Materan Spells
by Sharon DornhoffNow that I've told you all about spells that don't work -- or at least, don't work the way Mystarans expect them to -- in the Hollow Moon, you're probably expecting a discussion of which spells Materans haven't yet discovered. That's what the HW boxed set did, to depict how spellcasters in the day lit museum-setting are a bit "behind the times", much as their cultures' technologies aren't as advanced as those of outer-world Mystarans. So, where's the list of "Unknown Spells", for Matera...?
Surprise! Unlike the Hollow World's, HM magic isn't any less sophisticated than that of the modern Known World: it's just evolved along different lines. Several of the oldest civilisations of the Hollow Moon -- e.g. the pteryx, the hsiao, Old Aran -- were founded by races among whom spellcasters are the norm, not the exception. There weren't any magocracies in the HW setting prior to Alphatia, but there's at least three of them on Matera (Aran, Thebit and Maskelyne); and the HM Spell of Remembrance -- far from purging their magical knowledge -- has actually helped to ensure this accumulated spellcraft survives from generation to generation. On a more contemporary note, while virtually no one (except a few pirates and Kubbitts) had been transported to the Hollow World, as of the boxed set's publication, since the fall of the Milenian Empire, the Hollow Moon's received "new blood" -- in the form of Toroldorskis, Cacklogallinians, Graakhalians and Ostegos, some of whom brought magical skills or scrolls with them -- as recently as 80 years ago! Hence, there's been quite a few opportunities for spells "unknown" in the Hollow World to make their way into the moon, and be disseminated there. Apart from Gazetteer spells which are highly nation-specific, such as the rune-magic of the Northern Reaches or shamani spells of the Children of Atruaghin, just about any form of magic that'll function at all, in the HM setting (i.e. that isn't a "Useless Spell"), might be known to a Materan wizard or priest.
That's not to say that they necessarily LOOK the same, however. Many of the existing RC or PHB spells exist in the Hollow Moon, but in a form which Materans have modified to suit their own world's magical restrictions and environment. Rather than try to enumerate the many, many variant-spells that lunar spellcasters have devised, I'll offer a few simple examples, then recommend readers check out the wonderful OD&D article, "The Colour Of Magic" (Dragon #200), in TSRs back-issues webpages. It explains how to alter the cosmetic effects of an existing spell -- and ONLY the cosmetic/superficial effects, such as changing fire damage to cold damage -- while retaining its duration, range, damage dice and so forth, for purposes of game balance. Note that by altering the mechanism of a spell that's banned by the SoR, so that its magic operates by a different principle (e.g. the modified Sleep and Hold spells, below), it's possible to bring a "Useless" spell into the HM setting.
Some examples of Materan "customised" spells:
Stricken (=Sleep) : Rather than putting victims to sleep -- which the SoR disallows -- this unpleasant spell causes incapacitating muscle cramps which force targets to collapse to the ground, groaning and twitching helplessly. It affects the same number of HD of foes as a conventional Sleep spell, with the same limitations as to area, maximum HD, etc. Unlike Sleep, victims of Stricken remain aware of what's happening around them; they just aren't able to physically react to them, until the spell wears off (Stricken victims can't be "slapped awake", as Sleep-victims can). Because he/she stays conscious, a Stricken character may be able to fight back via mentally-controlled means, such as a Ring Of Telekinesis or an already-cast Bigby's Hand.
Ebon Bolt* (=Magic Missile) : This spell works exactly like Magic Missile, except that glowing darts of magical energy are replaced by black, blood-chilling rays.
(* - Kudos to Geoff Gander ... this one's his idea! :-D)
Fools' Diamonds (=Fools' Gold) : As gold isn't known or particularly prized in the HM setting, Materan mages developed their own con-artist spell to make poor-quality gems look flawless and brilliant. The apparent increase in value is 150 gp/level of caster, which can be concentrated in just one gem, or divided among multiple precious stones, as the caster desires. Fools' Diamonds only works on gems of at least 1 gp value; it can't make ordinary pebbles or lumps of coal look like precious jewels. Duration, chance of detection, etc are as per Fools' Gold.
