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Making the chaos planes more... chaotic
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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6089901" data-attributes="member: 4937"><p>Ok, keep in mind that these are unedited from my archives, and generally assume 1st edition rules: </p><p></p><p><strong>Spell Use in Limbo</strong></p><p></p><p>All Spell Casting (General): The use of any arcane spell provokes a wild surge (as during the time of troubles) when on Limbo.</p><p></p><p>Animal Summoning (General): There are no animals to summon, but if the spell is invoked Chaos Elementals of half the HD of the animals normally summoned by the spell will arrive in the area. The will not be under the control of the Druid (or anyone else for that matter).</p><p></p><p>Charm/Enchantment (General): While on Limbo, all creatures save at +4 vs. spells of this type. It is hard to govern anything here.</p><p></p><p>Clerical Spells (General): All Clerical spells are 85% more likely to fail while in Limbo unless the character is a cleric of a CN deity or some deity currently residing in Limbo. Once the character has actually moved into Ssendam's personal domain, this chance of failure applies to all clerics other than Clerics of Ssendam itself. Furthermore, spells of 3rd level or above may not be regained until after the cleric has departed Limbo. </p><p></p><p>Divination (General): Nothing about the future is predictable in Limbo. Any spell that gives information about the future fails. Unlike in the Waymites, divination that allows perception at a distance works normally except in the close vicinity of Ssendam’s throne, in which case insanity is again the probable result. Of course, by the time that a character arrives at a scryed location, it is highly probable that what is there will be different than what is viewed.</p><p></p><p>Flight (General): Spells that allow flight work almost normally, and magical flight is the only way to travel while in the Chaos Soup without creating any illusionary terrain to travel through. However, there really is no up and down in Limbo. Suspension of flight does not cause falling. Flight spells may act unexpectedly when entering illusionary realms. In particular, The City of the Insane and its environments does not allow flight EXCEPT by using wings or other mechanical means. Flight spells operating in this area only allow horizontal travel at the top speed of the flight spell. Attempts to fly up off the ground result only in a disordering vertigo, as the ground seems to swivel about to accommodate the character's new position - and an alarming tendency to change ones orientation with respect to that ground. From the perspective of an observer, it will be impossible to tell that the character has not simply moved an appropriate distance forward and altered his orientation from the perpendicular (E.I. it will appear that the character has stumbled and fell.)</p><p></p><p>Illusions (General): Illusions used in Limbo are more potent than illusions used in other planes, but they are also much much harder to control. A truly chaotic being cannot or does not distinguish between what is illusion and what is real, and on Limbo that distinguishment is truly impossible to make. All reality is illusion, and conversely all illusions are real. The primal substance of chaos is highly susceptible to becoming ordered, but once ordered it is also prone to acting in an unexpected fashion. </p><p>First, all illusions cast in Limbo are at -2 to disbelieve or save against. </p><p>Second, any illusion cast by a player has a chance equal to twice the level of the character of having permanent duration until dispelled.</p><p>Thirdly, illusions that do not normally require continual concentration require concentration to prevent them from acting in an unexpected manner. Even a permanent illusion requires concentration in this manner or it begins to alter its form and behavior. Any illusion left to its self will change until concentration is again given to it. </p><p>Fourthly, any illusion has a chance equal to the level of the spell caster of becoming real on each turn of its existence. Once the illusion has become real, it is outside of the spell caster's control and may not be dispelled, even with dispel magic or dispel illusion. It should be treated in all ways as a non-illusion. For instance, a character may create an illusion of a red dragon. If such an illusion becomes real, and then that dragon is no longer under the spell caster's control and should act much as a dragon would in the circumstances. A character that uses alter self or change self runs the risk of permanently altering their own features! However, objects created in this manner out of chaos itself are themselves always highly chaotic and unstable, even if removed from Limbo. They are subject to random changes in form and behavior and cannot be trusted to act in any one particular manner for long. The above character with permanently altered features also has permanently uncontrollably mutable facial features until a wish or some other magic is used to restore his form to a more stable state!</p><p>Fifthly, any illusion spell that is cast initially has a chance equal to twice the level of the spell caster of remaining in memory after casting.