Friday, December 10, 2010

Weird Arcana - Divine Awe (New Spell)

Here’s my first experiment with a divine spell. I usually have some creative problems with divine magic, due to the fact the D&D cleric is poorly represented in literature. I’m aiming for a “Sword & Sorcery”-feel here (or an “Old Testament”-feel if you like), always paying attention to the cleric’s role as a defensive and protective caster.

DIVINE AWE
School enchantment
Level cleric/oracle 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF
Range personal (see text)
Target you
Duration 1 minute (see text);
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
By invoking one of the deity’s names or titles, the divine caster is infused with divine authority. All intelligent creatures at 100 feet or less from the priest instantly note his presence and his voice can be heard clearly, over any other ambient noise (like a mass battle, a peasant mob or a roaring dragon). The divine caster also gains a +5 divine bonus to diplomacy or intimidate checks for the spell’s duration.
If the caster is targeted by a melee attack, he can choose to dismiss divine awe as an immediate action to inflict 1d6 of divine damage for every two caster levels against the aggressor.
The caster must hold high his divine focus during the entire length of divine awe or the spell is instantly dispelled.

2 comments:

  1. I like it. Can the cleric still cast spells while holding his divine focus high?

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  2. Good question. I like to add specific complications or requirements to my spells (like holding the divine focus) to give flavor (and maybe offer some weakness or new tactics), but I rarely bother with rules details. I think the cleric could keep casting other spells without any problem (maybe a Concetrantion DC 15 on more difficult situations).

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