Mark of Protection [Spell]

[Lysander]

This spell is from Wizard of Oz (the book), and has a lot of roleplay value I think:

Mark of Protection
Universal
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 0 ft.
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No

This spell is cast upon an arcane mark you have already inscribed on a living creature as a sign of your protection and as a promise of retribution should any harm befall them. The arcane mark now lasts permanently on their skin, whether visible or invisible. The mark also has the following properties:

*Any magician targeting the subject with a harmful spell or spell-like ability will be able to sense the mark and its content before using their magic. They will automatically know that it is a mark of protection, and gain a general sense of the caster level of the magician who placed it (though characters have no idea of numerical values such as caster level).

*The mark can become visible or invisible based on any set of criteria, such as whenever the subject is in danger or on command. The mark does not inform non-magical assailants of its nature the way it does spellcasters, so the mark must be seen and have some kind of significance to them to halt their assault.

*Should the subject be killed the caster who placed the mark instantly receives a vague impression of the subject's final thoughts. This generally includes information detailing who they were with, where they were, and what they were doing to the best of the subject's knowledge but little more data than that. An animal's final thoughts will be even less clear.

*If the subject dies on the same plane as them the caster can sense the exact direction and distance to their site of demise. If they die on another plane the caster can sense that they died on another plane but does not get a directional lock.

Like any Arcane Mark a Mark of Protection cannot be dispelled but can be destroyed with an Erase spell. Should the subject die a Mark of Protection reverts to simply being an Arcane Mark.

[The Neoclassic]

*Should the subject be killed the caster who placed the mark instantly receives a memory of the last hour of the subject's life. They also know the exact location where the subject died, regardless of what plane their death occurred on.

This has a lot of useful potential; with this, I might make this a first level spell. Cool idea!

[Lapak]

I really like the idea of the spell, but the final point seems to be a LOT for a level 1 spell, especially with how it grows as other spells and powers become available. As an example, summoned creatures become perfect suicide-scouts with this spell tacked on. Or you can send a rat through a one-way portal to another plane and find out what's up in the Nine Hells. It has a surprising amount of potential as a divination spell for level 1, really. Reducing the 'memory' period to one round or one minute would tone that down quite a bit, and I probably wouldn't let it cross planar boundaries except in a higher-level version.

[Trobby]

1: This is just powerful enough to be a 2nd level Divination spell. To bring it up to 2nd level usefulness, I'd suggest it also warns the caster when the marked individual is in peril. Otherwise, you could get away with keeping it as a level 1 spell.

2: Why not make it a Cleric spell too? Nothing about it seems particularly arcane, and it fits in with Clerical prerogative.

3: For that matter, it would also make sense as a Paladin spell, since the Paladin is all about protecting the weak from harm, and knowing if their charge is in danger would be extremely useful. (That, and the low level of the spell makes it work for a Paladin to have.)

[Lysander]

I really like the idea of the spell, but the final point seems to be a LOT for a level 1 spell, especially with how it grows as other spells and powers become available. As an example, summoned creatures become perfect suicide-scouts with this spell tacked on. Or you can send a rat through a one-way portal to another plane and find out what's up in the Nine Hells. It has a surprising amount of potential as a divination spell for level 1, really. Reducing the 'memory' period to one round or one minute would tone that down quite a bit, and I probably wouldn't let it cross planar boundaries except in a higher-level version.

Everyone had good points about it being exploitable as a scouting tool. I edited it to try to address this. Now it only provides vague details about the subject's last thoughts - enough to maybe identify their killer and where they died but not clear enough to serve as a scouting tool. An animal's thoughts will give very vague and dumb impressions.

The locational fix no longer works across planar boundaries now. You can sense where they died if it's on the same plane, but if they die off plane you can only sense that they died in another dimension.

The reason I didn't make this a cleric spell is that it's tied up with Arcane Mark. Maybe a different religious spell would be better. How about this:

Divine Watch
Level: Cleric 1, Paladin 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No

You place a person of similar alignment (no more than one step removed from your own) under the watch of your deity. Divine Watch is cast very sparingly by holy men as it marks a person as a trusted friend of their church. All divine spellcasters of your own faith can see a faint aura surrounding the subject and automatically know the name of the person who cast the watch. Non-magicians of the caster's faith will not see an aura but will have a gut intuition warning them not to attack that person.

If a divine spellcaster of another faith targets the subject with harmful magic before casting they will first sense that they are under the protection of your god, and will sense the general caster level of the person that cast the Divine Watch (though characters have no concept of numerical values such as caster level). An arcane spellcaster will have the same sensation except they are not automatically informed which god the person is watched by.

The spellcaster who laid the watch can sense if the subject is killed, and which plane they died upon. They also receive a crystal clear impression of the subject's last six seconds of sensory information before dying, even if the subject was unconscious at the time of death. An unconscious person can still hear, smell, and feel but usually has their eyes closed.

[Lysander]

Here's a druid version

Forest Watch
Level: Druid 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One person or animal
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No

The druid requests that the forces of nature keep a watch on a friend of theirs. Other druids can sense this watch upon seeing the person. Should the subject ever be killed in an area with plentiful life, plants and animals will relay the message to each other until it reaches the druid. This message typically takes 1 day to arrive for every 50 miles from the site of death to the druid. The message contains a visual description of how the person died and who they were with, but plants and animals can only relate simple descriptions and have a poor memory of anything that occurred more than a minute or two before the death. If the person dies somewhere devoid of life such as a wasteland or glacier there will be nothing to witness the death and relay a message. The druid cannot receive the message in an area devoid of life either, but can receive it once they return to a verdant area. The message cannot travel across planes, but should the druid ever visit the plane where the subject died they can receive the message even years later.

[J.Gellert]

From a storytelling point of view, it's a little scary.

The only thing worse than seeing the NPC go "I'll come back alive. Let me just put on my red shirt." is "Let's cast Forest Watch, just in case..."

If the party caster tells me to stand still while he casts this, I'll say thanks but no.

[Lapak]

I like the revisions and the different versions for different kinds of casters. Really nice. Each has its own little twist; I love the druid version. Well done!

[Lysander]

Thanks! And to keep things rolling, here's a bard version:

Singer's Mark
Level: Bard 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close
Target: One person
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No

Bards use this spell to keep watch over their friends. To cast the spell a bard must sing a two-part harmony for at least an hour with the spell's subject. Forever after if the bard concentrates they can hear the melody they sang with that person reverberating in their mind. Concentrating requires the bard play and sing their half of the song for at least a minute. The song will be slightly altered, sweet or sad or happy or frightened in tone, depending on the subject's emotional state. If they are dead the song will be gone and the bard will be unable to sing that particular melody ever again unless the subject is brought back to life. A bard can only form a bond with an extremely close friend or lover with the Singer's Mark. Only death or the end of that emotional bond can destroy the mark. Other bards can hear that a person bears a Singer's Mark if they sing. Bards tend to look kindly on those marked by other bards.