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[ The Stuff ]
DATE: February 26, 2004

.New Simple Spells for Mage Blades, Runethanes, and Witches
For Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed

Illus. Mark ZugThe following spells are specifically intended for mage blades, runethanes and witches: They affect athames, runes, and witchery powers. Also included are a few new touch spells for use with the new spells lesser spell's edge and greater spell's edge.

Spell List
0 Level
Touch of Weakness—Touch attack temporarily damages Strength by 1 point

2nd Level
Spell's Edge (Lesser)—Athame has touch-attack spell stored within it, inflicting it with
one strike
Startling Touch [MA, Ps]—Touch attack inflicts 1 Wisdom damage and stuns for one round

3rd Level
Earth's Clutches [E]—Stone hands reach up and grasp at touched foe
Enhance Witchery—Witch gains additional use(s) or increased level for witchery power
Weary Touch—Touch attack makes target exhausted

4th Level
Blooded Athame—Athame becomes a wounding weapon
Dancing Rune—Touch-trigger rune animates and attacks
Living Athame—Athame becomes a dancing weapon
Touch of the Tempest [A,W]—Touch attack inflicts 1d8 points of damage/caster level and
dazes foe for 1 round/4 caster levels

5th Level
Touch of Dire Doom—Touch attack inflicts 1d3 ability score damage on all scores

6th Level
Spell's Edge (Greater)—Athame has touch-attack spell stored within it, inflicting it with
each strike

Blooded Athame
Transmutation
Level: 4 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Your athame
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You give your athame the wounding quality as described in the DMG, dealing 1 point of Constitution damage with each strike.

Diminished Effects: The weapon's wounding ability has only a 50 percent chance of working with each strike.
Heightened Effects: The weapon's wounding ability inflicts 2 points of Constitution damage with each strike.
Magic Item Creation Modifier: Constant N/A

Dancing Rune
Transmutation
Level: 4 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One password-protected rune
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You make one touch-trigger rune that you have inscribed with the password quality rise up to dance in the air as a glowing symbol made of energy. It orbits around you for the duration (or until triggered). The rune never moves beyond 3 feet from you, but it moves as you direct it, striking at foes adjacent to you with a melee touch attack that uses your base attack bonus as its attack bonus. Directing such an attack is a standard action. Once triggered, the dancing rune disappears.

You cannot make runes created by others dance.

You cannot have more than one dancing rune in effect at a time.

Diminished Effects: This spell affects only minor or lesser runes.
Heightened Effects: You can have up to one dancing rune/four caster levels in effect, if they are all heightened.
Magic Item Creation Modifier: Constant x5

Earth's Clutches
Conjuration (Creation) [Earth]
Level: 3 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

Your touch causes a creature standing on earthen or rocky ground to be gripped by stony hands that come out of the earth. The creature is held in place until the hands suffer any damage (they have hardness 8) or the creature makes a Strength check (DC 15). Casting this spell multiple times on a single target does not alter the effects.

A caster using the earth template with this spell adds a +6 bonus to the hardness and requires the hands to suffer 3 points of damage. The template adds +6 to the Strength check Difficulty Class as well.

Diminished Effects: The hands are brittle, with a hardness of only 3. The trapped creature need only make a Strength check (DC 12).
Heightened Effects:
The hands are stronger than normal and have hardness 10. The Strength check Difficulty Class is 18.

Enhance Witchery
Transmutation
Level: 3 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature with witchery powers
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You infuse a witch (a creature able to use witchery powers) with energy. The effect of the spell depends on the nature of the ability it is used with.

1. If the ability can be used once per day, such as hail of metal, this spell allows a single, additional use.

2. If the ability can be used multiple times per day (but still a limited number of times), such as icefire, the spell allows 1d4+1 additional uses.

3. If the ability can has a constant or ongoing effect, or no limit to its uses, such as nature's warding word, the witch uses the ability as if he or she were two levels higher than actual level, or enough levels higher as to improve the witchery ability, whichever increase is smaller. For example, a 5th-level wind witch would need to gain three levels to increase the deflection bonus from a wind blade.

Any additional use must take effect within the spell's duration, and any increase in effect due to virtual level increase (as described in option 3) lasts only as long as the spell's duration. For example, an AC bonus increase from the spell affecting armor song ends when the spell ends, but the armor gained from armor song remains at its normal AC bonus.