Geyser (=Fireball) : Designed to harm opponents like a Fireball, but without invoking the eerie effects of "moonfire", this spell causes a fountain of boiling-hot mineral water to burst up from the ground (or midair, if cast at flying opponents) and spray out in a 10' radius*. It inflicts scalding damage to opponents, of a severity identical to a Fireball's flame (i.e. 1d6 per caster level, save for 1/2). Thanks to its water component, Geyser also does 1/2 damage to creatures made out of fire (e.g. elementals, but not flesh-based creatures like hellhounds), or 1/4 with a saving throw.
(* - As a close variation on an "elemental effect" spell, Geyser's radius is reduced by 50%. This would be true, even if the spell were altered to have a NON-elemental effect (e.g. if it conjured flying short swords to strike all targets within the radius); adjustments to the original AoE by the Spell of Remembrance, if any, should be applied BEFORE a spell can be "customised" for Materan spellcasters.)
Grasping Earth (=Hold Person) : Useable only against foes which are in contact with the ground, floor, etc (i.e. no flying targets), this spell causes the surface underfoot to sprout magical hands that grab onto targets' feet and legs, holding them in place and clutching at their bodies to prevent them from attacking. Victims who save vs Spells have eluded the Grasping Earth; those who fail cannot move from their present spot, and must pass a Strength check each round (a save vs Paralysis, for monsters) or they'll be pulled off their feet and grappled, which automatically renders them helpless, unable to fight or cast spells. As with Hold Person, the Grasping Earth hands can attempt to immobilise up to four humanoid targets. This spell can also be cast on walls or ceilings, to seize climbing or falling targets; however, if the wall or ceiling is not sturdy enough to support the weight of a falling creature (as when it's cast to catch someone who's tumbled into a dirt-walled pit), the conjured hands will be uprooted and disintegrate into rubble/soil/splinters, from the weight of their burden. Because it's not as instantly-debilitating as a normal Hold Person spell -- until he/she is pulled over, a victim who fails to save may continue to fight and/or spellcast -- Grasping Earth is only 1st level for priests, 2nd level for wizards.
Sense Stability (new priest's spell, 2nd level) : As mentioned in the post on Fire Times, Materans are often imperilled by natural disasters; to give them a fair chance to escape such dangers, the Immortals grant their clerics and shamans in the Hollow Moon this special divination-spell. By walking around the perimeter of a village, a field, or other area of less than 1 square mile, and then casting this spell, a Materan priest can determine when the next life-threatening earthquake, eruption, flood, or catastrophic storm will strike the circumscribed area. The chance of an accurate "reading" is 60%, plus 2% per point of Wisdom and 1% per experience level of the caster; the maximum possible accuracy is 95%. Correct results predict the time of the disaster to within 12 hours, if it's within the current month/lunar "day"; to within a lunar "day"/month, if it's within the current Materan year; or as a number of Materan years, if it's longer than that. Mistaken results always err on the side of caution, predicting that the catastrophe will occur from 20% to 80% (2d4 x 10%) sooner than it actually will.
Lackey (new mage's spell, 1st level) : Developed for the same purpose as other settings' wizards devised Unseen Servant, this basic summoning-spell conjures a single 0-level human or demihuman, or one of the smaller types of humanoid (e.g. a kobold or goblin), from elsewhere in the Hollow Moon, to wait upon the caster for 1 hour + 1 turn/level. A Lackey has no special skills or powers, will perform only straightforward household tasks within the spellcaster's line of sight, and will not fight for the caster. If sent out of the caster's sight or placed in a dangerous situation, a Lackey disappears back to his/her place of origin (this occurs at the end of the spell's duration, in any case), reappearing with only disjointed memories of the experience. There is no guarantee that the Lackey will speak a language which the caster understands, so gestures may be the only way to instruct such a summoned servant. (Nor is there any guarantee that overuse of this spell won't tick off one's neighbours; it IS kidnapping, after all!)
Materan Spellcasters
The Spell of Remembrance, like the SoP, inhibits mortals' ability to learn magic, such that more Intelligence or Wisdom than usual is required to become a spellcaster. However, the effect isn't as severe on Matera; the Immortals had more time to work on the SoRs design when they laid it, and although they couldn't totally do away with the inhibition -- the magics Ka and his associates were working with were just too strong, to curb their "side effects" entirely -- they managed to loosen it somewhat. In the Hollow World, characters need a minimum 16 Int to become mages, wokani, or standard elves, and a minimum 16 Wis to become clerics or shamans. In the Hollow Moon, the minimum Int/Wis to become a spellcaster is 13 ... high enough so that only those who are "above average" can master magic, but low enough so that spellcasters aren't the rarities they are in the HW setting.
