4 new spells for arcane journalists

[billking]

4 spells for arcane journalists, or private eyes, or spies, or any other professional interested in gathering information for display to the public or to important persons.

Copy
Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, F (see text)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Paper or parchment
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None (see text)
Spell Resistance: No

Copy changes the appearance of a piece of paper or parchment to match exactly another flat surface touched by the character. As such, the somatic componet requires two free hands, not just one.
Since the effect is illusory, copy can be used to create false scrolls or false pages from a wizard's spellbook. Creatures who do not know the spell always fail any Spellcraft checks to decipher it; creatures who either know the spell or use read magic to decipher it detect it as a forgery.
Copy is fooled by illusions; so copying a secret page will result in a copy of the illusion, not the true contents.
An erase spell undoes both the illusion and whatever text was on the sheet beforehand (if any).

Focus: The sheet of paper or parchment.

Photograph
Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Paper or parchment
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Photograph changes the appearance of a piece of paper or parchment to match exactly what the character sees upon the time of casting. If the character has two or more eyes, one of them is chosen for the photograph; images from the other eyes are ignored.
Photograph is fooled by illusions if the caster has any chance of being fooled by the illusion; so if a silent image is in the scene, it will result in a copy of the illusion unless the caster has cast true seeing (or a similar spell) upon himself or herself. However, illusions created by the character are omitted from the photograph.
An erase spell does not effect the illusion but does effect the nonillusory contents of the sheet (if any).

Focus: The sheet of paper or parchment.

Trap Sound
Transmutation [Sonic]
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: A flask or vial
Duration: 1 round/level, then permanent until discharged
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Trap sound records 1 round/level of sounds and stores them magically into a small jar. After being stored and sealed with a stopper or similar device, the sounds can be replayed by removing the stopper. After the trapped sound is released, it can be stopped by putting the stopper back on the jar, but any sounds released cannot be recovered (except by another casting). After the entire recording is played, the spell is discharged. The sounds are played back as loud as they are "heard" by the jar.
If a stopper is not placed on the jar immediately after the maximum recording time, the jar proceeds to replay the recorded sounds as if the stopper was removed.
Focus: A vial or flask.

Improved Trap Sound
Transmutation [Sonic]
Level: Brd 3, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: An empty crustacean shell
Duration: 1 round/level, then permanent
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

As trap sound, except the sound is trapped in a seashell, not a jar, and after recording the sound loops permanently, beginging (and ending) with the last word of the verbal component of the spellcasting.
Unlike trap sound, the seashell does not play the sounds loudly. The sounds can only be heard at their full volume by putting the transmuted shell up to one's ear; even small distances from the shell the sounds are inaudible except to the keenest ears.

 

[Tonguez]

cool

 

[Dougal DeKree]

Yep, cool indeed!

Finally some spells without the intend of harming someone/something...

And they might just be useful under certain circumstances...

Allowance to steal?

Dougal DeKree, Gnomish Illusionist and Fan of Nystul

 

[billking]

A Wizards of the Coast employee and friend of mine reminded me that, as written, copy and photograph are just about as good as the third-level secret page, concealing the true contents of a page much better than I originally intended. Thus, they are both being made into transmutations that require a blank sheet of paper to work; they cannot conceal any page under any circumstance.

Feel free to steal, with the new revisions (it's easy enough to add them yourself).

PS: I just noticed one fan is an illusionist... the change must be a real pisser. I would just try to argue with your DM into changing secret page into an illusion. It should be one.

 

[drnuncheon]

I'd note that (for unknown reasons) copy in 3e seems to have been replaced wth amanuensis from the Magic of Faerun book. Why they thought it needed to be a 3rd level spell is beyond me, unless they didn't want every mage making magical photocopiers in their spare time...

J

 

[Dougal DeKree]

Illusions

PS: I just noticed one fan is an illusionist... the change must be a real pisser. I would just try to argue with your DM into changing secret page into an illusion. It should be one.

Well...
i won't say anything about the change, my mother told me not to use swear words. All i say is that relying only on illusions is hard work (info: i was allowed to specialize my illusionist in 2 schools - i took illusion and transmutation, therefore neglecting evocation and conjuration) - all the while i have to think up new surprises to get out of harms way...
next time i will have to take a more offensive approach *sigh*
Anyone got some more illusion-spells not listed somewhere?

Dougal DeKree, Gnomish Illusionist and Fan of Nystul

 

[billking]

Stuff from my vault for the illusionist (both 8th level, sorry)...

Conversation
Illusion (Phantasm) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Unlimited
Target: Personal
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

Conversation establishes a link between two creatures, after which visual and auditory representations appear before both, allowing them to converse as if in the same room.
The spell is initiated by the character sending a special message revealing his* identity and a telepathic message informing the subject of his intent to speak and instructing him to concentrate to initiate the illusion. If the subject does not immediately answer this message, the character can continue sending this message, once per round, by maintaining concentration.
Once the subject answers the call, a phantasmal duplicate of the character appears in front of the subject and vice versa. The phantasms mimic the actions of the creature they represent, including visual, auditory, olfactory, thermal and even tactile elements, allowing each illusion to push, pull, or possibly even injure the other creature. The phantasms include gear and held objects; when objects are released, they dissappear from the phantasm. After the phanstasms appear, concentration is no longer required to maintain the spell. Either creature may will to break this link at any time, ending the spell; this is a nonaction action.
Across planes, conversation has a 1% cumulative chance to fail each round, ending the spell. (A roll of 1 first round, a roll of 1 or 2 second round, 1-3 third round, etc.)

False Demise

Illusion (Figment) [Teleportation]
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action + concentration (see text)
Range: Personal
Target/Effect: The character (and his or her equipment)/one illusory double
Duration: Instantaneous/concentration + 3 rounds (see text)
Saving Throw: None/Will disbelief (illusory component only)
Spell Resistance: No

As teleport, except this spell also creates an illusory double of the caster at the same instant the the character teleports away. This illusion contains visual, auditory, olfactory and thermal elements, and although it does not take any actions, it reacts to blows as normal, including bleeding and death.

After spending one round casting the spell, the character teleports and the illusion is created. The character must then spend additional time concentrating on the illusion. As long as the character concentrates, the illusion continues to react normally to blows. When the character stops concentrating, the illusion falls to the ground (slowly or quickly, depending upon the situation), goes into death throes, and seems to implode in a flash of bright light, ignites into flames and burns to a crisp, or some other dramatic death, as the caster decides. (Generally casters choose a death that leaves no remains, as the the sudden dissappearance of remains when the illusion ends would be suspicious; although such dramatic deaths are sometimes suspicious in and of themselves.) The death scene cannot last longer than 3 rounds, although the characer may have the illusion fall to the ground as if wounded before then (while concentrating). While dying, the illusion does not react to its surroundings.

A false demise spell does not allow the caster to sense or determine the situation after teleporting away from it, although a concentrating caster knows when, how, and where the illusion is struck.

Any mishap in the teleportation component of the spell causes the illusory component to fail in a similar way. For example, an "off target" teleportation causes the illusion to appear near the caster as opposed to exactly where the caster was, while a "similar area" teleportation makes an illusory double that looks similar to, but noticeably different than, the character.