Arcana for Beginners
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Obscure Arcana. Those of you who have been paying close attention this week know that we’re not only celebrating the new year here at Necromancers of the Northwest, but also the 1st-level character. Yes, it’s still First Level Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, and what better way to wrap up our week-long celebration of the hope and optimism associated with brand-new characters than to set you up with a whole host of 1st-level spells taken directly from our personal, surprisingly necromancy-lite, spellbooks.
Closer Look
When you cast this spell, you gain the ability to create an invisible magical sensor near a creature or object that you can see, enabling you to see the target as though you were standing within 5 feet of him. At any time during the spell’s duration, as a swift action, you can choose to create such a sensor near any creature or object you can see (Perception checks may be required to see the target). If you do, your vision focuses sharply on the target, and you see them as though you were standing within 5 feet of it. Once you have selected the target, you can rotate the sensor in any direction to view the target as desired (even allowing you to see the target from angles other than your current one; for example, if you targeted a man facing away from you, you could rotate the sensor so that you can see his face). Any magically- or supernaturally-enhanced senses you may have do not function through this magical sensor, and you are only able to see through it with your normal senses.
As long as you are focusing in this way, your view of your immediate surroundings becomes fuzzy and unclear, granting all characters (except for the creature or object the sensor is targeting) concealment against you. You may choose to refocus on your immediate surroundings as a swift action, which destroys the sensor. You can continue to create or destroy sensors, and select new targets, for the spell’s duration, but can only maintain one sensor at a time.
Handsome Smile
This spell allows you to augment your personal appearance to make you appear more alluring, more trustworthy, or more fearsome. You gain a +2 bonus on all Charisma-based skill checks for the duration of the spell. Additionally, whenever you make a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check, you may choose to gain a competence bonus on that check equal to your caster level. If you do, the spell immediately ends.
Recall Familiar
When you complete this spell, you draw your familiar through the ether to your current location. By means of this spell, you can instantly transport your familiar from wherever it currently is to your location. You need not be able to have line of sight or line of effect to your familiar in order to cast this spell. Recall familiar functions regardless of distance, though it cannot affect your familiar unless both you and your familiar are on the same plane.
Simple Trick
In many ways, simple trick is similar to prestidigitation in that it allows you to perform a number of entertaining magical effects that offer little in the way of what more pragmatic and stuffy mages deem “useful.” In addition to whatever effects can be performed by prestidigitation, simple trick allows you to do all of the following:you may move objects and creatures weighing no more than 5 lbs. at a rate of 30 feet/round; you can create the illusory image of up to 3 small white birds or single white rabbit which behave at your discretion; and it can produce bright light in any single solid color, or smoke-like vapor which can shift in color.
While the spell cannot do damage, obstruct vision, cause any negative condition or status abnormality of any kind, or distract spellcasters, it can be used to fool or bamboozle simpleminded characters, who must succeed on a Will save to disbelieve any of the illusory effects of this spell. Finally, simple trick allows you to substitute a caster level check modified by your primary spellcasting ability score (Intelligence for wizards and witches, Charisma for sorcerers and bards) for any Perform check.
Soothing Massage
The magic of this spell infuses your hands with a warming positive energy which, when applied to living creatures, can instill them with a sense of calm and well being, even curing some minor maladies. Once, during the spell’s duration, as a full-round action, you can give a brief massage to a living creature. When you give the target this massage, you must choose one of the three following benefits for the target to receive.
First, you may cure the target of the shaken or sickened conditions. Alternatively, you may cure the target of 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per caster level. Finally, you may bestow upon the target a sense of calm, making him immune to emotion spells and effects for 10 minutes.
Once you have given one massage in this way, the spell ends.
Warrior Armor
As you finish casting this spell, solid bands of polished iron spring from nowhere to encircle your body, encasing you in the protective metal shell of your choosing. When you complete this spell, you create a complete suite of mundane medium or heavy armor, which you automatically don as a free action. If your armor slot is already occupied, this spell fails. If you remove the armor, it fades into nothingness. This spell does not make you proficient with the armor, nor does it negate the arcane spell failure chance of the armor. This spell cannot create armor spikes or other armor modifications, nor can it create magical or masterwork armor, or armor made of unusual materials.