Epic Spell Conversions, Part V. Origin of Species Achaierai, Nailed to the Sky, Pestilence, Mist of Contagion, Safe Time, Raise Island, and Master of the Earth

   To continue with Alzrius’s request, here are a few more epic spells converted to Eclipse high-level spells – starting off with one he mentioned in particular…

   Origin of Species: Achaierai

   This spell creates an Achaierai and has a permanent duration. Presumably, the newly-created creatures offspring are not subject to being dispelled – unlike their parent…

   It also costs a lot of XP and is otherwise a great deal of trouble.

   Well, as it happens, summoning a specific, uncontrolled, CR 5 creature only requires a second level spell – a base level of five, minus one for being limited to a particular type of creature, and minus two for giving up control. Of course, normally that would be a stupid spell to be casting.

   Taking it from “one round per level” to genuinely permanent requires +16 spell levels worth of the Persistent metamagic. To reduce that, however, we have the Compact Metamagical Theorem; burning 1000-5000 XP to cast the thing is worth -3 spell levels, taking days to cast the thing is worth -2, and requiring assisting spellcasters (apprentices will do) is worth -1. That’s still ten levels of metamagic, and thus qualifies for the usual 20% price break – for a net final level of ten. Given the relatively low DC of the original spell, that fits well enough.

• Origin of Species: Achaierai: Conjuration (Creation), Level 10, Components: V, S, XP, Casting Time: Three Days, Effect: One created Achaierai, Range: Short, Duration: Permanent, Saving Throw: None, and Spell Resistance: No.
• This spell creates an Achaierai. A created Achaierai does not possess the treasure, culture, or specific knowledge of a normal one. If released to be among its own kind, it quickly picks their traits and alignment.

   Nailed to the Sky

   Nailed to the Sky teleports a creature within three hundred feet into orbit.

   Well, that’s pretty simple. Greater Teleport, at a base level of seven, has no range limit, so that takes care of reaching orbit. Now, we want to go from touch range to long range (+3 Levels of the Extension Metamagic), upgrade to affect unwilling targets (+2 Spell Levels), and throw in a secondary scrying effect to allow targeting (a base level of three – or five after eliminating the long casting time. Allowing it to scry locations instead of people is a simple variant. +1 Spell Level). With a total of six levels of metamagic applied, our resulting spell qualifies for a -1 spell level credit (the usual 20% cost reduction), and thus has a final level of twelve.

   I could throw in another adjustment for enough of a telekinetic thrust to achieve orbital velocity – but Teleport automatically adjusts for velocities anyway; otherwise teleporting to the far side of a normal planet would result in a several thousand mile per hour crash. Similarly, I could throw in the XP burn to bring the level down a bit – but as epic-level spells go, level twelve is already fairly mild.

   That gives us…

• Nailed to the Sky: Conjuration (Teleportation), Level 12, Components: V, S, Casting Time: One Standard Action, Target: As per Teleport within a 30′ radius, Range: Long, Duration: Instantaneous, Saving Throw: Will Negates, and Spell Resistance: Yes.
• This spell transports the targets(s) to pretty much anywhere on the same plane of reality that the caster specifies, as long as there is sufficient open space for the targets to arrive there. Orbit, deep space, and the surface of the local sun are all favorites. If banished to orbit, a target capable of flight can usually return given 2-5 hours, provided that it can both fly and survive under whatever the local orbital conditions are.

   Pestilence

   Well, this gives everyone within a one-thousand foot radius an nasty disease.

   That’s Contagion, with a base level of three or four, with +8 Spell Level Boundless modifier – allowing it to affect a battlefield-sized area. It also affects plants, which Contagion usually doesn’t since (technically) they’re not considered “alive” unless they have a Charisma attribute. Add +1 level for that, then subtract two levels to account for the built-in metamagic credit, and we’d have a final spell level of ten or eleven. I’d go with eleven, to accommodate the arcane casters.

   Now, the original spell called for burning 10,000 XP, had a ten minute casting time, and called for two additional high-level spellcasting assistants. If I threw that all in, we’d wind up with a considerably lower spell level – something around level six or seven if I included all of them.

   That actually doesn’t sound all that unreasonable. Like it or not, diseases tend to spread by themselves anyway – and human beings have managed to endure, and cause, plenty of epidemics without any magic being involved at all.

   So lets say that I have a contagious sample of the disease I wish to spread, and wish to make sure that everyone in a major area is exposed to it – presumably without exposing myself. Now the easiest way to scatter something around is to hand-carry it…

   OK. For that I want Unseen Servant, with the Boundless modifier (+8 Spell Levels) and a few options from the Compact metamagical list; spending 100 XP (-1 Spell Level), and – uhm – taking 1d4 points of constitution damage in casting the thing to represent the strain of fueling the rapid reproduction of the disease (-1 Spell Level). That leaves a net of +6 spell levels of Metamagic, which allows for a -1 spell level modifier as per the usual credit for built-in metamagic and a final spell level of six for our “Mist of Contagion” spell.

