[Jack Simth]

Here's a random one:

Provincial Quickening
Alteration 8
Requires 7(?) water, 1(?) nature (alternately, 7(?) water, 1(?) blood)
Costs 50(?) water gems
Causes every female in the targeted province to become pregnant and give birth virtually overnight, effecting a 50% increase in the population. However, the sudden influx of mouths to feed causes a sever disruption to society (forces scales to turmoil-3, sloth-3, death-3, and increases unrest by 200). This spell can target both friendly and enemy provinces.

Used offensively, it pretty much denies the target value from the province for a while - blood hunting doesn't work until the unrest goes down, taxes are pretty much nothing until unrest and turmoil go down, resources are pretty much nothing until unrest and sloth go down. About the only thing stuff can be gotten out of a province targetted by this spell (for a while, anyway) are the stuff from sites.

Used locally, it's a long-term investment - you set taxes to 0 and arrange for your dominion to push the scales back. After several turns, you have a province with (about) 50% more people in it than previously - which means about 50% more income and recources.

A note to those who are curious - the water and alteration choices are based on a pun; as I understand it, "quickening" is (was?) archaic English for the first time a woman felt a baby move in her womb; "Quickening" is a water spell in the alteration path, and this spell speeds things up considerably.

Oh, and a thought on the Thing That Is Not - all its attacks and offensive abilities should have "Magic Resistence Negates" (as per attacks from illusions) and "Doesn't Affect Mindless" - after all, it doesn't exist; it can't affect the universe directly - only through thinking beings that aknoweledge it.

As to making it immune to empowerment, give it a forced, permanent affliction: "FeebleMinded", but have it otherwise immune to all afflictions.

[ June 20, 2004, 02:57: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]