From: tsouth@netcom.com (William T. South) Subject: Installment #1 To: dedos4@win.tue.nl Date: Sat, 17 Sep 1994 10:31:18 -0700 (PDT) Here's what I've been able to reconstruct. It will take a couple of days for the next installment. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter. Also, when you release the next time will you please release in WordPerfect word processor format? Todd... --------------------------- Devolution (Alteration, Divination) Level: 7 Range: 10 yards Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: Special Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: Special Description: This spell is capable of returning a creature down the evolutionary scale to a form which would be considered a base ancestor of the creature. It can only be cast in a laboratory situation where the caster has no outside influences and the creature is constrained or confined. The spell scans the creature for any and all aspects which can be described as a product of evolution or environment in any form, whether normal or magical. This includes strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, organizational habits, activity level, diet, alignment, natural armor class, movement speeds and forms, hit dice, natural fighting skills (THAC0, number of and attacks and the damage per attack in game terms), special attacks, special defenses, magic resistance, size, grow patterns (e.g., a frog begins as an egg, becomes a tadpole, pollywog, and finally a frog), and spell-use ability. Also, the caster is able to determine what the lowest base form of the creature would be like if all abilities were reverted back to the most common ancestor of a varied species. So, all dragons would eventually become some prehistoric lizard, horses would become miniature prehistoric ponies, etc. The casting time is one round plus one round for every single item listed above which the mage would like to discover (though DM's may want to expand on this). During this time no saving throw is allowed to avoid the analysis of the creature in question, although, the creature must be held in relative security so that the mage will not be disturbed by any distractions during the casting. An initial check against any magic resistance either avoids the entire spell or allows it to function. At the end of the analysis the mage may force the creature to revert back to a base form of its evolutionary scale. However, the surgical abilities of this spell allows the mage to selectively alter the above listed aspects of the creature to conform to his analogy of what he would like removed. For example, if a mage somehow captured an adult dragon and was able to analyze it, he would reduce its strength to that of a small lizard, but then he would have the problem of a multi-tonnage creature who was unable to life its own weight unless he also reduced its size. The caster is able to alter 1 aspect for every 3 levels of experience at a rate of 1 per round. Any interruption of the spell during the alterations leaves the creature at the state it retained in the previous round. The creature in question receives a save vs. spells every round a reversion is attempted (although, saving throws based upon hit dice may change during the casting of this spell). Success versus a change in one round does not prevent the mage from attempting the same change the next round. Surgical removal can be very selective. Ability scores may only be lowered and reversions should never change more than a single aspect or attribute per round. Movement requiring wings may be stripped in one round, but the wings would take another round to remove. Ability scores can be reduced by 1 per round. Size may be reduced by a maximum of 10% per round. Hit points could not be affected, though hit dice could, therefore lowering the hit points of a creature. Claw attack(s) could be altered so as to cause a mere 1 point of damage per strike, or removed altogether (the creature simply forgets the attack form ever existed). The spell makes no moral alterations and cannot change attitudes concerning a certain idea. But, alignments can be altered one step per round towards a neutral aspect. The final product does not register as being a polymorphed creature (it is a true creature of the form it now embraces) and as such is unaffected by dispelling. Devolution can also tell if a creature has been the target of the 7th-level Evolution spell or any other genetic advancing spells. It may be used to specifically counteract these effects, essentially returning a creature to its normal state. DM's should be free to play with the sanity of experiment subjects. The material component of this spell is a vial of Aqua Vita (the essence of life), which can only be made by a Master Alchemist. Aqua Vita may be purchased at the nominal price of 10,000gp per vial due to its rarity and usefulness in creating artificial life forms. Laboratory, for means of this spell, simply means a non-combat situation. The source of this spell is the Telnorne Mageocrat. Evolution (Alteration, Divination) Level: 7 Range: 10 yards Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: Special Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: Special Description: This spell is used to advance the target up the evolutionary scale of development, whether real or imaginary. It can be only cast in a laboratory situation where the caster has no outside influences and the creature is confined or constrained. The spell will scan the creature for any and all aspects which can be described as a product of evolution This includes strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, organizational