   So that gives us…

• Pestilence: Necromancy (Evil), Level 11, Components: V, S, Casting Time: One Standard Action, Area: 1000-foot radius, Range: 0 Feet, Duration: Instantaneous, Saving Throw: Fortitude Negates, and Spell Resistance: Yes.
• This spell creates a wave of illness that radiates outward from the caster, instantly infecting every living thing in the area with the debilitating disease of the caster’s choice from the list of standard diseases. This magical disease is not contagious and will not spread beyond those initially infected.

   And

• Mist of Contagion: Level Six, Conjuration (Creation), Components: V, S, a quantity of the disease vector to be distributed, XP, Casting Time: One Standard Action, Area: 1000-foot radius – although the caster may opt to exclude portions of the area that would otherwise be affected, Range: Short, Duration: One Hour Per Caster Level, Saving Throw: Fortitude Negates on an individual basis, and Spell Resistance: None.
• Mist of Contagion transforms a quantity of contagious material into a billowing mist, which can spread into crudely-formed areas covering any area within a one-thousand foot radius which the caster wishes to cover. Anyone exposed to the mist must resist the disease normally, as they would have to resist any other exposure.

   Ruin

   Ruin does 20d6 points of damage to a single target within 12,000 feet.

   How this differs from Disintegrate (Level Six) with Line-Of-Sight Range (Extension, +2 Spell Levels) and a minor secondary effect – “no roll to hit required” (compared to True Strike, I’d call it about level three, for +1 Spell Level) I’m not entirely clear. In fact, I’d leave it at that – for an upgrade in potential damage and a net spell level of nine.

   Safe Time

   This spell essentially makes the user invulnerable for one round by taking him or her out of time when something nasty (defined as a single attack doing fifty or more points of damage) happens.

   OK, that’s Moment Out of Time (from The Practical Enchanter, Level Five) modified by Triggering with a Simple Condition (+1 Spell Level), being able to be cast on someone else (provided that they’re willing, +1 Spell Level), and some way to make the trigger last past twenty-four hours. Now the original version continues to occupy the caster’s spell slot until it’s used – an effect that’s basically equivalent to allowing the caster to renew it each day. Call it +2 spell levels for allowing it to be done remotely and you have an eighth-level effect. Now, slapping on Persistent with a one-month value (only +4 Spell Levels since the Trigger is already at a twenty-four hour duration) instead would qualify it for a -1 spell level credit for built-in metamagic and make it level ten instead – and a good deal more useful.

   That gives us…

• Safe Time: Level Ten, Transmutation, Components V, S, Casting Time: One Standard Action, Range: Tough, Target: Creature Touched, Duration: One month contingency Triggered, one round once activated, Saving Throw: None, Spell Resistance: No.
• Safe Time moves the target out of harm’s way by shunting him or her into a static time stream. Once cast, the spell remains quiescent and does not activate until the trigger conditions have been met or its one-month duration expires. When the target would otherwise be subject to any instantaneous effect that would deal him or her 50 or more points of damage, he or she is instead transported to a static time stream where time ceases to flow. The character’s condition becomes fixed—no force or effect can harm him or her until 1 round of real time has passed. Thus, the character avoids the damage he or she would otherwise receive, but the character also misses out on one round of activity. To the character, no time passes at all, but to onlookers who are part of real time, the character stands frozen and fixed in space for one full round.

   Raise Island

   This spell produces a great deal of ordinary rock and soil, raising it from the sea floor to create a bump up to a bit over one thousand feet tall, two hundred feet across at the summit, and – presumably – enough wider at the base for long-term stability or made up of a durable column of rock. It takes a good deal of time to raise – long enough for mobile creatures to get out of the way easily – and requires a lot of other spellcasters to help out.

   OK: that’s Produce Dirt and Rock (from Produce Water, perhaps level two for more solid stuff) with a secondary Mending, Glue, or Binding effect (to stick it all together nicely, +2 spell levels) on a Battlefield Scale (the Boundless modifier again, +8 Spell Levels). Take one level off for slowing down the effect enough to make it useless as an attack (-1 Spell Level) and another (-1 Spell Level) off as the price break for it being built with a net +7 levels of Metamagic, for a net spell level of ten.

   This version – call it “Master of the Earth” – is NOT restricted to water; you can use it to raise a massive pillar of rock to perch a castle on, to seal the entrance to some terrible pit, to mark the grave of some mighty hero, to create an island, or simply to bury an area under a great deal of loose dirt – whether that’s just for landfill or to bury a mess or corpses on a battlefield.

• Master of the Earth: Level Ten, Conjuration (Creation), Components: V, S, M (a fistful of earth and stone), Casting Time: One Standard Action, Area: up to a 50,000,000 cubic feet of earth and stone, Range: Medium, Duration: Instantaneous (requires several minutes to take full effect), Saving Throw: None, and Spell Resistance: No.
• Master of the Earth creates a great deal of earth and stone. The user may (very) crudely shape it, whether to simply scatter the material or to create a massive pillar, foothill/mound, or mighty earthen rampart. Regardless of the form chosen, the earth pulls itself slowly up into the desired form, allowing mobile creatures to casually wander out of the way and smoothly lifting plants and structures.