Saturday, May 7, 2011

Weird Arcana - Mandamus of the Faithful Worm


Ok, this dweomer is a little higher on the bizarre scale. Blame it on my latest readings. It’s definitely more “old school”, meaning by that that it requires a certain adjudication on part of the Gamemaster. I created it because of the (in my mind) cool flavor of sending a worm to fetch information, then absorbing slowly its knowledge by eating it – yeah, it’s ghastly, but I also think it’s a fun description.

Mandamus of the Faithful Worm
Divination
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Components: V, M (a worm or similar vermin)
Casting Time: 1 full-round action (see text)
Effect: A worm is enchanted to discover the area’s secrets
Duration: 1 hour/level (see text)
Saving Throw: none
Spell Resistance: no

This rare and gruesome dweomer was created, if legends are to be credited, by a cabal of ghoul diviners. When casting this spell, you must be at the entrance or already inside a dungeon, cave or similar structure or underground location. By selecting and picking a local worm (or other vermin) you whisper eldritch commands in inhuman idioms and release it. After 24 hours your return to the same spot and wait for the punctual return of the creature. You then must promptly devour it.
With that disgusting communion you gain special insight about your immediate whereabouts, derived from the worm’s wanderings.
While inside this particular dungeon, complex or set of caves, you have access to a mental image* of every corridor, passage, room, chamber or cave around you, to a distance of 30 ft. If you walk, this mental image is altered to correspond to your new surroundings. You can’t see what there is inside revealed passages or rooms (if there creatures inside or small traps), but you can detect secret passages, corridors and hidden bigger structures (like pit traps).
This unique insight last for a number of hours equal to your caster level.

*Think about this as a mixture of an X-ray with a radar. Basically, this let you see the part of the dungeon map around your spellcaster.

1 comment:

  1. Very swords and sorcery indeed. It seems like the perfect spell for the (propably evil) NPC spellcaster who has hired the party as "bodyguards" to use before going into the dungeon.

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