DCC Vivimancer: Vats of Creation

I've been reading the DCC book again, recently, especially the section on magic. I'm really taken by the magic system, with all its variable randomness, outlandish effects, and nasty risks. So, naturally, I have been wondering what it's like to create spells for the system. Here's my first attempt, a conversion of one of my old vivimancer spells (originally written for the Labyrinth Lord rules in Theorems & Thaumaturgy). I'd be very interested to hear what experienced DCCers make of this! (By the way, the spell assumes the presence of random tables of beneficial and hampering mutations.)

Vats of Creation
Level: 3    Range: Touch        Duration: Varies    Casting Time: One week
Save: N/A

General: This spell enables a wizard, with the use of a specially prepared vat, to create any life-form which he can dream up. Before the casting can begin, the wizard must construct a laboratory containing a suitable vat (see Manifestation). The cost of the vat is variable, but determines the size/power (i.e. the maximum Hit Dice) of the creatures which may be spawned in it -- 1,000gp per maximum Hit Die. (For example, if 5,000gp are spent constructing the vat, then creatures of up to 5 Hit Dice may be grown within it.) Once constructed, the vat may be used for multiple castings of this spell. Each casting also requires material components (nutrient solutions, DNA buffers, plasma, etc) to the tune of 100gp per Hit Die of the planned creature.

Once the vat is prepared, the caster must determine the qualities of the desired creature, including its physical form and appearance, its personality and instinctual behaviour, its form of locomotion and native environment (i.e. either water- or air-breathing), any attack forms (claws, fangs, tentacles, spines, etc) it may have, and its Hit Dice. Generally speaking, anything which the wizard dreams up -- whether plant, fungus, or animal -- is possible. In addition to natural attack forms, the caster may attempt to imbue one or more special qualities into the creature. Examples include: flight, the ability to breathe water and air, a breath weapon, poison, and so on. For each such planned quality, the spell check is penalised by -2.

Caveats:

• Attempts to replicate an existing individual will fail.
• The creation of intelligent (i.e. of human or greater mental capability) life is possible but elusive. Only spell check results of 32 or higher allow this. Otherwise, the spawned life-form possesses at most animal intelligence.
• Creatures spawned with this spell are not bound to obey their creator’s commands -- they have minds of their own and behave according to their own instincts and whims.

Manifestation: Roll 1d5: (1) the creature is spawned in a gel-filled vat of crystal; (2) the creature is spawned in the bubbling, sulfurous waters of a natural spring; (3) the creature is spawned in a vacuum, contained within a brass vessel; (4) the creature is spawned in the distended womb of a specially bred, giant primate; (5) the creature is spawned in a floating sphere of radiance.

Corruption: Roll 1d6: (1) the caster becomes obsessed with the desired creature but can never succeed in realising his vision; (2) the caster’s physical appearance takes on something of the form of the intended creature; (3) small, jellified life-forms emerge from the orifices of the caster’s body on a daily basis; (4-5) major; (6) greater.

Misfire: Roll 1d4: (1) the intended creature is spawned -- with Hit Dice equal to the caster’s level, AC 14, an attack at +4 (1d8 damage), and any planned special qualities -- but it is hateful and immediately attacks its creator, upon emerging from the vat; (2) on the 1d7th day, the vat explodes, dealing 3d6 damage to the caster and anyone else within 15’; (3) instead of the intended creature, a hideously deformed twin of the caster grows in the vat; the caster is soul-bound to the wretched twin, such that damage (disease, poison, etc) to one affects both; (4) while monitoring the procedure, the caster is sucked into vat and floats there for the casting time.

1: Lost, failure, and worse! Roll 1d6 modified by Luck: (0 or less) corruption + misfire + patron taint, (1-2) corruption, (3) patron taint (or corruption if no patron), (4+) misfire.

2-11: Lost. Failure.

12-15: Failure, but spell is not lost.

16-17: The caster creates a creature of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+10 and a single attack at +4 (1d4 damage). The creature is genetically unstable and dies after 1 week. There is also a 50% chance of the creature being flawed in an unexpected way (roll 1d3 disabling mutations).

18-21: The caster creates a creature of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+11 and a single attack at +5 (1d6 damage). The creature is genetically unstable and dies after 1d3 weeks. There is also a 30% chance of the creature being flawed in an unexpected way (roll 1d3 disabling mutations).

22-23: The caster creates a creature of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+12 and either a single attack at +6 (1d8 damage) or two attacks at +4 (1d6 damage). There is a 20% chance of the creature possessing an unexpected quality (roll a beneficial mutation). The creature is genetically unstable and dies after 1d4 months.

24-26: The caster creates a creature of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+13 and either a single attack at +7 (1d10 damage) or two attacks at +5 (1d8 damage). There is a 40% chance of the creature possessing unexpected qualities (roll 1d2 beneficial mutations). The creature is genetically stable and has a natural lifespan of 1d6 years.

27-31: The caster creates a creature of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+14 and either a single attack at +8 (1d12 damage), two attacks at +6 (1d10 damage), or three attacks at +4 (1d8 damage). The creature possesses 1d3 unexpected qualities (beneficial mutations). The creature is genetically stable and has a natural lifespan of 2d6 years.

32-33: The caster creates an intelligent creature of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+15 and either a single attack at +8 (1d12 damage), two attacks at +6 (1d10 damage), or three attacks at +4 (1d8 damage). The creature has an Intelligence of 2d6 and possesses 1d3 unexpected qualities (beneficial mutations). The creature is genetically stable and has a natural lifespan of 3d10 years.