Of Matera's indigenous races, the pteryx and hsiao always meet the minimums needed to be spellcasters, although not all of the former take advantage of this opportunity. Three-quarters of the population of vesper elves (HM shadow elves) qualify as "standard" OD&D elves -- fighter/mages, in AD&D games -- with the remainder becoming "warrior-elves", in the manner of the HW boxed set. Among the aranea of Old Aran, 95% of their number are eligible to practice wizard-magic; the few exceptions who just can't manage it often acquire thief-like abilities instead*. Among most other races, the frequency of spellcasters is limited more by the availability of teachers, and the reputability of magic within their society, than by the percentage of the populace which is sufficiently intelligent/wise to practice such a character class.
(* - The Red Steel rules give aranea PCs a minimum Intelligence of 14, once racial adjustments are applied. By that standard, all aranea should meet the minimum requirement for magic use, in the Hollow Moon setting. However, because Herath is such a special case, as a nation in hiding -- and because I LIKE the idea of having a few non-spellcasting misfits, among the lunar spider-folk :-) -- I've taken the liberty of assuming there ARE aranea, who have an Intelligence as low as 12 ... those born in Herath just aren't trusted to keep their identities secret, outside of arachnid society, so aren't ever allowed to become adventurers or to mingle with non-aranea.)
As with the Known World, different cultures in the Hollow Moon practice unique traditions of magic, such that each Materan culture and/or race makes use of spells that serve own interests and needs. In some cases, these spells were developed in the HM setting; others date back to the cultures' long-ago origins on Mystara. I'm not going to go into listing spells for lunar cultures, at this stage -- not least, because I'm sure I'll come up with more ideas for them, as I work on the individual societies -- but I'll just present a few guidelines as to what kinds of magic the major spellcasting races (ones you might choose to make available as PCs) are best known for. Note that, even for those running OD&D campaigns, it'd be a good idea to allow Materan mages access to the AD&D spells I present as examples of a culture's magic; there aren't any OD&D equivalents to these spells, and they're central to the magical "styles" adopted by races such as the aranea, or to the practice of Materan crystallomancy.
Vesper Elves -- These offshoots of the shadow elves and Schattenalfen practice the same brand of magic as their Mystaran brethren, but they had given up their subterranean lifestyle for some decades, even before being transported to Matera. Their standard spell-list includes all the (non-shaman) shadow elf spells from Gaz13, except those which deal with molten lava. Spell affecting "Underground Animal" targets are modified to affect nocturnal animals, regardless of habitat. There's also a 2nd level vesper elf spell called "Day Eyes", which provides 12 hours of light-tolerant vision to its recipient; it is reversible.
Cacklogallinians -- A mercantile race of bird-like, flightless shysters and "con artists", these skittish creatures are the founders and champion bargainers of the eastern trade-cities. They've independently developed their own versions of many Darokinian merchant-spells (those dealing with bargaining and finances -- Count Coins, Evaluate, Trust, Crowd Summoning, Saviour Faire, Silver Tongue*, Detect Lie, Inventory, Smuggling, Accounting, Embezzle -- rather than actual caravan handling), for use in their incessant business dealings. Unlike the Gaz11 versions, many of the Cacklogallinian spells can be reversed, or otherwise applied to nefarious ends; for example, Count Coins in the hands of such a creature could become Miscount Coins, which causes its unsuspecting target to err by 10-40% when counting out coins by hand... always in the spellcaster's favour (either paying him/her too much, or charging too little).
(* - This one's designed to work on a single person, as the doting Cacklogallinian merchant puts a companionable arm across the potential buyer's shoulders ... thus providing the contact necessary for Charm-magic to function in the HM.)
Hin -- The hin of Shaergarde may become Masters, upon attaining sufficient experience, just as those of the Five Shires may. The only alterations to their spell-roster from Gaz8 are the ones normally imposed by the SoR (e.g. the spell "Radiance" is affected as any other light-spell would be).
