The mystique of the wilderness draws many to it, but few
can survive deep in its heart. Those that can are well suited
for the dangers of a life of adventure. Here are
four new wilderness kits, one for each class. Each is perfect for
the next NPC your characters encounter in the wild, or for
those PCs who are just a little wild at heart.
Feral
Description: Ferals are primitive warriors who have bonded
their beings with those of their chosen animal spirits. This bond
may occur at the warrior’s choosing through a spiritual quest
performed upon becoming an adult, or it may be the result of a
ceremony performed by the village shaman at the feral’s birth.
Often, the animal spirit is also the totem of the tribe.
A feral warrior can call upon the strength of the animal spirit
to help him defeat his enemies. He should choose his totem
animal from one of the following types:
Raptor — birds of prey (eagles, hawks, owls, and so on)
Canine — dogs, wolves, and foxes
Ursine — bears
Porcine — boars
Feline — cats (ranging lynx to lions)
Equine — horses
Of course the player and DM may agree to modify this list
depending upon the area in which the feral lives. So a feral from
the arctic wastes could choose from Ursine (polar bear) or Feline
(snow leopard), while one who dwelt in the mountains would
probably be more apt to choose a Raptor (condor) or Feline
(puma), or he may even ask the DM to add a category for
mountain goats to the list.
As part of the acceptance of the animal spirit, the feral’s personality
slowly changes to resemble the animal’s. A feline feral
might become aloof, an equine feral could be driven to wander,
and a porcine feral likely develops a quick temper.
A feral character must have a minimum Dexterity and
Strength of 13, and a Constitution no less than 14.
Role: A Feral is a unique member of his tribe. He is the link
between the world of the warrior and the unnatural world of
the spirit realm. In effect, the feral is the bridge
respect. At times of war, the feral leads his people into battle,
while in times of peace he may roam the countryside, driven
by the animal nature within his heart.
Unless the campaign includes savage demihumans, feral
warriors must be human. Most tend to be Neutral in alignment,
like the animals themselves, but both noble and base examples
have been known.
Weapon Proficiencies: Required: Knife. A feral’s remaining
slots must be spent on primitive weapons: club, dagger, short
bow, dart, hand axe, sling, or spear. As the character becomes
more exposed to the world, he may adopt new weapons.
Secondary Skills: Hunter, trapper/furrier. These skills would be
useful ways of providing food and clothing for the warrior’s tribe.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: Hunting, tracking.
Recommended: Animal handling, animal lore, camouflage,
endurance, foraging, set snares, survival.
Equipment: Ferals wear clothing only for warmth and protection.
They adorn themselves with fur and often the teeth,
bones, or claws of their chosen animal. While some might consider
this a strange irony, ferals believe that such remains are
a link that makes channeling the spirit far easier.
Special Benefits: The binding of the animal spirit to the
feral’s soul gives him greater courage. Thus, a feral makes all
saving throws against fear and similar effects at +2.
The feral can also call upon the heightened perception of
the animal. This allows him to roll as if he possessed the alertness
proficiency at +1. (Should the character already have this
proficiency, he makes the roll at a +2 bonus instead.) This
channeling can be performed a number of times a day equal
to the feral’s level, and the effect lasts only a single round.
At 5th level, a feral can call upon the bonded spirit to grant
him temporary prowess in one aspect of the animal. He may
choose to use one of the following abilities each day:
Increased agility (lowering AC by 1), increased fierceness
(+1 to THAC0), or expertise in one of the below traits (proficiencies),
listed according to animal type.
Raptor — Awareness rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known
then consider character to possess the proficiency.
Canine — Tracking rolls are at +4.
Ursine — Survival rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known
then consider character to possess the proficiency.
Porcine — Endurance rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known
then consider character to possess the proficiency.
Feline — Hunting rolls are at +4.
Equine — Running rolls are at +4; if the skill is
between the common folk of the tribe and the
shamans, so he holds a position of great
not known, then consider character to
possess the proficiency.
At 9th level, the feral can
shapechange once per day into the form
of the animal spirit. The transformation
is not an easy one and requires physical
activity; thus the character must be running
hard, in the midst of combat, or
performing some other physical exertion.
Whatever the character is wearing,
barring furs or skins, will not transform
with him, so a feral wearing a suit of
chain mail and trying to turn into a
horse would injure himself in doing so.
Thus, at this level, such characters rarely
wear anything truly constricting. It takes
two full rounds to transform and four to
turn back to human.
Special Hindrances: Due to his wild
mannerisms and dress, the feral character
receives a -2 reaction adjustment from all
NPCs except for members of his tribe.
Ferals are naturally susceptible to any
magic that might provoke them to violence.
They suffer a -1 on all saving
throws against such magic (including
such spells as taunt, or hate caused by
an emotion spell).
