Chapter #683

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                                     +
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                               +           +
                             +               +
                           +                   +
                         +                       +
                       +      THE ADVENTURERS      +
                         +                       +
                           +      Epic IV      +
                             +               +
                               +           +
                                 +       +
                                   +   +
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+     Many of the locations, non-player characters, spells, and other     +
+   terms used in these stories are the property of TSR, Inc.  However,   +
+   TSR has in no way endorsed or authorized their use, and any such      +
+   items contained within these stories are not representative of TSR    +
+   in any fashion.                                                       +
+     The player characters depicted in these stories are copyright       +
+   1991-2000 by Thomas A. Miller.  Any resemblance to any persons        +
+   or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental.       +
+   Copying and/or distribution of these stories is permissible under     +
+   the sole condition that no money is made in the process.  In that     +
+   case, I hope you enjoy them!                                          +
+                                                                         +
+                                                      Thomas A. Miller   +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+   Deryck          11th level half-elven ranger                          +
+   Nenya            9th/10th level female elven fighter/wizard           +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+   Date:           2/16/579 C.Y. (Common Year)                           +
+   Time:           midday                                                +
+   Place:          the Gedlands, southwest of Greyhawk                   +
+   Climate:        cold                                                  +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+   "Imagination is more important than knowledge."                       +
+                                                    - Albert Einstein    +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++





                 DCLXXXIII.  Creative Use of Free Time





  While the group they hired is busy in the dungeons near Hommlet, Nenya
and Deryck are themselves keeping occupied...

Deryck:  (strolling along the castle wall, he spots Nenya, right where he
  figured she'd be)
Nenya:  (waves)

  Deryck stayed where he was, the better to watch the show.  Nenya was in
the small rear courtyard of the castle, a place that was hers exclusively
for purposes of spell-testing.  If the new magic in question was highly
destructive, she always went elsewhere, far from those who might be harmed
if something went wrong.  However, today she was here, which told Deryck
that she was fine-tuning something more subtle than a fireball variant.

Nenya:  (concentrating as she utters arcane syllables and makes motions
  with her hands)

  About fifty feet from the elf, a wooden target had been set up, braced
by stout wooden beams.  As Deryck watched, Nenya conjured into being a
barrage of perhaps a dozen arrows, spaced so that they spanned an area
three feet across.  The missiles flew almost as one, all sinking several
inches into the target.  Had that target been a person, he or she would
have suffered numerous and deadly wounds from the attack.

Nenya:  (smirks)

  Her next spell was entirely different, and also one whose effects only
she could see.  It caused glowing footprints to appear on the ground of
the courtyard - Nenya's footprints, since she was the only one who'd been
walking around in the area recently.  With such a spell, a wizard could
track down someone who had recently passed by, perhaps following a thief
from the scene of the crime along the path used to flee.

Nenya:  (nods, then waves to Deryck to come down)
Deryck:  (waves back, then heads for a ladder)

  Shortly...

Nenya:  And for my next trick...(she points at a bucket of water)
Deryck:  (expecting some water-snake, or something of the like, to pop up)

  Instead, nothing happened...or did it?  The bucket creaked, ever so
slightly.

Deryck:  What did you do?
Nenya:  Let's go look.

  Within the bucket was a solid mass of ice!

Deryck:  A spell of freezing?
Nenya:  Yes.  Not for foes, or even large areas - just a minor spell, for
  minor tasks.
Deryck:  And you came up with this yourself?
Nenya:  (nods)  It's reversible too...care to see?
Deryck:  No, that's okay.
Nenya:  The other ones I have aren't quite so spectacular, I'm afraid.
Deryck:  What do they do?
Nenya:  One's a spell called "Finding" - just like the name implies, it
  locates people, even at great distances.  The other spell, I call
  "Ironfall" for obvious reasons:  it's a sort of reverse to "Feather
  Fall" in that it either cancels that one or else makes a target really
  heavy all of a sudden.
Deryck:  That could come in handy.
Nenya:  That's what I figured.
Deryck:  So five...damn, but that's a lot of new spells.
Nenya:  What did you _think_ I was doing all this time, twiddling my
  thumbs?
Deryck:  (grinning)  No, I know better.
Nenya:  Well, you're just in time to help me get ready.
Deryck:  Get ready for what?
Nenya:  I have some cleaning-up to do at the museum tonight...all kinds of
  maintenance.  Little odd jobs, that sort of thing.
Deryck:  Oh, boy.
Nenya:  Eh?
Deryck:  I don't know if I feel like doing that tonight.
Nenya:  Oh, come on.  It promises to be great fun!
Deryck:  (realizes that she's dead serious)  Uh...no, really, I can't.  I
  promised Lindsellicus I'd talk to him about the new armory we're going
  to build.
Nenya:  Oh.  Well, I'll go it alone then.
Deryck:  You sure?
Nenya:  Of course.  It's just a musty old museum.  What could possibly
  happen there at night?





