Magical Dusts and Essences

Magical dust is typically stored in small silk packets or hollow bone blow tubes. These fine powders are spread in the air by throwing or blowing, and immediately affect anyone who is there. A dust can be blown to cover an area with a diameter equal to your Magic. It will remain suspended for one sequence per point of Magic you have, but can easily blow away on even a slight draft.

Magical dusts are often used as a part of a trap or as poisons, and thus Sorcery, Fix-It or Medicine can be used with them, depending on how they are handled. Targets in the area can make a Dodge stunt as a 3-shot defensive action to escape an area covered in magical dust, the difficulty is the user's relevant skill, as appropriate to the delivery method used.

Some forms of dust must be breathed to be effective. Make a Constitution roll against the user's Magic when the dust is first released; if successful, you can hold your breath long enough to escape the cloud. If you are unable to escape the area, you are doomed and must make the Constitution check on each action from then on until the dust clears.

Black Lotus Essence

This powerful essence greatly aids mages, but burns out magic powers quickly. Each sequence while breathing the suspended dust you can use your full allotment of Magic points, but afterwards you have no Magic points remaining.

Blue Lotus Essence

This dust causes perfect peace and harmony in breathers. They become immune to all mind-affecting drugs, interaction and magics. They become quiet and super-rational. Reduce their Action Values by two for attacks only. The effect lasts a number of hours equal to each victim's Magic attribute.

Dust of Appearance

This fine powder appears like any other dust unless a careful examination is conducted. This will reveal it to be a very fine, very light, metallic dust. A single handful of this substance flung into the air will coat all objects, making them visible even if they are invisible, out of phase, astral, or ethereal. Note that the dust will also reveal illusions, mirror images and projected images for what they are, and it likewise negates displacement and similar effects.

Dust of Diminution

After being sprinkled with this dust, the individual (and everything he's carrying and wearing) diminishes in sizeÑto as small as 5 % of normal size. The dust can shrink one person to 5% size, two people to 25% size, or four people to 50% size. It can be used to reduce the size of objects.

Carrying capacity (for goods they pick up while shrunk) is reduced proportionally to length. Characters get a +2 on dodge and sneaking stunts at 50%, 25% and 5% of original size. They also subtract this number from Strength, Toughness and Move. Attributes cannot go below 0.

When spread over an area, this dust immediately settles, but those caught within must make a Constitution roll against the user's Magic; Success indicates 50% reduction, Failure reduces them to 25% size and fumble reduces them to 5% of normal size. Only a critical success (or dodging out of the cloud) indicates immunity. Shrinking lasts a number of hours equal to the user's or victims Magic attribute (whichever is higher).

Dust of Disappearance

This dust looks just like dust of appearance. All creatures touched by it reflect and bend light of all sorts, becoming invisible. This invisibility lasts as long as the dust remains suspended, even if you move out of the area. Normal sight can't see dusted creatures or objects. Dust of appearance, however, does reveal people and objects made invisible by dust of disappearance. Attack while thus invisible is possible, always by surprise if the opponent fails to note the invisible thing and opponents always attack you at -4 (while the visibility lasts).

Dust of Dryness

This special dust has many uses. If a pinch is cast into a cubic meter of water, the liquid is instantly transformed to nothingness, and the dust pinch becomes a marble-sized pellet floating, or resting, where it was cast. If this pellet is hurled down, it breaks and releases the same volume of water. When the dust is sprinkled over an area (such as with a wave of the arm), it dries up as much as a thousand litres of water. The dust affects only water (whether fresh, salt, brackish, or alkaline), not other liquids. If the dust is employed against a water elemental or similar creature, make a Magic roll against the creature's Magic, on a success the creature is shrunk and paralysed.

Dust of Illusion

This unremarkable powder resembles chalk dust or powdered graphiteÑ unless it is stared at. Stare at it and the dust changes colour and form. Put a pinch of dust of illusion on a creature and the creature appears to become any other creature of similar shape, with a size variance of 50% (plus or minus) from the actual size of the affected creature. Thus, a halfling could appear as a human of small stature, a human as an ogre, a pegasus as a mule, etc. This dust can either be pinched out, covering a number of targets equal to the users Magic, or blown into the air as usual, changing all it touches. The individual who sprinkles the magical dust must envision the illusion desired as the powder takes effect. The illusionary power lasts for a number of hours equal to a Magic roll for the target, unless otherwise dispelled. Objects use the user's Magic to determine duration.

Dust of Sneezing and Choking

This fine dust appears to be either dust of appearance or dust of disappearance. If spread, however, it causes those breathing it to fall into fits of sneezing and coughing, making all action impossible for as long as the dust cloud lasts.

Dust of Tracelessness

This normal-seeming dust is actually a highly magical powder that can be used to conceal the passage of it's possessor and his companions. Tossing a pinch of this dust into the air causes the area to become as dusty, dirty, and cobweb-laden as if it had been abandoned and disused for a decade. A pinch of dust sprinkled along a trail causes evidence of the passage of as many as a dozen men and horses to be obliterated for a mile. No magical radiation occurs from the use of this dust.

Grey Lotus Essence

This dust causes madness, causing those within to attack anyone or anything in blind rage while the cloud lasts. If no other target's are available, they will tear at themselves. All affected creatures ignore any damage they take, raging on with unnatural endurance. When the effect ends, make Death Tests for all within, with a difficulty equal to the user's Magic plus the number of sequences they were affected. If the test is successful, subtract the result from 40 to find the number of Wound Points suffered.

Grey Lotus Essence

This dust causes madness, causing those within to attack anyone or anything in blind rage while the cloud lasts. If no other target's are available, they will tear at themselves. All affected creatures ignore any damage they take, raging on with unnatural endurance. When the effect ends, all within have taked 35 Wound Points plus the user's Magic plus the number of sequences they were affected. This is not cumulative with previous damage. Make an immediate Death Test.

Mirage Powder

Similar to Dust of Illusion, this powder can create any scene in the area covered. A poor hut can appear like a magnificent pavilion or as an empty field. Any inanimate environment that will fit inside the covered volume can be created. This mirage can even be touched, and it will still appear real. It is solid, and an illusory bridge can be walked on. It will last a number of hours equal to the user's Magic, but cannot be changed once set up.

Powder of Magic Detection

This fine crystalline powder will stick to any magic in the affected area, appearing like crystalline strands following chi flows. This will detect the presence and approximate strength of any chi-driven object, spell, effect or creature in the area, even if it is hidden, invisible or astral. It automatically overcomes any form of counter-detection.

Purple Lotus Essence

This dust causes intense euphoria. While the dust is breathed, these feelings are so overwhelming as to prevent all action, but thereafter the victims enter an euphoric state for a number of hours equal to their Magic. In this state, the victim will be intensely pleasure-seeking, and any interaction against him based on this gains a bonus equal to his Magic. Afterwards, victims will be totally spent, suffering two points of impairment until they sleep it off.

Red Lotus Essence

This dust causes mindless lust, causing victims to fornicate with anything and everything else in the area. This lust is very intense, but lasts only a number of minutes equal to the victim's Magic. During this time victims will try to have sex with anything and anyone encountered, raping anything that is unwilling.

Yellow Lotus Essence

This dust causes deep, dreamless sleep. Victims cannot be awakened for a number of hours equal to their Magic.