Transmutation Sensation
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Obscure Arcana, where we bring you the best new spells each and every week from sources both obscure and arcane. Being Transmutation Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, I am pleased to announce that today’s article will be focusing on some new transmutation spells so obscure, I’m sure you will never have heard of them before.
Abhorrent Growth
When you cast this spell, you cause the target to balloon to mammoth proportions as his body is overcome with fatty tumors, causing his size to greatly increase, without increasing his muscle mass. The target immediately increases dramatically in size, increasing in size by two size categories. The target gains all the appropriate adjustments for a creature growing by two size categories, except that his Strength score and Constitution score are not affected by this spell (for example, a Medium creature would become Huge, and gain a +4 bonus to natural armor and a +2 size bonus to CMB and CMD, and take a -2 size penalty to AC and attack rolls, a -2 penalty to Dexterity, a -4 size penalty to Fly checks and a -8 size penalty to Stealth checks). The target’s space and reach are adjusted accordingly, and any gear he is holding or wearing changes magically to match his new size, increasing the damage of the weapons he wields by two size categories. A creature’s speed does not change as a result of this spell.
If the target is already Gargantuan size, this spell only increases it to Colossal size (its Strength and Constitution scores remain unaffected). If the target is already Colossal size, this spell has no effect.
Bee Form
When you complete the casting of this spell, your body shrinks enormously as you assume the shape of a common bee. This has the effect of reducing your size to Fine, which grants you a +8 size bonus to AC and attack rolls, and a +8 bonus to Fly skill checks, as well as a +16 bonus to Stealth checks, although you also suffer a -8 size penalty to your Strength score and a -8 penalty to your CMB and CMD. Your land speed is reduced to 5 feet, but you gain a fly speed of 20 feet (good maneuverability). You cannot speak or cast spells while in bee form, even if a class feature, feat, or special ability (such as Wild Spell) would normally allow you to do so. While in bee form, you lose any natural attacks you normally possess.
While in bee form, you gain access to a special sting attack. In order to use this attack, you must enter the target’s square (provoking an attack of opportunity) and succeed on a melee attack. If the attack hits, both you and the target take 1d8 points of damage per caster level you possess. Damage reduction does not apply to this damage, but any spell resistance the target possesses does (any spell resistance you may possess does not apply). Both you and the target may attempt a Fortitude save (DC equal to bee form’s saving throw DC) to negate the damage.
If you are a non-living creature, or are otherwise immune to effects that require a Fortitude save, this spell has no effect on you, as your anatomy is too inhuman to be compatible with the spell.
Fleshy Tendrils
As you complete the casting of this spell, your fingers lengthen to elephantine proportions, gaining in both girth and musculature. Your fingers become 15-foot-long tentacles. As a result, while under the effects of this spell, you cannot cast spells with somatic components, nor can you wield weapons of any kind. The finger-tentacles are too delicate to make tentacle attacks, but by bunching them together you can make two slam natural attacks (1d6 + Strength modifier points of damage on a successful hit), which have a range of 15 feet. For the purposes of these slam attacks, you have the grab universal monster ability, as well as the constrict special attack (1d6 + Strength modifier points of damage). Further, you gain an additional circumstance bonus on grapple checks equal to 1/2 your caster level.
Gelatinous Form
You transmute the target’s flesh and organs into an acidic gelatin. The target retains his humanoid shape and type, as well as his ability scores, but, for the duration of the spell, the target gains immunity to critical hits due to his amorphous biology. Additionally, whenever the target damages a creature with a natural attack or unarmed strike, he deals an additional amount of acid damage equal to 1d4 per 4 caster levels you possess (to a maximum 5d4 at 20th level). Similarly, any creature that hits the target with a natural weapon or a manufactured weapon without reach takes the same amount of acid damage.
Because the gelatinous form incorporates the target’s brain, thinking becomes exceptionally difficult while under the effects of this spell, and while the target retains a semblance of his mental faculties, including the ability to make distinctions between friend and foe, discern his surroundings, and make decisions based on instinct and animal cunning, he is incapable of higher thought. This makes him unable to cast spells, use any Intelligence- or Charisma-based skills, or use any ability requiring concentration or complex reasoning.
Racial Acclimation
By means of this spell, you can alter the target’s biology in subtle ways to make him technically belong to two races at once. When you cast this spell, chose a subtype of humanoid (such as human, elf, orc, halfling, and so on). For the spell’s duration, the target is treated as having the chosen subtype in addition to any other subtypes he already possessed for the purposes of class features, feats, magic items, or special abilities which require a character be of a certain subtype. This does not grant the target the racial traits (including ability score bonuses, special abilities, skill bonuses, or other aspects of being a creature of that type. For example, using this spell to gain the dwarf subtype would not grant the target the stonecunning ability).