The World of Yön

Session 14

Keith Abbott — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:17:00 GMT

Session Date: October 5, 2007. Campaign Date: 29 Brighor to 12 Cellas 1460 TR.

[4 Senna] The heroes barely escape a raging prarie fire. (CR 6 with a 1.5 multiplier)
[16 Senna] The heroes encounter a group of captured “indentured servants” being returned to Kartag by four members of Korov’s Legion led by Sergeant Roska Bolovkar and his employer, an officious gnome and “Collection Agent” named Zerog Zellberla. The barrister gnome and Allyrianna get into an argument about the servants until the gnome, sensing an expensive and dangerous fight in the offing, decides to offer to sell the contracts of servants. Allyrianna agrees to buy off the contracts of the less criminal of the servants.
[12 Cellas] The heroes return to Tarenkoth.

Session 13

Keith Abbott — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:49:00 GMT

Session Date: September 14, 2007. Campaign Date: 7 to 28 Brighor 1460 TR.

The heroes are wakened from their well-earned rest in the Harvale Inn by a commotion outside. A small caravan outside was attacked en route, if the tales of the merchant and his guards can be believed, by swarms of vicious squirrels. The heroes decide to accompany the caravan back to Parnella after it finishes trading in Harvale.
The caravan is again attacked, if the heroes’ eyes can be believed, by swarms of fiendish black squirrels (six at CR 2 each) and a dozen fiendish dire black squirrels (CR ⅓ each). Although they are able to fight off the ravening hordes, the heroes decide to make haste to Parnella in hopes that the evil squirrels will not regroup and pursue in time.
The heroes, fearing the fiendish squirrels are but a sign of worse things in the offing, consult the priest of the church of Rytha in Parnella. He directs them to speak to Lysira in Duilghlam, a village north of Yrsingen. He says that she would know more of such things and would also be able to contact druids willing to help.
On the way to Duilghlam over dusty roads during a hot, dry, summer day, Cart spies a large goat looking furtively at the approaching party from a large stand of bushes. He appears not to notice as he informs the others, then sees a lion’s head peer over the bushes. Cart spurs his horse and charges the bushes to surprise the chimera (CR 7) waiting to ambush the party. The chimera’s timing is off and Cart wounds it badly. The creature, in anger nearly rips Cart limb from limb, and he limps from the fight as a storm of magic and arrows pound the monster into the ground. After receiving healing magic, Cart examines the bushes and notices a large patch of loose soil without grass. Digging there, the heroes discover, under a pungent layer of the chimera’s dung, a sack of 1100 gold pieces, three art objects, and armor later identified as +1 leather armor.
The heroes arrive in Duilghlam, a village with a mixed population of humans and centaurs living in harmony. They seek out Lysira, who turns out to be a half-celestial centaur and a paladin reportedly chosen by Rytha to be the village’s defender. (The stories have it that a paladin that led the village to defend centaur families seeking refuge from their fiendish counterparts died and was reincarnated as a half-celestial centaur, who then led the villagers and the centaurs to victory. Since then, one centaur in every generation has been born half-celestial to take up the role as the village’s defender.) The heroes tell of their encounters with large numbers of fiendish creatures, and Lysira thanks them for their efforts and promises to speak to the druids at once about investigating the origins of these fell creatures.

Session 12

Keith Abbott — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:50:00 GMT

Session Date: September 7, 2007. Campaign Date: 5 to 6 Brighor 1460 TR.

With Krall’s recovery, the heroes return to the abandoned dwarf mines and work their way back down to the third level. With some foresight, Sinjiin has Allyrianna open the trapdoor to the third level as he rolls a flaming sphere through the opening, incinerating two of the six small fiendish monstrous spiders (CR ½ each) just below. The survivors are quickly lose that status as the rest of the party all but falls on them and hacks them to bits.
The activity draws the attention of the twelve medium fiendish monstrous spiders (CR 1 each) still surviving nearby. A protracted fight leaves them in a state only a true arachnophobe could love. A search of the floor reveals a simple silver ring later identified as a ring of protection +1 and a wand of cure light wounds (22 charges).
The heroes open the trap door to the lowest floor which has two, huge oval caverns with forty foot ceilings festooned in webs. Three large fiendish monstrous spiders (CR 3 each) drop from these webs on the players. Their preternaturally tough hide yields but little to their blows but persistence and magical firepower pay off and the spiders are destroyed.
As the last of the spiders are hammered to pieces, a human male warlock (CR 6) releases a sickening eldritch blast, striking Sinjiin in the chest. Arrows and spells harass him as he uses a charm to overcome Sinjiin’s weakened will and turn him to his side. It avails the warlock little, though: before Sinjiin is able to do much to aid the warlock, arrows and magic missiles kill him. The heroes find Krissa, cocooned in webs and paralyzed and sickened by spider venom and terribly abused by the warlock, but still alive. Cart discovers a hole in the ceiling of the webs, which were burned away by Sinjiin’s magic to free the warlock’s body. Searching the body revealed items that were later identified as an amulet of natural armor +1, a chain shirt +1, a cloak of charisma +2, a ring of protection +1, and a masterwork spear. Finding a way to get up to the hole in the middle of the ceiling proves to be difficult, but when the heroes manage it, they find a bag with 900 gold pieces, a small pouch with a 600 gold piece topaz and a 130 gold piece tourmaline, and a wand later identified as a wand of call lightning (10 charges).
The party heals Krissa of her worst injuries and returns her to Harvale for further rest and recovery.
When she recovers, Krissa describes her horrific tale and her quest for the Rod of Draconic Binding, a minor artifact that allows a dragon and the rod’s wielder to share minds. The rod had disappeared from Elyzhar a bit over two centuries ago. It was intended as a training tool, allowing an Elyzhain sorcerer to experience a dragon’s perspective more closely, but it had an unfortunate side effect that a particularly strong-willed individual might dominate the dragon and gain control over it. When this secret got out, much blood was spilled as various clans fought to claim the rod for their own use or to prevent its use. The rod was lost in these struggles until rumors reached the ears of Elyzhain sorcerers visiting Ninetowers heard of a dragon with a rod-bearing rider raiding villages in the hills north of the Crimson Plains. She was unable to confirm these rumors.

Fun with Magic: Antipathy

Keith Abbott — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:16:00 GMT

This is an article in the continuing series, “Fun with Magic”, where I examine spells from the D20 System Reference Document, which corresponds to spells from the Player’s Handbook v. 3.5. These spells are in almost every campaign and form the foundation of spells used in Yön. Each article demonstrates strengths and weaknesses of a particular spell and some unique applications for each, to the limit of the author’s imagination, such as it is.

