Transportation Spells
It’s Transportation Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, a week devoted to getting your characters around in a deadly and dangerous world. When it comes to transportation, you really can’t beat teleport and greater teleport. You are instantly transported from point A to point B, skipping over all the dangers and hazards that lay between and arriving, often with surprise, right at your enemy’s door, ready to get to the hard business of heroing. There are limitations, of course, to even these great spells; they are high in level, and while you can most likely take the whole party in a single teleport spell, it is unlikely you can take many people beyond that group. Of course, there are several options for lower level variants, with mount being a good example of a functional, if boring, travel spell. Today’s offerings are mostly aimed at the latter flaw in teleportation magic: making travel over vast distances for large numbers of people both simple and exciting, so buckle up for a truly magical journey.
FANTASTIC EVACUATION
School conjuration [creation]; Level cleric 7, magus 6, occultist 6, psychic 7, sorcerer/wizard 7, spiritualist 6, summoner 6
Casting Time 10 minutes
Components V, S, M (sapphire dust worth 1,000 gp), F (a silver compass or astrolabe worth 500 gp)
Range 0 ft.
Effect a flat plane of floating stone with a 1-mile radius
Duration 1 day/level (D)
Saving Throw Reflex partial, see text; Spell Resistance no
You cause a great plane of magically created stone to spring into existence, floating above the ground at the point you designate. The stone plane created in this way is 2 miles in diameter, and can support virtually any weight. Characters within the spell’s area at the time of casting may choose to be on top of the stone plane, being carried up by magical currents as it is created. Unwilling creatures remain on the ground. The stone plane appears in the nearest unoccupied space directly above where you cast the spell and does no damage to buildings or creatures when it appears.
You can direct the stone platform to move as though it had a fly speed of 200 feet. It requires focus and concentration to move the stone structure, equivalent to a single move action. You can attempt to ram a creature or object with the stone platform by moving it into them. This consumes a standard action, in addition to the move action required to move the platform. The target may attempt a Reflex save to negate damage from the platform; a character that succeeds on this saving throw may be placed on top of the platform or just below it. A character that fails this saving throw suffers 4d6 points of bludgeoning damage and is automatically pushed (as though bull rushed) to the edge of the platform’s movement. Movement occurring in this way does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Buildings and other stationary targets are not moved in this fashion but suffer an additional 2d6 points of damage per caster level; if this is sufficient to destroy the building, it collapses (falling debris deals 4d6 points of damage with a DC 20 Reflex save for half damage to characters inside the building), and the platform continues moving. If the damage is insufficient to destroy the structure, the platform immediately stops moving.
The platform remains in place for 1 day per level or until dismissed. When the platform ceases to exist, it dissolves slowly and harmlessly carries any characters upon the stone platform to the ground.
FEATHERED FLIGHT
School transmutation [polymorph]; Level druid 4, shaman 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a feather from an eagle)
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Target one willing creature/level, no 2 of which may be more than 30 ft. apart.
Duration 1 hour/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
You transform a number of willing creatures into eagles capable of supernaturally fast flight. The targets are all transformed into eagles as with the spell beast shape I, with the following exceptions. The targets gain a fly speed of 100 feet with good maneuverability while under the effects of the spell, and need not make any Constitution checks in order to avoid nonlethal damage or fatigue from making a forced march while so transformed. Additionally, at any time a character affected by this spell can choose to end the effects on himself, without ending the effects on the other targets.
FEATHERED FLIGHT, GREATER
School transmutation [polymorph]; Level druid 9, shaman 9
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a feather from a giant eagle)
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Target one willing creature/level, no 2 of which may be more than 30 ft. apart.
Duration 1 hour/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
This spell functions like the spell feathered flight, except that the targets are transformed into giant eagles as with the spell beast shape IV, and the fly speed the targets gain is increased to 200 feet with perfect maneuverability.
SHIP OF GHOSTS
School conjuration [creation]; Level sorcerer/wizard 8, spiritualist 6, witch 8
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a mixture of bone meal and silver dust worth 100 gp or 1,000 gp, see text)
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Effect one ghostly caravel
Duration see text
Saving Throw Reflex partial, see text; Spell Resistance no
You call into being a terrible skeletal ship with black sails, cannons, and rattling black iron chains that roam about the decks. The conjured ship is equivalent to a sailing ship, and despite its rotting and skeletal appearance, is perfectly seaworthy. While the boat must be created in an area of water large enough to support the sailing ship, the ship is capable of both sailing and overland flight. Once created, the ship lasts for 1 hour/level if you spent 100 gp on the casting, or 1 day/level if you spent 1000 gp on the material components. You can direct the ship to move telepathically, or it can be operated by ordinary sailing methods. When you direct the ship telepathically, it requires a standard action to set the course and the ship automatically follows that course until you use another standard action to redirect it, or it is otherwise manually redirected. The ship moves at a speed of up to 500 feet on water, or at a fly speed of 100 feet with perfect maneuverability.
The ship can carry passengers and cargo as appropriate for a sailing ship. The ship also has cannons which fire automatically to protect you and your crew from dangers, and animated chains that whip and whirl about the decks to protect you from boarding actions. Each round at the start of your turn, if there is a hostile creature within 1,000 feet of your ship, the cannons fire, making an attack roll using your caster level and your primary spellcasting ability score modifier to determine the attack bonus. If the cannons hit, they deal 5d6 points of damage, which is half bludgeoning damage and half fire damage. These cannons do not set fire to ships. The cannons do not attack characters on board the ship. Hostile characters on board the ship are struck by flying chains that deal 2d8 points of slashing damage each round, with a successful Reflex saving throw to negate damage.