</p><p>In fact, characters that experiment will find that they have a 1% chance per round of creating an illusion whether they can cast spells or not! They also have a 1% chance per turn of inadvertently creating one whether they meant to or not. This chance rises to not less than 1% per round if the character is day dreaming, bored, or some such. Sleeping (and dreaming) in Limbo is dangerous! Having nightmares is lethal! Such illusions should initially have no more than 1" cube volume and have effects equivalent to phantasmal force or similar. Treat the spell as cast by a spell caster of the minimum level necessary to cast the spell for all other purposes. More powerful effects are possible the more practice a player gets at shaping the primal chaos. In fact, with sufficient practice or training it is possible to take a NWP in Chaos Shaping. This NWP should be assumed to be possessed by all natives of Limbo at a very high degree of proficiency. A successful NWP check vs. Chaos Shaping allows the character to cast, at will, the Spectral Forces spell while in Limbo at an effective level equal to one half his NWP score. Illusionists with the Chaos Shaping NWP add double their NWP score to the chance that illusion spells will remain in memory when cast on Limbo. Assume Celebrim possesses a 19 in this NWP - should the situation come up. Most creatures of Chaos possess the NWP at 22 or higher, and can perform truly outstanding feats of illusion simply at will while in Limbo. Most of these creatures simply abandon their creations shortly after they come into existence and are not worried about what happens to them even a few minutes after they are created. Many of the most bizarre things that can be encountered in the Chaos soup are abandoned illusions that have achieved substance. Slaad can be presumed to naturally possess this skill, but with the possible exception of the Slaad lords themselves, they rarely if ever evoke it because they are manifestations of the destructive aspect of chaos - not the creative.</p><p>Finally, the most dangerous thing about any illusion created in Limbo is that once it becomes real it immediately begins to attract Chaos Elementals from the surrounding environment. The more ordered and stable the illusion (or created object) the more quickly it attracts Chaos Elementals seeking to destroy the offending intrusion of reality into the substanceless chaotic void. Each turn that an illusion is maintained, there is a 1% chance per 10" cube of volume of the illusion (or HD if alive!) that it will attract a Chaos Elemental of not less than 1 HD and not more than 1 HD per 10" cube of volume (or HD if alive!) of the illusion. The normal max is 16 HD, unless the illusion or illusions occupies a truly vast area. This chance is doubled if the author of the illusion is lawful (tripled if LN), and doubled again if they fail a Chaos Shaping NWP or Limbo Lore or Limbo Survival NWP (automatically failed if not possessed). It is also doubled if the object is alive, doubled yet again if the object in question is innately lawful (like a Modron), and doubled yet again if the object in question is particularly uniform and regular (like a featureless meadow, a garden, a cube, a brick wall, or a Modron). It is quartered if the object in question is plastic or fluid and has no definite shape, or halved if the object in question is asymmetric and pliant. It is also halved if the author of the illusion was himself CN.</p><p></p><p>Shapechange (General): Removing the stability from an object's intrinsic nature is a dangerous proposition on a plane where everything is intrinsically unstable. There is an 85% chance that any such spell will fail spectacularly, and this may actually be the best result! If the spell fails, the target shapechanges uncontrollably for 1d4 rounds (roughly once per segment) and on each round the character is stunned and must make a system shock roll or die. (Unwilling targets are of course still allowed a saving throw to resist the spell entirely.) There is a 1% chance that the final result will be the target's disintegration, and a 95% chance that the final form will be other than what is intended (usually something chaotic and horrific). </p><p> If the spell succeeds, the danger is far from over. Spells such as polymorph self, statue, and shapechange that give a player control over his form have a chance of rendering the characters form permanently unstable. This condition is called uncontrolled form mutability (or colloquially 'chaos sickness') and creatures subject to such a condition shapechange without conscious effort or control whenever they are subject to stress. This condition will last even after the player has left the plane of Limbo and may only be removed with a wish or similar magic. Eventually the condition is fatal to most creatures either because their minds are unable to cope with the sudden shock of say, becoming a potato salad, or because they find themselves changing into a fish while in the desert or a cow when falling off a cliff.