Friday 9 July 2010

Spells: The Silver School (Level 1)

Like the Purple school, the Silver school of magic is a gateway, but leading away from the schools of chromatic magic to the mysterious realms beyond the Veil that are the location of White magic, Black magic, and the Gray power source and key for all of magic itself. While the primary color schools deal with matter and energy, the Silver school plays with space, time and reality. At first limited to simple summonings, the Silver school spells increase in power to allow travel through and across the planes of existence. The exact uses of Silver magic will rest on the metaphysics of the campaign; for example, what kind of extraplanar creatures may be summoned and what planes may be traveled to. These rules give generic substitutes that stand as usable examples, and can be embellished with flavor peculiar to your own campaign world.

Silver mages are secretive and unassuming, often with their thoughts in another place and a far-away look in their eyes. Their dreams are said to be particularly vivid, and some use them as a way to communicate and set up bargains with extraplanar powers. Silver magic has a reputation for being risky, with its connection to potent and unpredictable entities and its potential to strand travelers in inhospitable places. On a modern campus the silver wizards are most like anthropologists; they travel far, bring back unusual specimens and have strange perspectives on our world. Their symbol is the moon, but the full moon rather than the crescent moon of the Purple school; they have no fixed symbol, but a thread or key of silver sometimes denotes membership.


Animate Small Object
Level 1 Magic Spell (Minor)
School: Silver
Range: 30’
Duration: 10 rounds

Summons an extraplanar life force into a small object, no greater than 5 pounds weight. The caster controls the object until the spell ends. The object is granted movement but not any extra flexibility or flight powers; for example, a wooden statuette without joints could not move, but a scarf could slither along the ground, or a jointed wooden marionette could walk. The object can only exert about half an average man’s strength.

Summon Monster I
Level 1 Magic Spell (Major)
School: Silver
Range: 30’
Duration: 12 hours (special)

Summons an extraplanar monster or noncombatant riding creature who acts as the caster's friend, follows basic commands, and vanishes when the spell is over.

•    The generic riding creature, regardless of species, has 2 HD, 10 HP, AC 9 [10], comes with a saddle, will not attack, and walks at a move of 12. Any other peaceful domestic beast with 2 or fewer HD may also be summoned.

•    The generic level 1 monster is a strange four-footed animal with 1 HD, 5 HP, AC 8 [11], attacks for 1d6 damage, and moves at 12. Each time it attacks shortens the duration of the spell by 2 hours. Referees may randomize or allow choice of other extraplanar creatures summoned, as long as these are of equal power and challenge. Extraplanar versions of other 1 hit die animals without special abilities, or equipped zero-level humans from the Hall of Heroes, for example, may be possibilities depending on the specifics of the campaign world.

Unseen Servant

Level 1 Magic Spell (Minor)
School: Silver
Range: 30’
Duration: 1 day (special)

Summons a spirit from another plane whose race was bound a long time ago to serve the workers of magic in small things. The servant is an invisible, immaterial, silent man-sized figure with low human intelligence. It follows its master’s spoken commands. It may move and perform manual tasks requiring little effort; each minute of doing so shortens the duration of the spell by half an hour. It may also carry out strenuous tasks with the strength of a normal man; each round (6 seconds) of doing so shortens the duration of the spell by an hour. The servant will not fight, touch, or harm another creature.

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