Antipathy

Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Drd 9, Sor/Wiz 8

Components: V, S, M/DF

Casting Time: 1 hour

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Target: One location (up to a 10-ft. cube/level) or one object

Duration: 2 hours/level (D)

Saving Throw: Will partial

Spell Resistance: Yes

You cause an object or location to emanate magical vibrations that repel either a specific kind of intelligent creature or creatures of a particular alignment, as defined by you. The kind of creature to be affected must be named specifically. A creature subtype is not specific enough. Likewise, the specific alignment to be repelled must be named.

Creatures of the designated kind or alignment feel an overpowering urge to leave the area or to avoid the affected item.

A compulsion forces them to abandon the area or item, shunning it and never willingly returning to it while the spell is in effect. A creature that makes a successful saving throw can stay in the area or touch the item but feels uncomfortable doing so. This distracting discomfort reduces the creature’s Dexterity score by 4 points.

Antipathy counters and dispels sympathy.

Arcane Material Component: A lump of alum soaked in vinegar.

This spell used to be more powerful in earlier editions, but has been nerfed since then. Still, against powerful creatures, you can use it to drive them away from a room you are in or at least knock four points off their Dexterity if they stay and fight. This will reduce their Armor Class, ranged attacks and Reflex saves by two, so it might make the fight against them easier. It’s a good spell to use against dragons by casting it on the area where their treasure is and fighting them there. Few dragons are going to completely abandon their treasure, so If they fail the save, they can’t melee you around their treasure or even approach it, and some lower-level energy resistance spells will ward off their breath weapons. If they make the save, their Reflex saves will suffer a bit as will their Armor Class, especially their touch AC, so splash weapons, touch spells and Reflex save spells will have a greater effect on them.

Session 11

Keith Abbott — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:52:00 GMT

Session Date: August 24, 2007. Campaign Date: 4 Brighor 1460 TR.

While Krall is recovering from spider poison, the heroes bring the crate of cold iron they recovered to Gerston, the Harvale blacksmith, so that he might fashion some cold iron weapons for them. He discovers a dirty object lodged between the thick wooden slats in the crate bottom. Discovering it to be a strange gold object perhaps five inches long resembling a human skull with a skeletal arm extending from it, he takes it to the heroes, wanting nothing to do with creepy and possibly dangerous magic items. Sinjiin and Marick both recognize it as a tomb key, a strange artifact, seemingly nonmagical, that nevertheless can open any mundane lock three times a day. More importantly, when inserted into a lock and twisted while saying the words inscribed upon it, "Turn and call Æshagon", that door will then open into a vast tomb of some sort in an unknown location.
Naturally, the heroes, being adventurers, can’t resist trying it. They use the door of one of the rooms they are renting at the inn to invoke the key’s legendary power and find that the legend is true: the door, rather than opening into their room, reveals a dusty old chamber of filthy granite covered in spots with the eroded remnants of bas relief along with old scratchings left by other travelers. The door slams shut behind them with a definite click. They take the righthand of the three visible three exits.
Down a short corridor, they find a chamber with a small sarcophagus, like that of a child or a halfling—which, they were unable to determine. At the end of the sarcophagus is the mummified remains of a hratt, obviously killed by a spring-loaded bar deguised as a rail along the side of sarcophagus, that snapped out from the top to swing over and down and smash its skull. The trap is long since rusted but the hraat’s masterwork thief’s tools, scattered around his corpse, are still in usable condition.
Leaving from the other exit from the room, the heroes travel down a long, ten-foot-wide corridor covered in an inch of dust, when Allyrianna hears the rustle of many things ahead moving through the dust. Sinjiin casts a flaming sphere down the corridor to reveal a swarm of skeletal rats (3 CR 2) skittering through the thick dust toward them. A brief fight ensues as the heroes crush and burn the bony little horrors.
Further down the corridor, the heroes find a narrow door—no more than 1½ feet wide—that opens into what appears to be space. They see what appears to be twinkling stars in the shadowy darkness above and below the narrow doorway and no apparent way across it. Sinjiin gathered some dust and flings it out into the room, revealing a narrow invisible path, no more than a foot wide, crossing the room. He follows that with a coin enchanted with a light spell, revealing a floor covered with obsidian shards about 20 feet below the path. Allyrianna squeezes through the door and walks out onto the path, where a gargoyle (CR 4) attacks her. Sinjiin cleverly casts a floating disk spell (one plot point) to give her better footing as the creature swoops down on her. Missile fire and spells pelt the creature as it attacks and Allyrianna brings the wounded creature down. The “stars” turn out to be gems magically emitting light worth about 50 gold pieces each. Eighteen of the gems are recovered from the floor, along with Sinjiin’s coin. The heroes have no way to recover the gems above the path and decide not to explore the corridor through the door on the other side of the path.
The heroes continue down the dusty corridor. Cart notices the floor “feels different” under the his feet. Sinjiin carefully blows some of the dust away revealing that the floor now seems to be made of smooth iron. The heroes are suspicious but continue forward, stepping past the fulcrum on which the iron slab was balanced, causing the slab to slam forward. Most of the heroes keep their footing but Maeve slides and stumbles down the ramp, plowing into the hungry ingester (advanced, CR 4) at the bottom of the ramp. Its secretions quickly numb the hapless sorceress. Cart and Allyrianna rush forward to cut her free, but the monster engulfs Cart as well. Despite the reduction in their fighting effectiveness, the heroes destroyed the gooey monster and rescue their comrades with not much more than blisters and peeled skin to show for it. They decide to continue down the corridor, bypassing the ramp.
The heroes come to a fault in the corridor, a place where it fractured and sank about nine feet, leaving just a one-foot gap at the bottom of the wall. They slide through the gap, drop down to the floor and continue onward.
The cooridor floor is laced with cracks, some which emit tiny wisps of steam. They pass by several rooms that have been clearly destructively searched, possibly by other adventurers, many years ago. The air becomes humid and the floors somewhat scummy. One large room whose wall and door collapsed out into the hallway to formed a chamber. Here, walls are covered with mold and the floor has shallow puddles of water. Before the heroes are able to investigate the room, they are attacked from behind by something large and invisible (CR 4). They drive it off but never really find out what it was.
Upon searching the room, Sinjiin finds the body of a dead adventurer covered with yellow mold (CR 6), which he disturbed causing it to emit poisonous spores to which he did not succumb. Cart tried to kill the mold by pouring alcohol on it, which just disturbed the mold again. Fire was finally used to burn it off, and the party managed to rescue some of the contents of the backpack: a wand later determined to be a wand of bull’s strength (10 charges), two art objects appraised at 300 gold pieces each, and 3600 in gold coin.
The heroes make their way back to the entrance door and back to Harvale inn, startling the innkeeper.

Fun with Magic: Antimagic Field

Keith Abbott — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 04:42:00 GMT

Antimagic Field

Abjuration

Level: Clr 8, Magic 6, Protection 6, Sor/Wiz 6

Components: V, S, M/DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: 10 ft.

