Kheled's Tome of Transport

Kheled's Tome of Transport

This is a slim volume, bound in plain brown leather; the covers are flexible, and are tied closed with a black silk cord attached to the leading edge of each cover. The book - actually a folio - contains only five pages; a title page, bearing the above name, followed by four more bearing a single spell each. The Tome is protected by a Jumping Ward (see below).

The Wizard Kheled Solamen is a Darokin native, educated at the Great School of Magic in Glantri. A still-young, flame-haired man of great enthusiasm and energy, he specialises in creating or adapting teleportation and Plane-hopping magics. The Tome of Transport is a collection of some of his more useful magics, presented in folio form to the Library of the Great School, where it currently resides. Since Kheled’s powers and interests frequently carry him to alien Planes and distant corners of Mystara, his present location is uncertain - he could, quite literally, pop up anywhere.

Ethereal Legerdemain

Level: 4

Range: 0’ (caster only)

Duration: 3 Turns

Effect: conjures objects to and from Ethereal Plane

Originally designed to allow the quick conjuration of darts and other thrown items in battle, this spell creates a tiny, porous "window" to the Ethereal Plane in each of the caster’s palms. For the duration of the spell, the caster may cause any small, hand-held object to vanish into the Ethereal or call it back by an act of will.

The caster may summon or displace two items per round, one for each hand; this always happens at the beginning of any combat round, unless the caster chooses otherwise. Whilst in the Ethereal Plane, transferred items are kept both near to the caster and protected from interference by the spell’s effects; if the caster moves about, or even Teleports or Dimension Doors away, the items are transported with him (although Gate or Travel spells will break the link). Any items still remaining in the Ethereal at the end of the spell’s duration, however, will gradually drift away; unless the caster can produce another Ethereal Legerdemain in the same spot within the hour, the items will be lost forever.

Apart from its combat uses, Ethereal Legerdemain is ideal for smuggling small, valuable items safely past guards or customs officers; for theft, if the caster is so inclined; or for entertainment purposes (Kheled traded a copy of this spell to Enigma for her Unbinding spell - see below for details). Note that only nonliving objects may be transferred by this spell; living things cannot be affected.

Unbinding

Level: 5

Range: see below

Duration: 12 hours

Effect: short-range teleportation

This spell, unlike the others in the collection, was not created by Kheled - it was adapted and improved from the 4th level spell Enigma’s Unbinding, created by the Mage of that name.

Unbinding is an extremely short-range adaptation of the Dimension Door spell. The spell’s effects lay dormant for up to 12 hours after casting (an improvement over Enigma’s 1 hour delay); if not triggered during this time, the spell fades. Unbinding may be triggered by mental command, causing the caster to vanish and reappear no more than two feet away from his current position.

As the name suggests, Unbinding is designed to allow the caster to free himself from entrapment; the spell only teleports the caster and whatever he was wearing or carrying at the time the spell was cast, so later additions - such as ropes, chains or manacles - are left behind. Since triggering the effect takes only a fraction of a second (and always grants the caster initiative when employing it), the spell is also ideal for narrowly avoiding a death-blow in close combat. Timing is somewhat trickier when avoiding missile-fire; in this case, the spell adds an effective -2 to AC for one round, so long as the caster is targeted by no more than half-a-dozen arrows; above that number, coverage is too heavy for this limited effect to avoid.

Finally, the spell allows the caster to pass through a wall or obstruction of no more than 2’ thickness by pressing himself against it and triggering the Unbinding. Attempting to bypass a thicker barrier causes the spell to fail - it will not displace the caster into a solid object.

Jumping Ward

Level: 6

Range: touch

Duration: special

Effect: Protective teleportation

Kheled created this spell to protect his most valuable items - including spellbooks - from falling into the wrong hands. The spell requires the caster to concoct a special ointment, which has as its main components the blood or spittle of a Blink Dog and ground-up hair from the mane of a Unicorn. Substitutions might be acceptable - for instance, skin scrapings from a Wallara (Chameleon Man) or some other naturally-teleporting race - if the DM allows. Other ingredients are left to the individual DM’s discretion, but total cost should be no less than 2,000-4,000 gp.

When brewed, the ointment appears to be a thin, runny, clear varnish. If stored in an airtight container, it may be kept indefinitely - the recipe makes enough for 1d4+4 uses. When casting the spell, the Mage paints a sigil (the Jumping Ward itself) on the item to be protected, using the ointment and an artist’s brush; when dry, this is undetectable unless Detect Magic or Truesight is in use.

Anyone touching the protected item has five seconds to speak a cancellation-word (chosen during casting) or the item will Dimension Door to a random location within 360’. Should the culprit find the item again and touch it a second time, the Jumping Ward triggers again, up to a limit of nine jumps per casting. The spell lasts indefinitely until all nine jumps have been triggered. Note that the Jumping Ward will never teleport the item into a solid object, always displacing it sufficiently to let it arrive in open air - even if this extends its range slightly.

Teleport Trap

Level: 7

Range: 10' radius

Duration: special

Effect: Teleports targets when triggered

This high-level enchantment is designed to protect a specific area from intruders, or (as the name suggests) function as a trap for the greedy or unwary. The spell requires five 3"-tall cones, made from a single block of solid platinum, as a focus; total cost of the metal and workmanship should be between 1,000-2,000 gp. The cones must then be enchanted and engraved with a sequence of glyphs - another 5,000 gp cost.

Before casting, the cones are laid out in formation, usually a circle 10’ in diameter - however, the area of effect need not be an equilateral shape; so long as no axis is greater than 10’ in width, the area of effect can take any form (a 10’ by 2’ rectangle in front of a door, for instance), although it is always referred to as a "circle." The cones cannot be buried in the ground, although they can be concealed (behind bushes or rocks, if outdoors; underneath or behind furnishings, if inside a building). Casting involves going to each cone in turn and touching it whilst reciting the words of the spell and the conditions for triggering it.

The spell may be set to trigger when its perimeter is breached; when a certain individual/sex/race enters the circle, or upon command (caster’s choice). When activated, the Teleport Trap causes arcs of magical energy to leap from cone to cone, culminating in a bright flash of light which Teleports the victim to a chosen or random location (again, caster’s choice). The spell discharges after a single use, although it may teleport as many people as can fit inside the circle at once. The cones may be re-used to cast this spell indefinitely.

Teleport Trap can be employed to entrap greedy treasure-seekers by placing a pile of gold or gems within the circle before casting - anything already in place when the spell is cast is immune to the effect. The spell is useful to protect a narrow passage or mountain pass from invading bandits or monsters, if set correctly. It can also be used, in extremis, to transport the caster and his companions to a chosen location, but this is a last resort since it necessitates leaving the cones behind.

Note: Normal rules for the spell Teleport apply - this spell does not provide the security of a Teleport Any Object spell, despite its high level.

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