Insanity

This rule simply needs tweaking. It may be almost perfect, or it may need a bit of work. It's half-way in between sexy and in need of overhaul. Leave any ideas on the Talk page, please!

Rarity	3
AP	4
Target	Creature
Distance	Contact
Lasts	1 minute per spell rank
Save	Sanity

The mage barrages an unwitting target's mind with vile magic, causing the victim to go temporarily insane. Instead of imposing a medically-recognized mental disorder, this spell throws a dark veil between a creature's mind and the real world; it corrupts and twists a creature's perceptions. At increasing intensities of the spell, creatures will find functioning effectively to be impossible. Intensity effects are cumulative.

Intensity Effects

1. Hazy Mind. "Suddenly, nothing makes sense and you can't remember why you're here." A creature receives a −4 penalty to perform any action which requires concentration or mental capacity. Ask your GM, but some examples could include spellcasting, speaking a foreign language, using ranged weaponry, the use of some Special Powers, and all skills used with Intellect and Insight.
2. Dumbstruck. "Your wits have abandoned ship and the world seems a bizarre place." A creature becomes unable to perform complex mental tasks. Its only available actions include defending itself, running away, and attacking its aggressors in melée. The target of this spell is no longer able to communicate with other creatures, and may begin mumbling incomprehensibly. If the creature had friends, they are forgotten, but they are not yet enemies.
3. Hallucinations. "You perceive horrible sounds and sights which cripple your mind." A creature begins to see and hear things that aren't there: bloody walls, horrible creatures, and vile disembodied speech. The target has a 50% chance it will attack an aggressor that doesn't exist. The target will begin shouting at thin air. Cue random sobbing and laughing.
4. Turncoat. "Amidst this sea of horror, one fact is clear: everyone here wants to kill you." The target perceives every nearby creature as a threat (including the imaginary ones). Perhaps he believes his former allies are possessed or were transformed into monsters.
5. Catatonic. "None of this is real." The target collapses to the ground and crawls to the nearest solid object (e.g. wall, furniture, corpse) so it can cling to it and babble, cry, laugh, and shake uncontrollably. Its ability to perceive reality has been obscured entirely by dark magic. The target is considered helpless, prone, and wide-eyed.