categories: Gameplay Rules | Calls | Offensive Effect Calls | Spell Calls | Curse Calls | Conditions