Stage Spells
People have been telling stories more or less since the dawn of mankind. While we here at Necromancers of the Northwest naturally tend to focus on the sorts of stories that get told via roleplaying games, today we’re taking a look at a different medium of storytelling: the theater. The following spells (all available to bards, in addition to some other classes) allow the caster to bend reality to the conformities of plays, forcing villains to spring into monologue, casting off disguises and causing onlookers to fall into stunned silence, and providing flashbacks into the lives of others.
DRAMATIC REVEAL
School divination; Level bard 3, cleric 4, inquisitor 3, mesmerist 3, sorcerer/wizard 4, witch 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one disguised creature
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will negates and Will partial; see text; Spell Resistance yes; see text
You instantly strip the target of any disguises, magical or mundane, doing so in a shocking and dramatic fashion. If the target is disguised in some fashion, it must succeed on a Will save or have its disguise stripped away. In the case of illusions and similar magical disguises, on a failed save the effect is dispelled, as though with dispel magic. In the case of mundane disguises, on a failed save the disguise is removed, revealing the target (this does not strip the target of their armor or other combat gear). In the case of other magical disguises (such as polymorph effects), on a failed save the target’s true form is made visible as a hazy translucent double superimposed on his polymorphed shape.
If the target fails his initial Will save, each creature within 30 feet that was not aware of the disguise must succeed on a Will save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds by the shock of the revelation. If the spell’s target chose to fail its Will save deliberately, the DC of these secondary saving throws is increased by +1.
EXPLANATORY MONOLOGUE
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 4, cleric 5, inquisitor 4, mesmerist 4, psychic 5, sorcerer/wizard 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
You fill the target with an overwhelming desire to spill her inner thoughts, waxing eloquent about her motivations and intentions. If the target fails her saving throw, she begins ranting about the topic he is most motivated by, heedless of whether the contents of her monologue may have consequences. The target is effectively fascinated by you, but instead of simply watching you, proceeds to pour out her inner thoughts and feelings to you. Anything that frees a creature from being fascinated (such as hostile action) also frees the target from this compulsion.
A creature affected by this ability generally speaks at a rate of roughly 30 words per round. The creature cannot deliberately stall or avoid particular topics, but depending on the nature of the character’s monologue, it is possible that others may be able to interfere with the spell’s effects before certain information is revealed.
ILLUMINATING FLASHBACK
School divination; Level bard 5, cleric 6, inquisitor 5, mesmerist 5, occultist 5, psychic 5, shaman 6, sorcerer/wizard 6, witch 6
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
You peer into the psyche of the touched creature, instantly drawing a vision from their mind of an experience in that creature’s past that relates to your current situation. You experience the vision instantaneously, seeming to live through the events in the role of the target. The vision is based on the target’s recollections of events, and so may be presented differently than it actually occurred, although it is always faithful to the target’s memories of the event, and the target cannot deliberately manipulate or alter the contents of the vision.
The vision you see always relates in some fashion to your current situation and/or relationship with the target, and is always an important moment in the target’s past. The event may be a childhood trauma that led the target to a path of villainy, or it may be their encounter with an artifact you are seeking, or the event that caused them to swear eternal vengeance against you, etc. While it is possible for the vision to feature events you were present for or took part in, this occurs only if viewing those events from the target’s perspective would provide you with new information.
The target is aware of the vision you experienced, and relives those events in the same fashion that you do.