Possession Spells
While, usually, being possessed is a bad thing, certain classes such as mediums and spiritualists actually revolve around having other entities share their consciousness. This week, we explore the idea of letting dangerous spirits and otherworldly forces into yourself in exchange for greater power. These powerful buffs don’t come without risks, so beware the unforeseen consequences that can come from channeling otherworldly forces.
CELESTIAL SURRENDER
School transmutation; Level cleric 5, inquisitor 6, medium 4, occultist 5, paladin 4, psychic 5, sorcerer/wizard 6, spiritualist 5, summoner 5, witch 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a drop of wine or a stick of incense)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 minute/level
You entreat a heavenly good-aligned spirit such as an angel, archon, or azata to join in your consciousness, and your communion with this entity gives you otherworldly power for a brief time. You gain a +4 enhancement bonus to your Wisdom and Charisma scores and can manifest wings made of golden or silver light, granting you a fly speed of 60 feet with perfect maneuverability. Creating or dismissing the wings is a free action.
Additionally, while under the effects of this spell, you gain the power of saving grace, allowing you to transfer the energy of the angelic spirit and your own life force to save the life of another character within 30 feet. Whenever a character within 30 feet of you would die (including yourself), you can choose to immediately end this spell in order to save that character, causing their hit point total to be reduced to 1, and reducing your own hit point total to 1 in the process.
This spell also comes with a cost, as the celestial entity exerts control over you. You suffer a –4 penalty to all attack rolls made against non-evil creatures, and the saving throw DCs of all spells that deal damage or have a saving throw entry denoted as other than harmless are reduced by 4. Creatures you summon or which are tied to you, such as animal companions, familiars, eidolons, and phantoms, also suffer these penalties.
Finally, the celestial entity can attempt to take control of you if your philosophies do not match up with its own. If your alignment on the good/evil axis is neutral, then when you cast this spell, you must make a Charisma check with a DC of 30 – your caster level. If your alignment on the good/evil axis is evil, then you must also make this check when you cast this spell, and additionally must continue to make this check each minute for the spell’s duration. Failure indicates that the celestial entity takes over your body, as though by the spell possession, for the remaining duration of the spell. Whenever you perform an act the entity deems evil, you must also make this check or risk it gaining control over you.
COMMUNE WITH THE FALLEN
School transmutation; Level cleric 4, inquisitor 4, medium 3, occultist 4, psychic 4, sorcerer/wizard 4, spiritualist 3, summoner 4, witch 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (candle wax from a candle burned in a church, graveyard, or temple)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 minute/level
You call the spirits of the dead into your mind to join their ancient wisdom and mad craving for life with your own thoughts and abilities. You gain a +4 enhancement bonus to the ability score of your choice, and once each round when you fail a saving throw, you may make a new saving throw against that effect as an immediate action; if the saving throw is made against a mind-affecting effect, you gain a +2 bonus on the save.
Finally, as a swift action, you can choose to gain a temporary negative level in order to take an additional standard action. If the action is an attack, you gain a +2 bonus on the attack roll, and if you use the action to cast a spell, you gain a +2 bonus to your caster level for the spell and a +5 bonus on concentration checks made to cast the spell. The negative level cannot be cured by any means short of a wish or miracle spell, but automatically disappears after 12 hours.
This spell also comes with a cost. As the dead constantly whisper to you and bicker amongst themselves, you suffer a –2 penalty on all skill checks, except those which are based on the ability score enhanced by this spell. Additionally, in order to cast any spell, you must succeed on a concentration check (DC = 15 + twice the level of the spell you are attempting to cast). If you cast the spell defensively, the concentration DC is increased by +10.
Finally, the dead can attempt to exert control over you. When you cast this spell, you must make a Charisma check with a DC of 30 – your caster level. Failure indicates that the dead take over your body, as though by the spell possession, for the remaining duration of the spell. Whenever you use this spell to make an additional saving throw, you must also make this check.
