Eldritch

Eldritch

Eldritch magic explores the forbidden. It taps into cosmic forces best left undisturbed, calling forth monstrosities from other reali- ties or contorting reality in such ways that it can never be righted. Studying the tradition offers considerable advantages, and its spells can produce spectacular outcomes, but the cost of using such magic weighs heavily upon the mind until it finally buckles and breaks into a million different pieces.

Eldritch Talents

DEFY GEOMETRY (Magical): You can use this talent when you cast a spell that affects a target other than you. You can choose your target from among any you can see, regardless of the spell’s normal range. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
DISASTROUS REVELATION (Magical): If you lack the confused, controlled, stunned, or unconscious afflictions, you can use this talent at the start of your turn. Make an Intellect roll. On a success, you experience a disastrous revelation. You heal 2d6 damage and, until the end of your next turn, you make attribute rolls with 3 boons, but, after, you become confused (luck ends). On a failure, you make attribute rolls with 3 banes until the end of your next turn. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
OTHERWORLDY SHRIEKS (Magical): You can use a reaction when you are harmed to cause horrible, shrieking noises to fill the air around you. Each creature inside a Size 5 space centered on you makes a Will roll. On a failure, the creature becomes confused (luck ends). A creature immune to the frightened affliction is immune to this effect. You can use this talent once, twice at level 3, and three times at level 7. You regain expended uses after you rest.
UNHINGED GLARE (Magical): You can use an action to level your gaze at your foe. Target one creature within 10 yards. If the creature can see you, make an Intellect roll against its Will. On a success, the target becomes frightened of you until the end of your next turn. At level 3, the target also takes 1d6 damage. At level 7, the target takes 3d6 damage, and becomes confused for as long as it remains frightened. On a critical success, the target becomes frightened of you (luck ends).

Novice Eldritch Spells

Betrayal of Flesh

Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 15 yards
Duration: 1 minute
One of the target’s limbs gains a mind of its own and becomes hostile to its owner. At the start of each of the target’s turns, it makes a Will roll with 1 bane. On a failure, the target’s own arm (or a similar limb) deals 1d6 damage to it and the target becomes weakened until the start of its next turn. The target can overcome this effect and end the spell early with a successful Will roll.
After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 1d6 damage.

Creeping Mist

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 5 space centered on you
Duration: 1 minute
Gray mist with streaks of green rises from the ground around you and remains in place. The mist creates light obscurement in the target space. At the end of each round after the first, the mist spreads 5 yards farther in all directions, and each enemy in the mist makes a Strength roll. On a failure, the enemy takes 1d6 damage, falls prone, and is dragged 5 yards in a direction you choose.
After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 1d6 damage.

Hijack Corpse

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 2 or smaller dead creature within 5 yards
Duration: Special (see the effect)
You loosen your soul to find purchase in the target’s body. You fall prone and your body becomes insensate for the duration. Your soul migrates to and possesses the target until the target becomes destroyed. The target becomes a creation under your control. The target retains none of the talents it had when it was alive but retains any traits it had, including natural weapons. While in the target body, its Defense and Agility equal your Intellect score and its Strength equals your Will score. The target has a Health score of 20. Since the target does not breathe, it cannot speak. When the spell ends, your soul returns to your body. If you do not end the spell early and the target is destroyed, you lose 1d6 Health and become stunned (luck ends).

Rats In The Walls

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 5 space on the ground within 15 yards
Duration: 1 minute
Human-faced rats crawl free from the ground to cover all surfaces in the target space. Such surfaces are challenging terrain. At the end of each round, each creature in the target space makes a Will roll. On a failure, the creature is frightened of the rats until it overcomes the affliction with a successful Will roll. While frightened of the rats, it cannot move from its space. Then, on each of your turns, the rats either move to another Size 5 space within 5 yards or force each enemy in their midst to make an Agility roll. On a failure, the enemy takes 2d6 damage.
After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 1d6 damage.

Summon Maggot of Sharzak-Ka

Castings: 1
Target: One empty Size 1 space on the ground within 5 yards
Duration: 1 hour
From the fabled city of Sharzak-Ka, visible only in darkness of the new moon, comes a giant maggot that appears in the target space. The giant maggot becomes your controlled companion. The spell ends early if the maggot becomes incapacitated. When the spell ends, the maggot disappears.

MAGGOT OF SHARZAK-KA

DEFENSE: 6, HEALTH: 10
ATTRIBUTES: Strength 11 (+1), Agility 8 (-2), Intellect 5 (-5), Will 10 (+0)
SIZE: 1, SPEED: 3
GLOOM OF SHARZAK-KA: The maggot reduces the intensity of light within 5 yards of it by one step. At the end of each round, each frightened creature within 5 yards takes 1d6 damage.
MELEE ATTACK – TEETH: Strength (+1) with 1 boon (1d6). After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 1d6 damage.