Area: 10-ft.-radius emanation, centered on you

Duration: 10 min./level (D)

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: See text

An invisible barrier surrounds you and moves with you. The space within this barrier is impervious to most magical effects, including spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. Likewise, it prevents the functioning of any magic items or spells within its confines.

An antimagic field suppresses any spell or magical effect used within, brought into, or cast into the area, but does not dispel it. Time spent within an antimagic field counts against the suppressed spell’s duration.

Summoned creatures of any type and incorporeal undead wink out if they enter an antimagic field. They reappear in the same spot once the field goes away. Time spent winked out counts normally against the duration of the conjuration that is maintaining the creature. If you cast antimagic field in an area occupied by a summoned creature that has spell resistance, you must make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against the creature’s spell resistance to make it wink out. (The effects of instantaneous conjurations are not affected by an antimagic field because the conjuration itself is no longer in effect, only its result.)

A normal creature can enter the area, as can normal missiles. Furthermore, while a magic sword does not function magically within the area, it is still a sword (and a masterwork sword at that). The spell has no effect on golems and other constructs that are imbued with magic during their creation process and are thereafter self-supporting (unless they have been summoned, in which case they are treated like any other summoned creatures). Elementals, corporeal undead, and outsiders are likewise unaffected unless summoned. These creatures’ spell-like or supernatural abilities, however, may be temporarily nullified by the field. Dispel magic does not remove the field.

Two or more antimagic fields sharing any of the same space have no effect on each other. Certain spells, such as wall of force, prismatic sphere, and prismatic wall, remain unaffected by antimagic field (see the individual spell descriptions). Artifacts and deities are unaffected by mortal magic such as this.

Should a creature be larger than the area enclosed by the barrier, any part of it that lies outside the barrier is unaffected by the field.

Arcane Material Component: A pinch of powdered iron or iron filings.

Very nearly the ultimate defense against magic, the antimagic field is a very mixed blessing. It stops all magical and supernatural effects—including yours, since the field surrounds you. While the spell exists, you are pretty much a high-level commoner, so be sure that you have friends to help cover you when you find it necessary to use this spell.

As much as it weakens a wizard or sorcerer to use the spell, it can turn the tide in an otherwise hopeless battle against formidible magic using creatures that are physically weak. A lich or even the dreaded demilich (if you go first!) is all but helpless in the field. Grapple it, find a way to pin it (damage reduction doesn’t stop a pin) and silence it and the fight is over. (Destroying liches and demiliches without first finding their phylacteries is, of course, a waste of time.)

Fun with Magic: Antilife Shell

Keith Abbott — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 04:28:00 GMT

Antilife Shell

Abjuration

Level: Animal 6, Clr 6, Drd 6

Components: V, S, DF

Casting Time: 1 round

Range: 10 ft.

Area: 10-ft.-radius emanation, centered on you

Duration: 10 min./level (D)

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: Yes

You bring into being a mobile, hemispherical energy field that prevents the entrance of most types of living creatures.

The effect hedges out animals, aberrations, dragons, fey, giants, humanoids, magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, oozes, plants, and vermin, but not constructs, elementals, outsiders, or undead.

This spell may be used only defensively, not aggressively. Forcing an abjuration barrier against creatures that the spell keeps at bay collapses the barrier.

This spell is the ultimate definition of “personal space” for clerics and druids that want absolutely no mucking about in melee. In constricted space, such as a dungeon corridor, the spellcaster can play “Horatio on the bridge”, covering his friends’ escape (if a wizard with a more handy wall of force spell is not available for such a thing).

There is, however, one very important consideration when using this spell: most Conjuration (healing) spells are touch spells, which means that you can’t heal your friends in a fight—or use any other touch spells—without ending the spell.

Reverse Engineering the Staff of Power

Keith Abbott — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:26:00 GMT

The staff of power is the most powerful non-artifact staff in Dungeons and Dragons®. Earlier editions of the game implied that not all such staffs had the same spells enchanted into them.

So what if you want a different set of spells? How does that change the cost?

Well, first of all, the staff is a +2 quarterstaff all by itself, and like all magic weapons, it has to be masterwork. The staff itself is just a long stick, so it has no cost in itself.

Next, the staff grants a +2 luck bonus to Armor Class. Table 7-33 on page 285 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide shows that non-deflection bonuses to Armor Class have a market value of the square of the bonus times 2500, so a +2 luck bonus to AC costs 2 × 2 × 2500 or 10000 gold pieces.

The staff grants a +2 luck bonus to all saving throws. Table 7-33 shows that non-resistance bonuses to saves have a market value of the square of the bonus times 2000, so a +2 luck bonus to AC costs 2 × 2 × 2000 or 8000 gold pieces.

Combining these bonuses increases the costs all but the least expensive single enchantment—in this case, the +2 enhancement bonus as a weapon—by 50%. These figures give us the base market price for the staff as shown in Table A below:

*Table A: Staff of Power* Base Market Value**
Price Component	Price in Gold Pieces
Masterwork	300
+2 weapon enhancement	4000
+2 luck bonus to AC	15000
+2 luck bonus to saves	12000
Total	31300

Next, we determine the price of the spells enchanted into it. In this article, Lvl^CA means caster level and Lvl^SP means spell level. All of the spells enchanted into a staff must have the same caster level. The gold piece market value of the highest level spell on a staff is 750 × Lvl^CA × Lvl^SP. If a spell takes two charges from the staff to cast rather than one, its market value is halved. The highest level spell on a staff of power is globe of invulnerability, a 6th-level spell, and the caster level for the staff is 15th. Cast that spell from the staff takes two charges, so the cost of the first spell on the staff costs 750 × 15 × 6 ÷ 2 or 33750 gold pieces.

The gold piece market value of the next highest level spell on the staff costs only 75% as much as it would be if it was the highest level spell. In the case of the staff of power, the next highest level spell is either cone of cold or wall of force. Each costs two charges to cast, so the value is the same whichever is chosen for the second spell. Let’s just use cone of cold for that second spell. The value for that is 750 × 0.75 × 15 × 5 ÷ 2, or 21093.75 gold pieces.

All other staff spells have a gold piece market value of 50% as much as it would be if it was the highest level spell. These costs are summarized in Table B below. (Remember, all of these spells have to be priced as if cast by a 15th level caster.)

*Table B: Staff of Power* Spell Market Values**
Spell	Price in Gold Pieces
Globe of invulnerability	33750.00
Cone of cold	21093.75
Wall of force	14062.50
Magic missile	5625.00
Ray of enfeeblement	5625.00
Continual flame	11250.00
Levitate	11250.00
Lightning bolt	16875.00
Fireball	16875.00
Hold monster	16875.00
Total	153281.25

The sum of the totals from Table A and B are 184581.25 gold pieces, yet page 245 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide lists the price of a staff of power as 211000 gold pieces. What accounts for the extra 26418.25 gold pieces in value?

