Grand Spellcasting - High Powered Spells for the GLOG

 This post is a addition to the normal GLOG spellcasting system. (Best post on that is found here: https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/07/osr-condensed-spellcasting-rules.html?m=1)

I adore the idea of Dooms, as a tangible risk to Magic that dooms all wizards, which contributes to the OSR’s weird fantasy themes. however they rarely come up in play. However on the OSR discord, we where discussing how Mishaps and Dooms weren’t common enough. The idea of willingly suffering a Mishap or Doom to supercharge a spell you cast came up, which led me to this.

At the fourth class template, a GLOG wizard or other MD using class can gain the following feature with the GM’s Permission: 

Grand Spellcasting: You can cast the Grand version of spells you already know. Each spell has a Grand Version, a super-powered spell that does at least one of the following: 

• Does what the original spell did but far better. (Ie Grand Fireball flat out incinerates anything in the AoE instead of dealing [sum] damage).
• Breaks the rules of the original spell. (Ie Grand Raise Dead can return a dead creature to *true* life.)
• Makes the effects of the spell permanent. (Ie a creature sent to sleep by Grand Sleep is not waking up at all, not without outside help.)

If you do not have Grand Spellcasting, then you may be able to find Grand Spells through play, as rewards for high level dungeons or such. 

Casting a Grand Spell has a cost though. No matter what, when you cast a Grand Spell, you will suffer the Doom of the original spell’s School, though for spells with the concentration duration, the Doom will apply when concentration ends. This counts towards your three doom limit/progression, but only for spells of that school. In combat, casting one is incredibly obvious, as even the lowest of vermin can sense the power channeled to cast a Grand Spell. Casting a Grand Spell takes a entire round by default, and the spell only goes off on the start of caster’s next turn, if the caster is still alive. 

(This kind of fire power. Source: Wrath of God by Kev Walker, for the MTG card of the same name, which is the intellectual property of Hasbro and Wizard of the Cost.)

I will now give the Grand Spells of Skerple’s Orthodox Wizard(https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2018/01/osr-orthodox-wizards.html?m=1 ) as examples of this concept.

Grand Spell Template

Grand [Base Spell] - [Unique name of the Grand Spell]

R: [range], T: [target], D: [Duration]

[Effect]

Cost: [which school’s Doom it inflicts on you]

1. Grand Lock - Eternal Ward

R: Sight, T: [Up to Sum + Level] Objects you can see, D: Permanent.

Each of the targets becomes magically locked, and can only be opened with your permission or if [Dice] conditions of your choice per object are met. You can close these objects with a thought. These objects do not have to be doors or such, anything that can be argued to be opened and closed(such a sword that is sheathed in it’s scabbard), can be effected. 

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard.

2. Grand Knock - Sunder All Barriers

R: Sight, T: [Up to Sum + Level] objects, D: 0.

The targets are destructively forced open, no matter what. Only Eternal Ward can prevent this. Heavy doors are thrown open, lesser doors are turned  to dust. Locks shatter, bindings disintegrate. Any creatures targeted must save or have their bodies violently opened, gutting them like a fish.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard.

3. Grand Grease - Sea of Incandescent Oil 

R: Sight' T: surface D: [dice]x2 weeks. 

Can be cast directly on a creature or [sum * dice]100’ x 100’ surfaces. Creatures moving across the area must Save vs Dexterity or drop held objects, or, if moving, drop prone.  In addition if the Oil is exposed to fire, it all instantly bursts into clingy green fire that deals [dice + level] damage per round, and can only be extinguished by completely dunking the flames in water.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard.

4. Grand Force Field - Aegis of Forgotten Heavens

R: Sight' T: One creature or one location with a radius of [sum] Miles or less. D: Permanent.

Creates a shimmering force field that looks like transparent black lighting arching from a five pointed star, 10‘ larger then the target and centered around the target. It has 5 HP, however all attacks that deal less rhen [Dice + Sum] damage do no damage to it, and all attacks that deal [Dice + Sum] or more damage only deal 1 damage to it.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard.

5. Grand Levitate - Embrace of The Devil’s Might

R: Sight, T: [Sum + Level] creatures or objects D: concentration 

You will the targets and all of their components to move in any direction, even inwards on themself you cannot move them more than [Sum]* 10' per turn. Maximum weight is [dice]x500 tons per target. Lasts as long as you concentrate, but each round after [dice] rounds you suffer a mishap. Any damage directly done by this spell deals [sum] damage.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard. 

6. Grand Magic Missile - Arrows of The Scorned God

R: See effect, T: [Up to sum] beings you know the name of, D: 0.

As you cast this spell, name each target of this spell, with a orb of light forming with each target named. (In combat, you can name a target per round.) When you name the last target, the orbs transform into arrows of light that hunt down their target, moving at light speed. If the target is within one Light Year of you, they will be hit, and on a hit they must Save or Die. Creatures of [Dice + 2] HD or less automatically die. On a success they take [Sum * 2] damage.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard. 

