Villains' Lorebook.pdf - Department of Political Science

146
Spell-Lash
(Alteration)
Level: 9
Range: 0
Components: V,S
Duration: Instantaneous
Casting Time: 4
Area of Effect: 25’ radius
Saving Throw: 1/2
This spell is used by Red Wizards who are in danger
of death or capture. It completely erradicates the
wizard’s body (although the wizard’s essence may be
protected by means of a clone, magic jar, or similar
spell) and inflicts explosive damage on all within a
25’ radius. The amount of damage inflicted is equal
to ld4 per level of the caster. A 25th-level wizard
would, for example, inflict 25d4 points of damage
upon all individuals and objects within 25 feet
should this spell be used.
Needless to say, spell-lash is not used very often,
but when it is, the results are spectacular.
Statis Clone
(Alteration, Necromancy)
Level: 9
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 2 turns
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None
This spell creates a duplicate of a human, demihuman,
or humanoid creature from any scrap of
bone, hair, tissue, or at least six drops of blood from
that being. If the caster is not the being to be duplicated,
that living creature must touch the duplicate
body, as it forms, to give it life.
This stasis clone is identical to the original being
in memories, skills, experience level, and appearance
at the time the organic tissue was obtained
from the being. It has one less point of Constitution
than the original being, and it cannot form at all if
the original being has a current Constitution of 1.
All other ability scores are identical.
Unlike duplicates created by the 8th-level wizard
spell clone, the copy of the being is never aware of
the existence of the original. It remains in magical
stasis and is mentally unreachable with a sole excep-
tion noted hereafter. It does not age, decay, or need
air, water, food, or other essentials that other living
things require. A stasis clone can be stored in a coffin
or other confined space, and it is not awakened by
handling. It can be damaged or even destroyed by
weapons, fire, crushing blows, and other forces that
would harm its living counterpart.
A stasis clone holds the pose it was last placed in by
living hands, and thus can be dressed and clothed so
as to be used as a decoy or to fool others into thinking
that they are seeing the original being in a state
of rest, sitting absorbed in study, etc.
Whenever the original being touches the stasis
clone, the clone’s memories, skills and experience
levels are updated to match the original being’s.
Purely physical differences-such as aging, a wound,
or an amputated limb-the original being has gone
through are not mirrored by the clone in this process.
The stasis is normally lifted only when the original
being dies, though up to two contingency spells may
be applied to any stasis clone to modify when and how
it activates. (Note that a stasis clone confined in an
airtight or flooded space may perish shortly after
awakening.) Multiple stasis clones can be created by
repeated castings of this spell. These stasis clones even
can be linked to each other by custom-devised transferal
spells mated to contingency spells. The death of
the first clone awakens only the second, its death in
turn activates just the third, and so on.
Manshoon has used this spell both to escape final
death and to remain young. As he ages, he can update
his stasis clone, get himself slain (usually in a reckless
attack that destroys an enemy, such as a powerful Red
Wizard or Cult of Dragon member), and return as a
physically younger clone. Several wizards have offered
him fantastic sums for a copy of this spell and reportedly
have been refused. Others (including apprentices)
have perished quite messily at Manshoon’s
hands when they attempted to steal the spell.
Manshoon’s stasis clones are obvious targets for those
who wish him permanently dead. Several times his enemies
or his rivals in the Inner Circle of the Zhentarim
have gone to a great deal of trouble to kill him and destroy
all of his stasis clones, only to find that Manshoon
had squirreled away one or two they had missed. One
reason that Manshoon has not advanced to a higher
level as a wizard is undoubtedly the cumulative loss of a
great deal of experience because of the lag between
newly activated clones that had not been recently updated
and previous, now-dead Manshoon incarnations.