Merlin's Miscellany: Part Nine

New Spells
(from The Witchfinder)

Smoke Signals
(Level 1, White Magic)
Range: 10ft per level of caster

The wizard is able to mould existing plumes of smoke, be they tiny puffs from a pipe to giant clouds from a bonfire, into shapes at will. At first level he will be able to create hoops, by fifth level he'll be making animals and by tenth level intricate shapes like sailing ships complete with rigging.

Each use of the spell allows the magician to create one shape, which will last for a number of combat rounds equal to his level.

This spell, which works best outdoors, can be used for entertainment purposes or to send messages across vast distances - depending on the lay of the land.

Heat
(Level 1, Black Magic)
Range: 5ft per level of caster
Duration: 1 combat round per level of caster

The wizard targets a single, small object within range and makes it glow red hot. If it is resting against fabric it will start a fire, if it is being held it will cause 1d6 damage to an unprotected hand and 1d4 damage to an armoured hand.

Either way the person holding the object (which must be the size of something a person could hold in their hand e.g. a weapon, a tankard, a quill pen etc) must make a Saving Throw or drop the item. He can elect to drop the item anyway to avoid continually taking damage.

If the object itself is flammable it will burst into flames, but burns for only a single combat round - whether it survives is at the DM's discretion.

(from Sins Of The Father)

Magical Conception
(Level 6, Black Magic)
Range: Touch

"To create life, a life must be given"

This is one of the most powerful, dark magic spells and it comes at a great cost. It is unlikely - although technically possible - that the magician will cast it on himself, instead he will probably be approached by a desperate man (or woman) who wants an heir, but is unable to conceive for some reason.

The sorcerer casts the spell and lays his hand on the recipient. The next time that person engages in sexual intercourse a child will be sired (no matter what obstacles there are to the act and of the gender chosen by the subject of the spell).

However, the moment the child is born a person highly prized and loved by the spell's recipient will die within 1d3 combat rounds (definitely NOT the newborn). The chances are it will be the other parent, but the DM could rule that ties are closer with a grandparent or perhaps another child.

A child born of magic this way will grow up to be a paragon with one of his STATS automatically increased to 18 (roll a d6: 1. STR, 2. CON, 3. DEX, 4. INT, 5. WIS, 6. CHA)

Summon The Dead
(Level 6, Black Magic)
Range: Close (probably within 10ft of caster)

The wizard can call up from the afterlife the spirit of a named, specific, dead person, no matter how long they have been dead. They will materialise in front of him as a solid, three-dimensional entity and will remain corporeal for 1d3 minutes and cannot move more than 30ft away from the spellcaster for the duration.

Their willingness to talk and impart information - the usual reason for calling up the dead - will depend on a reaction roll on the table below. The spirit will only know information it would have known in life, just because the person is now dead doesn't make them all knowing.

She will also only know of events that happened up to the moment she died and will have no frame of reference for any questions about "what's the afterlife like?" as it's not a concept easily explained to the living.

Of course, the person who chose the spirit may have other plans for them (although bear in mind they are already dead, are limited in their movement, are still governed by the reaction table and only stick around for a very short time).

Die Roll	Reaction
2-	Very angry at being called back to ‘reality’ and spends the entire duration of the spell berating anyone who tries to talk to them. Will get nothing useful out of this person.
3-5	Hostile. Will be aggressive and confrontational, but may be tempted to drop one useful bit of information (if the questioner makes a STAT check vs CHA+LVL on 5d6)
6-8	Uncertain. Will be hesitant. The questioner may roll for reaction again (with same modifiers) or attempt to cajole a couple of useful nuggets of information out of the spirit (if the questioner makes a STAT check vs CHA+LVL on 5d6)
9-11	Friendly. Will chat happily with the questioner for the duration of the spell and answer any questions he is able to.
12+	Enthusiastic. The summoned spirit will talk freely, volunteering information and answering any questions.

Modifiers:
Add CHA modifier (same modifiers as CON) of the Questioner
-2 Questioner is unknown to summoned spirit
-3 Questioner was an enemy of the spirit in life
+3 Questioner is a beloved, close, blood relative of spirit (ie. father, mother, son, daughter etc)
+1 Questioner is related by blood to the spirit in any way (can be a descendant, distant cousin etc)
+2 if there is an object present that is precious to the summoned spirit (e.g a painting of their child, a treasured piece of jewellery etc)

The Dungeon Master should actually time the duration of the questioning (once all the dice rolling is out the way) to ensure the spirit doesn't give away too much information.

TREASURE TROVE:

Healing Bracelet: As long as the owner wears this bracelet, or keeps it within five feet of her while she sleeps, she will get the best, dreamless, night's sleep of her life and wake up totally refreshed.

She will recover one lost CON point of damage each night (instead of one every two as is the norm) and receive a "buffer" of an extra (non-cumulative, but rerolled each morning even if not spent) 1d6 HP each morning, that are spent first either through combat or spell-use before her actual Hit Points are touched.

The only dreams the bracelet cannot block out are powerful, magical, prophetic ones - should the bracelet's owner be prone to such things. With these she is on her on!