Wild Beast Of The Dark Woods

Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 15 yards
Duration: Special (see the effect)
The target’s body shifts and bends. If the target has a Health score of 20 or less, it transforms into a wild beast of the dark woods, appearing bestial and strange. Any creature, other than you, that sees this transformation makes a Will roll. On a failure, the creature becomes frightened of the target until the creature overcomes the affliction with a successful Will roll.
A target with a Health score greater than 20 takes 2d6 damage and makes a Will roll. On a failure, the target is frightened of you until it overcomes the affliction with a successful Will roll.
A transformed target uses its normal rules, but treats all creatures as enemies and must attack, if it can, on each of its turns. After 24 hours, the target can make a Will roll. On a success, the spell ends. On a failure, the spell is permanent.
After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 1d6 damage.

Expert Eldritch Spells

Gnashing Of Teeth

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 5 space on the ground centered on you
Duration: 1 minute
The ground in the target space ripples and forms numerous, wet mouths filled with long, sharp teeth. When you cast this spell, and again at the start of each of your turns, each enemy on the ground in the target space makes an Agility roll. On a failure, the enemy takes 4d6 damage and becomes held until the spell ends or until it overcomes the affliction with a successful Strength roll. If the creature is already prone or held, it takes an extra 2d6 damage for each of these afflictions that it has.
After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 2d6 damage.

Hostile Color

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 1 space within 15 yards
Duration: 1 minute
An undulating smear of color appears in the target space and hangs there. When the color appears, each creature that can see it makes a Will roll and, on a failure, becomes frightened of the color until it overcomes the affliction with a successful Will roll.
At the end of each round, each creature within 5 yards of the tar- get space makes an Agility roll with 1 bane. On a failure, the creature becomes confused (luck ends). While confused in this way, it is also Strength impaired and Agility impaired, and it treats all creatures it perceives as enemies.
At the end of each round, a creature that is confused in this way takes 2d6 damage. After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 2d6 damage.

Purple Mold

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 5 space within 15 yards
Duration: Instant
Weird purple mold covers all exposed surfaces inside the target space. The mold causes all living and breathing creatures in the target space to experience disturbing hallucinations, becoming Intellect impaired and Will impaired for as long as they remain there. When a creature leaves the target space, it becomes Intellect impaired and Will impaired (luck ends). In addition, any creature that is harmed while in the space treats you as an ally for 24 hours or until you harm it. If the creature has a Health score of 20 or less, it becomes controlled by you for as long as it is your ally.
The mold remains until destroyed. Each Size 1 surface in the area has Health 5 and is immune to all damage except damage from fire.
After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 2d6 damage.

Sentient Growth

Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 15 yards
Duration: 1 minute
A large growth appears somewhere on the target’s body. The target becomes confused. At the end of each round that the target is confused in this way, it makes a Will roll and, on a failure, becomes controlled by you until the end of the next round.
When the spell ends, the growth bursts and drains, causing the target to lose 9d6 Health.
If the target dies before the spell ends, at the end of the round on which it died, the growth tears free from the target’s body and becomes your controlled companion until it’s incapacitated.

SENTIENT GROWTH

DEFENSE: 9, HEALTH: 20
ATTRIBUTES: Strength 11 (+1), Agility 12 (+2), Intellect 9 (-1), Will 11 (+1)
SIZE: 1/4, SPEED: 4
MELEE ATTACK – FEEDING TENDRILS: Agility (+2) with 1 boon (2d6). On a critical success, a flesh-and-blood target of the attack loses 1d6 Health and the growth heals half the amount of Health lost by the target.

After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 2d6 damage.

Shadows of Nakthrakka

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 5 space centered on you
Duration: 1 minute
Darkness from the accursed city of Nakthrakka spills out from your mouth to fill the target space with total obscurement. You can, however, see normally in the space. The darkness prevents creatures in its area from leaving it without using magic to do so.
Each creature other than you in the area makes a Will roll and, on a failure, becomes frightened of the darkness until it overcomes the affliction with a successful Will roll with 1 bane.
At the end of each round, each creature other than you in the area makes a Will roll and takes 5d6 damage on a failure. If frightened of the darkness, the creature takes an extra 2d6 damage. Any creature incapacitated by this damage disappears along with whatever it was wearing or carrying, never to be seen again.
After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 2d6 damage.

Summon Hoary Winged Thing

Castings: 1
Target: One empty Size 3 space within 5 yards
Duration: 8 hours
An enormous knot of flapping wings covered in gray feathers appears inside the target space. The hoary-winged thing becomes your controlled companion. The spell ends early if the thing becomes incapacitated. When the spell ends, the hoary winged thing vanishes, and gray feathers spread through a Size 10 space centered on the space it vacated to create moderate obscurement there for 1 minute.

HOARY WINGED THING

DEFENSE: 10, HEALTH: 60
ATTRIBUTES: Strength 15 (+5), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 5 (-5), Will 15 (+5)
SIZE: 3, SPEED: 5 (Fly, Mount)
SENSES: Awareness 10
Immune: blinded, deafened
MELEE ATTACK – WINGS: Strength (+5) (4d6)

After you cast the spell, make a Will roll. On a failure, you take 2d6 damage.

