Epic Spell Conversions, Part VIII. Epic Repulsion, Glorious Sanctum, Mass Frog, Sphere of Transformation, Mummy Dust, Peripety and Soul Dominion.

   To continue with Alzrius’s request, here are most of the remaining epic spells converted to Eclipse high-level spells.

   Epic Repulsion

   The conversion for Epic Repulsion depends on how you read the spell; if attacking an affected creature, or intentionally moving to within five feet of an affected creature ends the spell entirely, it’s a fairly simple effect. If it only ends the effect on an individual basis, the spell is far more powerful – and fairly easily abused, since it could easily be used to render the user pretty much permanently immune to any creature that doesn’t have Spell Resistance – and creatures that did would still have to either resist, be approached, or be attacked by the user to initiate an attack. That’s probably a bit too convenient.

   The easiest place to start for either version is with Sanctuary – a level one effect.

   For the first version it needs to last a good long time – but a year is plenty; the caster will almost certainly wind up ending the spell before then. So, we’ll need +12 levels of the Persistent Metamagic to make it last a year, roughly +4 levels of Amplify to change it from “Save no Spell Resistance” to “Spell Resistance no Save” and to prevent creatures from including the target in area-effect attacks. We can take off a level for the “only affects a single, specified, creature type with each casting” (probably on the base spell… I can see “Sanctuary Versus Animals” and various other variants as quite reasonable cantrips) and one level off of the metamagical upgrades for the extended casting time, resulting in a net total of fifteen of metamagic, a three-level credit (20% off) for built-in metamagic, and a net spell level of twelve.

   The second version – if the game master feels like allowing it – needs another +4 levels of Persistent. It cannot benefit from the type restriction – since the caster will just repeat the spell until he or she is protected from every type and it only ends on an individual basis thanks to that extra +4 levels of Persistent. It also cannot benefit from the extended casting time, since that generally won’t affect its use. There might be a few times when you’d be in a rush to cast the thing, but most of the time you can do it quietly at home, so the ten-minute casting time is meaningless as well. That does upgrade the price break for built-in Metamagic to -4 spell levels – but leaves the spell with a net level of seventeen.

   Ergo we have…

• Epic Repulsion. Abjuration, Level: Eleven, Components: V, S, Casting Time: Ten Minutes, Range: Touch, Target: Creature or Object Touched, Duration: One Year or Until Ended, Saving Throw: None, Spell Resistance: Yes.
• Epic Repulsion creates a long-term ward against a creature type. Creatures of he specified type cannot attack or touch the warded creature or object, whether with individual attacks or with area effects. The protection ends if the warded creature makes an attack against, or intentionally moves to within five feet of, an affected creature. Spell resistance can allow a creature to overcome this protection and touch the warded creature.

   And

• Glorious Sanctum: Abjuration, Level: Seventeen, Components: V, S, Casting Time: One Standard Action, Range: Touch, Target: Creature or Object Touched, Duration: Permanent, Saving Throw: None, Spell Resistance: Yes.
• Glorious Sanctum creates a permanent ward against attackers. Affected creatures cannot attack or touch the warded creature or object, whether with individual attacks or with area effects. The protection ends on an individual basis if the warded creature makes an attack against, or intentionally moves to within five feet of, an affected creature. Spell resistance can allow a creature to overcome this protection and touch the warded creature.

   Mass Frog

   Mass Frog is a bit of an oddity: is it really useful to leave enemies with their mental faculties? Is this a spell designed to torment your enemies by leaving them consciously aware that they’re now frogs?

   Oh well. When you come right down to it, this is simply an area-effect version of Baleful Polymorph with an extended range. That’s +2 levels of Range (to go from Short to Long range) and +3 levels of Area (to go from Single Target to a forty-foot radius). With one level off for five levels of built-in Metamagic, this comes out to be… a level nine non-epic spell. I could add a -1 spell level modifier for restricting the transformation to frogs – but why bother? I have no objection to letting the spell be used in other ways. It’s cool anyway.

   That gives us…

• Sphere of Transformation. Spell Level Nine, Transmutation, Components: V, S, Casting Time: One Standard Action, Range: Long, Area: 40′ Radius, Duration: Permanent, Saving Throw: Fortitude Negates, Will Partial (Caster may waive the Will save, allowing an automatic success), Spell Resistance: Yes.
• All creatures in the area of effect are affected as if by Baleful Polymorph, although the caster may opt to allow them to automatically succeed on their Will saves to retain their mental faculties. All of the creatures’ equipment drops to the ground upon transformation.

   Mummy Dust

   This spell creates two large, eighteen-hit-die mummies, who will obediently serve the caster until he or she loses control of them – usually by attempting to control too many hit dice of undead.