The answer, of course, is an arbitrary adjustment for the retributive strike ability of the staff of power. My guess is that the designers thought that such a power should add 26000 to the price, or a certain percentage increase over the staff as a whole, or just the spells on the staff, with the staff’s whole value rounded up to the nearest 1000 gold pieces.

The Runestaff of Power

Well, then, what about a runestaff of power? (See page 181 of the Maigc Item Compendium.)

The base costs would be the same, so we can use the figures in Table A for those. The spell costs are simpler: The highest-level spell on a runestaff has a gold piece market value of Lvl^SP× Lvl^SP × (1 + daily uses of spell) x 100. All other spells on a runestaff have a gold piece market value of Lvl^SP× Lvl^SP × (1 + daily uses of spell) x 50. No spell on a runestaff may be enchanted to be used less than once daily or more than thrice daily. The description of the runestaff of power states that each spell on it may be used once per day. Unlike the staff of power, the runestaff of power gets no retributive strike ability.

With that in mind, a table of spell market values for the runestaff of power can be calculated as it was for the staff of power:

*Table C: Runestaff of Power* Spell Market Values**
Spell	Price in Gold Pieces
Globe of invulnerability	7200
Cone of cold	2500
Wall of force	2500
Magic missile	100
Ray of enfeeblement	100
Continual flame	400
Levitate	400
Lightning bolt	900
Fireball	900
Hold monster	900
Total	15900

The sum of the totals from Table A and Table C yields 47200 gold pieces, 8900 gold pieces more than the runestaff is listed for in the Magic Item Compendium. Why the difference? I don’t know. The nearest I can determine is that they forgot to add 50% for the increased values of the luck and AC bonuses, which would account for 9000, then added one more first level spell cost than was actually there. Alternatively, the market value may have been arbitrarily set by the designer.

Session 10

Keith Abbott — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:26:00 GMT

Session Date: August 10, 2007. Campaign Date: 1 through 3 Brighor 1460 TR.

[1 Brighor] The party, having rested, opens the trapdoor again and descends to the second level of the old mine. Allyrianna fails to spot a damp spot on the floor for being other than what it was and steps into a gray ooze (CR 4), which gives her a friendly hug full of secreted enzymes and acids. The heroes respond with deadly force and the gray ooze soon lies in a smoking puddle at Allyrianna’s feet, along with the remains of her armor and clothing. Marick loans her a large shirt to cover up and casts a mage armor spell on her to offer some protection.
Following the narrow, twisted corridor, Allyrianna spots two shadows (CR 3 each) lurking in alcoves when she notices that their movement doesn’t match that of shadows that should be cast by Cart’s everburning torches. Protected by the mage armor spell, the shadows cannot touch Allyrianna, but Marick suffers the strength-sapping cold touch of one of them before spells and swords slash the shadows to ribbons.
The corridor opens into a large chamber that served in the past as a chapel to the dwarven god, Curcarridan. The stone benches, altar and bas-relief artwork on the walls have survived largely intact. Cart searches the altar and finds a hidden compartment. He searches for traps but fails to find the glyph of warding (CR 3) protecting the compartment. He opens it and the glyph explodes. Cart nimbly jumps on top of the altar and avoids any damage. Allyrianna—who, ironically, was next to Cart complaining that the compartment might be trapped—takes full damage from the explosion, leaving several holes burned in the shirt she borrowed from Marick. Sinjiin, who was also nearby, dodges and only takes a singeing. Inside the compartment are two fine linen altar cloths (50 gold pieces each), a pewter tankard etched with pastoral scenes that is later discovered to be an everful mug, a brass brazier for burning incense (25 gold pieces) and a small sandalwood box with a cube of incense of meditation and fourteen cubes of non-magical incense.
The heroes proceed through the other entrance into the chapel and into a nearby room that may once have been a storeroom but is now empty. Water seeps down the walls and dampens the floor, where another gray ooze (CR 4) waits for Allyrianna to step in it. Allyrianna obliges but manages to keep her tattered clothing intact. The ooze is quickly destroyed.
Just beyond that room is a short corridor that lead to a T-shaped intersection. To the right, the heroes find a stone-lidded trapdoor. To the left, what appeared to be a dead-end hallway is found to have mud-caked stone doors at the end. The mud is removed and the lock quickly opened. Inside are flat wooden crates of rusty five-pound iron ingots, twelve to a crate. One of the crates is marked, in Dwarvish, “Cold Iron”.
The heroes open the stone trapdoor and descend into a small chamber with a short hallway opening into a natural cavern. As Cart leans into the cavern to look around, he becomes entangled in fine webs crossing that cavern opening. Ten small monstrous milk-white spiders (CR ½ each) swarm to attack. The webs prove a hindrance, but the spiders are quickly destroyed. The noise of battle attracts the attention of six larger spiders (Medium monstrous spiders, CR 1 each). The heroes deal with these as well, but Krall succumbs to the poisonous bite of one of them and is barely able to walk. The heroes decided to withdraw to Harvale to heal and re-equip.
[2 Brighor] The party returns to Harvale to rest, heal and re-equip.

Fun with Magic: Animate Rope

Keith Abbott — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:33:00 GMT

Animate Rope

Transmutation

Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1

Components: V, S

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)

Target: One ropelike object, length up to 50 ft. + 5 ft./level; see text

Duration: 1 round/level

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

You can animate a nonliving ropelike object. The maximum length assumes a rope with a 1-inch diameter.

Reduce the maximum length by 50% for every additional inch of thickness, and increase it by 50% for each reduction of the rope’s diameter by half.

The possible commands are “coil” (form a neat, coiled stack), “coil and knot,” “loop,” “loop and knot,” “tie and knot,” and the opposites of all of the above (“uncoil,” and so forth). You can give one command each round as a move action, as if directing an active spell.

The rope can enwrap only a creature or an object within 1 foot of it—it does not snake outward—so it must be thrown near the intended target. Doing so requires a successful ranged touch attack roll (range increment 10 feet). A typical 1- inch-diameter hempen rope has 2 hit points, AC 10, and requires a DC 23 Strength check to burst it. The rope does not deal damage, but it can be used as a trip line or to cause a single opponent that fails a Reflex saving throw to become entangled. A creature capable of spellcasting that is bound by this spell must make a DC 15 Concentration check to cast a spell. An entangled creature can slip free with a DC 20 Escape Artist check.

The rope itself and any knots tied in it are not magical.

This spell grants a +2 bonus on any Use Rope checks you make when using the transmuted rope.

The spell cannot animate objects carried or worn by a creature.

This spell is usually ignored, but situations exist that can make it very useful. One particularly nasty use is in a shipboard fight. You can’t animate rope that is carried or worn by a creature, but rope is everywhere on a ship and the medium range of the spell allows the caster to reach nearby ships, such as an approaching pirate ship. Not only can it entangle sailors, you can untie ropes that control a ship’s sails, and if this is done during tricky maneuvers around shoals and such, it can prove fatal to the ship.