next:      the answer to the question Nenya just asked
ftp:       ftp.peldor.com
www:       http://www.peldor.com/download.html
homepage:  http://www.peldor.com/
email:     tmiller@peldor.com
released:  10/16/00
notes:     Five (six if you count reverse versions) new spells for you:

    Barrage (2nd level)
    Finding (5th level)
    Footprints (2nd level)
    Freeze/Melt (1st level)
    Ironfall (2nd level)

----

Barrage
  2nd level
  (Conjuration/Summoning)
Range:             10 yards
Components:        V,S,M
Duration:          instantaneous
Casting Time:      3
Area of Effect:    see below
Saving Throw:      none

  This spell generates one nonmagical arrow per caster level, the
grouped missiles flying in a close formation from caster to target.
The chance to hit is rolled separately for each arrow, with a THACO
equal to that of a warrior of equal level, with no bonuses of any
kind.

----

Footprints
  2nd level
  (Divination)
Range:             10 yards
Components:        V,S
Duration:          1 round/level
Casting Time:      4
Area of Effect:    20 yard radius
Saving Throw:      n/a

  By means of this spell, the caster conjures glowing footprints that
match the actual steps of the creature most recently present at the
caster's location.  If the caster is the only one this applies to,
then he will of course see his own footprints.

----

Freeze
  1st level
  (Alteration)
  (reversible)
Range:             50'
Components:        V,S
Duration:          until affected liquid melts naturally
Casting Time:      2
Area of Effect:    up to 1 cubic foot per level
Saving Throw:      n/a

  This spell freezes a given amount of liquid.  It does not affect
magical liquids or liquids that are living (e.g. water elementals,
water weirds) or part of living beings (e.g. water or blood within
a person.)  This spell has no effect if no liquids are present to
freeze.

----

Finding
  5th level
  (Divination)
Range:             see below
Components:        V,S,M
Duration:          instantaneous
Casting Time:      1 turn
Area of Effect:    see below
Saving Throw:      see below

  The purpose of this spell is to locate a single lost or faraway
being.  The results depend upon how familiar the caster is with the
subject:

  familiarity                 chance of success    result
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  name only is known          20%                  distance & direction
  face only is known          40%                    "
  name and face are known     60%                    "
  caster has met subject      80%                  above 2, plus how long
                                                     target has been there
  caster knows subject well   99%                  above 3, plus status of
                                                     target (alive/dead)

  This spell will not find beings that are inside extradimensional
spaces (e.g. portable holes, bags of holding) nor will it extend
into other planes of existence.  It will, however, locate beings
that are dead, as long as some physical evidence remains.

----

Ironfall
  2nd level
  (Alteration)
Range:             10 yards/level
Components:        V
Duration:          1 round/level
Casting Time:      2
Area of Effect:    Special
Saving Throw:      see below

  This spell will have one of two effects:  if someone or something
has a Feather Fall in effect within this spell's radius, it will
simply be negated, without a saving throw allowed.  The target then
falls at a normal rate of speed, and takes the appropriate damage.
  Otherwise, target(s) must save vs spells or have its (their) mass
increased to that of iron.  The rate at which such a target falls is
still the same, but the force of impact (and damage taken), is doubled.
Objects only get saving throws if they are magical in nature.
  Just like the Feather Fall spell, this spell can be cast upon the
wizard or some other creature or object, up to the maximum range of
the spell.  It can affect one or more creatures/objects in a 10-foot
cube, as long as the combined weight of effected creatures does not
exceed 200 pounds plus 200 pounds per level of the caster.
  Ironfall only affects free-falling, flying, or propelled objects
(such as missiles.)  It will not effect things like sword blows or
charging creatures.

----

  Thanks to Wyrenth for the Ironfall spell.  The rest are of my own
creation, though perhaps not novel or original...
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