Blades of Ice

Ability Type: Spell, Difficulty 20
Provided By: Advanced Aquakinetics

Spell Type: Elemental, Water
Form: Aura, Projectile
Function: Defensive, Offensive
Power Cost: 3 to 6
Duration: Conditionally Maintainable (spell ends when all blades are used or destroyed)
Notes: Physical

Useful both offensively and defensively, this spell creates six broad-bladed daggers of ice that orbit their caster – capable of either shielding him from damage, or of being launched as a short-ranged projectile attack.

Whenever the caster receives Physical or Energy Damage the spell will attempt to shield him from it, carrying out an automatic Guard defence with a bonus equal to the number of blades remaining (assuming that Guard is an applicable defence against the attack in question). This defence check is based on the spell's Combat Skill Total, and is completely independent from any defences attempted directly by the caster – occurring only if an attack is successful in striking him. If forced to defend multiple times in a row, Blades of Ice suffers from Multiple Defence Penalties as normal (counting the caster's turn as its own) but these penalties are independent of any penalties the caster himself may be suffering.

If successful, the spell's Guard move provides Bonus Armour equal to Durability. This armour is provided by a single blade, which is subject to the full force of the incoming damage and is thus highly likely to be destroyed. Blades of Ice doubles its normal Guard Bonus when defending against area-effect damage, but in this case the damage is applied to all remaining blades.

Attacking with the spell is not considered an action, although an attack can only be launched during the caster's own turn. Attacks by the spell are considered independent from any actions carried out directly by the caster, and the two do not penalise each other. Anywhere between 1 and 6 blades can be launched in a single turn, although each blade can attack only once – after which it is destroyed, regardless of whether the attack succeeds.

Two blades fired at once can be counted either as a single Burst or as two separate attacks (using the normal rules for making multiple attacks, although the caster's own actions are not penalised), whilst firing 3 or 4 is always considered a Burst attack, and firing 5 or more is always considered Autofire. As with defending, attack checks for Blades of Ice are based on the spell's Combat Skill Total.

Blades Created: 6
Combat Skill Total: equal to caster's Empathy + Spellcasting skill
Guard Bonus: equal to number of blades remaining
Rate of Fire: 1-2, Burst 3-4 or Autofire 5-6
Medium Range: 2m x Power
Blade Damage: Power x 12 Semi-Piercing Ice + Power x 4 Delayed Effect Cold
Durability (per blade): Power x 3 (spell is only countered if all blades are destroyed)