Weird Arcana - Become the Steel (New Domain Spell)

Become the Steel

Transmutation
Level: Cleric/Oracle 6
Components: V, S, F (weapon; see below), DF
Casting Time: 1 immediate action (see below)
Range: Personal

Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

This secret spell is given only to the most favored servants of the deities of war, so that they can continue to serve until the end of times. When the war priest is fatally wounded, he can cast become the steel as an immediate action.

As life leaves his body (if any remains), the caster’s spirit is transported to his holy weapon, powering it.

After casting become the steel the cleric effectively turn into a new character – a unique intelligent magic item. To determine the weapon’s characteristics, build the item using the PC entry from the Character Advancement and Level-Dependent Bonuses table. For example, as 12^th level cleric using become the steel would turn into an intelligent magic weapon with a cost of 108,000 gp.

Become the steel requires as focus either a magical or a masterwork weapon. The chosen item must also be the deity’s favored weapon.

This is a domain spell; actually a War Domain spell. This means that only clerics with the Domain of War (or oracles with the Battle Mystery) can cast ask for this spell. However, if another cleric find this spell in scroll form, he can add it to his spell list by meditating and making the proper sacrifices and rituals (and paying the same cost of wizard writing a new spell in his grimoire; this costs cover incenses, expensive herbs, ritual instruments and special holy symbols etc.). War clerics (and Battle Oracles) will try to kill “the heretic” for stealing their secrets.

This spell is also the type of dweomer that I love to find in fantasy RPGs – weird and of dubious utility at first (definitely not a ‘gamey’ spell), but also potentially awesome in its dramatic consequences. Imagine if the most powerful weapons of the scenario actually house the souls of the greatest war priests? I would even let a PC continues to play with his character (now a magic weapon), maybe with his Cohort wielding “him”. As always, the GM must forbid any abuses from the players – specially “suicide” PCs that want a “cheap” way of creating potent magic items (the GM is encouraged to remove the spell or the make each new intelligent a NPC with its own agenda – probably alien and contrary to the party’s plans).

Weird Arcana - Embrace Grief (New Domain Spell)

Embrace Grief

Transmutation [Good]
Level: Cleric 2, Paladin 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Target: One creature
Range: Touch

Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

This spell allows the caster to transfer to him one grief afflicting the target. This can be an affliction (curse, disease, poison, drug or madness), a negative condition (like nauseated or panicked) or a negative spell (like a continual damage spell). The caster instantly suffers the chosen effect; if a saving throw is allowed (or SR applies), then the caster also can roll to resist. If the caster is immune to the effect, then he can ignore it completely.

If the chosen grief is of permanent duration (like bestow curse) or leaves permanent effects (like fleeblemind), then embrace grief must be cast until the next round after the target suffered the effect. Otherwise, only powerful magic (like break enchantment, remove curse or wish) will do.

Finally, embrace grief has a second function of narrative nature. It can be cast on a target suffering intense (and usually recent) pain of emotional nature (like the loss of a loved one or after suffering a grave betrayal). This use of embrace grief has a casting time of one minute and the target must be conscious. If successful, the target feels the lift of a heavy burden from him. His attitude regarding the caster automatically improves by one step and he gains a +1 morale bonus all his checks for the next 24 hours. Finally, the caster also gains one free Diplomacy roll to improve the target’s attitude yet further. The GM is final arbiter regarding this secondary use.

This is a domain spell; actually a Good Domain spell. This means that only clerics with the Domain of Good can cast ask for this spell. However, if another cleric find this spell in scroll form, the can add it to his spell list by meditating and making the proper sacrifices and rituals (and paying the same cost of wizard writing a new spell in his grimoire; this costs cover incenses, expensive herbs, ritual instruments and special holy symbols etc.).

In fact, if your GM allows, you can prepare Embrace Grief as your 2nd level Good Domain spell (instead of Align Weapon).

The secondary use of Embrace Grief is still too elusive for my liking but it was the best I came up; it was based on the Shield Anvil priests from ‘The Malazan Book of the Fallen’ novels. 

Weird Arcana – Spell Variants

I never liked the fact that you can roll Spellcraft to identify a spell being cast by another spellcaster. It’s boring and doesn’t make much sense to me (yeah, that’s a hazy argument). For example: how in the Nine Hells does an ice witch from the North know what is a fireball spell? Ok, you can argue that fireball is a classic, but only from a gamer perspective. I prefer to let the player discover only some aspects/components of a spell with a successful Spellcraft check: things like descriptors, area and/or damage. Usually higher rolled numbers give more information. Of course, it easier to just say “he’s casting a fireball”, but it also removes some of the unpredictability aspect of magic (besides, “predictable magic” is something total contradictory for me).

Another reason why I prefer that approach is that I love to tinker with spells, creating all kind of bizarre variants. This is an advice given by Monte Cook in the Dungeon Master Guide 3.0 (still the best DMG for me, maybe losing only for the famous AD&D 1^st DMG). Changing visual elements is easy, but I really like to make small variants.

A few examples with 2 classic dweomers (none playtested!):

Magic Missiles variants:

Holme’s forceful missiles – Each missile deals 1d6+1 damage, but the caster must roll to hit (ranged touch attack).

Valuriel’s fey darts – The caster must also roll to hit (ranged touch attack) but each target hit is covered in fey mists, suffering 20% miss to every attack roll made for a number of rounds equal to the inflicted damage. The mists can be dispersed only through dispel magic or if the target is drenched.