Hsiao -- The owl-folk of Matera follow a more Neutral philosophy, long abandoned by their Mystaran cousins, than those living outside the moon. In OD&D campaigns, Materan hsiao receive access to the druidic spell roster, rather than the cleric's list. A lunar hsiao may receive druids' spells from the beginning, without first having to reach 9th level as a cleric. In AD&D games, hsiao access the same spheres of priestly spells as druids, plus the Time and Travellers spheres.
Faedornae -- These elfin, retiring creatures employ spells from the special "Wee Folk" spell lists of PC1, as do other fairy creatures encountered in the Hollow Moon. In an AD&D campaign, they can be treated as "song mages" from the PO books ... the only such specialists to be found, in the HM setting.
Aranea -- As with Mystara's spider-folk, the inhabitants of Old Aran prefer subtler applications for their power, such as illusions, Charms (usually cast upon subjects ensnared in webbing), and Haste/Slow. Destructive or brute-force methods are considered crude and wasteful, by Aranites, so are seldom researched by lunar aranea. Beyond this tendency, the spider-folk have extensively explored two lines of study, which should be treated as mage-specialties in AD&D games, or as special skills/spells only aranea-mages can acquire, in OD&D campaigns:
1) Magic of secret names and symbols. In an AD&D campaign, aranea who specialise in this field of study should be treated as "geometers" from PO:S&M. For OD&D games, an aranea who learns the Intelligence skill, Knowledge of Cryptomancy*, may attempt to determine the "secret name" of an individual creature, a process which requires 1 (Mystaran) day per level or HD of the being. An aranea must either know the exact birthdate and birthplace of the intended subject, or have previously placed the intended victim under a Charm or other spell of mental influence, to make the name-learning attempt. If successful, he or she can interweave the being's name into the casting of future spells, thus imposing a -4 penalty to ALL that particular being's (but only that specific being's) saving throws, against the aranea-mage's magic.
(* - Yes, this skill IS closely related to the Glantrian Secret Craft of that name. IMC, the elves of Erewan picked up the basics of "secret names" from some elven (actually aranea) mages they'd encountered in Herath, during their original migration northward from Davania. The "use-names" seen in certain clans of Alfheim were also a product of this discipline, which actually originated on the world of Thorne, amongst the araneas' planar spider ancestors. (It's also what drove Arachne Prime from Thorne, in the first place.) The elves couldn't have been the originators of "name magic", IMHO, as it isn't found among shadow elves or other breakaway elven groups ... just the Alfheim and Erewan clans, who'd passed quite close to Herath -- a forested country with "elves", which they would certainly have been curious about! -- in following Ilsundal.)
2) Magic of creating extradimensional pockets. Another relict of their planar-spider ancestors' magic, the creation of extradimensional spaces (such as Bags Of Holding) is an old aranea speciality. Aranea in AD&D games should be allowed to specialise as "dimensionists" from PO:S&M. Because so many spells of the Dimension school are uncastable in the Hollow Moon setting, such specialists should also be given a chance to learn unique, aranea-mage versions of the following ToM priest spells: Extradimensional Detection; Extradimensional Manipulation; Extradimensional Pocket (as a 6th level wizards' spell); Physical Mirror; Seclusion (at 7th level); Spacewarp (at 8th level); Implosion/Inversion (at 9th level). In OD&D games, DMs who run aranea NPCs with this kind of speciality should dig up or borrow a WSpCmp -- C'mon, even if you loathe the AD&D system, you've gotta know SOMEONE who broke down and bought these big books o' spells! ;-D -- and convert the following spells to OD&D, for aranea use: Detect Phase; Deeppockets; Rope Trick; Cache; Random's Commodious Pocket; Leomund's Secret Chest*; Vanish; Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion. Note that none of these Aranite spells work by crossing the boundaries between planes; rather, objects which would normally become "ethereal" are placed into extradimensional pockets, which are temporary wrinkles in the fabric of (Prime Plane) space/time.
(* - Instead of a chest, the aranea-mage must fashion a large sack of his or her own webbing, after consuming special foods and breathing the smoke of exotic incense for several days. (These cost the same as the usual expense for fashioning a Secret Chest.) The resulting web-sack has the same capacity as a normal Secret Chest, and is quite sturdy.)
