Fourteen Black Paintings

 

Fourteen Black Paintings by Peter Gabriel

 

 The VaM-style spell today is Fourteen Black Paintings-  the title coming from this song by Peter Gabriel.

Peter Gabriel has so much good music - all of his albums are very much worth listening and considering - And other great spells would be Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Steam, Big Time, Shock the Monkey - Really all the albums have plenty of good spells - and all have great songs.

 

 

Here is some definitions of Fourteen, Black, and Painting!

 

equivalent to the product of seven and two; one more than thirteen, or six less than twenty; 14.

 

of the very darkest color owing to the absence of or complete absorption of light; the opposite of white.

 

(of the sky or night) completely dark owing to nonvisibility of the sun, moon, or stars.

 

(of coffee or tea) served without milk or cream.

of or denoting the suits spades and clubs in a deck of cards.

(of a period of time or situation) characterized by tragic or disastrous events; causing despair or pessimism.

very evil or wicked.

black color or pigment.

black clothes or material, typically worn as a sign of mourning.

darkness, especially of night or an overcast sky.

the process or art of using paint, in a picture, as a protective coating, or as decoration.

 

 

a painted picture.

 

depict (someone or something) or produce (a picture) with paint.

Of course, none of these definitions are super important - the spell is all about Goya...

Here are the lyrics!

From the pain come the dream
From the dream come the vision
From the vision come the people
From the people come the power
From this power come the change

 

 

 

Ok, here is the spell's effects!

 

Fourteen Black Paintings

Duration: Varies

Range: Varies

Roll 1D12: The rolled result occurs, but is rolled secretly by the referee.

1 – Leocadia mourns: The caster will die at some point during the day – from a heart attack or some other medical issue. If they have a retainer – this person will mourn and may be controlled as a character until the player makes a new character or the retainer dies. If the character had no retainers, some NPC or unknown admirer will emerge the next time they go to a town, and may be controlled as a character in the same fashion, mourning the dead PC.

2 – A Witches Sabbath encroaches: At some point during the day or night this spell is cast, the characters will encounter a witch – although they may not know. If they get combative or friendly, they will have to contend with a witches sabbath of 2d100 witches, some young and naive – others old and eldritch. If any party members are female magic-users – they must save vs magic six times – and if they fail they will join the sabbath – which will have effects and events that are left to the referee to decide and convey.

3 – Saturn Devours His Son: A giant emerges somewhere nearby, and will stalk the party, specifically the caster, for the rest of the day or night – if they find them they will attempt to kill and eat them. What kind of giant is up to the referee.

4 – Judith Beheads Holofernes: Any woman who strikes the caster during the day or night the spell is cast will behead the caster, if using a bladed weapon or dealing more than half of the caster’s Hit Points in damage.

5 – A Pilgrimage: At some point during the day or night the party will encounter a group of religious NPCs, who will recognize the caster as a magic user and will accost them, potentially causing problems.

6 – A Procession: At some point during the day or night – An NPCs the characters know will die. They will be informed in the regular way, and may not know for a long time.

7 – Two Old Men: At some point during the day or night, the caster’s character will be controlled by the referee: And this manifests as a disfigured man appearing behind the caster, whom only they can see, who will tell them what to do.

8 – The Fates gesture to you: At some point during the day or night; the caster will have a vision – Secretly convey to the player three things that are very likely to occur – and tell them that when these things occur, they must be silent and cannot interact: Their character will freeze and be unresponsive during the event.

9 – A Fight with Cudgels: The caster has Clone cast on them; and somewhere, sometime, during that day or night, their clone will appear with two cudgels. They will pass one to the caster and the two will fight, if they try to run: describe one of the two clutching their heart and palling over, dead. DO NOT TELL THEM WHICH HAS DIED. If the Clone died, nothing happens, if the caster died – then they get control of the clone – but in 1d20 days the clone will expire.

10 – Men Read: Any non-party member male will ignore you for the rest of the day or night, they will continue to do what they are already doing, and will shoo you away like a child.

11 – Women Laugh: Any non-party member female will laugh and scorn you for the rest of the day or night, none will help or give you any heed.

12 – Two Old Men Eat Soup: The caster ages 1d8 years, split this up evenly spaced throughout the period until the next dusk if cast during day – or dawn if cast during night. They won’t notice until the next dawn or dusk, depending on when the spell was cast.

Miscast Table

Roll a 1d6, the result rolled occurs:

1-2: A Dog – At some point during the day or night the party will encounter a dog, who will be friendly.

2-4: The caster has a fantastic vision – a view of vistas unimagined, a peek beyond the veil that fetters the visionaries of the world. They may lose a spell of their choice and gain a new spell from the same level as the spell lost, and this spell is considered immediately available for casting. They also get a vision described, which should be a fantastic and complex symbol for something that is important and soon to occur.

5-6: Choose one of the two results above.