RPGWW

How do they work in this world and wouldn't it be a more convenient way of killing someone??

I always thought the point of a curse was that the person didn't die; or if they did, it was incredibly slowly. If they die right away, they're not around long enough to really suffer, and isn't that the whole point?

Acutally, if we take the "Egyptian" curses into consideration, the point of the curse was to kill you because you didn't heed the warning of "STAY OUT OR FACE DOOOOOOOM!!!" So that's an instance of a curse that results in instant or near instant death as a punishment.

Some curses just give you bad luck until you fulfill the requirements to rid yourself of the bad luck. Sme curses make bad things happen to you physically or mentally, indeed. Curses are really broad range spells.

I guess we should define a curse. I always thought of it as a long lasting malignant spell or a spell that leads to ill as defined by the spell.

Your Egyptian style curse would be pretty easy to pull off with a powerful enchantment. Moreso if it's on a place rather than an object. As for the others... Well, frankly, curses being what they are I think they should be up to GM or character creator interpretation. By that, I mean that if you plan to curse someone, you should be a GM inflicting something that is not death on a character, after discussing things with that character's player if it's going to last outside your game... Or that curses should be something that people apply to their characters at creation.

Outside of that, I don't think what is a "curse" needs to be defined really. It's a supernatural (magical?) effect on a person or place that lasts for a very long time.

It's a supernatural (magical?) effect on a person or place that lasts for a very long time.

Or not that long a time.
Like you're cursed to have bad luck for a day.
Or you're cursed to remain in a spot until the sun sets.

There are also curses that effects you until some certain condition are met I.E. A lone anti-social depressed loner is cursed to skip and sing at odd times until they find true friendship or some such.

All these and more are curses that can be found in childrens books!

Besyanteo wrote:Your Egyptian style curse would be pretty easy to pull off with a powerful enchantment. Moreso if it's on a place rather than an object. As for the others... Well, frankly, curses being what they are I think they should be up to GM or character creator interpretation. By that, I mean that if you plan to curse someone, you should be a GM inflicting something that is not death on a character, after discussing things with that character's player if it's going to last outside your game... Or that curses should be something that people apply to their characters at creation.

Outside of that, I don't think what is a "curse" needs to be defined really. It's a supernatural (magical?) effect on a person or place that lasts for a very long time.

You bring up an interesting point about a curse being like an enchantment. Perhaps they should fall under the same category?

A cursed object or location could simply have a deadly contingent spell.

For a definition of a contingent spell, see one of Hakaril Silvar's applied magical theory techs. He uses it to do things like transmute his hat into lead in the event it is ever stolen, but you could easily set up the stipulation that the next person who does X Offensive Act is hit with some other spell, whether a deadly elemental attack, a potent malediction spell (such as one affecting luck or even just poisoning the poor bastard) or even a summoning spell that calls some horrible monster to eat the target.

As for Generic Fuxxor You Up Spells, I'd say that's the whole purpose of malediction, and if creatively used malediction could yield some scary effects.