AD&D 2nd Edition

Everything I have for Second Edition

Tag Archives: Necromancy


Animate Dead

Sphere: Necromantic
Range: 10 yards
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Pet manent
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None

This spell creates the lowest of the undead monsters, skeletons or zombies, usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, demihumans, or humanoids. The spell causes these remains to become animated and obey the simple verbal commands of the caster, regardless of how they communicated in life. The skeletons or zombies can follow the caster, remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific type of creature) entering the place, etc. The undead remain animated until they are destroyed in combat or are turned; the magic cannot be dispelled.

The priest can animate one skeleton or one zombie for each experience level he has attained. If creatures with more than 1+ Hit Dice are animated, the number is determined by the monster Hit Dice. Skeletal forms have the Hit Dice of the original creature, while zombie forms have 1 more Hit Die. Thus, a 12th-level priest could animate 12 dwarven skeletons (or six zombies), four zombie gnolls, or a single zombie fire giant. Note that this is based on the standard racial Hit Die norm; thus, a high-level adventurer would be animated as a skeleton or zombie of 1 or 2 Hit Dice, and without special class or racial abilities. The caster can, alternatively, animate two small animal skeletons (1-1 Hit Die or less) for every level of experience he has achieved.

The spell requires a drop of blood, a piece of flesh of the type of creature being animated, and a pinch of bone powder or a bone shard to complete the spell. Casting this spell is not a good act, and only evil priests use it frequently.

Slow Poison

Sphere: Healing
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 hour/level
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: Creature touched
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is placed upon a poisoned individual, it greatly slows the effects of venom, if it is cast upon the victim before the poison takes full effect. (This period, known as the onset time, is known to the DM.) While this spell does not neutralize the venom, it does prevent it from substantially harming the individual for the duration of its magic in hopes that, during that period, a full cure can be accomplished.

The material components of the slow poison spell are the priest’s holy symbol and a bud of garlic that must be crushed and smeared on the wound (or eaten if poison was ingested).

Aid

Sphere: Necromantic
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 round +1 round/level
Casting Time: 5
Area of Effect: Creature touched
Saving Throw: None

The recipient of this spell gains the benefit of a bless spell (+1 to attack rolls and saving throws) and a special bonus of 1d8 additional hit points for the duration of the spell. The aid spell enables the recipient to actually have more hit points than his full normal total. The bonus hit points are lost first when the recipient takes damage; they cannot be regained by curative magic. Example: A 1st-level fighter has 8 hit points, suffers 2 points of damage (8 – 2 = 6), and then receives an aid spell that gives 5 additional hit points. The fighter now has 11 hit points, 5 of which are temporary. If he is then hit for 7 points of damage, 2 normal hit points and all 5 temporary hit points are lost. He then receives a cure light wounds spell that heals 4 points of damage, restoring him to his original 8 hit points.

Note that the operation of the spell is unaffected by permanent hit point losses due to energy drain, Hit Die losses, the loss of a familiar, or the operation of certain artifacts; the temporary hit point gain is figured from the new, lower total.

The material components of this spell are a tiny strip of white cloth with a sticky substance (such as tree sap) on the ends, plus the priest’s holy symbol.

Cure Light Wounds

Sphere: Healing
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 5
Area of Effect: Creature touched
Saving Throw: None

When casting this spell and laying his hand upon a creature, the priest causes 1d8 points of wound or other injury damage to the creature’s body to be healed. This healing cannot affect creatures without corporeal bodies, nor can it cure wounds of creatures not living or of extra planar origin.

The reversed spell, cause light wounds, operates in the same manner, inflicting 1d8 points of damage. If a creature is avoiding this touch, an attack roll is needed to determine if the priest’s hand strikes the opponent and causes such a wound.

Curing is permanent only insofar as the creature does not sustain further damage; caused wounds will heal – or can be cured – just as any normal injury.

Energy Drain

Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 3
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None

By casting this spell, the wizard opens a channel between the plane he is in the Negative Energy plane, becoming the conductor between the two planes. As soon as he touches (equal to a hit if melee is involved) any living creature, the victim loses two levels (as if struck by a spectre). A monster loses 2 Hit Dice permanently, both for hit points and attack ability. A character loses levels, Hit Dice, hit points, and abilities permanently (until regained through adventuring, if applicable).

Clone

Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 turn
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None

This spell creates a duplicate of a human, demihuman, or humanoid creature. This clone is in most respects the duplicate of the individual, complete to the level of experience, memories, etc. However, the duplicate really is the person, so that if the original and a duplicate exist at the same time, each knows of the other’s existence; and the original person and the clone will each desire to do away with the other, for such an alter-ego is unbearable to both. If one cannot destroy the other, one will go insane (90% likely to be the clone) and destroy itself, or possibly (2% chance) both will become mad and destroy themselves. These events nearly always occur within one week of the dual existence. Note that the clone is the person as he existed at the time at which the flesh was taken, and all subsequent knowledge, experience, etc., is totally unknown to the clone. The clone is a physical duplicate, and possessions of the original are another matter entirely. A clone takes 2d4 months to grow, and only after that time is dual existence established. Finally, the clone has one less Constitution point then the body it was cloned from, and the cloning fails if the clone would have a Constitution of 0.

The material component of the spell is a small piece of the flesh from the person to be duplicated.

The DM may, in addition, add other stipulations to the success of the cloning effort, requiring that some trace of life must remain in the flesh sample, that some means of storing and preserving the sample must be devised a maintained, etc.