</p><p> For each turn (or instance if less than a turn) that a character employs a shapechanging spell or item, there is a 5% chance that he will unglue his true form and begin suffering from form mutability. Thereafter, whenever a character must make a saving throw, must roll for surprise, is subject to an unexpected circumstance (such as springs a trap, discovers an unexpected and disturbing bit of information, etc.), suffers damage, or concentrates strongly (such as when casting a spell, disarming a trap, memorizing a spell, praying, mediating, studying a book) that character must make a saving throw vs. spell or shapechange into a random object. Such sudden change requires a SSS roll or the character dies. If the character survives the new form will either be more suitable for the situation (45% chance, 5% chance of being much more suitable) or less suitable for the situation (45% chance, 5% chance of being must less suitable). For instance, if a character suddenly pushed into the ocean it is 45% likely that he would turn into a walrus, fish, or boat; 5% probable that he would turn into a water elemental or Marid; 45% probable that he would turn into a anvil, camel, dwarf, or bottle of wine, and 5% probable that the form would be a raw pot roast, fire salamander, or block of soap. Such transformation lasts 1-10 turns, at which point it is initially 95% probable that the character will return to his native form and 5% probable that he will shape change uncontrollably again. However, the longer the condition lasts, the more unhinged the beings form becomes. For each week that the sickness continues, the chance of returning to the native form decreases by 5% (and conversely the chance that a new shapechanging episode occurs increases by 5%). </p><p> Note that a wide variety of other effects on Limbo can cause form mutability as well.</p><p></p><p>Summoning (General): It is not possible to summon creatures that are not native to the plane of Limbo while on the plane of Limbo without Gate or similar magic. Creatures of chaos only have a chance equal to the spell caster's level (double if chaotic, triple if CN, or half if lawful) of serving the spell caster, and also a chance equal to the summoner's level (half if chaotic, or double if lawful) that they will be hostile. If the monster is neither willing to serve nor hostile, then it is typically curious. Once summoned, creatures tend to hang around even after the spells duration is over (unless they become bored) and must be dealt with in some fashion. A monster might go from serving the character to hostile as soon as the spell's duration is over! Monster Summoning spells summons monsters appropriate to the plane and the level of the spell. Some suggestions are as follows:</p><p></p><p>Monster Summoning I: Gibberlings</p><p>Monster Summoning II: </p><p>Monster Summoning III: 1 HD Chaos Elementals</p><p>Chaos Imps</p><p>Gelatinous cube</p><p>Ochre Jelly</p><p>Quarks</p><p>Monster Summoning IV: 2 HD Chaos Elementals</p><p> Gargoyles</p><p> Gray Ooze</p><p>Monster Summoning V: 4 HD Chaos Elementals</p><p>Monster Summoning VI: Red Slaad</p><p> 6 HD Chaos Elementals</p><p>Monster Summoning VII: Blue Slaad</p><p> 8 HD Chaos Elementals</p><p></p><p>Note that within the domain of a Power however, all conjuration and summoning spells fail, as no creature of less than Demigod status is capable (or willing) to enter such an area without the permission of the power.</p><p></p><p>Teleport (General): There are no destinations within the Chaos Soup itself, but an illusionary domain can be teleported too unless some force prevents it. The best use of teleport in the Chaos Soup is to teleport to things that can be seen, since these are often many miles away (or even an infinite distance away). In general, it is not possible to teleport into or out of the domain of one of the Powers (Ssendam, Ygorl, etc.) unless permitted by the Power, and attempts to result in appearing at a random location (if teleporting in) or simple failure (if teleporting out). Illusionary domains within Limbo are of course very unstable, and an area is never known better than casually (and often never better than seen once no matter how many times it is viewed because it changes every time). Despite this, the vast distances of infinity are such that teleport is often the only practical way to move from place to place within the plane.</p><p></p><p>Wall Spells (General): Do to the lack of gravity, wall spells generally do not require anchor points and will tend to hang wherever they are put. They act normally in illusionary terrain that features normal gravity.</p><p></p><p>Anti-Animal Shell: Does confer protection from Chaos Elementals while on Limbo (but not from the same on the prime).</p><p></p><p>Babble (Reverse of Tongues): On a failed saving throw, this spell has permanent effect on its target.</p><p></p><p>Call Lightning: Works anywhere in the Chaos Soup without the need of a storm.</p><p></p><p>Chaos: This spell is especially powerful here. The target of this spell always becomes temporarily insane, and on a failed saving throw becomes permanently insane.</p><p></p><p>Commune with Nature: The spell functions in the Chaos Soup (which is natural), but not in most illusionary domains (which aren’t), unless the illusion is that of a natural setting (a forest or meadow) and it is has become ‘real’ as described under the text concerning illusions. However, in the Chaos Soup, it gives no real information, since the environment is continually changing and there is a chance that such a communion will render the Druid mentally unstable (as Contact other Plane).</p><p></p><p>Confusion: Treat as Chaos for purposes of resisting this spell. On a failed saving throw, the target also acquires a temporary insanity.