ELDRITCH PACT
School transmutation; Level alchemist 6, cleric 6, inquisitor 6, medium 4, occultist 6, psychic 5, spiritualist 6, sorcerer/wizard 6, summoner 6, witch 6
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a fresh eyeball)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 minute/level
You call the spirit or consciousness of a strange alien entity, such as a great old one or aberration, to share in your consciousness. You gain a +4 enhancement bonus to your Intelligence score, receive a +10 bonus on all Knowledge skill checks, and can achieve a result of greater than 10 on such checks. Finally, in any round in which you cast a spell, you may cast an additional spell with a casting time of 1 standard action or less. If you do, you suffer an amount of ability score drain to each of your mental ability scores, equal to 1/3 the level of the spell (minimum 1).
This spell also comes with a cost, as the eldritch entity exerts control over you. Each minute you are affected by this spell, you must succeed on a Will save or suffer 1 point of Wisdom drain. If you are immune to ability score drain, then this spell has no effect on you.
Finally, the eldritch entity can attempt to take control of you. Once each minute, you must succeed on a Will save at the spell’s DC. If the save is a failure, the eldritch entity gains control over you, as with the spell possession, for the remaining duration of the spell. Mental ability drain you would suffer while possessed in this way is suspended, and suffered all at once when the spell ends.
FIENDISH POSSESSION
School transmutation; Level antipaladin 4, cleric 5, inquisitor 6, medium 4, occultist 5, psychic 5, sorcerer/wizard 6, spiritualist 5, summoner 5, witch 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a drop of blood or sliver of bone)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 minute/level
You implore a fiendish, evil-aligned spirit such as a daemon, demon, or devil to join in your consciousness, and your communion with this entity gives you otherworldly power for a brief time. You gain a +4 enhancement bonus to your Strength score, DR 5/good, and an additional attack each round with a held weapon or single natural attack whenever you make a full-attack action. This additional attack does not stack with those granted by the haste spell or a weapon with the speed special ability, or similar effects.
This spell also comes with a cost, as the fiendish entity exerts control over you. All characters in a 10-foot radius, including yourself, suffer a –2 penalty on all saving throws. You also do not regain hit points naturally or by magical means, unless the caster succeeds on a caster level check (DC = 15 + your caster level). If you die while under the effects of this spell, your soul is dragged to the lower planes and you may not be brought back to life for 1d6 days. Additionally, upon being returned to life, you gain an additional negative level as a result of the tortures of the lower planes.
Finally, the fiendish entity can attempt to take control of you if your philosophies do not match up with its own. If your alignment on the good/evil axis is neutral, then when you cast this spell, you must make a Charisma check with a DC of 30 – your caster level. If your alignment on the good/evil axis is good, then you must also make this check when you cast this spell, and additionally must continue to make this check each minute for the spell’s duration. Failure indicates that the celestial entity takes over your body, as though by the spell possession, for the remaining duration of the spell. If you attempt to dismiss this spell, you must also make this check, with failure indicating that the fiendish entity gained control over you before you could dismiss the spell.
INFUSE WITH NATURE
School transmutation; Level druid 5, medium 4, spiritualist 5, summoner 5, witch 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a piece of fur)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 minute/level
You call the spirits of the wild into your consciousness in order to achieve a more perfect harmony with nature. You gain a +4 enhancement bonus to your Dexterity and Constitution scores, and ignore the effects of difficult terrain. Creatures you summon, as well as your animal companions, familiars, eidolons, and phantoms also gain these benefits.
This spell also comes with a cost, as the forces of nature exert influence over you. You must succeed on a concentration check with a DC equal to 15 + twice the spell’s level in order to cast any spell which does not target you, a summoned creature you summoned, or your animal companion, familiar, eidolon, or phantom.
Finally, the natural entity can attempt to gain control over you. When you cast this spell, you must succeed on a Charisma check (DC = 30 – your caster level). If you fail, you fall under the effects of the nature spirits, sharing your consciousness as with the spell possession. If you fail by 5 or more, your Intelligence score is reduced to 1 and you are unable to act normally, capable of only basic animal instincts. You still know who your friends and enemies are, but cannot speak or take actions requiring concentration or the use of Intelligence- and Charisma-based skills, except for Intimidate. This effect is permanent and lasts until you receive a break enchantment spell or more powerful magic.