The spell can also make an instant trap to hinder a pursuit: a tripline that tangles the first creature that touches it or a rope that springs up between two trees to sweep riders from the saddle. Naturally, the spell caster has to be near enough to trigger this effect.

Fun with Magic: Animate Plants

Keith Abbott — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:13:00 GMT

Animate Plants

Transmutation

Level: Drd 7, Plant 7

Components: V

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Targets: One Large plant per three caster levels or all plants within range; see text

Duration: 1 round/level or 1 hour/level; see text

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

You imbue inanimate plants with mobility and a semblance of life. Each animated plant then immediately attacks whomever or whatever you initially designate as though it were an animated object of the appropriate size category. You may animate one Large or smaller plant, or an equivalent number of larger plants, per three caster levels. A Huge plant counts as two Large or smaller plants, a Gargantuan plant as four, and a Colossal plant as eight. You can change the designated target or targets as a move action, as if directing an active spell.

Use the statistics for animated objects, except that plants smaller than Large usually don’t have hardness.

Animate plants cannot affect plant creatures, nor does it affect nonliving vegetable material.

Entangle: Alternatively, you may imbue all plants within range with a degree of mobility, which allows them to entwine around creatures in the area. This usage of the spell duplicates the effect of an entangle spell. Spell resistance does not keep creatures from being entangled. This effect lasts 1 hour per caster level.

Call the trees to fight for you—the bigger, the better. Realize they won’t move very fast, so they may not be able to catch the faster foes.

Animated trees can do more than fight: they can live heavy loads, and they are usually pretty tall, so they can get you up on top of things or provide a mobile firing platform for the archers and spell casters in your party that keeps them out of melee.

The second use of the spell shouldn’t be overlooked: an entangle spell with a DC six higher than normal with no spell resistance allowed can be great for pinning large groups of foes that would normally ignore the 1st-level entangle spell. This version of the spell lasts a long time, too: at least 13 hours, and you can’t dismiss it, so be careful how you use it.

Fun with Magic: Animate Objects

Keith Abbott — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 07:23:00 GMT

Animate Objects

Transmutation

Level: Brd 6, Chaos 6, Clr 6

Components: V, S

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)

Targets: One Small object per caster level; see text

Duration: 1 round/level

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

You imbue inanimate objects with mobility and a semblance of life. Each such animated object then immediately attacks whomever or whatever you initially designate.

An animated object can be of any nonmagical material. You may animate one Small or smaller object or an equivalent number of larger objects per caster level. A Medium object counts as two Small or smaller objects, a Large object as four, a Huge object as eight, a Gargantuan object as sixteen, and a Colossal object as thirty-two. You can change the designated target or targets as a move action, as if directing an active spell.

This spell cannot animate objects carried or worn by a creature.

Animate objects can be made permanent with a permanency spell.

Want to make that dreaded gazebo attack? Here’s just the spell to do it. Before you use it, though, choose carefully what you want to animate, since the shape of the object controls its mobility and its attack abilities:

Choose one larger object over several smaller ones. Large objects hit more often and do more damage.
If possible, choose an object with wheels, then with four legs or more, then with at least two legs. These move faster.
If the animated object needs to float, select a wooden object. If it needs to climb, choose a rope, chain or cable. If it has to fly, choose a sheet-like object, but don’t expect it to fight very well.
Choose objects with better hardness: iron, then stone, then wood. If you can make it a large enough iron object, it can perform trample attacks. Some halfling clan priests have enchanted iron warwains for just such a purpose (and to ignore the need for animals to draw such a heavy wagon, if they can afford to cast permanency on it).

Watch out for temples that have big statues of their gods, they might not just be statues…

Fun with Magic: Animate Dead

Keith Abbott — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 07:02:00 GMT

Animate Dead

Necromancy [Evil]

Level: Clr 3, Death 3, Sor/Wiz 4

Components: V, S, M

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Touch

Targets: One or more corpses touched

Duration: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

This spell turns the bones or bodies of dead creatures into undead skeletons or zombies that follow your spoken commands.

The undead can follow you, or they can remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature) entering the place. They remain animated until they are destroyed. (A destroyed skeleton or zombie can’t be animated again.)

Regardless of the type of undead you create with this spell, you can’t create more HD of undead than twice your caster level with a single casting of animate dead. (The desecrate spell doubles this limit)

The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this spell, however, you can control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level. If you exceed this number, all the newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess undead from previous castings become uncontrolled. (You choose which creatures are released.) If you are a cleric, any undead you might command by virtue of your power to command or rebuke undead do not count toward the limit.

Skeletons: A skeleton can be created only from a mostly intact corpse or skeleton. The corpse must have bones. If a skeleton is made from a corpse, the flesh falls off the bones.

Zombies: A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse. The corpse must be that of a creature with a true anatomy.

Material Component: You must place a black onyx gem worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the undead into the mouth or eye socket of each corpse you intend to animate. The magic of the spell turns these gems into worthless, burned-out shells.

Ah, animate dead, the evil priest’s or necromancer’s first instant minions spell. Players don’t generally use this spell much because of the [Evil] descriptor. Particularly nasty evil priests or necromancers (and when have you seen one that wasn’t?) will cast this spell on fallen comrades—if possible, after casting death knell to finish them off—and reanimate them as skeletons so the surviving adventurers get to watch the flesh fall off the bones of their friends, which then seek to slay them. The morale effect is way out of proportion to the strength of the spell, since skeletons and zombies only pose a problem to inexperienced adventurers. Of course, if they’ve had time to moulder, zombies of fallen friends work well for striking fear and disgust into those pesky adventurers, too.

A quick glance at the spell shows that evil priests will be more likely to use the spell than evil arcane casters: it is lower level for them and they have more ways to buff undead creatures, such as using desecrate spells or an evil cleric’s bolster undead class ability.

Fun with Magic: Animal Trance

Keith Abbott — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 06:53:00 GMT

Animal Trance

Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting, Sonic]

Level: Brd 2, Drd 2

Components: V, S

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Targets: Animals or magical beasts with Intelligence 1 or 2

Duration: Concentration

Saving Throw: Will negates; see text

Spell Resistance: Yes

Your swaying motions and music (or singing, or chanting) compel animals and magical beasts to do nothing but watch you. Only a creature with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2 can be fascinated by this spell. Roll 2d6 to determine the total number of HD worth of creatures that you fascinate. The closest targets are selected first until no more targets within range can be affected.

A magical beast, a dire animal, or an animal trained to attack or guard is allowed a saving throw; an animal not trained to attack or guard is not.

