Worm's Mist (2.0)

	Worm's Mist
Abbreviation:	WORM
Prerequisites:	Philosopher's Preservation
Minimum Prep:	10
Casting Cap:	Unknown
Valid Spell Target:	Self
Description:	Worm's Mist is a powerful yet potentially crippling defense. The spell mutates the Necromancer's sweat glands and pores, allowing his body to produce a clinging, supernatural miasma. Any spell that passes through the miasma risks coming apart at the seams, including the Necromancer's own. The spell is traditionally deployed near the skin, granting the caster protection against other magicians without any chinks or flaws. While the Necromancer's own spells are likewise hindered, that is what Risen are for. Alternately, he may weave Worm's Mist into a shell approximately ten feet in diameter. This allows the Necromancer to freely cast upon himself and anyone within a melee, but grants the same courtesy to his enemies. The spell self-consciously named Worm's Mist reveals to all gods-fearing men the monstrous nature of the Necromancers' so-called Transcendental path. It enflames the skin and causes the pores to expel a miasma with the stench of rotten meat. Wriggling forms, like crimson maggots, can be seen feeding upon the cloud or even burrowing into the Necromancer's flesh. Though clearly demonic in origin and temperament, the spell is a powerful ward against magic. Patterns that cross through the mist rot and die before their time, leaving the Necromancer unscathed. It is a minor blessing that the Necromancers' patrons are so ill-tempered, or the Necromancers themselves so clumsy with their gifts, that it affects their magic in equal measure. Yet still, the Necromancer's greatest threat is often not the magic at his fingertips but the monsters at his beck and call. Some Necromancers are known to shape the unholy miasma in a sphere around them, rather than let it settle on their flesh. Rejoice upon seeing such a grandiose display, for while the Necromancer has freed himself of some of the burden upon his own magic, so may you swiftly wade through the mist and bring justice to them from close at hand.
Example Messaging:	<Caster> gestures. Greasy black mist rises from <Caster>'s <skin/scales/fur> and expands outward to create a miasmatic sphere. Interacting with Spell: Tiny red and purple shafts appear within the black mist surrounding <Caster> and writhe in frenzy. Your spell is weakened as it passes through the unholy miasma. XXX gestures at <Necro>. Tiny red and purple shafts appear within the black mist surrounding <Necro> and writhe in frenzy.

Notes

• Syntax is CAST NEAR/FAR. FAR puts the barrier at pole range.
• Magic barrier spell.
• Said by Armifer to be the most potent form of magical resistance currently in game.

Trivia

• Old planned description: Worm's Mist works by proxy -- It creates a sphere of black mist around the caster, which in turn attracts purplish worms from some vile dimension. Though these worms feed on the mist, they are harmless to flesh and bone. The worms 'react' poorly with incoming or outgoing spells from the Fire Manipulation and Psychic Projection books, dying in small gouts of purple flame but blocking such spells completely. Renewed casts of Worm's Mist attract larger numbers of worms into the cloud.