Subject: Installment #1
From: [email-masked] (William T. South)
To: [email-masked]
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.

-- 
 ___  ___|         |     |    ___|   [email-masked]  |      The more
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