Fieari
Explorer
Preface-
As a DM, I'm constantly thinking about stories and plothooks. My players and I have a love for the dramatic, and as such tend to prefer epic level campaigns even though we insist on bringing characters up from low levels.
At any rate, I was considering plothooks, and I came up with a thought. What about magic that is honestly dangerous to both the caster and everyone else... something that would justify a church banning all magic, that would inspire mage hunters for the common good, and that would give the players something rather interesting to do.
So I wrote up a spell that's basically a Gate gone wrong... someone trying to cast Gate at a lower level than it should be, with nasty nasty NASTY consequences. This is mostly a request for comments on the subject, as well as a request for further ideas in this vein of thought....
Unstable Gate
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Conjuration [Chaotic]
Level: Clr 7, Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, XP (10d100 xp)
Range: Medium
Effect: See text
Duration: Permanent until closed (see text)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
An Unstable Gate is similar in principle to the 9th level spell Gate, but is considerably more dangerous and almost entirely uncontrollable by anyone. Unlike the higher level spell, Unstable Gate cannot call or summon anything through it, nor can it control or place geis on anything that passes through.
Unstable Gate creates an interdimensional connection between your plane of existance and the plane desired. It appears as a 1d20 foot ripped hole in reality, nothing nearly so neat and tidy as a normal Gate. As a side effect, it also connects to an infinite number of other planes located between your plane and the target plane. The nature of these planes is indeterminate and uncontrollable by the caster. While it is theoretically possible to connect only harmless planes together, in practice this never, ever happens.
Please note that while an infinite number of planes are connected, there are an infinite number of planes not connected as well.
Any being in any of these innumerable planes may travel through the unstable gate to any other plane connected by the gate. While inside the unstable gate, the entity will find himself in a landscape constructed from his imagination, but always filled with some sort of portals to other worlds... it might be a long hallway lined with doors, or a quiet wood filled with ponds... whatever the entity sees is created from his/her/its imagination.
An Unstable Gate may allow creatures normally banned from travelling across planes unaided to do so as they desire. As such creatures include demons and devils, and as Unstable Gate places no restraints on any who travel it, this makes the spell extremely dangerous, a menace not only to your plane and the destination plane, but to an infinite number of other planes you may never see or hear about.
Passages to individual realms may be sealed by an Arcane Lock spell, but this seal can then be broken by a simple Knock. Other wards and safegaurds may be put in place as well, however, a passage may be sealed permanently only by a Wish or an 8th level spell custom made for the purpose. Due to the chaotic nature of such gates, each passage closed must use a unique spell to permanently close.
The entire Unstable Gate may be undone only by means of creating a new plane to plug the entire "hole" this gate makes. Such a feat is generally only available to greater deities, and is likely beyond the means of player characters.
As a DM, I'm constantly thinking about stories and plothooks. My players and I have a love for the dramatic, and as such tend to prefer epic level campaigns even though we insist on bringing characters up from low levels.
At any rate, I was considering plothooks, and I came up with a thought. What about magic that is honestly dangerous to both the caster and everyone else... something that would justify a church banning all magic, that would inspire mage hunters for the common good, and that would give the players something rather interesting to do.
So I wrote up a spell that's basically a Gate gone wrong... someone trying to cast Gate at a lower level than it should be, with nasty nasty NASTY consequences. This is mostly a request for comments on the subject, as well as a request for further ideas in this vein of thought....
Unstable Gate
=============
Conjuration [Chaotic]
Level: Clr 7, Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, XP (10d100 xp)
Range: Medium
Effect: See text
Duration: Permanent until closed (see text)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
An Unstable Gate is similar in principle to the 9th level spell Gate, but is considerably more dangerous and almost entirely uncontrollable by anyone. Unlike the higher level spell, Unstable Gate cannot call or summon anything through it, nor can it control or place geis on anything that passes through.
Unstable Gate creates an interdimensional connection between your plane of existance and the plane desired. It appears as a 1d20 foot ripped hole in reality, nothing nearly so neat and tidy as a normal Gate. As a side effect, it also connects to an infinite number of other planes located between your plane and the target plane. The nature of these planes is indeterminate and uncontrollable by the caster. While it is theoretically possible to connect only harmless planes together, in practice this never, ever happens.
Please note that while an infinite number of planes are connected, there are an infinite number of planes not connected as well.
Any being in any of these innumerable planes may travel through the unstable gate to any other plane connected by the gate. While inside the unstable gate, the entity will find himself in a landscape constructed from his imagination, but always filled with some sort of portals to other worlds... it might be a long hallway lined with doors, or a quiet wood filled with ponds... whatever the entity sees is created from his/her/its imagination.
An Unstable Gate may allow creatures normally banned from travelling across planes unaided to do so as they desire. As such creatures include demons and devils, and as Unstable Gate places no restraints on any who travel it, this makes the spell extremely dangerous, a menace not only to your plane and the destination plane, but to an infinite number of other planes you may never see or hear about.
Passages to individual realms may be sealed by an Arcane Lock spell, but this seal can then be broken by a simple Knock. Other wards and safegaurds may be put in place as well, however, a passage may be sealed permanently only by a Wish or an 8th level spell custom made for the purpose. Due to the chaotic nature of such gates, each passage closed must use a unique spell to permanently close.
The entire Unstable Gate may be undone only by means of creating a new plane to plug the entire "hole" this gate makes. Such a feat is generally only available to greater deities, and is likely beyond the means of player characters.
