Magic of the Mind
Hello, and welcome to another Obscure Arcana. As you know, this article is devoted to the presentation of new and exotic spells drawn from rare and powerful spellbooks from across the realm. Today, we’re going to take a look at some mental magic: spells that affect the mind, alter the senses, or otherwise allow the caster to manipulate and control his target.
Dazed Trance
This spell overwhelms the target’s mind with feelings of mild euphoria, distracting him from the world around him. The target is fascinated for the duration of the spell. Additionally, for the spell’s duration, the target completely disregards any non-hostile creatures it sees, to the extent that he does not even remember having seen them, even after the spell’s duration expires. The target is not helpless, though, and, like any other fascination effect, the target receives a new saving throw in the case of any potential threat, such as an obviously hostile creature approaching, and any obvious threat (such as an attack against him or even the act of drawing a weapon) immediately ends the effect.
Final Frenzy
This spell causes the target’s body to go into a furious battle frenzy, pushing the target beyond his limits as more and more adrenaline is pumped through his body, until he finally dies from exertion. For the duration of the spell, the target gains a +8 enhancement bonus to his Strength and Dexterity scores, but also gains the confused condition.
Additionally, while the spell is in effect, each round on the target’s turn he must succeed on a Fortitude save or suffer 2 points of Constitution damage, as his body is pushed beyond its limits. Creatures that die as a result of this Constitution damage do so from heart attack, shock, or other apparently natural causes.
Suicide
This dark spell causes the target to immediately and mindlessly attempt to kill himself in the most immediate way possible. If he is wielding a weapon, he attacks himself each round, making a single attack as a full-round action, which automatically hits and deals damage as though it were a critical hit.
If he is not wielding a weapon, he immediately seeks out some other means of bringing about his own demise, such as a nearby cliff from which he can leap, or a nearby body of water he can attempt to drown himself in, etc. The target seeks ways to end his life himself—he does not simply stand and wait for an enemy to slay him, even in a combat situation. If no immediate means of suicide is apparent, the target sets off in search of a weapon or other means by which he can slay himself.
If someone restrains the target, or otherwise attempts to prevent him from performing his task (such as by taking his weapon, standing in his way, etc), he does his best to perform his task anyway, struggling to break free of his restraints, attempting to grab his weapon back, or walking around the subject, as necessary. He will not attack such creatures, however, nor will he use any more force than necessary to overcome such obstacles.
Veltannia’s Betrayal
This spell causes the target to see a single creature within the spell’s range as a hated enemy, and to immediately attack that creature in a blind rage. The target attempts to kill the chosen creature to the best of his ability, even if other enemies are present. The target is not suicidal, however, and will not, for example, wade through a pool of lava in order to reach the chosen creature. The threat posed by the chosen creature is not a factor, however: the target will attack the chosen creature even if he is clearly outmatched.
If the chosen creature was an ally of the target’s, then the target is entitled to a new Will saving throw each time he successfully damages the chosen creature, to a maximum of one Will save each round. Additionally, if the chosen creature is 4 or more CRs higher than the target creature, then the target is entitled to a new Will saving throw each round he engages in combat with that creature. In either case, even if the target succeeds on his saving throw and ends the effect, the creature he was attacking may not be willing to end the fight there.
Voice of Command
This spell laces the caster’s words with arcane power, giving them greater weight to those who hear him speak. As part of casting the spell, the caster makes a single Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check, consisting of only a short sentence or two—no more than 25 words. Each creature that the Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check is directed towards must succeed on a Will save, or else the caster gains a +10 bonus to his check against that individual target.
Though the spell has a verbal component, no magic words are required to cast the spell: the caster merely speaks the desired words, and they are laced with arcane power. Because of this, it is very difficult to tell that a spell has been cast at all. Only characters with ranks in Spellcraft, or who are currently under the effects of detect magic or a similar spell, can tell that a spell was cast at all, and the DC to identify the spell with Spellcraft is increased by +5.