Happy holidays, everyone!
Today’s update is pretty simple. As mentioned in the last update, I was going to focus primarily on spells this month. I’ve made some headway, and I’m about 50% done with the chapter as a whole. Still got a long way to go, but the progress so far has been decent.
One thing I’m considering is adding in new [plant] and [animal] descriptors. If you’re familiar with Path of Iron, that book added in the [metal] descriptor, which was used for a handful of class features and feats. Really, it served more as a thematic descriptor than one for major rules use (unlike stuff like fear or language-dependent). I’m still deliberating on whether to add in the new descriptors or not: I’m open for any thoughts and opinions on the matter.
Here’s a few examples of the first draft of the new spells. These stats aren’t finalized, so let me know if you think something should be changed.
APEX PREDATOR
School transmutation (polymorph); Level druid 9, shaman 9
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, DF
Range touch
Target animal touched
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
After an intense channeling, you infuse a single animal with primal strength and vigor, turning it into a ferocious avatar of nature. Such power is tremendous, but comes at a cost.
The animal grows to huge size or increases in size by one category if it is already huge or larger. It gains a +8 size bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +3 natural armor bonus (that stacks with existing natural armor bonuses), cold resistance 20, fire resistance 20, and Damage Reduction 10/–. Hit points gained by the temporary increase in Constitution score are not temporary hit points, and go away when the target’s Constitution drops back to normal.
The creature also becomes immune to mind-affecting effects, death effects, energy drain, ability score damage and drain, poison, disease, and stunning effects. It’s natural weapons always deal lethal damage and their critical threat range is doubled: this increase does not stack with other effects that increase critical threat range, such as Improved Critical. Finally, the creature is treated as under the effects of haste for the duration of this spell.
At the end of the spell’s duration (including if it is dispelled), the animal becomes exhausted, gains two temporary negative levels, and is finally reduced to 0 hit points if its hit points are above 0. These temporary negative levels are removed automatically after 24 hours have passed but cannot otherwise be removed by any means. This spell cannot target the same creature more than once in a 24 hour period: attempting to do so immediately exhausts the target creature (no save), and the spell fails.
COMMANDING WHISTLE
School evocation [sonic]; Level bard 3, druid 3, ranger 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a reed whistle)
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Target see text
Duration 1 min./level, see text
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You blow upon the reed used as a focus for the spell, but no audible sound emerges. Nearby animals, however, perk up and await your instruction.
Upon casting commanding whistle and as a standard action at any point during the spell’s duration, you can blow upon the reed to emit a silent command. This allows you to make Handle Animal checks to handle an animal or push one from a distance using the normal DC. You do not need line of sight to an animal to affect it, but the sound of the whistle must reach it: a deaf animal is unaffected, and the spell does not pierce through an area of silence or similar spells.
You can choose to command only a subset of animals, such as only canines or only equines, but your whistle (and Handle Animal check) affects all creatures of that type that can hear it within the spell’s range.
While the spell’s effects are typically only audible to creatures of the animal type, dragons and creatures with echolocation and other sound-based detection can also pick up on the sound, though they are not affected unless they are also animals themselves.
DESICCATE
School necromancy [water]; Level antipaladin 2, druid 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area 30-ft.-radius spread
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes
A wave of entropic energy washes over the area, draining it of water. This has several effects, as outlined below.
First, water (both liquid and mist) evaporates. The spell can evaporate up to 10 gallons of liquid water per caster level. Any natural fog or mist in the area vanishes, and magical fog of 2nd level or lower (such as fog cloud) is likewise removed. Solid ice and snow evaporates at half the rate of liquid water.
Second, non-creature plant life that is medium or smaller withers and dies, including grass, shrubbery, and so on. Plant life that is large or bigger in the area lose some moisture, but it is not enough to fell most trees or larger plants without repeated castings.
Finally, creatures affected by desiccate have moisture drawn from their bodies. Creatures must make a Fortitude save or become dehydrated (see the Starvation and Thirst section in Chapter 13 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook), causing them to immediately take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and become fatigued. This nonlethal damage and fatigue cannot be overcome until the creature sates its thirst. Plant creatures, water elementals, and other water-based creatures that fail their saving throw instead take 1d8 points of lethal damage per two caster levels (max 5d8) and are fatigued.