habits, activity level, diet, alignment, natural armor class, movement speeds and forms, hit dice, natural fighting skills (THAC0, number of and attacks and the damage per attack in game terms), special attacks, special defenses, magic resistance, size, grow patterns (e.g., a frog begins as an egg, becomes a tadpole, pollywog, and finally a frog), and spell-use ability. Also, the caster is able to determine what intrinsic capabilities could be improved to change the creature through an advancement of possible evolutionary development. This means that lizards could become dragons (of a sort), ponies could become horses, horses could become griffins, hippogriffs or pegasi. The casting time is one round plus one round for every single item listed above which the mage would like to discover (though DM's may want to expand on this). During this time no saving throw is allowed to avoid the analysis of the creature in question, although, the creature must be held in relative security so that the mage will not be disturbed by any distractions during the casting. An initial check against any magic resistance either avoids the entire spell or allows it to function. At the end of the analysis the mage may force the creature to move forward upon a possible evolutionary scale which could alter or develop characteristics not previously owned. The possible changes are immeasurable. DM's need to assure that changes are built upon a reasonable framework. While giving a bird the powers of a phoenix may be nice, unless the mage has prior specific knowledge of a phoenix's extraordinary powers (through use of this spell's analysis) he has no chance of duplicating the abilities. The caster is able to alter 1 aspect for every 3 levels of experience possessed at a rate of 1 per round. Any interruption of the spell during the alterations leaves the creature at the state it was in on the previous round. The creature must make a successful saving throw versus spells against the change as it happens, i.e., each change requires a saving throw. Success versus a change does not mean that the mage cannot try the same change the next round. Using the bird for an example, let's say that we have a large bird that normally fishes for its food by diving at the water for fish. Based upon the imaginary possibilities we could give the bird the ability to breath water or flight through water to make fishing a little easier. The mage would have effect 2 separate changes to achieve both effects. Now, if we had a human subject that lives in a faerie woodland we could give him the ability to use aspects of other creatures in the woods. If we knew that the dryads in the woods had the ability to Plant Door we could even apply this ability to the human in question. If we changed a horse into a pegasus, though, simply giving it wings does not give it the ability to fly. That instinct requires another aspect slot to be used. Changing a creature does not necessarily cause it to be charmed or enthralled by the caster. Even if you turn it into a slobbering idiot or a genius the creature will not automatically become loyal to the caster. Although, an inventive mage could make the creature fixated with a ritual or concept which would make the mage the central aspect of the creature's heritage (such as a totem or deity), thereby assuring the creature is predisposed rather well to the mage's commands. This spell can also tell if a person has been the target of the 7th-level Devolution spell or any other genetic retarding or decreasing spells. It may be used to specifically alter the effects, essentially returning the creature to a normal state. Also, no ability score may be raised more than 2 points above the previous racial maximum and never more than a score of 20. The material component of this spell is a vial of Aqua Vita (the essence of life), which can only be made by a Master Alchemist. Aqua Vita may be purchased at the nominal price of 10,000gp per vial due to its rarity and usefulness in creating artificial life forms. Laboratory, for means of this spell, simply means a non-combat situation. The source of this spell is the Telnorne Mageocrat. Immediate Devolution (Alteration, Divination) Source: Telnorne Mageocrat Level: 9 Range: 10 yards + 2 yards/level Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 9 or Special Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: Special Description: This spell is capable of returning a creature down the evolutionary scale to a form which would be considered a base ancestor of the creature. It can be cast in combat or a laboratory situation. In the laboratory, where the mage is able to have the specimen under strict observation and control, the spell scans the creature for any and all aspects which can be described as a product of evolution or environment in any form, whether normal or magical. This includes strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, organizational habits, activity level, diet, alignment, natural armor class, movement speeds and forms, hit dice, natural fighting skills (THAC0, number of and attacks and the damage per attack in game terms), special attacks, special defenses, magic resistance, size, grow patterns (e.g., a frog begins as an egg, becomes a tadpole, pollywog, and finally a frog), and spell-use ability. Also, the caster is able to determine what the lowest base form of the creature would be like if all abilities were reverted back to the most common ancestor of a varied species. So, all dragons would eventually become some prehistoric lizard, horses would become miniature prehistoric ponies, etc. The