Another straightforward spell, animal trance can stop a fight in the wilderness against even some dire animals if the 2d6 roll is high enough. (On a 12, even a dire bear is fascinated with no saving throw.) Even animals that do get saves against the spell usually don’t have good Will saves, so it is still useful against them. Many magical beasts have too high an Intelligence score to be affected by this spell: if it talks, cast something else.

Note that fascination does not mean an animal affected by this spell is helpless or obblivious to threats to it. If you approach it with torches and weapons raised, the spell will end, and badly. However, it does get a –4 penalty on Spot and Listen checks, so it makes it easier to sneak up on it.

While it can be used to capture skittish animals (such as wild horses), the spell’s short range makes this difficult. If you have a good enough Hide and Move Silently score to get close enough to use it, you’re probably good enough at those skills to catch them without the spell.

Fun with Magic: Animal Shapes

Keith Abbott — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:06:00 GMT

Animal Shapes

Transmutation

Level: Animal 7, Drd 8

Components: V, S, DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Targets: Up to one willing creature per level, all within 30 ft. of each other

Duration: 1 hour/level (D)

Saving Throw: None; see text

Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

As polymorph, except you polymorph up to one willing creature per caster level into an animal of your choice; the spell has no effect on unwilling creatures. All creatures must take the same kind of animal form. Recipients remain in the animal form until the spell expires or until you dismiss it for all recipients. In addition, an individual subject may choose to resume its normal form as a full-round action; doing so ends the spell for that subject alone. The maximum HD of an assumed form is equal to the subject’s HD or your caster level, whichever is lower, to a maximum of 20 HD at 20th level.

Often, the best use for this spell is to cast on a party of characters to assume forms better suited to fast travel where teleport isn’t possible—and if you do have a druid but don’t have a cleric that can cast wind walk. It’s hard to imagine any combination of animals that will have better fighting abilities than characters in their natural forms, unless you cast the spell on a bunch of high-level commoners. A suggested form for fast travel is eagles for 1 to 3 HD targets, giant eagles for 4-12 HD targets, and rocs for 19 or 20 HD targets. All have a fly speed of 80 feet.

Fun with Magic: Animal Messenger

Keith Abbott — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 04:55:00 GMT

Animal Messenger

Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Brd 2, Drd 2, Rgr 1

Components: V, S, M

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Target: One Tiny animal

Duration: One day/level

Saving Throw: None; see text

Spell Resistance: Yes

You compel a Tiny animal to go to a spot you designate. The most common use for this spell is to get an animal to carry a message to your allies. The animal cannot be one tamed or trained by someone else, including such creatures as familiars and animal companions.

Using some type of food desirable to the animal as a lure, you call the animal to you. It advances and awaits your bidding. You can mentally impress on the animal a certain place well known to you or an obvious landmark. The directions must be simple, because the animal depends on your knowledge and can’t find a destination on its own. You can attach some small item or note to the messenger. The animal then goes to the designated location and waits there until the duration of the spell expires, whereupon it resumes its normal activities.

During this period of waiting, the messenger allows others to approach it and remove any scroll or token it carries. The intended recipient gains no special ability to communicate with the animal or read any attached message (if it’s written in a language he or she doesn’t know, for example).

Material Component: A morsel of food the animal likes.

A pretty straightforward spell. However, you don’t have to send it to an ally. If you don’t care much what happens to the animal messenger, send a foe one and attach a small message with an explosive rune…

Rangers sent to scout enemy formations in times of war find this spell useful since they don’t have access to better communication spells without the use of magic devices.

Bards can use the spell to send secret messages to their paramours.

Fun with Magic: Animal Growth

Keith Abbott — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 03:58:00 GMT

Animal Growth

Transmutation

Level: Drd 5, Rgr 4, Sor/Wiz 5

Components: V, S

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)

Targets: Up to one animal (Gargantuan or smaller) per two levels, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart

Duration: 1 min./level

Saving Throw: Fortitude negates

Spell Resistance: Yes

A number of animals grow to twice their normal size and eight times their normal weight. This alteration changes each animal’s size category to the next largest, grants it a +8 size bonus to Strength and a +4 size bonus to Constitution (and thus an extra 2 hit points per HD), and imposes a –2 size penalty to Dexterity. The creature’s existing natural armor bonus increases by 2. The size change also affects the animal’s modifier to AC and attack rolls and its base damage. The animal’s space and reach change as appropriate to the new size, but its speed does not change.

The spell also grants each subject damage reduction 10/magic and a +4 resistance bonus on saving throws. If insufficient room is available for the desired growth, the creature attains the maximum possible size and may make a Strength check (using its increased Strength) to burst any enclosures in the process. If it fails, it is constrained without harm by the materials enclosing it—the spell cannot be used to crush a creature by increasing its size.

All equipment worn or carried by an animal is similarly enlarged by the spell, though this change has no effect on the magical properties of any such equipment.

Any enlarged item that leaves the enlarged creature’s possession instantly returns to its normal size.

The spell gives no means of command or influence over the enlarged animals.

Multiple magical effects that increase size do not stack.

This spell is most useful to druids, since they can both cast this spell and easily call up animals through the use of summon nature’s ally spells, which they can cast spontaneously as necessary. However, a cleric can prepare summon nature’s ally while a wizard casts the animal growth spell. If you don't think this is worth doing, see what happens to elephants after you increase their size category. The altered stats of the enlarged version are in red.

Elephant: CR 7; Huge Animal; HD 11d8+55; hp 104; Init +0; Spd 40 ft.; AC 15 (–2 size, +7 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +8; Grp +26; Atk +16 melee (gore 2d8+15); Full Atk +16 melee (gore 2d8+15); Space/‌Reach 15 ft./10 ft.; SA trample 2d8+15 (Reflex (Str) half DC 25); SQ low-light vision, scent; AL N; SV Fort +12, Ref +7, Will +6; Str 30, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 3, Wis 13, Cha 7.
Skills and Feats: Listen +12, Spot +10; Alertness, Endurance, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Listen).
Elephant, enlarged: CR 7; Gargantuan Animal; HD 11d8+55; hp 126; Init –1; Spd 40 ft.; AC 14 (–4 size, –1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 5, flat-footed 14; Base Atk +8; Grp +34; Atk +18 melee (gore 4d6+21); Full Atk +18 melee (gore 4d6+21); Space/‌Reach 20 ft./15 ft.; SA trample 4d6+21 (Reflex (Str) half DC 29); SQ damage reduction 10/magic, low-light vision, scent; AL N; SV Fort +18, Ref +10, Will +10; Str 38, Dex 8, Con 25, Int 3, Wis 13, Cha 7.
Skills and Feats: Listen +12, Spot +10; Alertness, Endurance, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Listen).

Remember, the spell can affect more than one animal, so if, for example, you use a summon nature’s ally VII or VIII spell to summon multiple elephants, you can affect them all with a single animal growth spell. An instant herd of enlarged elephants, each trampling everything in a swath 20 feet wide by 80 feet long (the double move of an elephant) for a minimum of 25 points, DC 29 Reflex save for half…that’s just nasty. And if you move them up to trample the same critters…that’s just nastier.