Maeshimer, Shark-Kin, Merrow -- These races' shamans and wokani, naturally, use the "underwater" versions of standard spells, from PC3. Note that "blood lightning" will manifest its bizarre and frightening "special effects" even underwater; and that the 50% HM reduction in areas-of-effect also applies, to underwater attack-spells.
In addition to these racial specialities, lunar wizards of any number of human cultures are eligible to learn a uniquely-Materan form of magecraft ... the art of Crystallomancy. With the abundance and diversity of gemstones available in the Hollow Moon setting, it was inevitable that mages of that world should explore the use of gems and crystals, as material components and catalysts of magic, in greater depth than most Mystarans have even considered. Unable to conjure earth elementals or the like from rocks and rubble, in traditional "earth-elementalist" fashion, those Materan mages with an affinity for minerals have instead found other uses for crystalline substances, uses which constitute an all-new technique of spellcasting. Called crystallomancers, these spellcasters channel the energy of their magic through the matrices of gems, prisms and other crystals, and can use such materials as temporary receptacles for their magic.
Depending on which game-system is used, Crystallomancy can be treated as either an odd variant of the OD&D magic-user (like the "hakomons" of Ethengar), or a new AD&D wizard's speciality. In the OD&D system, a crystallomancer has access to the same selection of spells as a standard mage or elf, modified only by the Spell of Remembrance. He or she memorises spells exactly as a normal magic-user would, and forgets them after casting as per the usual spell rules. To be able to cast these spells, however, the character must first have a crystal or gemstone talisman in his/her possession ... one which has a value of at least (10 to the power of the spell's level -1) cp*. This needn't be a cut, finished gem, although rough stones of any sort probably won't be able to handle any but the weakest spells; most mid- to high-level crystallomancers carry one or two valuable, jewellery-mounted gems as their personal talismans, but also keep a few lesser stones on hand in case these primary gems are stolen, lost or damaged. Talismans must be touching the crystallomancer's bare skin, and be exposed to open air (or open water, for underwater casting) when they are in use. Channelling crystallomantic magic does no harm to gemstones which are employed as talismans, and any given gem may be used for spell-channelling any number of times. (Only one caster may channel spells through an individual crystal in a particular round of combat, however.) Any variety of crystalline gemstone will serve these specialists equally well, although many crystallomancers do adopt a single gem-type as a sort of personal trademark (earning themselves nicknames like "the Emerald Adept" or "the Sapphire Sorceress").
(* - In other words, each level of spell requires a talisman that's an order of magnitude more valuable than the previous spell-level demands. For 1st level spells, a measly 1 cp chip of rock crystal will suffice. Casting 2nd level spells require a crystal/gem worth at least 1 sp, while 3rd level spells need a 1+ gp crystal to channel their energies; 4th level demands 10 gp, 5th requires 100 gp, etc. This all might seem like a trivial matter, until such time as a crystallomancer is imprisoned without access to his/her usual talisman, and must make do with the near-worthless rock-chips in his or her cell ... or until the character reaches the highest levels of spellcasting ability, when gems valued at 100,000 or even 1,000,000 gp (which are pretty darned rare, as treasures!) are the only ones that will suffice. Note that only the gem-value of a crystal -- i.e. its monetary value, as given in the DM's notes -- counts, when determining its usefulness to a crystallomancer. A stone's additional value as a cultural artifact (e.g. the fabled Star of Ylaruam), or as a magical item in its own right (as with a Gem Of Seeing), doesn't contribute towards its ability to channel crystallomantic spells. Note, also, that a spell which is channelled through a gem that costs MORE than the minimum, for its level, gains no extra power from this extra value: you can't "buy" your way into greater spell-power, merely by upgrading your talisman.)