34-35: The spawning processes produces twins: two identical, intelligent creatures of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+15 and either a single attack at +8 (1d12 damage), two attacks at +6 (1d10 damage), or three attacks at +4 (1d8 damage). The creatures have an Intelligence of 2d6 and possess 1d3 unexpected qualities (beneficial mutations). The creatures are genetically stable and have a natural lifespan of 4d10 years.

36+: The caster creates a supra-intelligent creature of up to one Hit Die per level, with AC 1d4+15 and either a single attack at +8 (1d12 damage), two attacks at +6 (1d10 damage), or three attacks at +4 (1d8 damage). The creature has an Intelligence of 2d6+12 and possesses 1d5 unexpected qualities (beneficial mutations). The creature is genetically stable and has a natural lifespan of 6d10 years.

DCC: Alchemical Tonic

Having bought the Dungeon Crawl Classics book recently, I've been thinking about running some games. Naturally (naturally!) I would expunge the cleric class from existence. I am renowned for my grudge against clerics of all creeds and am not about to tarnish this reputation now.

Clerics in DCC seem pretty healy. The death toll of the game seems pretty high. Put those two facts together and, without clerical healing, you get a blood bath, I would imagine. So, with maximum mercy, I propose the following substance:

Alchemical Tonic
A class of rejuvenating fluid produced by many alchemists, each having his or her own secret formula. A vial costs 40gp. Imbibing it has the effect of restoring one Hit Die. Other damage effects (like critical hit gruesomeness, diseases, paralysis, whatever) are not affected.

Adventurers with a few lucrative jaunts under their belts will, of course, be able to purchase great stocks of this miracle juice. Ingesting alchemical substances of this kind is, however, not without side-effects -- especially when the compounds of multiple doses mix in a character's intestines. Upon imbibing the first tonic of the day, a player must roll 1d6 and consult the following table. For each subsequent dose consumed, the die type increases by one, up to the mighty d30 of almost-certain alchemical doom. Rolls on the table are inversely modified by Luck (bonuses subtract, penalties add).

0 or less: No side-effect.
1: Tingling. A pleasant sensation in the extremities.
2: Chills. Rising up and down the spine.
3: Flush. Cheeks flush hot red.
4: Rush. A sensation of courage and renewed vigour pervades the character's consciousness for 1 hour. Can lead to foolhardy decision making.
5: Tipsy. Has an effect similar to alcohol.
6: Mind-numbing. 1d3 Intelligence damage.
7: Over-stimulation. Character cannot sleep for 48 hours.
8: Rejection. The tonic is vomited back up. Healing factor reduced by 50%.
9: Hyper-sensitivity. A frothing sensation in the belly. The die type used on this table for subsequent doses is increased by two steps.
10: Faint. Wakes up naturally after 1d6 turns. Slapping has no effect but application of another dose of tonic does the job in 1d6 rounds.
11: Fire breath. A chemical reaction causes a gout of flame to burst from the character's lips. A random character or object within 5' takes 1d8 damage and must make a DC 10 Reflex save to avoid catching on fire (p.96).
12: Addictive. The compound has a habit-forming effect. The character must make a DC 15 Will save or do whatever he can to consume a second dose within the next hour, whether he needs the additional hit points or not.
13: Fearless. The compound inspires courage to the point of recklessness, for 1d6 hours. The character is immune to fear effects during this time but cannot take any course of action out of caution.
14: Where am I? Partial amnesia for 1 hour. The character knows who he is and recognizes companions, but has no memory of how he got into the current situation or what he is doing there.
15: Glow. A strange chemical reaction causes the character's skin to glow some psychedelic hue for 1d6 hours. This makes stealth very difficult.
16: Alchemical taint. The character's lips are permanently stained with a garish colour and his breath takes on an acrid odour.
17: Sensory black out. Blinded or deafened for 1d10 minutes.
18: Vision. An odd collusion of chemical elements triggers a psychedelic episode. The character has an out-of-body visionary flash lasting 1d6 rounds (although the vision may, subjectively, appear to last much longer), followed by a 1d6 hour period of sensory distortion and hallucination.
19: Pain insensitivity. Bodily sensations numbed for 24 hours. Judge tracks character's hit point total and gives no clues as to its status.
20: Intolerance. On subsequent days, the character's first dose of tonic starts with a d8 on the side-effects table.
21: Who am I? Complete amnesia for 24 hours.
22: Tonic-head. Highly addictive elements of the tonic get a grip on the character. Henceforth, he must consume a dose every day or lose a point of Strength.
23: Frazzled. The character's nervous system is damaged by continued abuse. Hit point maximum reduced by one, permanently.
24: Knockout gas. Noxious fumes erupt from the character's digestive system. All within 20' (including the one who drank the tonic) must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or fall unconscious for 1d6 turns.
25: Digestive polymorph. Character's digestive system is permanently altered, such that he can only subsist on an unusual, unnatural diet (gold, rocks, shadows, elf-flesh, etc).
26: Allergic reaction. Roll again. Character's system has become extra sensitive to the effects of tonic. Henceforth, every dose incurs two rolls on this table.
27: Brain damage. Mixed compounds take to the character's brain, causing unconsciousness for 1d6 hours and a permanent 1d12 points of Intelligence damage.
28: Rainbow vomit. Colours, chemical formulations, geometric crystals, and chunks of decimated organs spew from the character's mouth. Dies within 1d6 turns unless some miracle intervenes.
29: Stomach disintegration. Like drinking acid. Instadeath.
30 or more: Alchemical explosion. An unfortunate mixture of esoteric compounds triggers a powerful explosion in the character's gut. Instadeath. All within 10' must make a DC 12 Reflex save or suffer 1d6 damage from the blast.