Finger of Death

Range: 60 yards 
Components:
 V, S 
Duration:
 Permanent 
Casting Time: 
5
Area of Effect:
 1 creature 
Saving Throw:
 Neg

The finger of death spell snuffs out the victim’s life force. If successful, the victim can be neither raised nor resurrected. In addition, in human subjects the spell initiates changes to the body such that after 3 days the caster can, by means of a special ceremony costing not less than 1,000 gp plus 500 gp per body, animate the corpse as a juju zombie under the control of the caster. The changes can be reversed before animation by a limited wish or similar spell cast directly upon the body, and a full wish restores the subject to life. The caster utters the finger of death spell incantation, points his index finger at the creature to be slain, and unless the victim succeeds in a saving throw vs. spell, death occurs. A creature successfully saving still receives 2d8+1 points of damage. If the subject dies of damage, no internal changes occur and the victim can then be revived normally.

Control Undead

Range: 60 feet 
Components:
 V, S, M 
Duration:
 1 3d4 rounds + 1 round/level 
Casting Time: 
1 round
Area of Effect:
 1d6 undead 
Saving Throw:
 Special

 This spell enables the wizard to command 1d6 undead creatures for a short period of time. Upon casting the spell, the wizard selects one point within range of the spell. Those undead nearest to this point are affected, until either undead equal in hit dice to the caster’s level or six undead are affected. Undead with three hit dice or less are automatically controlled. Those of greater hit dice are allowed a saving throw versus spell, which if successful negates the attempt to control the creature. Regardless of the success or failure of the saving throw, each creature required to make a check counts toward the hit dice limit of the spell.

Those creatures under the control of the wizard can be commanded by the caster if they are within hearing range. There is no telepathic communication between the caster and the controlled undead. There is no language requirement either. Even if communication is impossible, the controlled undead do not attack the spell caster. At the end of the spell, the controlled undead revert to their normal behaviors. Those not mindless will remember the control exerted by the wizard.

The material component for the spell is a small piece each of bone and raw meat.

Reincarnation

Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 turn
Area of Effect: Person touched
Saving Throw: None

With this spell, the wizard can bring back to life a person who died no more than one day per level of experience of the wizard before the casting of the spell. The essence of the dead person is transferred to another body, possibly one very different from his former body. Reincarnation does not require any saving throw, system shock, or resurrection survival roll. The corpse is touched, and a new incarnation of the person will appear in the area in 1d6 turns. The person reincarnated recalls the majority of his former life and form, but the character class, if any, of the new incarnation might be different indeed. The new incarnation is determine3d on the following table. If a player character race is indicated, the character must be created.

D100 Roll      Incarnation
01-05 Bugbear
06-11 Dwarf
12-18 Elf
19-23 Gnoll
24-28 Gnome
29-33 Goblin
34-40 Half-elf
41-47 Halfling
48-54 Half-orc
55-59 Hobgoblin
60-73 Human
74-79 Kobold
80-85 Orc
86-90 Ogre
91-95 Ogre mage
96-00 Troll

Note: Very good or very evil persons will not be reincarnated as creatures whose general alignment is the opposite. The material components of the spell are a small drum and a drop of blood.

Death Spell

Range: 10 yards/level
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Instantaneous
Casting Time: 6
Area of Effect: 30 ft cube/level
Saving Throw: None

When a death spell is cast, it snuffs out the life forces of creatures in the area of effect instantly and irrevocably. Such creatures cannot be raised or resurrected, but an individual slain in this manner might be brought back via a wish. The number of creatures that can be slain is a function of their Hit Dice.

Maximum # of Creature’s Hit Dice      Creatures Affected
Under 2 4d20
2 to 4 2d20
4+1 to 6+3 2d4
6+4 to 8+3 1d4

If creatures of differing Hit Dice are attacked with a death spell, roll the dice (4d20) to determine how many creatures of under 2 Hit Dice are affected. If the number rolled is greater than the actual number of sub-2 Hit Dice creatures, apply the remainder of the roll to the higher Hit Dice creatures by consulting the following table.

Creatures’ Hit Dice      Conversion Factor (CF)
Under 2 1
2 to 4 2
4+1 to 6+3 10
6+4 to 8+3 20

In other words, for the 4d20 roll subtract the number of creatures of less than 2 Hit Dice (these creatures die). If there are any remaining points from the 4d20 roll, subtract 2 for each creature of 2 to 4 Hit Dice (these creatures also die). If this still doesn’t use up all the 4d20 roll, subtract 10 for each creature of 4+1 to 6+3 Hit Dice, and so on. Stop when all the creatures are dead, all the 4d20 roll is used up, or the remainder is less than half the CF of any remaining creatures. (If the remainder is one-half or more of the CF of a creature, that creature dies.) For example, a mixed group of 20 goblins, eight gnolls, and four ogres, led by a hill giant, are caught in the area of a death spell. The 4d20 roll gives a total of 53 points; 20 of this eliminates the goblins (20 x 1 CF), 16 kills the gnolls (8 x 2 CF), and the remaining 17 kills two ogres (l0 points to kill one ogre, and the remaining 7 points are enough to kill one more ogre). The other two ogres and the hill giant are unharmed. A death spell does not affect lycanthropes, undead creatures, or creatures from planes other than the Prime Material. The material component of this spell is a crushed black pearl with a minimum value of 1,000 gp.