Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator

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Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator
Spell information
Nickname tpa
Guild Wizards
Type Defensive
Description Protects living thing with an impact shield.
GP cost 45
Mind space 25
Thaums 5
Components handful of fine ash (consumed), shield
Tome Invoakatyons in thee Mysterie of Wynd

Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator (abbreviated as TPA) is a first order defensive spell which creates a magical impact shield around the caster.

The barrier functions as a force field that will completely absorb most forms of damage until it is destroyed.

Casting

This spell costs 45 GP to cast and takes up 25 units of mind space.

Skills

Spellcheck results
Scale      
75 95 115 135 155 175 195 215 235 255 275
 
evoking            
 
       
air            
 
       
chanting            
 
       
enchanting            
 
       
channeling            
 
       

The following skills are used in the stages of this spell:

Components

  • A handful of fine white, grey or black ash (consumed)
  • A shield (not consumed)

If the shield used is not a combat shield (i.e., one that cannot be used for blocking), the spell will be much weaker. The lightest proper shield currently in the game is a small leather shield - if using a shield that cannot be used to block, the cast message will state that everything around you flashed a strange yellow, instead of the usual red.

Casting messages

Casting
You consider the function of a shield.
You try to sense the nature of the air around yourself.
You recite a rambling roll of rustling rhymes.
You lift the ash and scatter it around yourself.
You channel magic to form an impact shield around yourself.
Success
With a noise that sounds like "Plink!", everything around you flashes red for a moment.
Failure

One of standard spell failures, ash is consumed.

Bad shield that cannot block used
With a noise that sounds like "Plink!", everything around you flashes a strange yellow for a moment.
To the target
Caster appears to be thinking about something.   or   Caster looks pensive for a few moments.
Caster seems to be looking at something near you.
Caster whispers something to himself.
Caster blows some ash into the air around you.
Caster concentrates for a moment.

With a noise that sounds like "Plink!", everything around you flashes red for a moment.
To others, when cast on the caster
Caster seems to be looking at something near herself.
Caster whispers something to herself.
Caster scatters some ash around herself.
Caster appears to tense momentarily.
With a noise that sounds like "Plink!", the air around Caster flashes red for a moment.
End of spell
There is a sudden white flash.  Your magical shield has broken.

Effects

When cast, this spell creates a magical shield which unconditionally absorbs almost all types of impact damage that strike it.

Shield health and buffering

This shield has two aspects associated with it

  • The shield's total health, which is the total damage it can absorb.
  • The shield's buffer, which is a proportion of the current total health.

The shield's total health degrades at a steady rate as time passes. It does not degrade when it absorbs damage.

The buffer fills up whenever the shield takes damage and, if filled past capacity, causes the shield to break. While the shield is not taking damage, the buffer slowly empties. The colour of the shield is an indication of how full the buffer is. The shield colours are as follows, in increasing order of fullness of the buffer:

  • Colourless/invisible.
  • Dull red
  • Bright red
  • Wobbling orange.
  • Flickering yellow.

As a practical example, at a high defensive bonus of around 600, a TPA can take approximately ~4,500 HP worth of damage on a freshly cast shield in a single rapid burst within a few seconds before breaking. However, if left to recharge naturally back to "Invisible" between each hit before taking damage again, the shield can sustain a total of over ~40,000 HP worth before breaking in a single hit from invisible. The time factor would also constantly be reducing the maximum strength of the shield during that period.

Defensive layering

This shield is layered beneath the following:

It is layered above:

Component Shield

The small leather shield is now the lightest shield that can be used to give a full strength TPA.

Shield Weight (lbs) Where to acquire
Origami shield[1] ? ?
Nipple shield ? ?
Shield badge ? Artificer's Academy (searching in the garden), Sto Lat
Mounted pewter shield[1] 1 6/9 Pewter stall, Djelibeybi Bazaar
Small leather shield 2 Griffith Cwlyd's tannery (West side of the Plaza of Broken Moons, Ankh-Morpork)
  1. 1.0 1.1 Discworld MUD cre blog

Notes

  • This spell is a more powerful version of Sorklin's Field of Protection.
  • Re-casting while a current TPA is present but "Invisible" will result in a completely fresh TPA as if new - UNLESS the new cast would result in a weaker TPA, than the TPA currently in effect; basically, you cannot end up with a weaker TPA by re-casting, only the same or stronger (whichever will be strongest, remains).
  • Re-casting while a current TPA is visible (dull red or worse) will only add a very small amount of strength back to the current shield, approximately 10%.
  • This spell has superficial similarities with Mama Kolydina's Instant Infestation, but differs in various important ways:
  • If Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator and Mama Kolydina's Instant Infestation are cast on the same person, then the latter shield will rapidly weaken the former until the former breaks.
  • The "airy candy" from the Bes Pelargic L-space Bubble can be eaten to immediately end the current effects/duration of TPA.
  • This spell cannot be cast on targets that have Minor Shield or Major Shield active.

See also

External links