Unapproachable East.pdf - The Forgotten Realms

cannot be a bearer for a contingent spell. A contingent spell is
tied to the bearer’s body, alive or dead, and stories circulate
among adventuring parties about contingent spells remaining
quiet for hundreds of years on a slain bearer, only to suddenly
activate when the proper condition was triggered.
Contingent spells are subject to dispel magic and similar
spells. If a contingent spell is affected by dispel magic (made
against the caster level of the contingent spell’s crafter), it is
destroyed rather than merely suppressed. Destroying a contingent
spell in this manner does not trigger the spell. Contingent
spells are suppressed by an antimagic field or dead
magic zones like any other magic item but are not destroyed
by them.
At any one time, a creature can bear a number of contingent
spells equal to its Hit Dice. Additional contingent spells
applied beyond this limit simply fail.
The process of creating contingent spells has been discovered
independently several times in the history of the world. Most
recently, it was unearthed by the Red Wizards, who bear deathcontingent
area spells in hopes of destroying whoever manages
to kill them in a devastating blast. Many young Red Wizards
arrange to bear a contingent fireball just for this purpose.
Place Magic
Hathrans and durthans possess a special bond to the land of
Rashemen that lets them draw upon the power of the spirits
to cast spells without preparing them. When a hathran or
durthan uses place magic, she can cast any arcane or divine
spell known to her. (Spells on her hathran or durthan spell list
can be cast as either arcane or divine spells, as she desires.) In
effect, she can use any spell on any of her spell lists when she
wishes, as long as she is within the borders of Rashemen.
A place magic spell uses an unassigned spell slot of the
appropriate type (arcane or divine) and level. If the caster does
not have an open spell slot, she may spontaneously lose a prepared
spell of the appropriate type and level to cast her place
magic spell. Using place magic takes longer than casting a
spell normally; any spell that takes 1 standard action to cast
requires 1 full round to cast with place magic. Spells with casting
times longer than 1 standard action simply add 1 round
to the casting time. For example, casting a summon monster
spell with place magic increases the casting time from 1 round
to 2 rounds.
The hathran or durthan may apply metamagic feats to her
place magic spells, but this also adds 1 full round to the casting
time. For example, a hathran casting an empowered fireball
with place magic requires 2 rounds to cast the spell and
must use a 5th-level arcane spell slot to do so.
Rune Magic
Once the secret lore of dwarves and giants, magical runes are
now commonplace in the northern portions of the East, particularly
in Narfell and Rashemen. The folk of these lands
learned their runes from the giants of their cold country
MAGIC AND SPELLS
47
centuries ago, when they were rootless barbarians and
vagabonds with little in the way of their own lore.
Rune magic is described in Chapter 2: Magic of the
FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting. Few Rashemi clerics
take up the path of the runecaster, but a number of them
learn the Inscribe Rune feat, and the tradition is more commonplace
among the Nars and the folk of the Great Dale and
Ashanath. Runescarred berserkers (see Chapter 2: Prestige
Classes) are common in these lands, too, although these mystic
warriors are not spellcasters in the traditional sense of the
word. Finally, monsters beset the East that use the power of
rune magic for ill—most notably the frost giants of the
Icerim Mountains, whose tribes include a number of powerful
runecasters.
The Shadow Weave
Wielders of the Shadow Weave are scarce in the Unapproachable
East. Given the Red Wizards’ drive to experiment
and innovate, the relative lack of shadow adepts in the East
might seem unusual. The explanation is simple: Red Wizards
quickly turn on those of their order who have learned something
of value. Consequently, those Red Wizards who have
adopted Shadow Weave magic find it advantageous to conceal
their special spellcasting talents, preferring to surprise rivals
with their newfound capabilities.
The Witches of Rashemen harbor a great suspicion of
Shadow Weave users, and in concert they have destroyed several
wizards who chose that dark path. The leading hathrans
believe the Shadow Weave is the blackest sort of poison and
have warned their sisters to maintain a vigilant watch for any
signs of its use within Rashemen’s borders.
New Spells
The following spells are common in the Unapproachable East.
Spells listed as “Hth” spells are part of the hathran spell list
set out in Chapter 1: Characters of the FORGOTTEN REALMS
Campaign Setting.
ABOLISH SHADOWS
Abjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 30 feet
Area: 30-ft.-radius burst, centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude half (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes
A burst of dark energy leaps forth from your body and disrupts
all shadows in the area of effect. This has two primary
effects: First, shadow creatures (including shadows, shades, and