The one edge which OD&D crystallomancers have over magic-users, in exchange for their inability to spellcast without crystals, is their ability to store spells inside gemstones for future use. This is a bit like creating a spell scroll, except that a crystallomancer's gem-stored spells only last for 3 (Mystaran) days; if they haven't been activated by then, stored spells will fizzle out harmlessly without ever taking effect. To house a particular spell, a gem or crystal must be large and high-quality enough to channel its power, as described above. Crystallomancers can have a total number of spell-levels equal to half their own experience level stored, in this fashion, at any given moment. They can store spells of a difficulty equal to one-third their experience level (round down). Thus, a crystallomancer can store his or her first spell (of 1st level only), inside a 1 cp+ crystal, upon attaining the 3rd level of experience. At fourth level, the same character can keep two 1st level spells stored at once. Not until reaching level 6 could the crystallomancer opt to store a 2nd level spell in a 1+ sp crystal ... plus another, 1st level spell. Storing spells inside gemstones is a time-consuming process -- whereas memorising spells takes an hour for ALL spells, storing them in gems takes an hour for EACH spell -- and the gems themselves become expensive at higher levels; but the 3-day duration for storage of each spell allows a crystallomancer to fill up one batch of gemstones, on the day immediately before an adventure, and then memorise another full set of spells on the morning of departure. (Storing up spells in this manner doesn't earn the crystallomancer any experience points, BTW; such gems aren't "real" magic items, so creating them doesn't count towards earning XP.) Dispel Magic can nullify the stored magic within a gemstone, with the same chance of success as it has, to Dispel the normal spells of the storing crystallomancer.
Once they've been "stored", crystallomantic spells can be "called out" of gems by their caster, or by another character. If the original caster calls them out, the spells take effect as if the crystallomancer had just cast them; the effects are at full strength, as per their caster's normal use of the stored magic. A crystallomancer must hold a spell-filled gem in his or her clenched fist, and speak a word of activation aloud, to "call out" one of his/her stored spells. If another character -- who needn't be another crystallomancer, or even a spell-user (!) -- is to "call out" a gem-stored spell, the crystallomancer who stored it must first tell that character the gem's word of activation, which (much like a magic item's command word) differs for each gem. Should anyone other than the original spell-storer "call out" the magic that's stored within a gem, that spell takes effect at its minimum possible casting level (as with magic from a Ring Of Spell Storing) for purposes of damage, duration, etc. The procedure of releasing the spell is otherwise identical -- the gem must be held in the user's clenched fist, and the activating word spoken aloud -- except that the stone always crumbles to worthless powder afterwards, if its magic is "called out" by someone other than the crystallomancer who imbued it, in the first place.
The complete list of minimum talisman costs is:
1st level spell -- 1 cp
2nd lvl -- 1 sp
3rd lvl -- 1 gp
4th lvl -- 10 gp
5th lvl -- 100 gp
6th lvl -- 1000 gp
7th lvl -- 10,000 gp
8th lvl -- 100,000 gp
9th lvl -- 1,000,000 gp
Since this is also the cost for "storage" gems, you can see that crystallomancers won't be able to store many of the higher-level spells unless they're very, very wealthy. In order to cast 8th or 9th level spells, such characters should have to search far and wide for a talisman that will channel such powerful energies; and they'll often have to fight off other crystallomancers (not to mention thieves!), to keep such a prize. This actually raises the saleable price of truly exceptional gemstones well beyond their "real" (i.e. quality-based) value, on Matera; such artificial increases in rare gems' "market price", due to high-level crystallomancers' raging demand for them, DON'T count toward such stones' channelling capacities, any more than does a gem's status as a cultural artifact.
Conversely, "storing" the lower-level spells is cheap enough that such a character can afford to hand out a number of "stored" spells to others in their adventuring party (remember, gemstones crumble into worthless dust if anyone other than their maker invokes them!) and not go completely broke. A rich, very high-level crystallomancer could theoretically arm his or her minions with loads of mid-level spells; the three-day limit on how long the stored spells remain within their gems, and the requirement that it takes a full hour to store each spell, will be the big constraints on rampant abuse of crystalomancers' spell-storage ability.
For an AD&D Mystara campaign, a DM may either use the system described above -- Hey, it's less bizarre than some of the "Players' Option" choices! -- or else treat Crystallomancy as a school of magic in its own right. If the latter, then the crystallomancer should be considered to specialise in all those spells which use crystalline minerals -- gems, gem powders, crystals, prisms, glass, or even snow (technically a mineral) -- for some or all of their material components*, and which aren't specifically prohibited or rendered "evil-looking" by the Spell of Remembrance. It is with these spells that Materans who specialise in Crystallomancy get a +15% chance when learning, and from these that they draw their one extra spell/level. The school of Crystallomancy is opposed to those spells having material components which are of animal or vegetable origin -- e.g. Jump, with its grasshopper's leg; Haste, with its sliver of liquorice root -- in an unworked, uncrafted form ... unless they also have gemstones as material components, in which case they are Crystallomancy spells. Those spells which lack any material components; which require inorganic components other than gems, such as pebbles or metal; or which use wood or other organic materials which have been processed in some way (e.g. cured and blessed leather for Armour; mixed herbal ointment for True Seeing), are available to crystallomancers as "out-of-school" spells, with the usual -15% penalty to their chance at learning them. Note that some magics, such as Mending, have more than one choice of material component listed in the PHB; only one version need be "organic-free", for crystallomancers to be able to cast these variable-component spells (hence, they could cast Mending using lodestones, but not burrs).
