Delay

Regular
This spell is cast on another spell to delay its activation until a certain thing happens in the linked spell’s presence – that is, in the presence of the item or area on which the linked spell was cast. This triggering event may be as simple or complex as the caster desires; if complex, it should be put in writing. The triggering event must be something that could reasonably be determined by a normal person at the Delay site; the GM’s decision is final. If the Delay is to be triggered by a more esoteric event, an appropriate spell such as Mage Sight may be cast on the Delay. The Delay may also be triggered by the activation of another spell, such as Watchdog or another linked spell. A Delay can activate only one other spell.
The spells are cast one after the other, with no delays between spells. The Delay must be cast first, and counts as a spell “on” when determining the skill level of the linked spell – see p. 10. Full cost for the linked spell and for the Delay must be paid at the time of casting. If the caster specifies a spell to affect a human-sized subject, and a larger victim (requiring more energy – see p. 11) actually triggers the Delay, there is either no effect or reduced effect, depending on the spell. The GM’s ruling on this is final.

Delay may be cast two ways:

• to activate the linked spell on a specific subject,
• or as a trap, to activate the linked spell against any subject that meets the triggering conditions.
  In the latter case, the Delay and the linked spell are both cast on a “trap item,” and range is figured from the trap item at the moment the spell is triggered. Magic Resistance penalties also apply to the linked spell at the time of triggering.

The caster rolls for Delay when it is first cast; the roll for the linked spell is not made until the triggering event occurs. If the intended subject of a linked spell is not present at the time of casting, there is an additional -5 penalty for the linked spell (but not for the Link) for not being able to touch or see the subject – see p. 11. So, for instance, the dreaded “Deathtouch doorknob,” set to “attack” the first person to touch it, would activate at a -5 penalty.

When a Delay is triggered, the linked spell begins to activate, taking effect the next turn.Thus, a Delay cannot be used as a Blocking spell. It can be used as a trap; the victim may be taken by surprise. An unsuspecting victim must make an IQ roll to respond before the linked spell is fully activated – Combat Reflexes (M) gives +6 to this roll.
Both the Delay and the linked spell count as “on” for spellcasting purposes; if an Information spell has been added, it is also on. The linked spell does not need to be maintained, though the Delay or its Information spell may need to be. Once the Delay is triggered, it vanishes, and no longer counts as on. The linked spell continues to count as on as long as it is active. It may be maintained normally.
A Delay may also be set to “turn off” an ongoing spell when a triggering event occurs. In that case, the linked spell lasts only while the caster maintains it, but the Delay itself requires no maintenance.
Blocking and Missile spells cannot be Delayed – all other spells can. An “instantaneous” spell like Thunderclap will happen once, when activated; then the spell will be gone. A continuing spell like Voices will start when activated, and then operate until it expires.

Duration: 2 hours.
Time to cast: 10 seconds.
Cost: 3 to cast. 3 to maintain.
Prerequisites: Magery 3 and any 15 spells.