The best way to implement words with opposite meanings had me stumped for a little bit. On the one hand, there are some opposites which players should absolutely have to earn separately. Stuff like Fire and Ice, or Love and Hate. Yet there are other words which seem as though players ought to be able to automatically know one if they already know the other. Words like Fortune and Misfortune, or Appear and Disappear.
I was seriously toying with the idea of some kind of “discover opposite word” ability before I realized that the solution to the problem was already built into the system: if you know a word, then you also know any words derived from it. If an opposite is created merely by adding or removing a prefix or suffix, then it’s functionally the same word for the purposes of creating spells.
In retrospect, this seems so obvious that I feel a little silly spelling it out. But I’m the guy who came up with the system in the first place, and I was confused by this, so it seems reasonable to assume others might have a similar mental hangup. Anyway, the first of the two lists below are opposites which don’t share the same root, and thus would need to be learned separately.
The second list, Evocations and Shapes, is of course a spellcasting necessity. While spells like Fire Ball or Lightning Bolt aren’t exactly the most creative or interesting spells, I would be remiss if elements and shapes were not represented on these tables. And the great thing about forcing myself to write 100 point tables is that I need to really stretch myself to find interesting elements and shapes to include. So while Fire Ball may be droll, I’m curious to see players create spells like Plasmatic Circle, Magnetic Ray, or Earth Ball.
d100 Opposites
- Expand
- Contract
- Open
- Close
- On
- Off
- Abundance
- Scarcity
- Accept
- Refuse
- Admit
- Deny
- Friend
- Foe
- Bitter
- Sweet
- Odd
- Even
- Old
- Young
- Past
- Present
- Peace
- War
- Plentiful
- Scarce
- Power
- Weak
- Beautiful
- Ugly
- Private
- Public
- Ancient
- Modern
- Answer
- Question
- Arrive
- Depart
- Begin
- End
- Grow
- Shrink
- Large
- Small
- Construct
- Demolish
- Love
- Hate
- Scatter
- Collect
- Sink
- Float
- Slow
- Fast
- Truth
- Falsehood
- Under
- Over
- Victory
- Defeat
- Virtue
- Vice
- Vanish
- Appear
- Win
- Lose
- Zenith
- Nadir
- Rare
- Common
- Rich
- Poor
- Permanent
- Temporary
- Night
- Day
- Happy
- Sad
- Major
- Minor
- More
- Less
- Loose
- Tight
- Lazy
- Industrious
- Lead
- Follow
- Left
- Right
- Less
- More
- Intelligent
- Stupid
- Shame
- Pride
- Help
- Hinder
- Life
- Death
d100 Evocations & Shapes
- Acid
- Air
- Arc
- Arcane
- Ball
- Blade
- Blanket
- Blast
- Boil
- Bolt
- Burning
- Channel
- Circle
- Cloud
- Coax
- Cold
- Cone
- Crystal
- Cube
- Dark
- Disc
- Disease
- Disintegration
- Dome
- Earth
- Electricity
- Explosion
- Exude
- Fall
- Filth
- Fire
- Flame
- Flow
- Gas
- Gaze
- Geyser
- Goo
- Gravity
- Grow
- Growth
- Hail
- Heat
- Ice
- Imbue
- Inebriate
- Lance
- Laser
- Lava
- Light
- Lightning
- Line
- Magic
- Magnetic
- Metal
- Missile
- Mud
- Music
- Narcotic
- Nature
- Nothing
- Nuclear
- Ooze
- Orb
- Pandemic
- Pentagram
- Plant
- Plasma
- Poison
- Pressure
- Prismatic
- Protoplasmic
- Pyramid
- Radiate
- Rain
- Ray
- Rock
- Sand
- Shadow
- Shock
- Slime
- Snow
- Sonic
- Spectral
- Speed
- Sphere
- Spiral
- Spray
- Spread
- Square
- Steam
- Steel
- Storm
- Telekinetic
- Time
- Triangle
- Tumble
- Vacuum
- Wall
- Water
- Wind
So, d100 verbs to put in front?
“Abundance Ray” maybe will be “Create Abundance Ray” or something? “Detect Abundance Ray” is maybe a little specific, otoh… so a table like this
1-2 Verb Opposite
3-4 Opposite Evocations & Shapes
5 Verb Evocation & Shapes
6 Verb Evocation & Shapes Opposite
Just my 2 cents…
Well, the core idea here is for players to discover these words, and then mix & match them using whatever creative methodology they have. The lists could, of course, be used in other ways, but that’s the purpose I wrote them for.
A table of verbs is coming.