Spells of House Hillsbury
Volospin's Crushing Stare
Level: 2
School: Enchantment/Charm
Range: 0
Duration: 1 hour
Area of Effect: The caster's eyes
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1
Saving Throw: Negates
With Volospin's crushing stare, the caster becomes the grand master of stare downs. Anyone meeting his gaze must save vs. spells, or be hypnotically locked in a stare down. The victim must then roll a Wisdom check every round or be forced to turn his gaze and keep it down for the duration of the spell. (Needless to say, the caster always wins! It's just a matter of time.)
This spell is very subtle, and it cannot be seen with detect magic. This magical effect seems to be small, but actually the psychological effects of this spell are tremendous. Étienne d'Ambreville, Jherek Virayana IV, for example, always address Volospin Aendyr and Margaret Hillsbury very politely.
Only vampires and creatures with specific protections against stares can withstand this spell.
The greatest gifts are given for love. This spell is one such gift, created by Prince Volospin as a gift to Duchess Margaret of Fenswick.
Level: 3
School: Alteration
Range: Touch or 60 miles
Duration: One month or by concentration
Area of Effect: Special
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 4 or 1 round
Saving Throw: None
Agostino di Malapietra's spying spell can be cast by two ways. Either the caster can use the spell to create a magical eye, or the caster can use the spell to view through the watchful eyes created earlier.
When creating a watchful eye, the caster merely touches the place where he wants to place the eye, and the eye stays there for one month. If the watchful eye is placed on a movable object, it moves when the object is moved. If it is placed on a living being, the victim is allowed a saving throw vs. spells. The caster can only have one watchful eye per three levels active at one time. The eyes can only be noticed with a detect magic spell cast by a spellcaster of a higher level.
When viewing through Agostino's watchful eyes, the caster must close his own eyes and concentrate. As long as he concentrates, he can watch through any of the watchful eyes within the 60-mile range, one at a time.
It is said Prince Innocenti di Malapietra always becomes nervous when standing in a room where a watchful eye is suspected to be—with a good reason.
Margaret's Stern Command
Level: 4
School: Enchantment/Charm
Range: 0
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: All persons within hearing range
Components: V
Casting Time: 4
Saving Throw: Negates
Margaret's stern command is a spell that Lady Margaret Hillsbury uses when her underlings protest her commands, but which she has been known to use it even in the meetings of the Council of Princes. When the spell is cast, the caster must give one order with a commanding (not necessarily loud) voice.
Everyone who hears the command is affected, unless the caster purposely gives the order only to a selected person or persons. Everyone who is socially below the caster (in this case, her underlings, most of the non-spellcasters, and even the most of the non-gentry wizards) is affected automatically. Everyone else is allowed a saving throw vs. spells.
Those who succumb to Margaret's stern command must obey it immediately without question. The spell will not enforce suicidal orders, nor does it make people betray their innocent friends.
Margaret's Aura of Awe
Level: 6
School: Enchantment/Charm
Range: 0
Duration: 1 hour
Area of Effect: All persons within sight
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: Negates
Margaret's aura of awe makes the caster appear very majestic and mighty. Everyone looking the caster looks at her, as if looking at an archmage or an emperor. No one wants to offend the caster—with words, actions or lack of either. Someone wishing to act against this spell has to save vs. spells to gather his courage to do so. For example, interrupting the caster's speech, insulting her, or physically attacking her requires a saving throw. If the save fails, it can only be tried again five minutes later. If the caster casts attacks physically or magically, everyone automatically makes their saving throws, even though Margaret's aura of awe is not dispelled. This effect is counted as a charm effect in every way.
They say that Margaret Hillsbury was such a bad wizard, that it took her eleven months to make this breakthrough.
Edward's Untranslatable Writings
Level: 3
School: Alteration, Abjuration
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Area of Effect: 1 non-magical written text
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
This stronger version of the confuse languages spell is only known to Duke Edward Hillsbury of Fenswick, and to his daughter, Duchess Margaret Hillsbury. Duke Edward crafted this spell during his years in the Great School of magic to protect his private writings (i.e. personal journals, secret messages, research into the Radiance, etc.) from prying eyes. Edward was not exactly popular among the students in the Great School, coming from a small dominion of shepherds and potato farmers and from a cultural minority alien to Mystara and with a long-standing enmity with the Kaelic of Klantyre and the Sylaire of Nouvelle Averoigne.
When this spell is cast on a non-magical written text, the text can never be translated and must be read in the original language. Any form of magic used to translate the text, short of a limited wish, such as spells like read language and comprehend languages, or magic items like a helm of reading or a helm of comprehending languages and reading magic, does not work. A detect magic spell will reveal an abjuration spell at work. Dispel magic cannot remove this enchantment, but an anti-magic shell does temporarily (although it still does not translate the words). A limited wish or wish can dispel this spell.
Needless to say, this spell is very useful in Glantri, where so many languages and dialects are being used. It is particularly useful to Duke Edward, whose native language is Fenswick, an old language from Laterre, quite unknown to Glantrians, more so to the rest of Mystara. It is only spoken by the shepherds and potato farmers of Fenswick, most of whom are illiterate! (If ever they do read or write, it's usually in Thyatian Common.)
There is one flaw to the spell though, that neither Duke Edward nor Duchess Margaret ever noticed, despite their extensive use. The spell has a 50% chance of first translating the written text into Fenswick, before rendering it untranslatable, and therefore, utterly incomprehensible to a non-Fenswick reader!
The material components of this spell are a hot cup of tea, a lump of sugar, and a freshly-baked scone, which are consumed in the casting.
Authors: Markus Olavi Montola and Kit Navarro