</p><p></p><p>Conjure Elemental: If the caster knows the proper variation of the spell, it is possible to conjure up a Chaos Elemental on Limbo, but it is not possible to control it!</p><p></p><p>Detect Illusion: This spell cannot distinguish between illusions and reality while on Limbo.</p><p></p><p>Detect Lie: Nothing has a definite meaning on Limbo. Everything is true, and everything is false. This spell fails to function.</p><p></p><p>Disintegration: Saves vs. this spell are at -2 while on Limbo.</p><p></p><p>Familiar: Although the spell has but a 10% chance of success and only succeeds for CN’s, if successful the Familiar will always be a Quark.</p><p></p><p>Find the Path: This spell always fails on Limbo.</p><p></p><p>Invisibility to Animals: Does confer invisibility to Chaos Elementals and other similarly unintelligent inhabitants of the Chaos soup, although of course they will still eat anything at gets in their way whether they can see it or not.</p><p></p><p>Invisibility: This spell may and must be dispelled if it becomes permanent, for otherwise the target is at risk of becoming non-corporal or even disintegrating in the long term!</p><p></p><p>Levitation: There is no up and no down in Limbo. Levitation fails to work in a predictable fashion, except in certain illusionary domains. A levitating character moves in a random direction, and any attempt at new motion sets the character off in a new random direction.</p><p></p><p>Magic Jar: There is a 10% chance per turn that a creature of Limbo will possess the caster’s body while it is vacant if sufficient protections are not used (circles of protection from chaos and the like). The creature will either be:</p><p></p><p>01-40 A CN disembodied soul</p><p>41-70 A Red Slaad</p><p>71-90 A Blue Slaad</p><p>91-99 Green Slaad</p><p>00 or more A Gray Slaad</p><p></p><p>More powerful bodies will attract more powerful creatures - add twice the character’s level to the roll. Once in the body, the soul will possess abilities corresponding to a character of level 1d6+2 and will not wish to part with its new home. Slaad also retain their natural spell casting abilities. Disembodied souls will have the Chaos Shaping NWP at 1d10+10. The soul may only removed with a clerical exorcise spell.</p><p></p><p>Mending: This spell depends on the natural organization of objects, and as such always fails to function properly on Limbo.</p><p></p><p>Mirror Image: A very cheap, and very dangerous, way to clone oneself several times in quick succession if the images remain long enough to become real. Not recommended. Insanity is the likely result. Death by suicide or being slain by your insane clones generally follows not far behind.</p><p></p><p>Pass without Trace: Redundant in most areas of the ever changing Limbo.</p><p></p><p>Project Image: Like Mirror Image, this can be bad.</p><p></p><p>Raise Dead: There is a 25% chance that the resurrected body will be possessed by a slaad using a magic jar like attack. This may not be immediately obvious to either the party or the newly resurrected character.</p><p></p><p>Reincarnation: The reincarnated form is always that of a CN being native to the plane</p><p></p><p>Regeneration: The regenerated body part will be subject to uncontrollably mutable form. See the section on shapechanging for details.</p><p></p><p>Resurrection: There is a 25% chance that the resurrected body will be possessed by a slaad using a magic jar like attack. This may not be immediately obvious to either the party or the newly resurrected character.</p><p></p><p>Reverse Gravity: Against creatures from Limbo, this has no effect. Against creatures not native to Limbo who are also operating in any illusionary environment that features gravity (essentially anywhere except inside the Chaos soup), this works normally provided that those creatures fail a Limbo Survival or Chaos Shaping NWP check.</p><p></p><p>Simulacrum: One of the few illusion spells that actually works on Limbo much like it does on the prime, with the exception that once the simulacrum becomes ‘real’ (usually only in a few hours), it is no longer under the control of the caster.</p><p></p><p>Spiritwrack: "Ssendam" (being merely ‘Madness reversed) is not the true name of the Slaad Lord, if indeed it has a true name.</p><p></p><p>Statue: Subject to the same limitations of all shape changing spells.</p><p></p><p>Temporal Stasis: Nothing remains unchanged in Limbo. This spell fails to function properly.</p><p></p><p>Time Stop: It is not possible to stop change in Limbo. This spell fails to function properly, hasting half the beings in the area of effect, and slowing the other half.</p><p></p><p>Trap The Soul: "Ssendam" is not the true name of the Slaad Lord, if indeed it has a true name.</p><p></p><p>True Name: "Ssendam" is not the true name of the Slaad Lord, if indeed it has a true name.</p><p></p><p>True Sight: Nothing has a true form on the plane of Limbo. This spell fails to show more than what is seen, or renders everything invisible or distorted or otherwise fails to function properly. Prolonged use of true sight is likely to result in insanity.