I’ll leave the effect of this spell with a group of summoned dire lions as an exercise for evil minds.

The reason that a wizard or other arcane spell caster can’t use this with summon monster spells is that all animals that he summons have either the celestial or fiendish template applied, which changes their type from Animal to Magical Beast. Animal growth only affects creatures of the Animal type.

Fun with Magic: Analyze Dweomer

Keith Abbott — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:13:00 GMT

Analyze Dweomer

Divination

Level: Brd 6, Sor/Wiz 6

Components: V, S, F

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Targets: One object or creature per caster level

Duration: 1 round/level (D)

Saving Throw: None or Will negates; see text

Spell Resistance: No

You discern all spells and magical properties present in a number of creatures or objects. Each round, you may examine a single creature or object that you can see as a free action. In the case of a magic item, you learn its functions, how to activate its functions (if appropriate), and how many charges are left (if it uses charges). In the case of an object or creature with active spells cast upon it, you learn each spell, its effect, and its caster level.

An attended object may attempt a Will save to resist this effect if its holder so desires. If the save succeeds, you learn nothing about the object except what you can discern by looking at it. An object that makes its save cannot be affected by any other analyze dweomer spells for 24 hours.

Analyze dweomer does not function when used on an artifact.

Focus: A tiny lens of ruby or sapphire set in a small golden loop. The gemstone must be worth at least 1,500 gp.

Analyze dweomer is identify on steroids. At a bare minimum, it can have the effect of eleven identify spells, but taking less than two minutes to do as opposed to eleven hours, and not costing 1,100 gold pieces in pearls.

In combat, you can quickly single out targets to debuff. (“Debuff” is a term borrowed from MMORPGs—massive multiplayer online role-playing games—that means to remove buffs—temporary performance enhancments—from a target. Here, it means to cast dispel magic or a similar spell with the intent of removing spells that enhance or protect your enemy). At the very least, you will know what spells and attacks not to try on creatures protected by spells.

Remember, once cast, using analyze dweomer each round is a free action.

Fun with Magic: Alter Self

Keith Abbott — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:51:00 GMT

Alter Self

Transmutation [Polymorph]

Level: Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 2

Components: V, S

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Personal

Target: You

Duration: 10 min./level (D)

You assume the form of a creature of the same type as your normal form. The new form must be within one size category of your normal size. The maximum HD of an assumed form is equal to your caster level, to a maximum of 5 HD at 5th level. You can change into a member of your own kind or even into yourself.

You retain your own ability scores. Your class and level, hit points, alignment, base attack bonus, and base save bonuses all remain the same. You retain all supernatural and spell-like special attacks and qualities of your normal form, except for those requiring a body part that the new form does not have (such as a mouth for a breath weapon or eyes for a gaze attack).

You keep all extraordinary special attacks and qualities derived from class levels, but you lose any from your normal form that are not derived from class levels.

If the new form is capable of speech, you can communicate normally. You retain any spellcasting ability you had in your original form, but the new form must be able to speak intelligibly (that is, speak a language) to use verbal components and must have limbs capable of fine manipulation to use somatic or material components.

You acquire the physical qualities of the new form while retaining your own mind. Physical qualities include natural size, mundane movement capabilities (such as burrowing, climbing, walking, swimming, and flight with wings, to a maximum speed of 120 feet for flying or 60 feet for nonflying movement), natural armor bonus, natural weapons (such as claws, bite, and so on), racial skill bonuses, racial bonus feats, and any gross physical qualities (presence or absence of wings, number of extremities, and so forth). A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal.

You do not gain any extraordinary special attacks or special qualities not noted above under physical qualities, such as darkvision, low-light vision, blindsense, blindsight, fast healing, regeneration, scent, and so forth.

You do not gain any supernatural special attacks, special qualities, or spell-like abilities of the new form. Your creature type and subtype (if any) remain the same regardless of your new form. You cannot take the form of any creature with a template, even if that template doesn’t change the creature type or subtype.

You can freely designate the new form’s minor physical qualities (such as hair color, hair texture, and skin color) within the normal ranges for a creature of that kind. The new form’s significant physical qualities (such as height, weight, and gender) are also under your control, but they must fall within the norms for the new form’s kind. You are effectively disguised as an average member of the new form’s race. If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on your Disguise check.

When the change occurs, your equipment, if any, either remains worn or held by the new form (if it is capable of wearing or holding the item), or melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When you revert to your true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on your body they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items you wore in the assumed form and can’t wear in your normal form fall off and land at your feet; any that you could wear in either form or carry in a body part common to both forms at the time of reversion are still held in the same way. Any part of the body or piece of equipment that is separated from the whole reverts to its true form.

The weakest of the polymorph subschool spells, alter self is often overlooked. This is a mistake. It’s a much better disguise spell than disguise self—it’s not an illusion so it’s harder to detect. It lasts much longer than polymorph so it can maintain a simple disguise longer than that spell. If there’s a winged species of your creature type, it’s a cheap fly spell, too.

The spell has several role-playing aspects to it—it’s the ultimate instant makeover spell, since you can use it to alter your hair color and texture, skin color, height, weight and even gender—and that’s as far as I’m going with that line of inquiry, thank you very much.

Fun with Magic: Align Weapon

Keith Abbott — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:37:00 GMT

Align Weapon

Transmutation [see text]

Level: Clr 2

Components: V, S, DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Touch

Target: Weapon touched or fifty projectiles (all of which must be in contact with each other at the time of casting)

Duration: 1 min./level

Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless, object)

Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless, object)

Align weapon makes a weapon good, evil, lawful, or chaotic, as you choose. A weapon that is aligned can bypass the damage reduction of certain creatures. This spell has no effect on a weapon that already has an alignment.

You can’t cast this spell on a natural weapon, such as an unarmed strike.

When you make a weapon good, evil, lawful, or chaotic, align weapon is a good, evil, lawful, or chaotic spell, respectively.

This is one of those spells you don’t need very often, but when you do need it, you really need it. It’s a good idea to stash a few scrolls or even a wand with this spell on it for when you run across those tougher outsiders or undead that have damage reduction bypassed by alignment. Fighters should consider having doses of oil (potion) made with this spell—it's not on the treasure tables in the Dungeon Master’s Guide but it is an allowable use of the Brew Potion feat. Remember, the alignment of the oil has to be selected when it is made, so have a few different ones made.

Fun with Magic: Alarm

Keith Abbott — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:26:00 GMT

Alarm

Abjuration

Level: Brd 1, Rgr 1, Sor/Wiz 1

Components: V, S, F/DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Area: 20-ft.-radius emanation centered on a point in space

Duration: 2 hours/level (D)

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

Alarm sounds a mental or audible alarm each time a creature of Tiny or larger size enters the warded area or touches it. A creature that speaks the password (determined by you at the time of casting) does not set off the alarm. You decide at the time of casting whether the alarm will be mental or audible.

