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Sixth-Level Spells

Age Creature: Any person killed by this spell must roll a successful saving throw vs. spell or become a ghost. Intentionally killing a person with this spell calls for a Ravenloft powers check. The reverse of this spell, restore youth, functions normally in the Demiplane of Dread.

In campaigns utilizing the Requiem rules, the guidelines in that accessory should be used to transform characters into ghosts.

Conjure Fire Elemental/Dismiss Fire Elemental: A conjured elemental cannot leave Ravenloft by means of a dismiss fire elemental or any similar spell. It must find its own escape from the Demiplane, just like those player characters who wish to flee the Mists.

Also, the priest has more difficulty controlling the summoned creature in Ravenloft. Upon arriving, the creature makes a saving throw vs. spell with a -2 penalty; a successful roll allows it to act freely. This does not mean that the elemental automatically attacks the priest who summoned it, but it very well might once it learns that it cannot quickly return to its home.

Find the Path: This spell cannot find locations outside the domain in which it was cast. If Mists surround the domain, the caster can focus on them in order to reach the border. The spell still provides an escape from maze spells and helps the caster bypass traps.

Some exits from the Demiplane are physical locations. If such an exit is within the domain, this spell can guide the caster to it, provided the caster knows the nature of the exit. In this case, the spell lasts only one round per level of the caster. As some portals appear only under specific conditions, find the path has no effect if the portal is not present when the spell is cast.

The Great Circle/the Black Circle: Undead are stronger in Ravenloft than on other planes. Thus, the great circle has a reduced effect in the Demiplane of Dread. This spell destroys any undead with 6 Hit Dice or fewer in the area of effect. All other undead suffer 1d6 points of damage per priest in the circle. Creatures of evil alignment receive 1d4 points of damage per priest in the circle. In the latter two cases, the victim may roll a saving throw vs. death magic to halve the damage.

The black circle works as described in the Tome of Magic. However, casting it requires a powers check for each priest in the circle.

Group Mind: Of course, self-willed undead have the ability to raise a barrier of false thoughts, effectively blocking this spell. If such a creature chooses to enter into a rapport with a priest, it has a choice of actions: It can feed innocent thoughts and emotions via the barrier, or it can allow the priest a true glimpse of its malevolent inner self. Since the participants choose which thoughts and emotions to share, the undead creature need not reveal anything of importance.

Any normal person who gets a close look at the twisted mind of a self-willed undead monster must make a madness check. For this reason, an undead monster may allow the priest access to its mind, knowing the possible effects.

Land of Stability: This spell does not supersede the domain lord's control of the land. If the lord's defined powers specify control over the land (or any effects described in the spell), he can override the effects. However, he may decide to let the spell work normally.

Sol's Searing Orb: The light from this spell is considered to be the equivalent of daylight. Therefore, in addition to normal damage inflicted by this spell, it harms creatures affected by daylight as if they were standing outside on a bright summer day.

Word of Recall: This spell works normally, with a few exceptions: It cannot transport the character off the Demiplane or across a closed domain border.

Seventh-Level Spells

Astral Spell: Since Ravenloft lies in the Ethereal Plane, this spell does not function here.

Breath of Death: This spell is the reverse of breath of life. Casting breath of death requires the caster to make a Ravenloft powers check.

Conjure Earth Elemental/Dismiss Earth Elemental: A conjured elemental cannot leave Ravenloft by means of a dismiss earth elemental or any similar spell. It must find its own escape from the Demiplane, just like those player characters who wish to flee the Mists.

Also, the priest has more difficulty controlling the summoned creature in Ravenloft. Upon arriving, the creature makes a saving throw vs. spell with a -2 penalty; a successful roll allows it to act freely. This does not mean that the elemental automatically attacks the priest who summoned it, but it very well might once it learns that it cannot quickly return to its home.

Energy Drain: This spell is the reverse of restoration. Any person killed by this spell must roll a successful saving throw vs. spell or become an undead creature. In campaigns utilizing the Requiem rules, the guidelines presented in that accessory should be used for characters who become undead.

Casting this spell requires a Ravenloft powers check.

Gate: The gate created by this spell leads into (but not out of) Ravenloft. Thus, a summoned creature must find another exit, just like any other being. This entrapment often infuriates the monster, provoking an attack on the caster and any companions.

Using this spell to summon an evil being calls for a Ravenloft powers check.

Holy Word/Unholy Word: Casters can use either version of this spell only on their home plane. Hence, only Ravenloft native player characters (created with the rules in this book) can use the holy word spell in the Demiplane of Dread. Those from other realms will find that the spell fails when cast.

Even if the spell does function, the Mists somewhat alter its effects. For example, neither this spell nor its reverse can drive creatures from the Demiplane. If a caster attempts to force creatures from Ravenloft, the spell randomly transports the targets to another location in the Land of the Mists (though not across closed domain borders). Following this, the transported creatures cannot come within sight of the caster for a full day.

Casting unholy word warrants a Ravenloft powers check.

Reincarnation: In Ravenloft, the target of this spell has a 1% chance of being reincarnated as an undead creature.