</p><p></p><p>Weather Summoning/Weather Control: While in the Chaos Soup, it would be better to call these spells ‘weather creation’, as no natural weather normally exists there. Attempts to control the weather, result in the creation of illusionary weather of the desired type, but then such creation is subject to the same effects of any illusion created in Limbo. Players will find these spells awesomely powerful, but incredibly dangerous, as weather on Limbo makes weather on the prime seem predictable. On Limbo, you never know if the cloud you just created is going to start raining ice, burning lumps of magma, acid, light rays, or earthworms or simply transform into a suspended lake or cloud of toxic fumes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6089901, member: 4937"] Ok, keep in mind that these are unedited from my archives, and generally assume 1st edition rules: [B]Spell Use in Limbo[/B] All Spell Casting (General): The use of any arcane spell provokes a wild surge (as during the time of troubles) when on Limbo. Animal Summoning (General): There are no animals to summon, but if the spell is invoked Chaos Elementals of half the HD of the animals normally summoned by the spell will arrive in the area. The will not be under the control of the Druid (or anyone else for that matter). Charm/Enchantment (General): While on Limbo, all creatures save at +4 vs. spells of this type. It is hard to govern anything here. Clerical Spells (General): All Clerical spells are 85% more likely to fail while in Limbo unless the character is a cleric of a CN deity or some deity currently residing in Limbo. Once the character has actually moved into Ssendam's personal domain, this chance of failure applies to all clerics other than Clerics of Ssendam itself. Furthermore, spells of 3rd level or above may not be regained until after the cleric has departed Limbo. Divination (General): Nothing about the future is predictable in Limbo. Any spell that gives information about the future fails. Unlike in the Waymites, divination that allows perception at a distance works normally except in the close vicinity of Ssendam’s throne, in which case insanity is again the probable result. Of course, by the time that a character arrives at a scryed location, it is highly probable that what is there will be different than what is viewed. Flight (General): Spells that allow flight work almost normally, and magical flight is the only way to travel while in the Chaos Soup without creating any illusionary terrain to travel through. However, there really is no up and down in Limbo. Suspension of flight does not cause falling. Flight spells may act unexpectedly when entering illusionary realms. In particular, The City of the Insane and its environments does not allow flight EXCEPT by using wings or other mechanical means. Flight spells operating in this area only allow horizontal travel at the top speed of the flight spell. Attempts to fly up off the ground result only in a disordering vertigo, as the ground seems to swivel about to accommodate the character's new position - and an alarming tendency to change ones orientation with respect to that ground. From the perspective of an observer, it will be impossible to tell that the character has not simply moved an appropriate distance forward and altered his orientation from the perpendicular (E.I. it will appear that the character has stumbled and fell.) Illusions (General): Illusions used in Limbo are more potent than illusions used in other planes, but they are also much much harder to control. A truly chaotic being cannot or does not distinguish between what is illusion and what is real, and on Limbo that distinguishment is truly impossible to make. All reality is illusion, and conversely all illusions are real. The primal substance of chaos is highly susceptible to becoming ordered, but once ordered it is also prone to acting in an unexpected fashion. First, all illusions cast in Limbo are at -2 to disbelieve or save against. Second, any illusion cast by a player has a chance equal to twice the level of the character of having permanent duration until dispelled. Thirdly, illusions that do not normally require continual concentration require concentration to prevent them from acting in an unexpected manner. Even a permanent illusion requires concentration in this manner or it begins to alter its form and behavior. Any illusion left to its self will change until concentration is again given to it. Fourthly, any illusion has a chance equal to the level of the spell caster of becoming real on each turn of its existence. Once the illusion has become real, it is outside of the spell caster's control and may not be dispelled, even with dispel magic or dispel illusion. It should be treated in all ways as a non-illusion. For instance, a character may create an illusion of a red dragon. If such an illusion becomes real, and then that dragon is no longer under the spell caster's control and should act much as a dragon would in the circumstances. A character that uses alter self or change self runs the risk of permanently altering their own features! However, objects created in this manner out of chaos itself are themselves always highly chaotic and unstable, even if removed from Limbo. They are subject to random changes in form and behavior and cannot be trusted to act in any one particular manner for long. The above character with permanently altered features also has permanently uncontrollably mutable facial features until a wish or some other magic is used to restore his form to a more stable state! Fifthly, any illusion spell that