Level 0
It’s Character Creation Week this week, and, as is sometimes the case on theme weeks, that means that I’m scrambling to find a way to make a collection of 3-5 random spells fit an abstract, non-spell-friendly theme. It occurred to me to perhaps try some spells that allow you to make characters (such as a few simulacrum and clone variants), but anyone who has any Advanced Arcana books knows that we already do a lot of that. So, what else could I do for a spell that relates to character creation?
The answer is cantrips. 0-level spells may not be quite as splashy as 9th-level ones, but they do have some advantages all their own, such as the fact that 1st-level characters will be entitled to several of them at character creation, making them an obvious choice for today’s article. Enjoy.
ARTIST’S APPRAISAL
School divination; Level bard 0, cleric/oracle 0, inquisitor 0, sorcerer/wizard 0, witch 0
Casting Time 1 minute
Components V, S, F (a jeweler’s loupe worth at least 10 gp)
Range touch
Target art object touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
With a touch, you learn the history and value of a work of art. This spell can be used on any object worth at least 50 gp, which has no use other than as an art object (this includes expensive clothing items, jewelry, ornate knick-knacks, paintings, sculptures, statuettes, and other objects). You immediately learn the object’s value, as though you had succeeded on a DC 20 Appraise check to identify its value. Additionally, you learn everything that can be learned about the art object or the artist that created it with a result of 10 on the appropriate Knowledge check (typically Knowledge [history], Knowledge [local], or Knowledge [nobility]). This spell cannot reveal whether or not the object has magical properties, and such properties are not reflected in the value provided, or in the information granted by the spell. If the object has a value of more than 2,000 gp or less than 50 gp, the spell simply fails.
PROTECTION FROM ALCOHOL
School transmutation; Level alchemist 1, bard 0, cleric/oracle 0, druid 0, inquisitor 0, magus 0, paladin 1, sorcerer/wizard 0, summoner 0, witch 0
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (two copper pieces)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 hour (D)
You are unaffected by any alcohol you consume for the next hour, protecting you from any and all effects, including both benefits and penalties from drinking it. Even after the spell ends, you do not suffer any ill effects from alcohol you consumed during the spell’s duration, but any alcohol you drink afterwards affects you normally. This spell has no effect on any other drugs or poisons you might consume.
PROTECTION FROM RAIN AND SNOW
School abjuration; Level bard 0, cleric/oracle 0, druid 0, inquisitor 0, magus 0, sorcerer/wizard 0, summoner 0, witch 0
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 10 min./level
You create an invisible magic bubble around yourself that protects you from the effects of falling snow and rain. In addition to keeping you dry, this reduces the penalty on Perception checks imposed by rain to -2, and protects any open flames that you have in your possession from the chance of being extinguished by the rain (if the wind speed is strong enough to have a risk of extinguishing the flames, that risk still applies separately). This spell has no effect on the penalty that rain imposes on ranged attacks, and has no effect on rain that is falling in winds of 21 mph or faster (strong or faster winds). This spell has no effect on rain, snow, or similar weather conditions caused by spells such as sleet storm.
SMOKE BURST
School evocation; Level bard 0, druid 0, inquisitor 0, magus 0, sorcerer/wizard 0, summoner 0, witch 0
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range 0 ft.
Effect a 5-ft. cube of smoke
Duration 2 rounds
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You create a cloud of thick black smoke, which fills your square, granting you concealment (20% miss chance) against all creatures that are not in your square, and granting them concealment against you. The concealment granted by this cloud is enough to allow you to make a Stealth check, although if you do not end your turn in cover or concealment, your stealth will immediately end, as normal for Stealth.