Plantrips
It probably won’t come as any surprise that today we’ll be talking about plant-themed spells. After all, it’s Plant Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, a week-long celebration of green leafy things. But what makes a plant spell really cool? Does it have to make plants bigger, or deal extra damage to plant creatures? Or is there a little more leeway for fun and creative plant-themed magic? Today’s new plant spells will all focus on creating or removing plants in some way, so I hope you enjoy them.
DEADLY SEED
School transmutation; Level druid 5, ranger 4, witch 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration special; see text
Saving Throw Fortitude half, see text; Spell Resistance yes
You create a seed of magic which you implant in the touched creature. The seed utilizes the target’s own life force to grow at astounding speed, damaging the target and sprouting into a fully grown tree. If the touch attack is successful, the target suffers an amount of damage equal to 1d6 per 2 caster levels you possess. On each following round, the target suffers an additional amount of damage equal to half the amount suffered on the previous round (expressed as a number of d6, rounded down). When this results in the amount of damage being 0d6, the spell ends (for example, if the spell inflicted 10d6 points of damage the first round, it would deal 5d6 points of damage on the second round, followed by 2d6, then 1d6, and then the spell would end). If the target dies as a result of this spell, a single massive tree immediately forms in the square in which the target died, and any equipment worn or held by the target at the time of death gains the broken condition. A successful Fortitude save halves the amount of d6 points of damage initially dealt by the spell on the first round.
FELL TREE
School necromancy; Level druid 7, witch 8
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target one tree
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw see text; Spell Resistance yes
You rapidly age a tree, causing it to go through its entire lifecycle in an instant, releasing all the energy of its life and its death in an instant. The target immediately ages and dies, going through its lifecycle in the space of a few seconds. If the target was not a massive tree, then before it dies it grows to become one, harmlessly pushing any creatures or objects that share the tree’s space into an unoccupied adjacent square. Regardless of whether or not the target was originally a massive tree, it then crumbles to dust, causing any creatures or objects in or on the tree to fall to the ground. Finally, a 20-ft.-radius burst of life energy erupts from the spot where the tree was, inflicting 10d6 points of damage to each creature in the affected area (if the target was originally not a massive tree, this damage is increased to 15d6, as the tree contained more vital life essence). A successful Reflex save halves this damage. Normal trees do not gain a saving throw to resist this spell, though certain special or magical trees may be entitled to a Fortitude saving throw at GM’s discretion, or may simply be immune to the spell. The GM should determine if the tree is entitled a saving throw, and what modifier the tree should use on such a saving throw. This spell cannot be used to target plant creatures, even those that resemble trees, such as treants. For more information on the difference between typical trees and massive trees, see the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook.
VERDANT AWAKENING
School conjuration (creation); Level druid 9
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect one massive tree/level
Duration 1 round/level; see text.
Saving Throw Reflex negates, see text; Spell Resistance no
You become filled with the wild and untamed power of life, granting you the ability to create trees from nothingness and cause them to spring to life. Immediately upon casting this spell, and once each round thereafter, as a standard action, you can cause a single massive tree to spring into existence in a spot you designate within the spell’s area. A tree which springs into life this way causes significant damage to creatures and objects within its square, dealing 5d8 points of bludgeoning damage and pushing Medium or smaller creatures and objects 15 feet in a random direction. A successful Reflex save negates this effect and causes the character to either move to an adjacent square or to the top of the tree (their choice). Trees created by this spell remain indefinitely. For more information on massive trees, see the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook.