Nature Magic
Mighty Spell
1,190 XP
MP Cost: 12 MP per round
Components: V, S, M
Casting time: 30 minutes
Range: Evil Eye or Magical Link
Duration: Concentration
Saving Throw: Fort halves
Prerequisite: Magic Attack Bonus +5, creeping doom
Magic Attack Roll: Sets DC for target’s saving throw
This spell summons a huge number of writhing worms and maggots, causing them to virtually erupt out of the ground and devour your victim. The long casting time of the spell represents the time it takes to assemble the worms beneath your victim. If the victim moves more than a total of 50 ft. during the casting time, the spell fails automatically, as the worms are simply not able to keep up. For this reason the spell is commonly used to assassinate sleeping or otherwise immobile creatures. The worms summoned are essentially non-sentient, and can only really be given one order – ‘devour that creature.’
As the worms simply swarm out of the ground and attack at once, the victim will be surprised unless he makes a Listen check (DC 25) to hear the faint burrowing and movement beneath the earth. The worms completely cover the target creature as their first action, beginning to eat it alive. The victim is unable to cast any spells once the worms attack, unless he has any spells that require a verbal component only – even then he must make a Concentration check to cast them as usual. Regardless of the victim’s Damage Reduction, he sustains a number of points of damage equal to the caster’s magic attack roll at the end of each round the worms attack, due to their bites. This damage can be halved with a successful Fortitude save, made each round and opposed to the caster’s magic attack roll.
Heavy smoke drives off worms within its bounds. Fire also drives the worms away. A single torch is ineffective against this vast horde of worms, although immersing the victim in a bonfire would work (at the cost of some flame damage to the victim). Lightning, cold, winds and ice are ineffective, as are melee or thrown weapon attacks.
Example: Issana casts Baal-Kardah’s Revenge on Curden, using his previously prepared magic link. In the first round, Issana pays 12 EP. She rolls her magic attack roll, getting a 21. Curden must make a Fortitude save (opposed to Issana’s roll of 21) or suffer 21 points of damage. He rolls a 16, and suffers the full 21 damage, reducing him from his usual 44 hp to 23. The following round, Issana keeps up the assault, paying another 12 EP and this time rolling a 27 on her magic attack roll. Curden gets a 25 on his Fortitude save, good but not good enough, and he takes a further 27 damage, reducing him to −4 hit points. Issana likes to make sure, and she pays another 12 EP to finish Curden off the following round, this time only getting a 13 – still enough to kill him whether or not he makes his saving throw.
