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View Full Version : Ritualistic spell combinations



Maryring
2009-10-27, 06:08 AM
I'm very fond of making new stuff, especially by taking old things and adding something new to it. Especially through the combination of thematic or seemingly synergistic aspects. So it's not odd that I tend to create new magic effects depending how and when and by whom certain magical spells and abilities are utilized.

I'm a bit stumped at my latest project though. A method for arcane caster to create life. Not a homunculus, but an actual living body. I guess I should elaborate a little.

Storywise, I am in a possession of a wizard with two souls. Her own and that of an old mage who flunked up his original transmigration-ritual. With one being a Lawful Good Abjurer trained in healing and religion, and the other being a Chaotic Neutral Transmuter with a special interest in beasts and the transformation of the self, it is clear that things can't stay that way. After all, Bite of the Werewolf goes badly with Moonbow.

Mechanically, she's a generalist so they'll have access to all non-evil spells and components. Still, I want to make the task of building a new body for the Transmuter a small quest in itself. So far, I have these required spells.

Heart of element series (To create life to the body)
Soul Jar (or something similar to help the soul get into the new body)
Shapechange (I guess they could get by with something simpler, but this'll help ensure the new form is exactly what it is supposed to be)

However I feel that it's... lacking. Sure, I can have them need to pick up some pure elements from the elemental planes, but that still doesn't complicate the ritual itself. I want to make it a beautiful spell-dance of magic unique and distinct, yet each serving a purpose in the greater whole. After all, creating a body, even a soulless one, should be no easy feat.

Hence any ideas regarding how I should do it would be most welcome. Of course, I'd also love to hear other spell-rituals deviced.

Milskidasith
2009-10-27, 06:34 AM
Creating a person using magic? It's already in the rules... it's a purely epic endeavor. Then again, epic casting sucks.

Maryring
2009-10-27, 06:49 AM
I'm very fond of making new stuff,
For emphasis. I want something new, not old.

Jack_Simth
2009-10-27, 07:00 AM
After all, creating a body, even a soulless one, should be no easy feat.
Right... that's why it's an 8th level spell called Clone that takes months to finish. But you can get a soulless body, Core RAW, although you need a starting chunk of flesh to work with.

Maryring
2009-10-27, 07:22 AM
Which I don't have. Hence it needs to be created from scratch.

Brendan
2009-10-27, 10:11 AM
You always could... acquire a chunk of flesh. that could make it more difficult, because if you are finishing up the ceremony, and then are attacked by police, you could have to make a few special additions to the process for it to work. like mass hold person.

Maryring
2009-10-27, 10:16 AM
It's still incredibly boring and very unsuited for the character. Things shall be more complicated, not easier.

Fishy
2009-10-27, 10:32 AM
Whelp, in that case you're going to need to create an entire body out of spells.

Two Spectral Hands, two Prying Eyes, one Magic Mouth... And now it starts to get tricky.

Deep Breath? Iron Guts? What spell conjures up feet?

jiriku
2009-10-27, 12:01 PM
Hmm, I do believe that you should take the Pygmalion approach.

Purchase a block of fine marble, or create it yourself using wall of stone. Sculpt a statue in the form of the being you wish to create, either laboriously by hand, or more magically, using the fabricate spell. Spells like magecraft or moment of prescience will give you the necessary magical inspiration (and skill bonuses) to sculpt like a master. It wouldn't do to create a clumsily formed body! Next, you should use your soul jar to house the soul within the body and the heart of the element spells to breath life into its form. How will you place the soul jar within the statue? I suggest you use phase door, which creates an ethereal passage through stone, allowing you and one other creature to enter. You and the soul jar will enter the statue, but you alone shall emerge.

You might wish the weave thinaun, a magical soul-trapping metal, into the invested soul jar/statue combo to help bind the soul to its new body. Perhaps you should cast heroism on the soul in the soul jar to ensure that it does not hesitate and cause the magic to go awry at a critical moment. Breathing life into a lifeless form is an awesome task, after all.

Now you have magically summoned a block of perfect stone, magically scuplted it into the perfect human form, bound the soul in a magic jar, entered the statue ethereally and placed the spirit jar within, bound with thinaun, emerged, and infused the power of the elements into its form.

To bring the statue to life, cast stone to flesh upon the perfect sculpture to turn it into a real, although lifeless and soulless, being. Stone to flesh states "The spell also can convert a mass of stone into a fleshy substance. Such flesh is inert and lacking a vital life force unless a life force or magical energy is available..." And a life force is definitely available here. Life begins.

I believe this might qualify as a beautiful spell-dance of magic.

Optimystik
2009-10-27, 12:05 PM
I believe this might qualify as a beautiful spell-dance of magic.

I'm inclined to think that the Craft DC on sculpting such fine details as internal organs and hair is likely to be enormous, but otherwise this sounds suitably epic.

Maryring
2009-10-27, 12:24 PM
That really is beautiful. Thanks. I might be using it, or parts of it at least.

deuxhero
2009-10-27, 12:26 PM
Creating a person using magic? It's already in the rules... it's a purely epic endeavor. Then again, epic casting sucks.

Simulacron is very not epic.

Animefunkmaster
2009-10-27, 12:31 PM
I'm inclined to think that the Craft DC on sculpting such fine details as internal organs and hair is likely to be enormous, but otherwise this sounds suitably epic.

Lets also not forget polymorph any object while in statue form to make permanent, and specific changes to the statue/internal organs.

Hyooz
2009-10-27, 12:45 PM
There is the tried-and-true necromancy trick of Polymorph-ing Any Object into a body and then doing whatever.

Radar
2009-10-27, 12:56 PM
So... as with every complicated problem, let's split it into sub-problems, that are simplier:

1. Find a vacant body in a good shape.
Possible solution: Stone to Flash on a sufficiently well made statue (Polymorph Any Object could help to get it right) can produce fresh corpse.
Gap to fill: perserve the body for the rest of the ritual and shape it up for being alive without resorting to divine magic (unless you have a friendly cleric with Regeneration). Create a limited conneciton to positive energy plane (to be eventually used in step 4)?
2. Extract surplus soul from wizard's body.
Possible solution: Modified Magic Jar (so that only the one desired soul will be put into the jar). It should also solve the problem 3 (as mentioned by OP).
3. Transport the soul to the new body.
Possible solution: the above mentioned Magic Jar.
4. Bind the soul with the body and make sure it will be alive.
That's the tricky part and the reason, Rise Dead is basicaly asking a deity to do the work. I'm not sure about infusing life into a body (maybe some positive energy evocation?), but a spell based on Planar Binding might be able to keep the soul in the body.

Also: the ritual should be performed in cooperation by both wizards (yes the guy, who is worked upon should need to contribute as well - it is a very hard thing to do without divine help). Thus a Telephatic Bond would be useful throughout the ritual.

In addition, it would be reccomended, to ward the area against some unwanted intrusions. An old-fashioned magic circle would be great.

Edwin
2009-10-27, 12:58 PM
/homebrew, perhaps?

Animefunkmaster
2009-10-27, 01:00 PM
There is the tried-and-true necromancy trick of Polymorph-ing Any Object into a body and then doing whatever.

The only major problem with this is that polymorph any object might not always be permanent. Hence start with a statue. Although, there is no reason why you couldn't just stone to flesh and use flesh with polymorph any object.

Ravens_cry
2009-10-27, 01:07 PM
There is the tried-and-true necromancy trick of Polymorph-ing Any Object into a body and then doing whatever.
But then you're not making a body, you're creating one. Or rather, the magic is.