Mental Alarm: A mental alarm alerts you (and only you) so long as you remain within 1 mile of the warded area. You note a single mental “ping” that awakens you from normal sleep but does not otherwise disturb concentration. A silence spell has no effect on a mental alarm.

Audible Alarm: An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell, and anyone within 60 feet of the warded area can hear it clearly. Reduce the distance by 10 feet for each interposing closed door and by 20 feet for each substantial interposing wall.

In quiet conditions, the ringing can be heard faintly as far as 180 feet away. The sound lasts for 1 round. Creatures within a silence spell cannot hear the ringing.

Ethereal or astral creatures do not trigger the alarm.

Alarm can be made permanent with a permanency spell.

Arcane Focus: A tiny bell and a piece of very fine silver wire

This is the weakest of the “property protection” (trap) spells but a very useful one for all that. Adventurers alerted by an alarm spell can send a rogue to see what disturbed it while the rest of the party dons armor, casts buffing spells, loads crossbows and other combat preparations. Getting a cheap magic item that casts the mental alarm version of this spell a few times a day can save many an adventurer’s life.

Fun With Magic: Air Walk

Keith Abbott — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:15:00 GMT

Air Walk

Transmutation [Air]

Level: Air 4, Clr 4, Drd 4

Components: V, S, DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Touch

Target: Creature (Gargantuan or smaller) touched

Duration: 10 min./level

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

The subject can tread on air as if walking on solid ground. Moving upward is similar to walking up a hill. The maximum upward or downward angle possible is 45 degrees, at a rate equal to one-half the air walker’s normal speed.

A strong wind (21+ mph) can push the subject along or hold it back. At the end of its turn each round, the wind blows the air walker 5 feet for each 5 miles per hour of wind speed. The creature may be subject to additional penalties in exceptionally strong or turbulent winds, such as loss of control over movement or physical damage from being buffeted about.

Should the spell duration expire while the subject is still aloft, the magic fails slowly. The subject floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 rounds. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. Since dispelling a spell effectively ends it, the subject also descends in this way if the air walk spell is dispelled, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field.

You can cast air walk on a specially trained mount so it can be ridden through the air. You can train a mount to move with the aid of air walk (counts as a trick; see Handle Animal skill) with one week of work and a DC 25 Handle Animal check.

At first, this spell seems like a poor substitute for fly. It is not. First of all, it lasts at least ten times longer. Secondly, since you are treated as walking on solid ground, you can charge and run. In fact, monks prefer to have this spell cast on them rather than fly because they can use their own base speed, which at higher levels runs rings around the fly spell. Third, you have perfect maneuverability with air walk, since you are walking, not really flying. It lasts a minimum of one hour and ten minutes, which is enough time for several dungeon encounters, although the spell really works better in overland encounters where you have room to maneuver. Don't forget the free height advantage it can give you in combat: +1 to hit if you are on higher ground than your foe, –1 for him to hit you.

Fun with Magic: Aid

Keith Abbott — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:00:00 GMT

Aid

Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Clr 2, Good 2, Luck 2

Components: V, S, DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Touch

Target: Living creature touched

Duration: 1 min./level

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Aid grants the target a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and saves against fear effects, plus temporary hit points equal to 1d8 + caster level (to a maximum of 1d8+10 temporary hit points at caster level 10th).

This spell sees little use, basically being a pre-emptive cure light wounds and single target bless spell rolled into one. It’s a poor replacement for those two spells, and unless you know when a battle is coming, it doesn’t last long enough to be worth casting ahead of time. Most clerics will load more useful 2nd-level spells unless the domain spell not in their Good or Luck domain is even worse.

Fun with Magic: Acid Splash

Keith Abbott — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:48:00 GMT

Acid Splash

Conjuration (Creation) [Acid]

Level: Sor/Wiz 0

Components: V, S

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Effect: One missile of acid

Duration: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

You fire a small orb of acid at the target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The orb deals 1d3 points of acid damage.

Combat Advantages: ignores spell resistance, no saving throw.

Combat Disadvantages: low damage, short range, useless against most outsiders.

Average Damage: 2 points.

What nice thing can one say about the lowly acid splash cantrip? Well, if you have levels of rogue and can deliver this spell against a target denied its DBAC (Dexterity Bonus to Armor Class), it counts as a sneak attack, and all of the sneak attack damage is acid damage—a very unpleasant surprise for a troll or other regenerating creature. In fact, a rogue with a decent score in Use Magic Device might buy a wand of acid splash with 50 charges for a mere 375 gold pieces, or 7.5 gold pieces a charge—ideal for acid damage on a budget. Sure, an acid flask does 1d6 for 10 gold pieces, but you might splash your friends if you miss, and although the wand has only a 30-foot range, it has no range increment. It has the same chance to hit at 30 feet as 10 feet, where the acid flask is –4 to hit at 30 feet.

Fun with Magic: Acid Fog

Keith Abbott — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:25:00 GMT

Acid Fog

Conjuration (Creation) [Acid]

Level: Sor/Wiz 6, Water 7

Components: V, S, M/DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)

Effect: Fog spreads in 20-ft. radius, 20 ft. high

Duration: 1 round/level

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No

Acid fog creates a billowing mass of misty vapors similar to that produced by a solid fog spell. In addition to slowing creatures down and obscuring sight, this spell’s vapors are highly acidic. Each round on your turn, starting when you cast the spell, the fog deals 2d6 points of acid damage to each creature and object within it.

Arcane Material Component: A pinch of dried, powdered peas combined with powdered animal hoof.

Combat Advantages: Decent range, no saving throw, ignores spell resistance, hinders movement, good for area denial.

Combat Disadvantages: Has little effect against incorporeal or ethereal creatures (they move right out and avoid the damage half the time), outsiders usually resist the acid and teleport out, can’t be dismissed if you need to pass through the area.

Average Damage: 7 points per round for at least 11 rounds.

A great spell for breaking up groups of enemies or pinning them, allowing you to defeat them piecemeal. Use this spell to slow down big, heavy hitting creatures so you can blast them with area of effect spells that the acid fog’s concealment won’t protect them against. Confusion is a particularly deadly spell to cast into an acid fog; the targets wander around and attack each other or just sit and get burned. Casting it into a room full of critters then slamming and blocking the door is also a nasty trick. If you have acid resistance, you can hide in the fog while you heal or prepare spells. Against unintelligent targets, you might be able to try and get them to chase you back and forth through the fog. Finally, this is a good spell for hindering pursuit in dungeon passages: even if the pursuers are willing to dive into the green fog, it will take them as long as eight rounds to push their way through, giving you ample time to open your lead.