Summon/Bind Nightgaunt Spell

[ColoradoCthulhu]

One of my players insisted that his Investigator learn the 'Summon/Bind Nightgaunt' spell from Jonathan Dover's Journal, which was found in the Doors to Darkness scenario, "None More Black." The spell is potentially dangerous as the nightgaunts can break free of the caster once summoned on a failed opposed POW roll (see the The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic for more info).

There is no description of the spell in the Doors to Darkness supplement. I checked The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic reference book and there are only two paragraphs mentioning details about the spell, with no complete entry among the hundreds of spell descriptions found within this volume.

In 'Chapter 4, page 42:'

"Bind Nightgaunt: if the caster has a stone emblazoned with the Elder Sign (page 105) they gain one bonus die to the opposed POW roll to bind the nightgaunt. Alternative names: Mastery of the Faceless Ones, The Elder Token by which They will Know You."

In 'Chapter 4, page 176:'

"Summon Nightgaunt: a nearly silent swoosh of air comes then the single ghastly form of the blank-faced flying horror appears. To perform the summoning, a stone emblazoned with the cryptic Elder Sign must be present. The spell can be cast only at night when there is no moon. Alternative names: The Whispered Words of the Faceless Men, Conjure the Winged Shadow."

Can anyone provide some necessary information such as Sanity loss for casting the spell, any POW losses, casting time, duration of the summons, and so on. Does the caster also need to know the Elder Sign spell before being able to cast Summon/Bind Nightgaunt?

[klecser]

I don't have my copy on me, but all Summoning and Bind spells share common mechanic characteristics that are described in the broader text at the front of those sections. It applies to all Summon/Bind spells respectively.

Edited March 19, 2021 by klecser

[ColoradoCthulhu]

1 minute ago, klecser said:

I don't have me, but all Summoning and Bind spells share common mechanic characteristics that are described in the broader text at the front of those sections. It applies to all Summon/Bind spells respectively.

I considered that, but I looked and couldn't find the information for all Summon/Bind spell mechanics. I'll check again now.

Edited March 19, 2021 by ColoradoCthulhu

[ColoradoCthulhu]

I looked again and the information is on page 41 of The Grand Grimoire (how did I miss it?). What must of thrown me off is that some binding spells such as "Bind Shoggoth" have their own detailed entries.

From page 41, "Each attempted binding costs 1 Sanity point but usually no magic points." I'll just read through the section found on pages 41 and 42. I will assume someone needs to cast the Elder Sign once to create the spell component (a stone) for the summoning.

[Darius West]

20 hours ago, ColoradoCthulhu said:

I looked again and the information is on page 41 of The Grand Grimoire (how did I miss it?). What must of thrown me off is that some binding spells such as "Bind Shoggoth" have their own detailed entries.

From page 41, "Each attempted binding costs 1 Sanity point but usually no magic points." I'll just read through the section found on pages 41 and 42. I will assume someone needs to cast the Elder Sign once to create the spell component (a stone) for the summoning.

As above, plus the SAN loss for seeing the actual nightgaunt (0/1d6).  I would probably allow anything related to Nodens to provide a measure of bonus too as Nightgaunts serve Nodens, and if they think they are doing their master's will, they will oppose the binding less.