is cast initially has a chance equal to twice the level of the spell caster of remaining in memory after casting. In fact, characters that experiment will find that they have a 1% chance per round of creating an illusion whether they can cast spells or not! They also have a 1% chance per turn of inadvertently creating one whether they meant to or not. This chance rises to not less than 1% per round if the character is day dreaming, bored, or some such. Sleeping (and dreaming) in Limbo is dangerous! Having nightmares is lethal! Such illusions should initially have no more than 1" cube volume and have effects equivalent to phantasmal force or similar. Treat the spell as cast by a spell caster of the minimum level necessary to cast the spell for all other purposes. More powerful effects are possible the more practice a player gets at shaping the primal chaos. In fact, with sufficient practice or training it is possible to take a NWP in Chaos Shaping. This NWP should be assumed to be possessed by all natives of Limbo at a very high degree of proficiency. A successful NWP check vs. Chaos Shaping allows the character to cast, at will, the Spectral Forces spell while in Limbo at an effective level equal to one half his NWP score. Illusionists with the Chaos Shaping NWP add double their NWP score to the chance that illusion spells will remain in memory when cast on Limbo. Assume Celebrim possesses a 19 in this NWP - should the situation come up. Most creatures of Chaos possess the NWP at 22 or higher, and can perform truly outstanding feats of illusion simply at will while in Limbo. Most of these creatures simply abandon their creations shortly after they come into existence and are not worried about what happens to them even a few minutes after they are created. Many of the most bizarre things that can be encountered in the Chaos soup are abandoned illusions that have achieved substance. Slaad can be presumed to naturally possess this skill, but with the possible exception of the Slaad lords themselves, they rarely if ever evoke it because they are manifestations of the destructive aspect of chaos - not the creative. Finally, the most dangerous thing about any illusion created in Limbo is that once it becomes real it immediately begins to attract Chaos Elementals from the surrounding environment. The more ordered and stable the illusion (or created object) the more quickly it attracts Chaos Elementals seeking to destroy the offending intrusion of reality into the substanceless chaotic void. Each turn that an illusion is maintained, there is a 1% chance per 10" cube of volume of the illusion (or HD if alive!) that it will attract a Chaos Elemental of not less than 1 HD and not more than 1 HD per 10" cube of volume (or HD if alive!) of the illusion. The normal max is 16 HD, unless the illusion or illusions occupies a truly vast area. This chance is doubled if the author of the illusion is lawful (tripled if LN), and doubled again if they fail a Chaos Shaping NWP or Limbo Lore or Limbo Survival NWP (automatically failed if not possessed). It is also doubled if the object is alive, doubled yet again if the object in question is innately lawful (like a Modron), and doubled yet again if the object in question is particularly uniform and regular (like a featureless meadow, a garden, a cube, a brick wall, or a Modron). It is quartered if the object in question is plastic or fluid and has no definite shape, or halved if the object in question is asymmetric and pliant. It is also halved if the author of the illusion was himself CN. Shapechange (General): Removing the stability from an object's intrinsic nature is a dangerous proposition on a plane where everything is intrinsically unstable. There is an 85% chance that any such spell will fail spectacularly, and this may actually be the best result! If the spell fails, the target shapechanges uncontrollably for 1d4 rounds (roughly once per segment) and on each round the character is stunned and must make a system shock roll or die. (Unwilling targets are of course still allowed a saving throw to resist the spell entirely.) There is a 1% chance that the final result will be the target's disintegration, and a 95% chance that the final form will be other than what is intended (usually something chaotic and horrific). If the spell succeeds, the danger is far from over. Spells such as polymorph self, statue, and shapechange that give a player control over his form have a chance of rendering the characters form permanently unstable. This condition is called uncontrolled form mutability (or colloquially 'chaos sickness') and creatures subject to such a condition shapechange without conscious effort or control whenever they are subject to stress. This condition will last even after the player has left the plane of Limbo and may only be removed with a wish or similar magic. Eventually the condition is fatal to most creatures either because their minds are unable to cope with the sudden shock of say, becoming a potato salad, or because they find themselves changing into a fish while in the desert or a cow when falling off a cliff. For each turn (or instance if less than a turn) that a character employs a shapechanging spell or item, there is a 5% chance that he will unglue his true form and begin suffering from form mutability. Thereafter, whenever a character must make a saving throw, must