Scafra's Wand of Glamour:
by Carl QuaifDespite its name, this item is a 6'-long, intricately-carved staff made of a yellowish wood unknown on Mystara. It originated on an alternate Prime Plane, on the world of Gaelsfar. In this realm, spellcasters draw their magic from life-force - their own, or that of another - and are limited in the types of magic any one Mage can use. The Wands are created to allow the maker to broaden their focus. This particular Wand belonged to the now-deceased Fire-Sorceress Scafra, a long-time friend of the Plane-hopping Mystaran Mage Delivane Crookback. On her death, she bequeathed her Wand to Delivane, who brought it back to Mystara and placed it in her Museum.
The Wand of Glamour allows its wielder to cast the spells Fool's Copper, Cloak of Confusion, Feroman's Challenge, Reconstruction and Moonbeam Edifice (see below). The Wand has no charges; it draws its power (on Mystara, at least) from spells cast into it by its wielder (for instance, casting a 2nd-level Continual Light into the Wand - giving it a 2nd-level "charge" - allows the wielder to cast a Fool's Copper or Cloak of Confusion spell from the Wand). A single spell cast into the Wand allows a single spell to be cast from it - the charge must be of equal or greater level to the effect required, and excess levels are lost. The caster can't use two or more low-level spells to power a high-level effect so, depending on the wielder's level, some functions of the Wand may be inaccessible.
The Wand bonds to the first person to cast a spell from it; thereafter, no-one else can use it until she dies. The Wand is currently unbonded, as Delivane has never used it.
(Given time and materials, the wielder of the Wand may be able to transcribe the spells it provides into a spellbook or onto a scroll. Since the spells come from a different Prime Plane, with alien magic, roll percentile dice on the first attempt to do so; a roll of 1-65% indicates a success, 66-100% a failure - the spells do not work, or have random effects. For each attempt after the first, raise the success level by 10%, to a maximum of 95%; do this for each spell individually. Once transcribed successfully, that version of the spell may be copied as normal.)
Fool's Copper
Level: 1
Range: 20'
Duration: 1d6+6 rounds, or until touched
Effect: creates illusionary treasure
This simple spell forms the illusion of a small mound of treasure.
It is used mostly for distraction purposes, or for leading greedy
targets into traps. The spell may create up to 10gp x the caster's
level in coins or gems; copper pieces are most commonly created,
since they make the largest possible pile of treasure (hence the
name "Fool's Copper"). The spell is stationary if cast on the
floor, or some other immobile surface; if it is cast within a
chest, or on a tray, the illusionary treasure may be carried
around. Once cast, the illusion remains until touched, dispelled,
or the duration expires; the caster need not concentrate to
maintain it.
Cloak of Confusion
Level: 2
Range: touch
Duration: 3 Turns
Effect: creates illusionary appearance
This spell cases the recipient's appearance to change, according to
the perceptions of the person viewing them. The viewer will either
see the recipient as someone they expect to see (a fellow guard, a
cleaner, etc) or as a nondescript bystander - the caster chooses
which. Since the illusion is mental in nature, the appearance of
the recipient will vary from viewer to viewer. The spell may be
disbelieved on a case-by-case basis; should the recipient attack an
individual, that person - and all those watching the attack - will
see through the illusion to the reality beneath.
The spell will not function on unintelligent or mindless creatures (Slimes, Gelatinous Cubes, Golems etc).
Reconstruction
Level: 4
Range: touch
Duration: 1 Turn
Effect: reconstructs dead being's image
This spell requires the presence of a dead body, or at least a
piece of one. The caster touches the remains, and concentrates; the
spell then creates an illusion of the person or creature as they
were in life, covering the remains completely. The spell is very
useful when used for identification of dismembered or otherwise
damaged corpses; if he desires, the caster may cause the
Reconstruction to resemble the original at the moment of death, in
order to determine the probable cause. The spell is also useful in
archaeological exploration, for identifying fossil remains and
newly-discovered species.
When the spell is cast, the DM should secretly roll 1d20; on a roll of 18-20, the spell misfires, and the Reconstruction is incorrect - either in small details (size of nose, colour of eyes/hair, etc) or in major ones (wrong age/sex/race, or completely incorrect appearance). A 17 intelligence lessens the chance of failure to a roll of 19-20, and an 18 intelligence to a roll of 20. The caster will always believe he has Reconstructed the target correctly.
The spell lasts for no more than 1 Turn, and requires continual concentration by the caster; it is advisable to have someone with artistic skill on hand, to sketch the illusionary appearance for future reference.
Feroman's Challenge
Level: 5
Range: 50'
Duration: see below
Effect: creates illusionary foe
Created by the Master Illusionist Feroman, who provided all of the
spells for Scafra's Wand of Glamour, This spell creates an
hallucinatory monster in the mind of one individual. The creature's
form and attacks vary according to the desires of the caster and
the nightmares of the victim; however, it may have no more hit dice
than the caster has levels. The monster may be something the target
has seen, a creature of the imagination, or anything
in-between.
The victim is allowed a Saving Throw vs. Spells to disbelieve the illusion when the monster first appears; a penalty of between -1 to -4 may apply, depending on how deeply in the victim's nightmares the creature is drawn from. A successful save allows the victim to ignore the beast; a failure means he believes in it completely, and no amount of dissuading by his friends will make him believe otherwise. If the victim believes in the monster, then any and all wounds he receives become real; should he be slain by the illusion, he will be dead.
The caster must concentrate during the Challenge, and cannot defend himself if attacked; most casters will conceal themselves nearby before casting this spell. If the monster is slain, it vanishes at the moment of death, and the caster suffers 4d6 damage from the backlash (save for half damage).
If two wizards cast this spell, they may have their creatures battle each other; no saving throw to disbelieve is permitted in this case. On the world of Gaelsfar, Feroman's Challenge is widely known by Illusionists, and is often used as the medium for Wizard's Duels.
Moonbeam Edifice
Level: 7
Range: 50'
Duration: 1 night
Effect: creates quasi-illusionary structure
This spell is primarily used to provide temporary accommodation
when travelling. It must be cast at night, when there is a visible
moon in the sky. The caster may use it to create a fantastic
structure of his desire, such as a fairy castle, a forbidding
fortress, a gingerbread cottage, an upside-down mountain, etc. No
matter its height or apparent dimensions, the structure covers a
maximum ground area of 10' x 10' per caster's level. The entire
structure looks and feels real, and in fact does have solid form
for its duration, although it does not necessarily follow the
natural laws of the universe - for instance, besieging forces could
attempt to batter down an apparently-flimsy door all night, and not
even make a dent. Although it may have as many storeys as desired,
those using the Moonbeam Edifice as a place of rest are advised to
sleep on the ground floor only, as the building vanishes with the
first light of dawn, as do all things created with it.
Apart from its obvious uses, the
moonbeam Edifice is sometimes used as a trap for unwary travellers
- welcomed to stay the night, led to sleep in upper-storey
bedrooms, and suffering falling damage when the dawn comes, for
instance - or to block a pass just long enough to give the fleeing
mage a chance to get away (rather like a Wall of Stone spell).