Weird Arcana - Anung Un Rama’s Right Hand of Doom (New Spell)

I love spells and by that I mean Pathfinder/D&D dweomers – these little packages of specific rules and effects. They’re just great. The more arcane and weirder the better. It’s strange how, when I started playing D&D – back at AD&D 2^nd – I passed over most spells, always looking for those with the coolest powers and most devastating damage effects. Today I just can’t stand another batch of damage-dealing spells. I find myself constantly returning to books like the old Tome of Magic, with all those bizarre and strange cantraps.

This is my first shot with a really high level dweomer. Actually this is what I wished every powerful spell were – a complex thing, very potent in specific places, but with its own loopholes, challenges and pitfalls. Speaking honestly, I don’t know how much balanced this thing is, as I’ll probably playtest it only in two or three months, with my Chronicles of the Seventh Moon gaming group.

Anung Un Rama’s Right Hand of Doom
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Wizard 9, Sorcerer 9
Components: V, S, M (powdered pit fiend’s right fist), F (the preserved tongue of a witch with Char 22+)
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Personal

Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level (see text)
Saving Throw: Fort or Refl negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes (see text)

This might dweomers summons the mythical Right Hand of Doom, a strange artifact locked in the most remote, forgotten and dire prisons on the Known Planes and Dimensions. In fact, it is speculated that this spell manifest only a portion of the Hand’s true power – among these the fables Keys to the Bottomless Pits, a yet older and more disturbing reliquary.

When the caster finishes this spell, his right hand is taken by a massive red stone gauntlet – the Right Hand of Doom.

The caster can use the Right Hand to make melee touch attacks, which works as a bludgeoning adamantine epic weapon for the purposes of damage reduction and inflicts 5d6+15 of damage. The target must also save versus Reflexes or suffer 15 points of fire damage. The caster can use the Hand to smash or break objects as if he had a Strength score of 40.

The caster can use the Right Hand of Doom to unleash unholy fire blasts through ranged touch attacks, against enemies within 60 ft. If he hits, the target suffers 20d6 points of damage. Treat this damage as a both fire and negative energy damage. A hit target is instantly knocked back, as if by a bull rush maneuver, but using the total damage as the CMB roll of the caster. Targets immune to both fire and negative energy ignore the damage and the bull rush effect.

Evil outsiders hit in melee by the Hand are instantly banished to their home planes (but Spell Resistance applies). Undeads must succeed at a Fortitude save or be instantly destroyed.

Finally, the caster can use a 1 round action (that provokes attacks of opportunity) to summon the Key to the Bottomless Pit or the Fiery Crown.

If the caster summons the Fiery Crown, a circlet of flames appears over his head and he can call a pit fiend to his aid. The creature appears within 5 ft. of the caster, who must then succeed at a Spell Resistance check. If he fails he’s instantly dragged to the Hells, where he must face an annoyed infernal lord. If he succeeds, the pit fiend will serve his commands for the remaining duration of Anung Un Rama’s Right Hand of Doom.

If the caster chooses the Key to the Bottomless Pit, a key of back fire is summoned to his right hand. At this moment the caster must beat the Spell Resistance of a good outsider within 30 ft. If he succeeds, the celestial instantly falls, becoming a corrupted version of his former self (who deeply hates the caster).

Anung Un Rama’s Right Hand of Doom is a dangerous dweomer, with several drawbacks.

First, the Hand itself is too cumbersome and crude for fine manipulation, including casting spells with somatic components. However, the Hand is also unbreakable.

Second, the caster is tainted by the casting of this spell and is considered of evil alignment for the purpose of game effects (including class requirements) for the next week.

Third, but most important, if the caster summons the Fiery Crown he instantly chance his alignment to evil. If already evil, he’s inexorably curses his soul to the Hells and can only be brought back from the dead with the aid of devils or through a wish. If he summoned the Key to the Bottomless Pit and succeed in damning a celestial, he suffer all the above effects and is branded on the brow with a Hellish symbol with cannot be disguised by any magic.

Anung Un Rama’s Right Hand of Doom is treated as a curse and can only be dispelled by break enchantment, limited wish, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell.

Because it really summons the Right Hand of Doom from the Bottomless Pit, only one dweomer can be in effect at a time, in the entire multiverse. Every time this spell is cast there is a 10% chance that it simply fails and a 1% chance that the caster disappear forever – presumably dragged to the Hand’s true location and its divine forsaken guardians.

Variant: More complications!

If you succeed at a Knowledge (Planes) DC 35 or consult the right tomes, sages, devils or imprisoned titans, you can find out a fourth use for Anung Un Rama’s Right Hand of Doom. After summoning the Hand, the caster must call the Key to the Bottomless Pit and offer his soul to It. He must then succeed at a Fortitude and a Will saves, against the spell’s DC.

The consequences depend on the save’s result:

Fail at the Fortitude and Will saves – the caster is instantly reduced to dust and his soul is lost in the Bottomless Pit, never to be seen again in the Multiverse.

Fails at Fortitude but succeeds at Will – the caster instantly suffer all the penalties (but no bonus) of venerable age, his right hand is disintegrated (and can never be reintegrated) but the caster gains the fiendish creature simple template.

Succeeds at Fortitude but fails at Will – the caster’s right hand is disintegrated (and can never be reintegrated) and the unholy shocks dooms the caster to spend 6 days in 7 as an advanced CE chaos beast with Int 1.

Succeed at both saves – the caster’s right hand is disintegrated (and can never be reintegrated) but he gains the half-fiend creature template.