roll for surprise, is subject to an unexpected circumstance (such as springs a trap, discovers an unexpected and disturbing bit of information, etc.), suffers damage, or concentrates strongly (such as when casting a spell, disarming a trap, memorizing a spell, praying, mediating, studying a book) that character must make a saving throw vs. spell or shapechange into a random object. Such sudden change requires a SSS roll or the character dies. If the character survives the new form will either be more suitable for the situation (45% chance, 5% chance of being much more suitable) or less suitable for the situation (45% chance, 5% chance of being must less suitable). For instance, if a character suddenly pushed into the ocean it is 45% likely that he would turn into a walrus, fish, or boat; 5% probable that he would turn into a water elemental or Marid; 45% probable that he would turn into a anvil, camel, dwarf, or bottle of wine, and 5% probable that the form would be a raw pot roast, fire salamander, or block of soap. Such transformation lasts 1-10 turns, at which point it is initially 95% probable that the character will return to his native form and 5% probable that he will shape change uncontrollably again. However, the longer the condition lasts, the more unhinged the beings form becomes. For each week that the sickness continues, the chance of returning to the native form decreases by 5% (and conversely the chance that a new shapechanging episode occurs increases by 5%). Note that a wide variety of other effects on Limbo can cause form mutability as well. Summoning (General): It is not possible to summon creatures that are not native to the plane of Limbo while on the plane of Limbo without Gate or similar magic. Creatures of chaos only have a chance equal to the spell caster's level (double if chaotic, triple if CN, or half if lawful) of serving the spell caster, and also a chance equal to the summoner's level (half if chaotic, or double if lawful) that they will be hostile. If the monster is neither willing to serve nor hostile, then it is typically curious. Once summoned, creatures tend to hang around even after the spells duration is over (unless they become bored) and must be dealt with in some fashion. A monster might go from serving the character to hostile as soon as the spell's duration is over! Monster Summoning spells summons monsters appropriate to the plane and the level of the spell. Some suggestions are as follows: Monster Summoning I: Gibberlings Monster Summoning II: Monster Summoning III: 1 HD Chaos Elementals Chaos Imps Gelatinous cube Ochre Jelly Quarks Monster Summoning IV: 2 HD Chaos Elementals Gargoyles Gray Ooze Monster Summoning V: 4 HD Chaos Elementals Monster Summoning VI: Red Slaad 6 HD Chaos Elementals Monster Summoning VII: Blue Slaad 8 HD Chaos Elementals Note that within the domain of a Power however, all conjuration and summoning spells fail, as no creature of less than Demigod status is capable (or willing) to enter such an area without the permission of the power. Teleport (General): There are no destinations within the Chaos Soup itself, but an illusionary domain can be teleported too unless some force prevents it. The best use of teleport in the Chaos Soup is to teleport to things that can be seen, since these are often many miles away (or even an infinite distance away). In general, it is not possible to teleport into or out of the domain of one of the Powers (Ssendam, Ygorl, etc.) unless permitted by the Power, and attempts to result in appearing at a random location (if teleporting in) or simple failure (if teleporting out). Illusionary domains within Limbo are of course very unstable, and an area is never known better than casually (and often never better than seen once no matter how many times it is viewed because it changes every time). Despite this, the vast distances of infinity are such that teleport is often the only practical way to move from place to place within the plane. Wall Spells (General): Do to the lack of gravity, wall spells generally do not require anchor points and will tend to hang wherever they are put. They act normally in illusionary terrain that features normal gravity. Anti-Animal Shell: Does confer protection from Chaos Elementals while on Limbo (but not from the same on the prime). Babble (Reverse of Tongues): On a failed saving throw, this spell has permanent effect on its target. Call Lightning: Works anywhere in the Chaos Soup without the need of a storm. Chaos: This spell is especially powerful here. The target of this spell always becomes temporarily insane, and on a failed saving throw becomes permanently insane. Commune with Nature: The spell functions in the Chaos Soup (which is natural), but not in most illusionary domains (which aren’t), unless the illusion is that of a natural setting (a forest or meadow) and it is has become ‘real’ as described under the text concerning illusions. However, in the Chaos Soup, it gives no real information, since the environment is continually changing and there is a chance that such a communion will render the Druid mentally unstable (as Contact other Plane). Confusion: Treat as Chaos for purposes of resisting this spell. On a failed saving throw, the target also acquires a temporary insanity. Conjure Elemental: If the caster knows the proper variation of the spell, it is possible to conjure