If this happens, the person becomes a monster type with Hit Dice are equal to his former experience level. Like raise dead, this spell cannot create undead more powerful than vampires.

In campaigns utilizing the Requiem rules, characters raised as undead should be converted according to the guidelines presented in that accessory.

Casting this spell requires a Ravenloft powers check.

Resurrection/Destruction: If the target of a resurrection spell fails his resurrection survival roll, he becomes an undead creature of a type equal in Hit Dice to his former level. Vampires are the most powerful creatures a resurrection spell can create in this fashion, and they retain any abilities they had in life. In campaigns utilizing the Requiem rules, characters raised as undead should be converted according to the guidelines presented in that accessory.

Casting this spell or its reverse, destruction, requires a Ravenloft powers check.

Shadow Engines: When this spell expires or is cancelled or disrupted for any reason, it has a 50% chance of causing a small horde of real shadows (as described in the Monstrous Manual tome) to rise up from the shattered illusions. A roll is made for each engine as it dissipates. Each engine can spawn 2d8 shadows, which will almost certainly attack those around them (including the caster).

Spirit of Power: This spell normally enables several priests of high level to call down an avatar of their deity. An unspoken law of nonintervention by the powers of the multiverse makes this spell inoperable in Ravenloft. However, the caster has a 25% chance of summoning some other extraplanar creature. The nature of the summoned creature will be mandated by the home plane of the deity being contacted. Thus, a call to a deity of fire might result in the arrival of a fire elemental.

Should a creature appear in response to this spell, it must make an immediate reaction check to determine its impression of the summoners. If hostile, it will likely attack at once. When the creature learns that it is trapped in the Demiplane of Dread, it will probably seek revenge on those who have imprisoned it.

Attempting to summon the avatar of an evil deity is cause for a powers check.

Succor: Neither this spell nor its reverse can transport anyone or anything out of Ravenloft or across a closed border. Otherwise, it functions normally.

Uncontrolled Weather: Domain lords can sometimes control weather, or at least exert certain influences upon it. If a lord's control is at odds with this spell, the domain lord automatically wins. In many cases, however, he does not bother to contest the spell. Still, if a domain lord has the ability to counter this spell, he will be aware that it has been cast even if he does not opt to thwart it.

Quest Spells

Animal Horde: Some domain lords can control the animals in their lands, or at least some species. Any of those not under the control of a domain lord may answer the summons of this spell. However, the domain lord's control always takes precedence over that of the spell. Still, the lord frequently allows the animals to answer the summons in order to discover the priest's plans. Once he knows, he may or may not choose to override the priest's hold on the animals.

Circle of Sunmotes: The light from the motes can harm creatures vulnerable to normal sunlight. Beyond that, the spell functions normally.

Conformance: This spell does not affect the chances of fear, horror, madness, or powers checks.

Elemental Swarm: At the end of this spell's duration, summoned elementals cannot return home, which tends to infuriate them. Since the spell has expired, the priest no longer has any control over them, so the Dungeon Master can decide whether or not they attack.

Etherwalk: This spell transports the priest and his party into the Border Ethereal. Once there, however, they find themselves unable to travel any deeper into the Ethereal Plane. They can re-enter Ravenloft at the location from which they left whenever they choose.

Highway: This spell cannot cross closed domain borders.

Imago Interrogation: Normally, this spell enables the priest to travel the planes, and even through time (in spirit form). Here, he can travel only around the Demiplane, though not across closed domain borders.

In Ravenloft, this spell can easily traverse the barrier of time. Attempts to travel back in time to a period before Ravenloft existed may be catastrophic, however. The instant a priest enters a time prior to the coming of Castle Ravenloft, he is briefly plunged into an icy cold darkness. The spell ends at that point, and the priest must make a madness check.

Planar Quest: The Mists of Ravenloft severely restrict this spell. Only three planes have sufficient connections to the Demiplane of Dread to affect this spell: the Border Ethereal, the Demiplane of Shadow, and the Negative Energy Plane. Even those planes do not allow the traveler from Ravenloft to do anything more than walk their shores; the traveler must either remain on the fringes of these planes forever or return to Ravenloft (to the location from which he left).

Revelation: Even when using this spell, priests cannot discern good or evil in Ravenloft. All of the restrictions for the true seeing spell apply to this one as well.

Storm of Vengeance: The power of a domain lord to control the weather takes precedence over any spell. If the domain lord has the power to control the weather, he can calm this storm automatically. In addition, such domain lords are instantly aware that such magic has been employed.

Undead Plague: This spell works far better in Ravenloft than on the Prime Material Plane. Here, it has an area of effect totalling forty thousand square yards (an area two hundred yards per side), which translates to four thousand skeletons. The skeletons are turned as zombies.

Casting this spell calls for a Ravenloft powers check.

Ward Matrix: This spell can join distant wards into a network so that each experiences the cumulative effects of all the wards. In Ravenloft, this spell cannot breach the borders of a domain. Thus, only wards in the same domain as the caster can be included in the matrix.

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