Damazar’s merciful infliction – The missiles do nonlethal damage and the targets are dazed for 1d4 rounds.

Fireball variants:

Baelorn’s fireball – shots a green fireball sphere that deals no damage to vegetal matter (and plant creatures), besides healing oozes. It’s reputedly an elven-version of the famous dweomer, the ooze bit being an unforeseen side-effect.

Arcturus’s unearthly fireball – shots a sphere of ulfire. Besides the usual fire damage, targets suffer 1d6 Wisdom damage (Will negates). The caster suffers 1d6 Wisdom damage himself for each casting (no save).

Blackfire – shots a sphere of black flames that deals 1d4 points of (untyped) damage per caster level (maximum 10d4). In the following rounds, all damaged targets must succeed at a Will saving throw or suffer 1d4 points of damage. This damage is continual until a successful save is made. Black flames can’t be naturally extinguished (treat it as a curse effect), but only affects creatures vulnerable to negative energy. The caster’s hands get black after casting blackfire and he ignores the next 25 points of healed damage cast on him (once this happens, his hands get back to normal; treat it is a curse).

Ancalagon’s dragonfire – Only a dispel magic removes fires started by this dweomer. It also ignores the hardness of stone, wood or iron objects. However, the caster suffers 1d8 Dexterity damage (no save) after casting it, as his hands are horribly and preternaturally burned.

Weird Arcana - Deny the Gift (New Domain Spell)

Deny the Gift

Enchantment [curse]
Level: Cleric/Oracle 2
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Target: 1 creature for every three caster levels
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell removes the “gift of war” from the target. For the duration of deny the gift, the target lose access to all weapon and armor proficiencies class features and feats. The target also lose access to any other ability or feat that requires weapon or armor proficiency as a prerequisite.

Attacking with weapons which you are not proficient incur a –4 penalty on attack rolls. Targets wearing armor with which they aren’t proficient suffer its armor check penalty on attack rolls and to all skill checks that involve moving.

Natural attacks are unaffected, but class features like the unarmed combat and AC bonus (from the monk) and feats like improved unarmed are affected.

This is a domain spell; actually a War Domain spell. This means that only clerics with the Domain of War (or oracles the Battle Mystery) can cast ask for this spell. However, if another cleric find this spell in scroll form, the can add it to his spell list by meditating and making the proper sacrifices and rituals (and paying the same cost of wizard writing a new spell in his grimoire; this costs cover incenses, expensive herbs, ritual instruments and special holy symbols etc.). War clerics (and Battle oracles) will try to kill “the heretic” for stealing their secrets.

In fact, if your GM allows, you can prepare Deny the Gift as your 2nd level War Domain spell (instead of Spiritual Weapon).

Rakshasas for everyone!

Rakshasas are one of D&D/Pathfinder’s iconic monsters. That means that your players known exactly each one of its strengths and vulnerabilities (which, by the way, sucks). Like trolls, I love to change classic monsters traits – in part because I like to teach my players that metagame knowledge is not something suited for every game (though fine for others); in part because in legends rakshasa are represented by amazingly different types of monsters (from brute cannibal ogres to a beautiful nymphs).

In my Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign I came up with two house rules for my rakshasas. The first is a random table that defines a rakshasa’s weakness (DR). Instead of being vulnerable to ‘good and piercing’ weapons a rakshasa could, for example, be damaged by ‘holy water and piercing’.

Rakshasa Damage Reduction (d8)

1 . Good and piercing.

2 . Holy water and piercing.

3 . Salt and piercing.

4 . Silver and piercing.

5 . Fire and piercing.

6 . Wielded by a good priest.

7 . The song of a brass bell [at my game I gave this vulnerability to the Rakshasa Leader].

8 . Roll again.

Finally, I gave to each rakshasa one of the abilities below, based on its animal head.

Vulture-head (“Plague Demon”): claw attacks inflict disease and once per combat he can breathe a wasp swarm.

Orangutan- head (“Strength Demon”): the rakshasa gains what I call ‘subjective strength’. It gains a gaze attack. If the target fails at a Will save, he always fails opposed Strength-based checks (and Combat Maneuver rolls) against the rakshasa [at my game this rakshasa always attacked through grapple, the only way to get free was to use Escape Artists or to stun the demon].

Lizard- head (“Scale-folk Demon”): the rakhsasa’s tongue is a living serpent with a poison attack.

Boar- head (“Fire Demon”): this rakshasa gets hotter the longer he fights. After 1 round of combat, any natural attack (or unarmed or grapple) that hits it deals 1d6 fire damage to the attacker.  At the 3^rd round, the heat is so intense that anyone at 5 feet of the rakshasa suffers 1d4 points of fire damage per round (increasing by 1d4 every 2 rounds, to a maximum of 5d4). 

The Tiger-head Rakshasa was already the encounter’s boss, with a lots of class levels, so I let him as stated (though I gave him DR that can only be ignored by the sound of a brass bell).

[Ah, in the campaign the combat against the rakhsasas was one of the hardest and by far the most memorable ones. The PCs eventually won, but tide of battle changed a lot during the encounter – there were moments where only one or two (of a total of 4 players) were standing. The battle put 5 rakhsasas, 2 asura and 1 aberration against 4 PCs and 2 NPCs (both already wounded). The best part? The rakshasa master managed to escape (without one eye due to a cool critical hit from this Pathfinder Deck), to orchestrate his revenge – a perfect conclusion for me.]