up a Chaos Elemental on Limbo, but it is not possible to control it! Detect Illusion: This spell cannot distinguish between illusions and reality while on Limbo. Detect Lie: Nothing has a definite meaning on Limbo. Everything is true, and everything is false. This spell fails to function. Disintegration: Saves vs. this spell are at -2 while on Limbo. Familiar: Although the spell has but a 10% chance of success and only succeeds for CN’s, if successful the Familiar will always be a Quark. Find the Path: This spell always fails on Limbo. Invisibility to Animals: Does confer invisibility to Chaos Elementals and other similarly unintelligent inhabitants of the Chaos soup, although of course they will still eat anything at gets in their way whether they can see it or not. Invisibility: This spell may and must be dispelled if it becomes permanent, for otherwise the target is at risk of becoming non-corporal or even disintegrating in the long term! Levitation: There is no up and no down in Limbo. Levitation fails to work in a predictable fashion, except in certain illusionary domains. A levitating character moves in a random direction, and any attempt at new motion sets the character off in a new random direction. Magic Jar: There is a 10% chance per turn that a creature of Limbo will possess the caster’s body while it is vacant if sufficient protections are not used (circles of protection from chaos and the like). The creature will either be: 01-40 A CN disembodied soul 41-70 A Red Slaad 71-90 A Blue Slaad 91-99 Green Slaad 00 or more A Gray Slaad More powerful bodies will attract more powerful creatures - add twice the character’s level to the roll. Once in the body, the soul will possess abilities corresponding to a character of level 1d6+2 and will not wish to part with its new home. Slaad also retain their natural spell casting abilities. Disembodied souls will have the Chaos Shaping NWP at 1d10+10. The soul may only removed with a clerical exorcise spell. Mending: This spell depends on the natural organization of objects, and as such always fails to function properly on Limbo. Mirror Image: A very cheap, and very dangerous, way to clone oneself several times in quick succession if the images remain long enough to become real. Not recommended. Insanity is the likely result. Death by suicide or being slain by your insane clones generally follows not far behind. Pass without Trace: Redundant in most areas of the ever changing Limbo. Project Image: Like Mirror Image, this can be bad. Raise Dead: There is a 25% chance that the resurrected body will be possessed by a slaad using a magic jar like attack. This may not be immediately obvious to either the party or the newly resurrected character. Reincarnation: The reincarnated form is always that of a CN being native to the plane Regeneration: The regenerated body part will be subject to uncontrollably mutable form. See the section on shapechanging for details. Resurrection: There is a 25% chance that the resurrected body will be possessed by a slaad using a magic jar like attack. This may not be immediately obvious to either the party or the newly resurrected character. Reverse Gravity: Against creatures from Limbo, this has no effect. Against creatures not native to Limbo who are also operating in any illusionary environment that features gravity (essentially anywhere except inside the Chaos soup), this works normally provided that those creatures fail a Limbo Survival or Chaos Shaping NWP check. Simulacrum: One of the few illusion spells that actually works on Limbo much like it does on the prime, with the exception that once the simulacrum becomes ‘real’ (usually only in a few hours), it is no longer under the control of the caster. Spiritwrack: "Ssendam" (being merely ‘Madness reversed) is not the true name of the Slaad Lord, if indeed it has a true name. Statue: Subject to the same limitations of all shape changing spells. Temporal Stasis: Nothing remains unchanged in Limbo. This spell fails to function properly. Time Stop: It is not possible to stop change in Limbo. This spell fails to function properly, hasting half the beings in the area of effect, and slowing the other half. Trap The Soul: "Ssendam" is not the true name of the Slaad Lord, if indeed it has a true name. True Name: "Ssendam" is not the true name of the Slaad Lord, if indeed it has a true name. True Sight: Nothing has a true form on the plane of Limbo. This spell fails to show more than what is seen, or renders everything invisible or distorted or otherwise fails to function properly. Prolonged use of true sight is likely to result in insanity. Weather Summoning/Weather Control: While in the Chaos Soup, it would be better to call these spells ‘weather creation’, as no natural weather normally exists there. Attempts to control the weather, result in the creation of illusionary weather of the desired type, but then such creation is subject to the same effects of any illusion created in Limbo. Players will find these spells awesomely powerful, but incredibly dangerous, as weather on Limbo makes weather on the prime seem predictable. On Limbo, you never know if the cloud you just created is going to start raining ice, burning lumps of magma, acid, light rays, or earthworms or simply transform into a suspended lake or cloud of toxic fumes. [/QUOTE]
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