AD&D 2nd Edition

Sphere: Animal, Summoning
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: 4 rounds/level
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None

When the caster utters the spell of creeping doom, he calls forth a mass of from 500 to 1,000 ([1d6 + 4] x 100) venomous, biting and stinging arachnids, insects, and myriapods. This carpet-like mass swarms in an area 20 feet square. Upon command from the caster, the swarm creeps forth at 10 feet per round toward any prey within 80 yards, moving in the direction in which the caster commands. The creeping doom slays any creature subject to normal attacks, as each of the small horrors inflicts 1 point of damage (each then dies after its attack), so that up to 1,000 points of damage can be inflicted on creatures within the path of the creeping doom. If the creeping doom goes more than 80 yards away from the summoner, it loses 50 of its number for each 10 yards beyond 80 yards (e.g. , at 100 yards, its number has shrunk by 100). There are a number of ways to thwart or destroy the creatures forming the swarm. The solutions are left to the imaginations of players and DMs.