   Well, that’s Create Undead at spell level six, +2 spell levels to reduce the casting time to one standard action (the Easy metamagic) , +2 spell levels to make two mummies at a time (the Multiple metamagic), eliminates the need for a reasonably whole body (the dust of some old ones will do) for +2 spell levels (the Easy metamagic again), and automatically grants control of the things – for another +2 spell levels of the Amplify metamagic. While it does have an even more expensive component than Create Undead, there’s no mention of it being restricted to being cast at night – which seems like a fair enough exchange. With eight spell levels of built-in metamagic, the spell does get a two spell level credit – resulting in a net level of twelve.

   That gives us…

• Mummy Dust. Necromancy (Evil), Components V, S, M (10,000 GP worth of powdered mummy and onyx), CastingTime: One Standard Action, Range: Close, Target: two nearby adjacent squares into which the material component has been tossed, Duration: Instantaneous, SAVING Throw: None, and Spell Resistance: None.
• When the caster sprinkles the dust of ground mummies in conjunction with casting this spell two Large 18-HD mummies spring up from the dust. The mummies follow the character’s every command according to their abilities until they are destroyed or the character loses control of them by attempting to control more Hit Dice of undead than he or she has caster levels.

   Peripety

   Peripety reflects ranged attacks against the caster. It’s not clear as to whether or not this is limited to physical ranged attacks, or to individually directed physical attacks – but I think I’ll read it that way since it has such a low Spellcraft DC.

   Hm… There actually isn’t much in the way of attack-reflecting spells in the SRD. Ergo, I’ll use Spell Turning. That’s a base level of seven, and doesn’t normally allow the caster to select which spells are reflected. On the other hand, designing a spell which will bounce fast-moving lumps of matter sounds a lot easier than designing one that can reflect a blasts light, hypnosis, sound, lightning, and paralysis among hundreds of other effects. Ergo, -3 spell levels for being limited to matter, +2 spell levels of the Targeting metamagic for allowing the caster to select which attacks are affected – albeit before the damage is determined. Lets see… It’s a hours-per-level duration (or until expended) instead of ten minutes per level, so that’s +1 spell level of the Persistent metamagic as well – and a casting time of one full minute, which is -1 spell level of the Compact metamagic. It reflects five attacks – which is about average for Spell Turning if we assume that physical attacks equate to spells of levels one or two.

   That doesn’t even give us enough spell levels worth of built-in metamagic to get a credit for them – and results in a net spell level of six.

   OK, fair enough. “Bounce five arrows back at your attackers” really doesn’t sound especially epic to me either. Compared to Heal, Globe of Invulnerability, and Circle of Death it isn’t all that impressive as a sixth level spell either.

   That gives us:

• Peripety. Spell Level Six, Abjuration, Components: V, S, Casting Time: One Minute, Range: Personal, Target: You, Duration: Until expended or up to one hour per caster level.
• Ranged attacks targeted against the character rebound on the original attacker. Any time during the duration, five attacks are automatically reflected back on the original attacker; the character decides which attacks before damage is rolled. The reflected attack rebounds on the attacker using the same attack roll. Once five attacks are so reflected, the spell ends.

   Soul Dominion

   Soul Dominion lets the caster take over someone else’s body for a time. The effect resembles Dominate Monster (at a base spell level of nine) – except that the caster has direct control and direct sensory access. The victim thus gets no new saves or chances to resist the caster’s commands, but is simply a helpless prisoner in his, her, or its own body. That’s +4 spell levels of the Amplify metamagic, +1 spell level of Persistent to raise the duration to one minute per level, +5 levels of Extension for global range, and +1 spell level to throw in a secondary scrying effect for the targeting – although flawing the effect by allowing the victim to gain information about the caster is worth -1 spell level for the flawed effect. That’s a net total of +10 spell levels worth of Metamagic, which is worth a -2 spell level credit for building it into the spell formula – resulting in a net spell level of seventeen, since a ten-minute casting time doesn’t mean a lot under the circumstances.

   That gives us:

• Soul Dominion: Divination, Enchantment (Compulsion) (Mind-Affecting). Spell Level Seventeen, Components: V, S, Casting Time: One round, Range: Global, Target: One creature, Duration: One minute per level. Saving Throw: Will Negates (See Text), Spell Resistance: No.
• Soul Dominion lets the caster temporarily able to take control of another sentient creature with whom the character is familiar (by meeting, observing, or successfully scrying the subject). The target receives a Will save. If successful, this prevents the caster from making the telepathic link. The target is aware of the attempted takeover as a strange, momentary tingling. If the Will save fails, the caster is able to control the target’s body as if it were his or her own, hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, and tasting everything the target senses. Once the character dismisses the spell or its duration ends, the target resumes control of its body, fully aware of all events that occurred, having been a helpless witness trapped inside its own body. The target knows the name and general nature of its possessor if it succeeds at an additional Will saving throw. A character cannot control undead or incorporeal creatures with soul dominion.