laboratory version has a casting time of one round initially plus one round for every single item listed above which the mage would like to discover (though DM's may want to expand on this). During the laboratory casting no saving throw is allowed to avoid the analysis of the creature in question and magic resistance is reduced by a factor equal to twice the level of the casting mage. The creature must be held in relative security so that the mage will not be disturbed by any distractions during the casting. An initial check against any magic resistance either avoids the entire spell or allows it to function. At the end of the analysis the mage may force the creature to revert back to a base form of its evolutionary scale. However, the surgical abilities of this spell allows the mage to selectively alter the above listed aspects of the creature to conform to his analogy of what he would like removed. For example, if a mage somehow captured an adult dragon and was able to analyze it, he would reduce its strength to that of a small lizard, but then he would have the problem of a multi-tonnage creature who was unable to life its own weight unless he also reduced its size. The caster is able to alter 1 aspect for every 3 levels of experience at a rate of 1 per round. Any interruption of the spell during the alterations leaves the creature at the state it retained in the previous round. The creature in question receives a save vs. spells at -4 every round a reversion is attempted (although, saving throws based upon hit dice may change during the casting of this spell). Success versus a change in one round does not prevent the mage from attempting the same change the next round. The combat version of this spell is somewhat more haphazard. It allows the mage to point at a creature and state a number of reversions which he would like to take effect, up to a maximum of 3. The analysis phase is totally bypassed and the changes take effect in the next round. Backlash from the bypass automatically stuns the caster for 1d10 rounds and he must make a successful save vs. spells or be knocked unconscious for 1d10 turns. The creature must make a successful save vs. spells at -4 to avoid the effects of reversion. Magic resistance is checked with a penalty equal to twice the caster's level of experience. Whether or not the creature saves, it will be stunned for the same amount of time as the caster. The DM should make a quick list of possible changes and insert random changes for requested ones which would not fit the logical reversion of the creature. Just remember that taking away breath weapons may just make a creature angry! Surgical removal can be very selective. Ability scores may only be lowered and reversions should never change more than a single aspect or attribute per round. Movement requiring wings may be stripped in one round, but the wings would take another round to remove. Ability scores can be reduced by 1 per round. Size can be reduced by a maximum of 10% per round. Hit points could not be affected, though hit dice could, therefore lowering the hit points of a creature. Claw attack(s) could be altered so as to cause a mere 1 point of damage per strike, or removed altogether (the creature simply forgets the attack form ever existed). The spell makes no moral alterations and cannot change attitudes concerning a certain idea. But, alignments can be altered one step per round towards a neutral aspect. The final product does not register as being a polymorphed creature (it is a true creature of the form it now embraces) and as such is unaffected by dispelling. Devolution can also tell if a creature has been the target of the 7th-level Evolution spell, 9th-level Immediate Evolution spell, or any other genetic advancing spells. It may be used to specifically counteract these effects, essentially returning a creature to its normal state. DM's should be free to play with the sanity of experiment subjects. The material component of this spell is a vial of Aqua Vita (the essence of life), which can only be made by a Master Alchemist. Aqua Vita may be purchased at the nominal price of 10,000gp per vial due to its rarity and usefulness in creating artificial life forms. Laboratory, for means of this spell, simply means a non-combat situation. The source of this spell is the Telnorne Mageocrat. Improved Evolution (Alteration, Divination) Level: 9 Range: 10 yards + 2 yards/level Components: V,S,M Duration: Permanent Casting Time: 9 or Special Area of Effect: 1 creature Saving Throw: Special Description: This spell is used to advance the target up the evolutionary scale of development, whether real or imaginary. It can be cast in combat or a laboratory situation. In the laboratory, where the mage is able to have the specimen under strict observation and control, the spell scans the creature for any and all aspects which can be described as a product of evolution This includes strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, organizational habits, activity level, diet, alignment, natural armor class, movement speeds and forms, hit dice, natural fighting skills (THAC0, number of and attacks and the damage per attack in game terms), special attacks, special defenses, magic resistance, size, grow patterns (e.g., a frog begins as an egg, becomes a tadpole, pollywog, and finally a frog), and spell-use ability. Also, the caster is able to determine what intrinsic capabilities could be improved to change the creature through an advancement of possible evolutionary development. This means that lizards could become dragons (of a sort), ponies could become horses, horses could