The Spell "Calling"

[darthauthor]

The invocation Spell of "Calling" found on page 207 of Rifts Ultimate Edition.

So a prisoner escapes.
The warden is a mage or there is a mage at the prison.

1. Can they use the spell Calling to sort of force the escapee to come back to them if they fail their saving throw?

2. I feel the spell would be great if you got lost from your party and they "Calling" to you or you to them.
The question is, "Does the sell give enough directional sense to travel in a straight line to them?"

3. Can you call an animal like your Dog or Horse?

4. Is their a penality on their skill or combat stats of the person you "Calling" who fails their save?

5. Can you provide clarity about how many words the caster can communicate and how often over the 5 minutes per level duration?
I am imagining situations in which a fellow player is using this spell as a radio substitute that cannot be traced or interupted by electronic countermeasures.
Additionally, with the spells of "Domination" or "Charm" how someone could tell them what to do through bionaculars or something (commit acts of sabotauge, etc."

[ShadowLogan]

1. No. Even assuming they are in range, the only thing "Calling" does is put a message on loop (3x per melee) until the duration elapses or they go to the caster. It's a bit like having an earworm (you know when you have a song or song fragment stuck in your head) I would think.

2. Travel to them yes, weather that has to be a straight line is up to the character (they can elect to choose a route)

3. I think it is implied it is for sentients like humans and would not include a dog or horse.

4. No. You could always consider them "distracted" due to the looping message, but that is not required.

5. The message repeats 3x every melee (4 melees in a minute, so 20 melees per level means the message repeats 60x times). For simplicity I would look at the examples given for the spell to determine word length with a small bit of extra words for margin (no more the x2, though if you have other Settings you might want to check their examples to using the spell but it isn't required).

5b. Charm and Domination have a range of touch out to 15ft (as the case maybe), so I don't see the casting it on remote subjects via binoculars. That said, if they are already under the influence of those spells I could see allowing "updates" to be delivered by other means (radio, telepathy, etc)

[HoumirKinkar]

Calling forces the target to respond, not return. Think magical walkie-talkie, not pull-back tether. (pg. 207)

Calling works for lost party members, but no directional guidance. Just confirms location and allows brief messages. (pg. 207)

No, Calling is for humanoid minds only. (pg. 207)

No penalty on failing the save, just forced response.

Limited communication: Short phrases, questions, and basic info only. Think keywords, not conversations. Frequency is once per minute per level of the caster. (pg. 207)

Calling isn't a radio replacement, but a magical alert system. Consider Domination or Charm for more complex mind control (with appropriate risks!).

[drewkitty ~..~]

1. no

2.maybe. GM call.

3. it must be a person with a name that is called. ( so you couldn't 'call' 'the nameless bard' or someone who's name has been severed from them.) (Part one 1000 Geekpoints if you know where that ref. came from, part two see the invented magic topic for the spell.)

4. no

5. the called's full name. and as much as three times for those called that fail their save.
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"Domination" or "Charm" ??? Over a radio headset while watching from afar through binoculars, maybe.