Madàðan’s Orb is an idiosyncratic Ilûmtrū spell that draws light from the surrounding area to create an ethereal glowing ball. The spell does not create light and does not work in complete darkness, where there is no light to draw upon.
The group huddled closely and quietly near the magician and his glowing ball of light. Somewhere beyond the globe of darkness, the enemy trudged through the night, searching for their campfire. If they drew too near they might hear the flames crackling, or smell the fire’s smoke, but at a distance their position was secure.
Details
The spell creates a small glowing sphere that illuminates the spot where the Weaver is standing. This light is generated by borrowing light from the spell’s perimeter. The light and surrounding layer of darkness are centered on the orb. Light produced by the orb and can be obstructed the same as normal light. The orb can be grasped and moved while by the magician’s hand. No other person or thing can touch or carry the orb. If released, the orb remains stationary until it expires. Unlike other Area spells, Madàðan’s Orb offers no flexibility with regard to selecting affected hexes within the spell’s radius.
- GURPS
- Dragàlim: ildra Ilûmtrū
- Class/Difficulty: Area (IQ/H)
- Casting Time: Standard
- Cost: 1 for each area level (minimum 2) + 1 for each intensity level at center (minimum 1); 1 to maintainv
- Duration: 1 minute
- Pages: 3
- Prerequisites: Magery 1 (PrC 4); Ildra 2, Ilûmtrū 2; Old Oðic 13+ (Early Oðávar)
For every light level collected in the orb, the surrounding layer(s) dims to the same degree. Broad daylight offers 5 levels of light, each raising or lowering visibility by 2 (see CAMp394 Visibility). No more than five levels of light can be borrowed by the spell. Mandàðan’s Orb has a minimum area of 2. While the illuminated area can be expanded by pushing the dark layer outward, the orb’s light never penetrates the first layer of darkness.
Example 1: If cast in a dim area, i.e., -6 (see CAMp394 Visibility), there are only two levels of light available in the immediate outer layer. The magician can draw all the available light from that layer (i.e., 2 levels) to create a +4 orb in the center. Since the spell was cast in a -6 area, the interior is brightened to -2 and the outer layer darkens to -10 (i.e., total darkness). If the Weaver wants to fully illuminate the interior (i.e., -0) he will have to extend the spell’s outer layer and grab an additional level of light. This would add an additional outer layer and create a globe with three layers: a center of -0, a middle layer of -10, and an outer layer of -8 (because it started at -6; see diagram below), all for the casting cost of 6 (i.e., 3 points of area and 3 levels of light).
Example 2: If cast in total daylight, i.e., -0 (see CAMp394 Visibility), there are five levels of light available in the outside layer. For a casting cost of 7 (i.e., 2 for area, 5 for intensity levels) an orb can be created that sheds daylight, surrounded by a globe of total darkness, i.e., -10.
Madàðan’s Orb’s is not a substitute for MAGp112 Darkness.
- WoD
- Dragàlim: ildra Ilûmtrū
- Class/Difficulty:
- Casting Time:
- Cost:
- Duration:
- Pages: 3
- Prerequisites: Ilûmtrū 2; Old Oðic 2 + Literacy (Early Oðávar)
Components
History
Footnotes:
- Based on WoDp42 Attribute Uses Table