Effigy

Effigy

Mystic

Proficiency [Knowledge]

600 hours

Counts as two skills at character creation

Double learning difficulty

This highly useful spell allows you to make a poppet—a stuffed doll duplicate of a specific victim. The poppet must be made as close to the victim as possible. The skill check must be at a 15 or higher to look like the victim—or a successful parody thereof. Not knowing the victim's full name causes a -3 penalty, but some of the victim's substance adds bonuses: +1 for hair or nail clippings, +3 for blood, more for whole body parts. The poppet must be stuffed with at least one item precious to the victim, unless some part of their body is used, with bonuses assigned by the Game Master based on how important the item is to them. The advantage of the poppet is that any spell cast upon it—with an accompanying skill check—channels the energy of that spell towards the actual victim. Note that any spell that could cause damage to the doll still has that effect, so one that causes swarms of earworms to devour their brain would see the poppet covered with the tiny monsters burrowing through the cloth. The distance that this spell may affect the target is ten feet for first level of proficiency, and doubled each level thereafter. Use of this spell in the Heldanic Confederation carries a death sentence.