(* - A list of all the PHB, ToM and PO:S&M spells that qualify follows. Spells which have both gemstone and non-gemstone components are always in the school of Crystallomancy, even if the other material components would otherwise place them in opposition to it (as with the Identify spell).)
Advancement for characters who practice crystallomancy should be as per standard mages. As an option, these techniques might also be made available to Materan elves and other spell-using non-humans, in OD&D campaigns. It shouldn't affect their XP needs, or increase/deplete their power, all that much. If you treat Crystallomancy as an AD&D school of magic, then aranea, vesper elves (but NOT Graakhalian elves) and spinel dragons should all be allowed to specialise in it, as well as humans of all the lunar cultures ... except the Qaurikka, who don't have enough mages of any sort, to justify such a specialised sub-discipline. Should you wish to include a few magicians among the "spacegnomes", in an AD&D campaign, then letting them specialise in Crystallomancy rather than Illusion would be a nice surprise -- or maybe not -- for your players ("Say what?! You mean that Cone Of Cold was REAL!?!").
Crystallomancy School Spells for AD&D campaigns
When I ransacked the PHB, ToM and PO:S&M for crystal-based spells, I'd expected them to jump all over the place, in terms of their effects. While they do this to some extent, the assortment I came up with DID turn out to have some common threads -- e.g. lots of "force"-type defences and capture-spells; flash- or cold-based attacks; creepy shadow-magics; spirit-trapping and possession -- that seem to fit a chilly, lightless, sneaky setting like the Hollow Moon pretty well. Hope they give you ideas! ;-D
1st -- Identify, Read Magic,
Patternweave* (ToM), Wizard Mark
2nd -- Fools' Gold (=Diamonds), Glitterdust, Hornung's Baneful
Deflector* (ToM), Hypnotic Pattern, Shatter
3rd -- Infravision, Leomund's Tiny Hut, Lesser Sign Of Sealing
(PO:S&M), Lorloveim's Creeping Shadow (ToM), Non-Detection
4th -- Minor Globe Of Invulnerability, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere,
Rainbow Pattern, Summon Lycanthrope (ToM), Stoneskin, Ultravision
(PO:S&M), Wall Of Ice
5th -- Cone Of Cold, False Vision, Feeblemind, Leomund's Hidden
Lodge (PO:S&M), Magic Jar, Magic Staff (ToM), Prying Eyes
(PO:S&M), Summon Shadow**, Wall Of Force, Waveform* (ToM)
6th -- Death Spell, Dimensional Blade (PO:S&M), Glassee, Globe
Of Invulnerability, Greater Sign Of Sealing (PO:S&M), Otiluke's
Freezing Sphere, Part Water, Transmute Water To Dust
7th -- Drawmij's Instant Summons, Forcecage, Seven-Eyes
(PO:S&M), Shadowcat**(ToM), Simulacrum, Suffocate (ToM)
8th -- Analyse Dweomer (PO:S&M), Binding, Glassteel, Heart Of
Stone (PO:S&M), Otiluke's Telekinetic Sphere, Serten's Spell
Immunity, Symbol, Trap The Soul
9th -- Chain Contingency (ToM), Shape Change, Sphere Of Ultimate
Destruction (PO:S&M)
* - These aren't "wild" magic; there's no such thing, in the Hollow Moon setting. Rather, they're independently-developed Materan spells that just happen to resemble certain ToM "wild mage" spells, in their effects.
** - These summon creatures from the
Shadow Citadel of Maskelyne, not from other planes. Note that
Mystaran/Materan "shadows" are NOT undead (even in an AD&D
campaign), so cannot be Turned as such.