CONFLICT THESAURUS

BEING PLACED UNDER A SPELL



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HELPFUL TIP:

Conflict is your story’s secret sauce, supplying tension, friction, and complications to a character’s journey. It comes in a million different forms, so identify the obstacles and problems that will hit your character the hardest by using the Character Builder to uncover their primary insecurities, fears , and desires. Don’t forget to include everyday conflict scenarios that will frustrate them and keep the pressure high.
CATEGORY:
Loss of control, ego-related conflict, relationship friction, moral dilemmas and temptations, power struggles, dangers and threats, miscellaneous challenges

NOTES:
This entry pertains to relatively minor magical afflictions with a temporary or trivial result. For powerful maledictions with severe implications, see the entry BEING CURSED.

EXAMPLES:
A talent or skill being taken away, such as a dancer being bestowed with temporary clumsiness
Being slipped a love potion
A spell being used as a prank—such as, a common word triggering the character to bray like a donkey, burst into song, or fall asleep
The character always tripping in the presence of certain people
Being able to understand animals or talk to the dead, and being followed around by them 
Being unable to find or use a certain object
Never being able to reach a specific location
An aspect of the character's appearance shifting depending on their mood (hair changing color, the skin breaking out in spots, etc.)
Unfortunate things happening when the character sneezes
Being unable to speak of anything related to a prophecy, spell, or curse
Being temporarily turned into an animal or inanimate object
Being made invisible
The character exchanging bodies with someone else for a predetermined amount of time
Being afflicted with a seemingly good spell that causes major problems, such as the Midas touch

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Embarrassment arising from things the character did while the spell was in effect
The character having no memory of what they did while ensorcelled
Something humiliating being recorded and shared with others
A relationship being strained because of the spell
The character not being believed when they explain that a spell caused their words or actions
The character's physical appearance being temporarily altered
Enduring teasing from those around them
Needing to find a way to break the spell
Not knowing who cast the spell or why
Not knowing the trigger for an ongoing spell; being uncertain as to when it will go into effect
A loss of control chafing at the character
Physical discomfort associated with the spell

POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS RESULTS:
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RESULTING EMOTIONS:
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POSSIBLE INTERNAL STRUGGLES:
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PEOPLE WHO COULD BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE:
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IMPACT ON BASIC NEEDS:
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WOUNDS THIS COULD LEAD TO:
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POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
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POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
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