How would I build this?

[Tornado]

A wizard or mage can create a magical doll, which is bonded to a person. The person it is bonded to dictates it's general appearance, though not the specifics. The doll magically follows the person it is bonded to, and creates an audial illusion of an complaining, bothersome voice that only the bonded person can hear. However, what the target probably doesn't know is that the doll, if harmed by them, will cause them to suffer the same pain. Hurling the doll across the room, setting it aflame, or even shaking it angrily will probably seriously injure, if not kill, the person it is bonded to.

[Sean Waters]

Re: How would I build this?

 

OK, let's start with the big guns.

 

What we have here is a device to get the player to kick the homonculous and then double over in pain himself. It sounds like a sort of involuntary duplication with feedback to me.

 

UBO duplication plus transform duplicate into an annoying follower?

 

Why not go the whole hog and simply transform the target into someone who suffers the same pain an the doll? You might need to summon the homonculous....

 

In fact if the homonculous can only be perceived by the target then you could get away with mental illusions.

 

Sorry. Rambling.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: How would I build this?

 

Deh. Well, actually, I'm going to go backwards. First thing you'll want to do is assign the appropriate Advantage to the Power, and the Advantage, AFAIK, is Backlash (+1/2). That should fix the first problem, how do they both take damage.

 

Second, how do you... build it? Depends. How tough do you want it to be? You can do as The Poster Formerly Known as the Floating Head says and duplicate, which is certainly the easiest and most immediate way to create the homonculous.

 

Duplication, One Duplicate, Cannot Recombine, +PRE, Only to Piss Victim Right Off, Backlash, and... that about covers it really. The +PRE is to guarantee that the spell will "deal damage" to the user. Oh, you can also make it Transparent to All Attacks, SFX: No one sees it but the user).

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: How would I build this?

 

Reasoning from effect:

 

A wizard or mage can create a magical doll' date=' which is bonded to a person. The person it is bonded to dictates it's general appearance, though not the specifics.[/quote']

 

Sounds like a Focus, probably an Independent one, that may require some specific compopnents to create.

 

The doll magically follows the person it is bonded to' date=' and creates an audial illusion of an complaining, bothersome voice that only the bonded person can hear.[/quote']

 

Minor Mental Illusions to create the audio effect. Probably need a No Range Modifier tack-on so the doll can follow the character around.

 

However' date=' what the target probably doesn't know is that the doll, if harmed by them, will cause them to suffer the same pain. Hurling the doll across the room, setting it aflame, or even shaking it angrily will probably seriously injure, if not kill, the person it is bonded to.[/quote']

 

That sounds like an attack suite, also no range modifier, with a self-resetting Trigger. Whenever damage is done to the doll, an appropriate attack power Triggers on the character. Probably needs to be 1 hex accurate. The suite could include a large NND - Does BOD if the doll is destroyed.

 

What's the defense? Surely there are magical counterspells!

[Doc Democracy]

Re: How would I build this?

 

This is a riff on the classic voodoo doll scenario isn't it?

 

I was attracted to Sean's idea, though possibly duplication usable as an attack rather than usable by others. It gets messy though with the feedback.

 

My thoughts would be a continuous uncontrollable attack with variable advantage and no conscious control. The doll would not be a focus - it is the trigger by which the NCC and variable advantage use themselves. The physical presence of the doll and the complaining voice would be special effects of the attack.

 

As such, what you would have is an attack loaded up with END (or 0 END and a set of circumstances that would dispel the attack) hovering around waiting for the target to try to damage the doll which would then trigger the attack to inflict similar damage to the target.

 

The spellcaster would not be able to make the attack damage the target nor vary the variable advantage to take advantage of the targets weaknesses.

 

 

Doc

[Sean Waters]

Re: How would I build this?

 

Not sure I'd be happy to let the doll be a focus if attacking it harmed the target. That sounds like a very good way to circumvent quite a few of the limtiations that focus imparts. The doll looks far more like sfx to me: grabbing it or even damaging it does not stop the spell user from gaining the utility. Moreover we have the rather daft issue that damaging it might (as a focus) destroy the power that causes damage, so every time you deliberately stick in a pin, the focus might stop working. Not sure that is what is intended...

 

 

Just for clarity: can ANYONE see and affect the doll, or just the caster and the target?

[Sean Waters]

Re: How would I build this?

 

This is a riff on the classic voodoo doll scenario isn't it?

 

I was attracted to Sean's idea, though possibly duplication usable as an attack rather than usable by others. It gets messy though with the feedback.

Doc

 

 

 

....quite right, I means UAA. Of course technically the feedback is illegal then, so perhaps a straight summon, being of identical appearance, and it is something in that summoned creature that causes the damaging effect: it psychically bonds with the target in some way.

 

Of course one other possiblity, using the logic of transform, is just build it as a killing attack with completely invisible effects and some sort of delayed effect. The bonding process/spell casting involves a mind scan for the target, followed by the RKA (which would need to be based on EOCV, probably, or built as Ego Attack, does BODY). You keep that up long enough to actually kill the target if you were applying the damage instantly, at which point the bond is complete. The doll is then just a sfx, and damaging it triggers the application of the delayed damage to the target. This may well be the cheapest way to do it overall as you can use a cumulative mind scan and (if you add penetrating) a tiny attack applied over a lengthy period. You could probably get the whole thing in for under 40 points, sans limitations. You KNOW that you have enough 'stored damage' to kill the target outright...

 

The whispering is not accounted for, but a mental illusion or even a specialised image might do for that.

[JmOz]

Re: How would I build this?

 

Just free thoughts

 

What about an RKA, Continous, Sticky, Uncontrolled, Variable F/X, with a custom lim about Only to double the damage done to doll

 

Just a random thought...

[Tornado]

Re: How would I build this?

 

By "magically follows" I don't mean in the sense of follows them around, walking or floating behind, but in the sense of that "I threw it away and then it reappeared on my bed. I sold to a guy and it returned to my doorstep. I locked it inside a tiny box, but it came back." The magical boomerang effect; he can never get rid of it.

 

The object is visible to everyone, though it's voice is heard only by the target. "Beating" the spell is done by either simply ignoring the object, or disenchanting it.