become griffins, hippogriffs or pegasi. The laboratory version has a casting time of one round plus one round for every single item listed above which the mage would like to discover (though DM's may want to expand on this). During this time no saving throw is allowed to avoid the analysis of the creature in question, although, the creature must be held in relative security so that the mage will not be disturbed by any distractions during the casting. An initial check against any magic resistance either avoids the entire spell or allows it to function. At the end of the analysis the mage may force the creature to move forward upon a possible evolutionary scale which could alter or develop characteristics not previously owned. The possible changes are immeasurable. DM's need to assure that changes are built upon a reasonable framework. While giving a bird the powers of a phoenix may be nice, unless the mage has prior specific knowledge of a phoenix's extraordinary powers (through use of this spell's analysis) he has no chance of duplicating the abilities. The caster is able to alter 1 aspect for every 3 levels of experience possessed at a rate of 1 per round. Any interruption of the spell during the alterations leaves the creature at the state it was in on the previous round. The creature must make a successful saving throw vs. spells at -4 against the change as it happens, i.e., each change requires a saving throw. Success versus a change does not mean that the mage cannot try the same change the next round. Using the bird for an example, let's say that we have a large bird that normally fishes for its food by diving at the water for fish. Based upon the imaginary possibilities we could give the bird the ability to breath water or flight through water to make fishing a little easier. The mage would have effect 2 separate changes to achieve both effects. Now, if we had a human subject that lives in a faerie woodland we could give him the ability to use aspects of other creatures in the woods. If we knew that the dryads in the woods had the ability to Plant Door we could even apply this ability to the human in question. If we changed a horse into a pegasus, though, simply giving it wings does not give it the ability to fly. That instinct requires another aspect slot to be used. The combat version of this spell is somewhat more haphazard. It allows the mage to point at a creature and state a number of alterations which he would like to take effect, up to a maximum of 3. The analysis phase is totally bypassed and the changes take effect in the next round. Backlash from the bypass automatically stuns the caster for 1d10 rounds and he must make a successful save vs. spells or be knocked unconscious for 1d10 turns. The creature must make a successful save vs. spells at -4 to avoid the effects of alteration. Magic resistance is checked with a penalty equal to twice the caster's level of experience. Whether or not the creature saves, it will be stunned for the same amount of time as the caster. The DM should allow changes to take effect, but must base their creation on logical steps which would normally be required in the laboratory version (note the pegasus example above). Changing a creature does not necessarily cause it to be charmed or enthralled by the caster. Even if you turn it into a slobbering idiot or a genius the creature will not automatically become loyal to the caster. Although, an inventive mage could make the creature fixated with a ritual or concept which would make the mage the central aspect of the creature's heritage (such as a totem or deity), thereby assuring the creature is predisposed rather well to the mage's commands. This spell can also tell if a person has been the target of the 7th-level Devolution spell, 9th-level Immediate Devolution spell, or any other genetic retarding or decreasing spells. It may be used to specifically alter the effects, essentially returning the creature to a normal state. Also, no ability score may be raised more than 2 points above the previous racial maximum and never more than a score of 22. The material component of this spell is a vial of Aqua Vita (the essence of life), which can only be made by a Master Alchemist. Aqua Vita may be purchased at the nominal price of 10,000gp per vial due to its rarity and usefulness in creating artificial life forms. Laboratory, for means of this spell, simply means a non-combat situation. The source of this spell is the Telnorne Mageocrat. Frost Breath (Alteration, Evocation) Level: 3 Range: 0 Components: V,S,M Duration: 1 day or Special Casting Time: 1 turn Area of Effect: Caster only Saving Throw: None Description: This spell allows the mage to create a breath weapon similar to a Cone of Cold. Once the dwoemer is cast the mage may breath up to twice per day as if the breath weapon were an innate ability, causing no harm to himself. The area of effect for the breath weapon is a cone area 20 feet long with an ending base of 15 feet. The damage is 1d4+1 for every two levels of experience the mage possesses, up to a maximum of 5d4+5 at 10th level. Attack creatures may save vs. breath weapons for half damage. Any creature, including the caster, cannot have more than one of this spell active at any given time. The material component of this spell is a pinch of powdered marble blown into the wind when the spell is cast. The source of this spell is the Ranger-Mage Aramor. -- ___ ___| | | ___| tsouth@netcom.com | The more | | | / | | you know, | _ \ _ | _ | __ \ _ \ | | __| __ \ the more | ( | ( | ( | | ( | |_ | | | | you know! __| ___/ ___/ ___/ _____/ ___/ _____| __| _| _| {AFRTS}