7. Grand Feather Fall - The Gift of Heaven’s Freedom

R: Sight T: [Up to Sum + Level] creatures or objects of [Sum] x 100 tons or less each D: [Dice] days. 

The targets gain the ability to telekinetically fly at a rate of their movement * [Dice], and do not fall unless they will it. Objects effected merely cannot fall without being pushed by a creature and become as light as a feather instead.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard. 

8. Grand Sleep - Slumber Until The Stars Die

R: Sight T: See effect D: Permanent.

Targets must Save falls into a magical slumber, does not age while under the spell’s effect and can't be awoken by anything but your verbal command or a condition of your choice being met. Non-alert, unaware targets are not allowed a Save. Can affect [sum * Dice] HD’s worth creatures. If [sum] is at least 4 times a effected creature's HD, it gets no save.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard. 

9. Grand Light - The Sun Shall Descend

R: Sight T: a point you can see D: [dice]x2 weeks

A small sun appears at the point you designate. It has a radius of [dice] * 10’, and sheds light as the sun for [dice + sum] miles. Anything that is inside of the sun is disintegrated unless it is immune to fire. Creatures within [dice + sum]’ of the mini sun take [sum] damage per minute, and creatures farther away yet still within the range of it’s light take [dice] damage per hour spent in the light due to the heatwave it causes. The sunlight’s color is chosen when you cast it, but making it octarine is.. ill advised.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard. 

10. Grand Wizard Vision - Crown of the Akashic Watcher

R: Self T: Self D: Permanent

You permanently become aware of all magic within [dice] * 20’ of you, and what said magic does, as well as become immune to illusions and magical darkness. You can read/learn the history of everything within the radius, and as a action, force one thing that fits within the radius to Save or have [dice] facts about it’s past changed by you, but this cannot prevent it from having entered the radius in the first place. Large enough changes to the past will summon 1d4 (exploding) Paradox Angels(https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/05/osr-creature-paradox-angels.html?m=1) who will then try to kill you and everything nearby. In addition you mutate in some obvious and grand way that calls to mind a crown, such as gaining a halo or a nest of demonic horns growing from your head.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard. 

11. Grand Prismatic Ray - Rainbow of Infinite Destruction 

R: See Target’ T: A 100’(length) by 15’(width) beam originating from the caster, D: Concentration 

Fire a raging rainbow colored laser of destruction. Roll a 1d8 up to [Dice] + 1 times, rerolling duplicates, to determine the make up and effects of the beam.

-1. Red: Everything flammable in the beam bursts into flame and takes [sum] damage per round until the flames are put out.

-2. Orange: Everything in the beam that weighs [sum] tons or less takes [sum * 2] bludgeoning damage and is sent flying out of the beam, length wise.

-3. Yellow: Everything within the beam takes takes [sum * 2] lightning damage, and becomes magnetically attracted to everything magnetic for [dice] hours.

-4. Green: All metal in the beam is corroded into rust, and all living things in the beam lose [dice] HD. If this reduces them to 0 or less HD, they are corroded into nothing.

-5. Blue: Everything in the beam must save or die by being frozen solid. +4 to the save if Red is selected.

-6: Indigo: Everything in the beam with [dice] or less HD in the beam dies. Anything that is slain by the beam  or any corpse touched by the beam, will rise as a zombie loyal to the user in [dice] minutes. 

-7: Violet: Everything in the beam takes [sum * dice] damage and is blinded, and anything besides the caster that looks at the beam must Save or take half the damage and be blinded for [dice] weeks. 

-8: Octarine: Reality within the beam is torn asunder. Anything caught in the beam is instantly afflicted with the effect of a random damaging spell, casted with 4 MD, with the roll of each treated as 6. For the next [dice] weeks, the effects of a random spell happen to: Everything touched by the beam and everything that looked at the beam besides the caster.

As a action, the caster can move the beam up to 10 degrees in any direction, but for each round the beam is active beyond the first they lose 1 max HP. The effects of the beam go off during the turns of the caster.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard.

12. Grand Fireball - Let Loose The Fires of Hell

R: Sight' T: One point you can see. D: 0 

Everything within a radius up to [dice] * 50’ long, centered around the targeted point, including the caster, is instantly incinerated by a massive sphere of hellfire that takes up the radius. The resulting shockwave flattens everything within [sum * level] miles of the target, dealing [sum + level] * [dice + level] bludgeoning damage to everything it touches, including the caster.

Cost: Doom of the Orthodox Wizard.

Notes: Casting this without a way to survive the shockwave will kill you. If you are caught in the fireball itself, you will die no ifs or buts about it.

Handling Grand Spells

While at first glance these spells look overpowered as hell remember the following. The mildest doom, ie that of the Orthodox Wizard, robs you of your ability to use magic permanently when it reaches the third doom. And that casting one of these will draw attention from *every* major player due to the sheer power of these spells. In other words. Balance them by being harsh as hell with the Dooms and having serious in game consequences for knowledge of casting these getting out. Such as entire factions making strong arming or killing the caster a immediate goal.