Master Eldritch Spells

Awaken The Dead Dreamer

Castings: 1
Target: One empty Size 5 space within 5 yards
Duration: Instant
The ground in the target space fractures as a dead dreamer pulls itself up and free, revealing itself in all its nightmarish glory. Chunks of earth and stone roll from its back to create challenging terrain on the ground within 5 yards of it. The dead dreamer is an enemy to all creatures, is under the Sage’s control, and remains until incapacitated, at which point it disappears.
After you cast this spell, you become stunned (luck ends) and weakened until after you rest. Also, you take 3d6 damage and make a Will roll with 3 banes. On a failure, you take an extra 3d6 damage.

Behold The Impossible

Castings: 1
Target: All creatures, other than you, within 15 yards
Duration: Instant
You reveal an alien vista, crawling with horrors beyond imagining. A target makes a luck roll. On a success, the target averts its eyes. On a failure, the target becomes blinded until the end of your next turn and confused, vulnerable, and weakened (luck ends all). For 1 minute, whenever the target fails an attribute roll, it suffers from this effect again, as the alien vista swims across its vision once more.
After you cast this spell, make a Will roll with 3 banes. On a failure, you take 3d6 damage.

Beware The Black Door

Castings: 1
Target: One empty Size 1 space within 5 yards
Duration: 24 hours
A stone doorframe appears inside the target space and remains there for the duration, at which time it vanishes.
Darkness prevails inside the frame. When the frame appears, pale hands reach for one creature within 3 yards of it and drag that creature into the blackness.
A creature that moves through the frame, willingly or otherwise, vanishes into the darkness. While inside the darkness, it is trapped between worlds until it can find its way free and emerges from the door into the nearest empty space.
A creature can attempt to escape the darkness while the door stands open. To do so, it must overcome this effect four times, once for each of its attributes. If the creature gets a failure on any of these rolls, 1d6 hours pass for it in the darkness. Any creature still inside the darkness when the spell ends must wait until another door opens from a casting of this spell, and can then resume trying to find its way free.
After you cast this spell, make a Will roll with 3 banes. On a failure, you take 4d6 damage.

Drone Of The Insatiable Host

Castings: 1
Target: One Size 5 space centered on you
Duration: Permanent, until you end it or you die
A horrid droning noise fills the air in the space. Each creature in it becomes Will impaired for as long as it remains there. At the end of each round, the noise grows louder, spreading out another 5 yards in all directions to a maximum of 10 miles, and produces increasingly more severe effects as shown below. The effects are cumulative.

The spell lasts indefinitely. You must end the spell and can do so only if you get a success on an Intellect roll made while in the area of noise.
After you cast this spell, make a Will roll with 3 banes. On a failure, you take 6d6 damage.

Pale Rider

Castings: 1
Target: One creature within 15 yards
Duration: 1 minute
A pale rider—a strange man-like thing—clings to the target’s back and cannot be removed in any way. The target becomes confused, frightened of the pale rider, and slowed until the spell ends. In addition, the first time each round when the target fails an attribute roll or a luck roll, it takes 5d6 damage and the pale rider cackles, forcing each enemy within 5 yards of the target to make a Will roll and, on a failure, run in a direction chosen by the Sage.
After you cast this spell, make a Will roll with 3 banes. On a failure, you take 3d6 damage.

Form Slick of Undigested Dreams

Castings: 1
Target: One empty Size 2 space within 5 yards
Duration: 1 hour
A greasy ribbon appears inside the target space, unraveling to become a floating oily mass in which one can pick out screaming, laughing, haunted visages. The slick of undigested dreams becomes your controlled companion. The spell ends early if the slick becomes incapacitated, or if there are no creatures within 10 yards of it at the end of any round.

UNDIGESTED DREAMS

DEFENSE: 9, HEALTH: 40
ATTRIBUTES: Strength 14 (+4), Agility 10 (+0), Intellect 10 (+0), Will 10 (+0)
SIZE: 2, SPEED: 5 (Fly, Hover, Slippery, Squeeze 1/2 inch)
SENSES: Awareness 10
IMMUNE: blinded, deafened, held, impaired, prone
NIGHTMARISH PRESENCE: Enemies within 5 yards of the slick become Will impaired for as long as they remain there. When an enemy impaired in this way attempts to move more than 5 yards from the slick, that enemy makes a Will roll. On a failure, the enemy becomes held until the start of its next turn.
NIGHTMARE CARESS: The slick targets one creature in reach and makes a Strength roll with 1 boon against the target’s Strength. On a success, the target takes 8d6 damage and makes a Will roll. If the target gets a failure, the slick steals its dreams, which causes the target to become cursed and weakened (luck ends both). If the target is cursed in this way already, it instead loses 2d6 Health.
After you cast this spell, make a Will roll with 3 banes. On a failure, you take 6d6 damage.