The Magic of House Igorov
Spells of House Igorov
Level: 2
School: Necromancy, Illusion/Phantasm
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 1 night or day
Area of Effect: Every mirror and shadow in range
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: Special
Morphail's mundane reflection will cause all mirrors in the 30 range to show the reflection of the vampire and create a shadow of the vampire as if he were mortal. This illusion is almost perfect, but observers who have a reason to inspect the reflection may make a Wisdom check with a –5 penalty. Those who succeed do not automatically understand the illusion but notice one or more of the following three facts. The first, the reflection does not smile when the vampire does. The second, the shadow is not always attached to the vampire's feet. And the third, when the vampire speaks, the reflection moves its lips, but if someone can read lips it can be noticed that the reflection always replaces "good words" (good, light, love, truth, etc.) with "bad words" (bad, dark, lie, hate.)
This spell was devised by Prince Morphail of Boldavia in AC 834 and it is currently known only to him and the noble vampires of Boldavia that obey the Vampire's Law and play the masquerade.
Morphail's Slowsnake
Level: 4
School: Necromancy, Conjuration/Summoning
Range: 0
Duration: 1 week
Area of Effect: 8 miles
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: Negates
This spell was researched by Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany before he led his people to the Highlands. It is originally an ancient Nithian spell that became village magic in Traladara. It is commonly used in spying and assassination.
This spell creates a slowsnake, a creature from the Nightmare Dimension, that will serve the caster for one week. The caster can handle the snake without danger and can send simple commands to the snake for up to 8 miles. The caster can see and hear through the eyes of the slowsnake, as if it were a familiar.
Morphail's slowsnake is totally invisible, but this is because its magic is suggestive (like hypnotism). Those who know of Morphail's slowsnake or those who have a reason to look for something suspicious in their surroundings, would see a 3-foot long gray snake with red eyes. It can also be discovered with regular divination spells.
Morphail's slowsnake has 1 HP and an Armor Class of 10. It moves at the rate of 30 feet per minute (about ten times as slow as a human). It is almost helpless in melee combat. A slowsnake can only bite an unmoving opponent. No damage is inflicted by the bite, but the target has to save vs. paralysis or be paralyzed for 3d4+3 hours.
After paralyzing a victim, Morphail's slowsnake starts the long process of swallowing the victim whole. The snake can swallow even an ogre-sized opponent. The process takes 12 hours, if not interrupted. At the end of that time, both the slowsnake and the victims vanish, never to be seen again. All that is left is the snake's skin.
If the slowsnake is interrupted during the swallowing, anyone seeing the gruesome sight saves vs. fear or run away refusing to approach the slowsnake for the duration of the spell. The swallowed victim can be saved if anyone remains by simply killing the snake. At any stage Morphail's slowsnake leaves behind it skin when killed.
Morphail's slowsnake can be dispelled or dismissed magically, but it cannot be turned as an undead. The slowsnake cannot cross a body of water or a protection from evil spell.
Level: 4
School: Illusion, Enchantment/Charm
Range: 150 feet
Duration: 1 turn/level
Area of Effect: Up to 4 victims in an area of 300 square feet
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: Negates
This spell was crafted by Sir Boris Gorevitch-Woszlany in order to torment his innocent victims, usually in non-combat situations. It can be cast on 1–4 people within the spell range. All targets are allowed an initial saving throw against spells, with a penalty of –2 to negate the effects of the spell. Those who fail their saving throw come to believe that they are in a bizarre and frightening area, as per hallucinatory terrain. A city at night can suddenly become empty and cold, without a soul in sight. A river can become filled with blood instead of water. Sewer rats can be flooding the streets all around them. These illusory effects can change according to the caster's will.
This illusion is so real that the victims freeze in place and cannot leave the spell's area of effect. The victim cannot concentrate and has a –3 penalty to all attacks and saves.
Tatyana's Feed on the Beast
Level: 3
School: Alteration, Necromancy
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 hour or until animal's death
Area of Effect: 1 normal animal bigger than a cat
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
This weird and frightening spell is Tatyana's way of avoiding hurting innocent people. This caster must cast this spell at night, and touch an animal that turns into a beautiful human of the same gender as the original animal. The animal gets no saving throw, and the result human retains animal intelligence (usually 1 or 2). This human can then be fed on by vampires, as is if were a real human.
There are two flaws in this spell: The first that the creature must be killed within the duration of the spell, or else it becomes a savage werebeast or a beastwere. Secondly, after its death, the creature stays in human form. This human corpse must then be buried or hidden in some way, for obvious reasons.
Level: 2
School: Necromancy, Enchantment/Charm
Range: 30 feet
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: One person
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1
Saving Throw: Negates
This spell was created by Lady Tatyana Gorevitch-Woszlany, Prince Morphail's sister, as a necromantic version of the charm person spell.
This spell requires a drop of blood from the caster to be consumed in some way by the target. If the target swallows the blood, the target must make a saving throw vs. spells at –2 penalty, or fall madly in love with the caster. Gender is not an issue.
The charmed target gets no additional saves and will remain in love, until killed, attacked by the caster, or gets in mortal danger because of the caster. This spell can be dispelled normally.
Tatyana's Night-Cloak
Level: 3
School: Alteration, Necromancy
Range: Touch
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn/level of caster
Area of Effect 1 undead creature
Casting Time: 3
Components: V, S, M
Saving Throw: None
The vampires and nosferatu of Boldavia have vast powers, but they suffer one major setback by virtue of their nature; with the exception of the most powerful Nosferatu—and the elders of the Boldavian Bloodline—they cannot withstand the light of day for any great length of time. This spell, created by the unwilling vampire Lady Tatyana Gorevitch-Woszlany, allows vampires (and other daylight-sensitive undead) to negate this limitation—for a while, at least.
When cast, the spell creates a protective, skintight barrier of shade about the caster or target, which prevents the sun's rays from touching the skin. This causes the recipient's skin to appear dusky and shadowed (which is an additional benefit for Vampiric undead, giving their pale skin a slightly more natural cast). For the duration of the spell, the recipient can walk freely in the brightest sunlight, and gains some resistance (+1 to saving throws) to light- and sun-related attacks (including Eachainn's sun dagger, negating the –1 to hit and damage rolls caused by that spell).
Those using this spell must take care to keep track of time, however. When the duration ends, the spell fails instantly. If the recipient is caught abroad when that happens, the effects are immediate—and deadly.
For Lady Tatyana, this danger is lessened, since her Boldavian Bloodline provides her with a certain degree of natural resistance which kicks in when the spell expires. However, her lover Claude d'Ambreville, being a relatively new vampire, has little in the way of resistance—which is why Tatyana created this spell in the first place.
Only Tatyana and Claude currently know of and use this spell. Thus far, they have managed to keep its existence from Tatyana's relatives; how long they will continue to do so is unknown.
Treasures of House Igorov
Each of these is a small piece of black coal given to Prince Morphail of Boldavia by the Entropic Immortal Alphaks himself. Morphail has four of these, while his brother Mikhail has one, and there are probably more held by priests of Alphaks around the Known World. The coals are part of a larger coal—an artifact located in Alphaks home plane.
The coal causes all clerical spells of 3rd level or lower in a range of 20' from the Coal to be automatically dispelled. Only spells of non-entropic clerics are affected.
The coal also grants all undead within 20 feet from the Coal a saving throw vs. death magic to negate any turning attempts.
References: Spells of the Secret Craft of Necromancy
Author: Ohad Shaham and Carl Quaif