The Radiance for 3.5
by HåvardThe Radiance is the source of all magic on Mystara.
(Though whether that refers to just the planet of Mystara, Inner World and Hollow World, or even beyond that, the moons, entire solar system or beyond is unclear). The Radiance is a magical artifact of immense power, created by the Old Ones themselves. Due to some tampering by the Immortal Noumena, it began to slowly drain magic from the world. After the alterations that happened to the Radiance during the Wrath of the Immortals events, this drain was changed to temporarily drain forces within the realm of Entropy, thus restoring the original magic level of Mystara after a few years of the Day of Dread, when magic didn't work. However, the brief association with Entropy somehow contaminated the Elder Artifact.
Anyone using the Radiance to achieve Immortality from this point on will become Entropic Immortals.
RADIANCE RULES FOR D&D 3.5
In order to use the Radiance, the character must have levels in the Radiance Mage Prestige class. If the DM allows it, learning about the existence of the Radiance may be solved by making a Gather Information check (DC 35, -5 if the character can cast arcane spells. -5 if the character is living in Glantri. -5 if the character is a student of the Great School of Magic. Characters with 4 or more ranks in Knowledge Arcana also gain a +2 bonus on this check.) Failure means the character must wait another year before making a new attempt.
Once the character learns about the Radiance, he may construct himself a Radiance Receptacle. This is considered a wondrous magical item.
Details/costs: TBD.
In addition to these costs, the wizard must spend another 10,000 gp for the crystal required.
Once the Receptacle has been constructed, the Brotherhood of the Radiance will contact the character.
Dangers of the Radiance:
Physical Danger:
Casting Radiance Spells may corrupt the casters body.
In order to cast a Radiance spell, the character must make a Concentration check, even if not engaged in combat or similarly disturbed. (Unless other distractions are present, the DC for this check is 15.
Otherwise use the normal DCs for spellcasting.) If a natural 1 is rolled, the character must make a Fortitude Save (DC 15) or suffer from the corrupting effects of the Radiance.
Roll on the table below to find out which body part is affected.
| D20 | Body part |
| 1-2 | Left hand |
| 3-4 | Right hand |
| 5-6 | Right arm |
| 7-8 | Left arm |
| 9-10 | Left leg |
| 11-12 | Right leg |
| 13-14 | Right foot |
| 15-16 | Left foot |
| 17-18 | Torso |
| 19-20 | Face/Head |
If the body part has already been affected, roll again.
The affected body part looks withered or misshapen.
Extremities (arms, legs, feet, hands) affected are rendered useless. Face or head affected grants a -2 to charisma. Torso reduces constitution by 2. A character with all 10 areas affected becomes a lich, controlled by the DM.
The Radiance used to deplete the magic level of Mystara according to the number of active users, but this effect has now been removed (see above). The magic drain level is currently around 100 Rad Force Drained, resulting in one day each year when magic does not work.
(Personal note: IMC this effect lasted only for a few years following AC1010 before the magic level again recovered and the Day of Dread ceased to occur. No fun with the DoD.)
Spells of the Radiance:
These spells will be detailed later. Most spells may be used more or less as is. The Call upon Radiance spell now increases the effect of other spells cast by one caster level instead of the effect originally described.