Shear

	Shear
Abbreviation:	-
Prerequisites:	Psychic Shield and Rend
Signature:	No
Spell Slots:	3
Mana Type:	Lunar Magic
Spell Type:	battle / warding
Difficulty:	advanced
Prep (min/max):	30 / 100
Skill Range (min/max):	250 / 1000
Valid Spell Target:	Self
Duration (min/max):	10 minutes / 40 minutes
Justice:	no
Corruption:	no
Description:	The Shear spell envelops you in a magical field that can absorb a spell and reactively lash back at the caster with a blast of mental energy. The drawback is that your own spells are subject to this barrier as well. The spell has a somewhat unsavory reputation since the initial pattern was of a needly sorcerous nature. Guild-sanction revisions eliminated the sorcerous element while still retaining full functionality, leading to the rapid depreciation of the volatile original.
Effect:	stunning ward vs. all spells including caster's
Example Messaging:	You gesture. A globe of shimmering blue fire flickers into being around you. Self Cast Blocking: You gesture. The shimmering globe of blue fire surrounding you shudders slightly. The pattern of your spell is torn apart, sending the raw mana cascading back into your body! You are stunned! The shimmering globe of blue fire suddenly extinguishes.
Post String(s):	who is in a globe of blue fire
Devices/Tattoos:	Chartreuse verdant heart, Sharp-edged inkpot, Wand of eventide moonstone etched with a kaleidoscope of butterflies

Notes

• The stun is based on spell power vs. spell power.
• Backlash effect works on both beneficial spells as well as harmful spells.
• The backlash effect works on all spells, even those you cast regardless of target. I.e. it protects you from all spells at the cost of losing the ability to cast spells.
• You can RELEASE SHEAR to end the spell prematurely.
• Shear is replaceable and does not trigger the stun when doing so.
• Shear does not trigger on self-cast cyclic spell pulses (e.g. Steps of Vuan) but will still trigger on the initial cast as normal. (Needs verification for non-self cast cyclic pulses or pulse to group effects.)
• Shear appears to trigger on area of effect spells. Shear does not trigger on SVS dispels. (Tested Rend, Dispel, and Ward Break.) Shear does trigger against Hand of Tenemlor.
• Appears in the room LOOK as: <caster> who is in a globe of blue fire.
• Appears in the person's LOOK as: <Player> is surrounded by a shimmering globe of blue fire.
• Will negate the effect of a shadowsilk cloak, but not all the time (Unclear if this is on purpose to allow others to look at you and see the globe in your description, or a bug).

Trivia

• Shear was a sorcery spell originally. The version the Moon Mage Guild teaches is a modified pattern with the sorcerous mix taken out, but it's close enough that the globe still has the appearance of a sorcery: It's a spell that conjures a strange semblance of fire, that violently reacts to spells crossing its interface, and was refined by someone who later turned out to be a very learned Necromancer.