Cooperative Casting
In general, most parties tend to focus heavily on cooperation and coordination to get things done. After all, adventurers travel in parties because a team might succeed where an individual might fail. This largely works because parties each contain members who have unique strengths and talents that give them options to succeed and support one another in virtually any situation. However, occasionally some groups end up with a lot of overlapping skill sets; I’ve seen groups of all fighters, or all mages, for example, and in these cases the need for teamwork tends to be far greater. This article is for those groups who could use some extra powerful magic to reward their team spirit. Don’t have a group with 4 wizards? Not to fret; these spells come in a wide variety of spell lists.
BOLT OF VENGEANCE
School evocation [electricity]; Level antipaladin 4, druid 3, magus 5, shaman 4, sorcerer/wizard 4, witch 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a drop of blood from a friend)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless), Reflex partial, see text; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
You call upon the primal spirits of vengeance in order to strike down those who would threaten your allies and invite them to join you in this mutually defensive practice. Whenever the target suffers damage from a melee attack, the attacking creature is struck by a powerful bolt that deals 1d6 points of electricity damage per 3 caster levels (maximum 6d6). A successful Reflex save negates this damage.
If the target of this spell is targeted by a second bolt of vengeance spell within 1 round of the original casting, the spells’ powers combine for greater effect, causing creatures that strike the target with a melee attack to instead suffer 1d6 points of electricity damage per 2 caster levels, with a Reflex save to negate the damage. If the bolt of vengeance is cast a third time on the target within 1 round of the spell’s original casting, it instead deals 1d6 points of electricity damage per 2 caster levels, with a Reflex save for half damage. If the spell is cast a fourth time on the same target within 1 round of the original casting, it instead deals 1d6 points of electricity damage per caster level, with a Reflex save for half damage.
In each case, when this spell is cast again, the new effect replaces any existing effect from spells called bolt of vengeance cast on the target. The bolt uses the highest caster level and saving throw DC among all creatures who targeted the target with bolt of vengeance within 1 round of the first casting. Similarly, if any caster applied a metamagic feat to the spell, the applied metamagic feat continues to have whatever effect it would normally have, regardless of how many times the spell is cast on the same target, applying to the most recent effect.
CALL THE SPIRIT BEAR
School conjuration (summoning); Level cleric 6, druid 5, shaman 6, sorcerer/wizard 6, spiritualist 6, summoner 5, witch 7
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, M (a tooth from a grizzly bear)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect one summoned creature
Duration 1d4 rounds + 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You call forth the mighty spirit of the bear with a ritual chant to serve those that treat with the mighty otherworldly creature. When you finish casting this spell, the point you designate within range begins to gather spiritual energy for 1d4 rounds. At the conclusion of this period, a single celestial or fiendish dire bear appears at the spot you designated, and obeys your spoken commands without question. The bear is spiritual in nature and understands all forms of speech and performs tasks to the best of its ability. While this energy is gathering, whenever you or another creature casts call the spirit bear, a second bear is summoned, and additionally, all bears summoned by call the spirit bear gain the advanced simple template. Multiple instances of the advanced template granted in this way stack.
SHARE LIFE-FORCE
School abjuration; Level bard 3, bloodrager 2, cleric 3, inquisitor 3, magus 4, paladin 4, psychic 4, ranger 4, shaman 3, spiritualist 3, summon 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF, F (a smoking pipe carved from bone)
Range touch
Target one willing creature touched
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
You bind your life-force to the target and invite your allies to do the same. Whenever you or the target would suffer damage, that damage is instead divided equally between the two of you, so that you each suffer half the damage that would have been dealt, with any remainder being suffered by the creature that would originally have suffered the damage.
If another creature casts share life-force on a creature already under its effects from a previous casting, that second caster joins in the existing bond created by the earlier casting. Whenever one of the creatures under the effects of the spell would suffer damage, that damage is instead divided equally between all the creatures under the effects of the spell. If there would be a remainder of damage left over because the damage cannot be split evenly, the extra damage is dealt to the creature against whom the damage was originally dealt. (For example, if John targets Samantha with share life-force, then John is struck with an attack that deals 24 damage, John and Samantha each suffer 12 damage. If Grace then also targets Samantha with share life-force, Grace joins in the bond forged between John and Samantha. The next round, when Samantha is struck with an attack that deals 28 damage, that damage is divided so that John and Grace each suffer 9 damage, and Samantha suffers 10 damage.)
The duration of this spell is not increased by further castings, and the effects end for all bonded individuals when the duration ends for the first caster. Forms of harm that do not involve hit points, such as charm effects, temporary ability damage, level draining, and death effects, are not affected. If the subject suffers a reduction of hit points from a lowered Constitution score, the reduction is not split with you because it is not hit point damage. If a single source of damage would inflict damage to more than one affected creature simultaneously (such as if two creatures affected by this spell were both in the area of a fireball), the damage overwhelms the link created by the spell, and that particular instance of damage is not divided.
Additionally, whenever a creature casts this spell to join in this bond, each creature within the bond (including the caster) gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the most recent caster’s caster level.