Secure Arcana
Last week was Thief Week, and, in case you’re not aware, we also just released a whole book all about gentleman thieves, called Character Guide: The Gentleman Thief. With all this love for sneaky and conniving second-story men going around, I thought it might be a good idea to come up with some security measures for the office, just in case anyone decided to go stealing some spellbooks. The results can be found below.
Curse of the Red Hand
This spell wraps the touched object in magical energies, which allow it to pass a curse on to any creature who touches it. If the object is held or worn, or is magical, it may make a Will save to resist the spell, and if the saving throw is successful, the spell has no effect. If the spell takes hold, then the next creature to touch the item before the spell’s duration expires must succeed on a Will save (DC equal to the spell’s DC) or have whatever part of their body that is touching the item stained red.
The red stains created by the spell cannot be washed off, although they can be hidden by mundane means or through glamers. Removing the skin in the affected area removes the stains for a while, but any new skin grows in with the same red stains already upon it. The stains last for a year and a day, or until removed via remove curse, atonement, or more powerful magic.
Once the target item bestows this curse once, the spell’s effect is discharged, and the item is safe to be touched once again.
Curse of the red hand can be made permanent with the permanency spell. This causes the affected object to bestow the curse on whoever touches it, no matter how many times it is touched. Doing so requires a caster level of 11th, and costs 7,500 gp.
Heridus’s Fickle Command
With this spell, you are able to alter any magical effects laid upon the touched object which require a command word, password, or similar phrase of power, rewriting the existing phrase with one of your choosing. This allows you to choose a new command word for items that require a command word to function. If you don’t speak the item’s current command word or password as you cast the spell, it gains a +6 bonus on its saving throw.
This spell is most often used by adventurers who are unable or unwilling to learn the command words of magic items they find. Its original, paranoid, creator invented it so that he could change all of his passwords and command words on a regular basis, to prevent anyone from uncovering those words and using them against him.
Heridus’s Hold Item
With this spell, you magically lock a single touched object into place, preventing it from being moved by just about any force. The touched object must be no larger than 1 cubic foot per caster level you possess, or else the spell has no effect. As long as the spell is in effect, the target does not move from the place it was in when the spell was cast, even if staying in place defies gravity or other forces. The object can support up to 1,000 lbs. per caster level (to a maximum of 10,000 lbs.) before falling, and any character attempting to move the object must succeed on a Strength check (DC 25 + 1 per 2 caster levels you possess).
Heridus’s hold item can be made permanent with the permanency spell. Doing so requires a caster level of 11th, and costs 9,000 gp.
Mind Dour
A strong form of mental protection against charmers and the charismatic, this spell wraps the target’s mind in gloom and bitterness, making him cynical and jaded, and causing him to view others in the least-flattering light. The affected creature gains a +8 bonus on saving throws made to resist charm effects, and, if he is subject to a charm effect that does not allow a saving throw, he may make a saving throw to resist its effects anyway (although, in such cases, he does not gain the +8 bonus). Further, any attempt to use Diplomacy to adjust the target’s attitude or request a favor from the target suffers a -10 penalty for the duration of the spell.
As a side-effect of the spell, the target becomes somewhat morose, and suffers a -2 morale penalty to attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks, and skill checks for the spell’s duration.
Reset Trap
This spell magically returns a trap that has been sprung to its original state, so that it is ready to be used again. The trap in question must be mechanical in nature, and must have a reset entry of manual or repair, or else the spell has no effect. The trap is instantaneously reset, with all of the parts put back in their place, primed and ready to go.