Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Spellbooks of Nathan Serpentarius: the Least Book

[Though there are believed to be many such texts, widely varied in power and content, this slender volume is by far the most widely known of Serpentarius' works of celestial magic. Small enough to be stitched into a girdle-binding and showing faint marks of such, the text is carefully scribed onto black-dyed vellum in silver ink. The leaves are bound in a cover composed of the silver-white scales of some unknown beast, and bear upon the front Serpentarius' sigil of a serpent biting its own tail in blue and jade enamel. Scattered throughout the pages, intermixed with the texts of the spells, are charts and star diagrams in silver ink picked out in azure.]


Pale Astral Barbs
Level: M1
Range: 20'
Duration: 2 rounds
Effect: Infuses one or more projectiles with energy

Casting this spell causes up to four arrows or other projectile weapons to glow internally, as if a tiny blue-white star burned within each of them. Each weapon so enchanted gains the ability to injure creatures immune to non-magical weapons and half again as much range.


Falling Star Ghost
Level: M1
Range: 100'
Duration: 1 round
Effect: Creates a magical bolt that injures and dazes

Casting this spell conjures a single "star ghost" -- a tiny silvery sphere that trails pale multicoloured flames -- which flies unerringly towards a target designated by the magic-user. The star ghost inflicts 1-4 hit points of damage and stuns the target for one round.


Concordance of Heaven
Level: M1
Range: 0
Duration: 1 round
Effect: Reads the workings of the heavens momentarily

The casting of this spell attunes the magic-user, however briefly, to the celestial underpinnings of time and fate. The magic-user has a 50% chance, plus 1% per level, to divine whether a single action would be favorable or unfavorable. Concordance may reach no more than a few hours into the future.


Vox Astra
Level: M2
Range: 50'
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: Evokes a favorable astral harmony for a target

With the casting of this spell and a single sung note, the magic-user calls upon favorable stellar harmonies to affect the fortune of a single target. The chosen individual gains +2 to saving throws and to-hit rolls, and a +1 bonus to Armour Class, for the duration of the spell.


Blade of the Stars
Level: M2
Range: 10'
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: Creates a blade of starlight

Casting Blade of the Stars creates a shining blue-white blade of of solid starlight which is wielded as a weapon. Whether as small as a dagger or as massive as a two-handed sword, the damage the "starsword" inflicts remains the same: 2-12 hit points per strike. Individuals injured by the blade suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls for the following round as the blade's strike disrupts their connection to their own fate.


Fires From Heaven
Level: M3
Range: 150'
Duration: 1 round (see below)
Effect: A wedge of icy stellar flame

Fires From Heaven calls the pale, icy iridescence of starfire to the hands of the magic-user, who may then direct the flames in a cone of icy fires measuring 5'x15'x25'. All caught within the blast take 1-4 hit points of damage per level of the magic-user and are left reeling, at a -4 to all rolls, for 2-8 rounds.


Touch of the Heavens
Level: M3
Range: 0 or touch
Duration: 4 rounds or until used
Effect: Stores celestial energy within a target for their next attack

Touch of the Heavens infuses a recipient chosen by the magic-user with the forces of the heavens, causing a faint blue-white inner glow. The recipent's next attack -- whether physical or magical -- is augmented by these celestial fires, inflicting an additional 5-30 hit points of damage and stunning the target for two rounds.

2 comments:

David The Archmage said...

Nice theme... Is the blade of stars able to be used by one of the casters companions? For instance could you cast it so that it ends up in the hand of the fighter?

I'd love to learn more about Nathan Serpentarius!

I'm also curious, how many of the things you create end up in your games?

taichara said...

@David:

You can cast Blade of the Stars such that someone else receives the sword as long as they happen to be in rage of the spell. That's the purpose of the 10' range, rather than 0 (self).

I may have Serpentarius crop up in other posts, much like I've developed categories for Salan Kir'ith and my ever-unpredictable swordsmith Jie Chue. ;3

Some of these things come from my games, and the rest will get there eventually ... I actually have very seldom time to run a game, so my material gets posted here instead. But it's all written with my games in mind.