Diminished Effects: The spell's range is Personal and the target is You.
Heightened Effects: In effect 1, the spell grants two additional uses, in 2; the spell allows 1d6+2 additional uses; and in 3, the spell increases the effective witch level in the ability by five levels.
Magic Item Creation Modifier: Constant x3

Living Athame
Transmutation
Level: 4 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Your athame
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Your athame attacks on its own like a weapon with the dancing quality, as described in the DMG. This ability allows it to attack on its own for 4 rounds using your base attack bonus.

Diminished Effects: The weapon suffers a -4 attack penalty.
Heightened Effects: The weapon dances for 8 rounds rather than 4.
Magic Item Creation Modifier: Constant N/A

Spell's Edge (Lesser)
Transmutation
Level: 2 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Your athame
Duration: 1 round/level or until used
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You infuse your athame with an Instantanous spell that requires a melee touch attack to deliver. You must cast the infused spell immediately after you cast this one. Then, the first opponent you strike with the blade has the spell cast upon him, as well as suffering whatever damage you normally would deal. The infused spell is resolved normally, with saving throws and spell resistance, if any, still applicable.

For example, you could infuse your athame with touch of weakness or touch of fear, or, if you had access to 1st-level complex spells, touch of pain. You could not infuse your athame with destructive grip, since it is not Instantaneous (unless you used the diminished version).

Diminished Effects: You can only infuse a melee touch spell of 0 or 1st level.
Heightened Effects: The duration of the spell becomes 10 minutes/level.
Magic Item Creation Modifier: Constant x5

Spell's Edge (Greater)
Transmutation
Level: 6 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Your athame
Duration: 1 round/level or until used
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

You infuse your athame with a 0- to 4th-level spell that requires a melee touch attack to deliver. You must cast the infused spell immediately after you cast this one. Then, for the remaining duration, each time you strike an opponent with the blade, you cast the spell upon him as well as inflicting whatever damage you normally would deal.

Diminished Effects: You can only infuse a melee touch spell of 0, 1st, or 2nd level.
Heightened Effects: You can infuse a melee touch spell of any level into your athame.
Magic Item Creation Modifier: Constant x5

Startling Touch
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting, Psionic]
Level: 2 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

With a sudden mental jolt passed through your touch, you inflict 1 point of Wisdom damage on a creature and stun it for 1 round. A stunned creature drops everything held, can't take actions, suffers a -2 penalty to Armor Class, and loses all Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any).

Diminished Effects: The creature suffers only the Wisdom damage and is not stunned.
Heightened Effects: The creature is stunned for 1d3 rounds.

Touch of Dire Doom
Evocation
Level: 5 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance: Yes

Your hand fulgurates with wild energy. When you touch a creature, that creature suffers 1d3 points of ability score damage to all ability scores. Those making a successful saving throw still suffer 1 point of damage to two random ability scores.

Diminished Effects: The creature suffers only 1 point of damage to all scores, and a successful saving throw negates the effect.
Heightened Effects: The creature suffers 1d6 points of damage to all scores.

Touch of the Tempest
Evocation [Air, Water]
Level: 4 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude half
Spell Resistance: Yes

Your hand suddenly is surrounded by churning air and water. Your touch inflicts 1d8 points of damage per caster level to any creature touched, half of which is air damage and the other half is water damage. Further, those failing the saving throw are also dazed for 1 round per four caster levels. Dazed characters cannot take actions but suffer no penalty to Armor Class.

Diminished Effects: The spell inflicts 1d6 points of damage.
Heightened Effects: Those failing their save are dazed for 1 round/two caster levels.

Touch of Weakness
Transmutation
Level: 0 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You inflict 1 point of Strength damage on a creature you touch. The damage is healed when the duration ends.

Heightened Effects: The damage heals normally. The duration of the spell becomes Instantaneous.

Weary Touch
Transmutation
Level: 3 (Simple)
Casting Time: Standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance: Yes

With a touch attack, you exhaust one creature. An exhausted character moves at half speed and takes a -6 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. After one hour of complete rest, an exhausted character becomes fatigued. A fatigued character becomes exhausted again by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue. A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and takes a -2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. After eight hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.

Characters who make a successful saving throw are only fatigued, and only for one hour.

Diminished Effects: The creature touched becomes fatigued rather than exhausted. A successful Fortitude save negates the effect.
Heightened Effects: A creature with fewer Hit Dice than the caster failing its saving throw falls unconscious for 1 round/four caster levels and cannot be revived by nonmagical means. Afterward, he remains exhausted.

 

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"New Simple Spells for Mage Blades, Runethanes, and Witches" ©2004 Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.

 
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