Ferals are naturally superstitious and
believe greatly in animal spirits. Should
they ever encounter an unnatural example
of their animal guide, they would be
entirely loathe to harm it unless in selfdefense.
Thus, the feral that has a horse
as his guide would look upon a nightmare
as something fascinating, even
though the creature’s evil alignment
may differ from his own.
Finally, due to their close ties to the
animals they worship, ferals are more
prone to contract lycanthropy. They suffer
a -2 on their saving throw against
the arcane disease, but only if bitten by
a werebeast of the same type as the
feral’s animal spirit (i.e., a canine feral
attacked by a werewolf). If the feral warrior
is of a higher level than the werebeast
that attacked him, he may still
contract lycanthropy, but he will not
have his alignment changed by the disorder.
Wealth Options: 2d6 × 10 gp.
Greenfellow
Description: A greenfellow is not
your average rogue. Now and then the
fey folk who live in the wilds of the
countryside are known to steal away
Greenfellow thieving skill adjustments
Pick Open F/R Move Hide in Detect Climb Read
Pockets Locks Traps Silently Shadows Noise Walls Languages
— -15% -5% +10% +10% +5% – -5%
human babes and substitute their own
children in their place. The human children
are raised by the faeries as their
own, often becoming greenfellows.
A greenfellow has strong ties to the
fey folk that fostered him. Usually the
faeries are brownies, leprechauns, or pixies.
They know the language and ways
of their fostering parents more so than
humankind, and they seek to protect
faerie interests both locally and abroad.
Though most greenfellows are
h u m a n b a b i e s s w a p p e d w i t h
changelings, it is not unknown for halfelven
and full elven babies to be taken
by the mischievous fey folk. (In the later
cases, the children are often raised as
multiclassed greenfellow/enchanters.)
Greenfellows tend to be short for
their age, for fey food and drink stunt
their growth. Their features are often
attractive and merry, with alluring, twinkling
eyes.
Role: Greenfellows are a wily but
good-natured lot. They mostly travel
the countryside, rarely setting foot in
anything more urban than local villages
and hamlets.
Should they come across an instance
where the fey are not honored as in the
past, the greenfellow uses his thieving
talents to ensure that enough mischief
happens that the locals return to the old
practices.
A greenfellow may take the road to
adventure, hoping to see other fey
cultures or perhaps to act as an envoy
or courier between faerie courts.
As greenfellows are always raised by
good-natured faeries, a character choosing
this kit must be of good alignment.
Weapon Proficiencies: Required: Dart.
Recommended: Dagger, short sword.
Secondary Skills: None. Due to their
strange upbringing, greenfellows rarely
learn human skills.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required:
Alertness, fey lore (new). Recommended:
Dancing, directional sense, fast-talking,
foraging, set snares, spellcraft.
Skill Progression: Greenfellows tend
to become more skilled with Move
Silently and Hide in Shadows than the
other thieving talents. This is simply
because there is often more call for
them to be hard to catch than to pick a
merchant’s pocket or evade a trapped
lock in the king’s vault.
Special Benefits: Thanks to their
upbringing, a greenfellow learns not
only the common human tongue but
also the language of his foster fey race.
Because of their constant exposure to
the magic and illusion of the fey realm,
greenfellows all possess a +2 bonus on
saves vs. Enchantment magic and a +1
bonus against Illusion magic.
When having any dealings with their
foster race, a greenfellow gains a +4
reaction adjustment. As the faerie realm
holds many allies, a greenfellow also has
a +2 reaction adjustment when encountering
any similarly aligned fey folk.
At 6th level, a greenfellow can summon
some of his foster fey race. This
can occur only when the rogue is in an
area where such faeries are known to
live. The summoning takes 1 full turn
and 1-3 of the faeries then appear.
There is no guarantee that the faeries
will listen to the rogue’s request, but
bear in mind the reaction adjustment
mentioned above.
At 9th level, the greenfellow becomes
immune to charm and suggestion spells.
Special Hindrances: All the thieving
skills of the greenfellow are meant to be
used in rural and wilderness conditions.
Stuck in an urban environment, the
character would begin to feel edgy and
uncomfortable. Skill attempts would be
halved for the duration of the character’s
stay.
Much as the mortal world is split by
factions and nations, so too is the fey
realm. Greenfellows suffer a -2 reaction
adjustment with fey folk of different
alignment than the sort that raised the
character. (This restriction includes even
slight differences, such as that between
Chaotic Good and Neutral Good).
And just as the character can call
upon his foster kind for assistance, they
too may one day need the greenfellow’s
help, to which refusal would strip the
character of all special abilities.
Wealth Options: 5d4 × 10 gp.
New proficiency: Fey lore
1 Slot, Int -2
Greenfellows possess this special new proficiency,
due to their upbringing in the fey world.
Other characters may eventually learn fey lore,
but they must either spend much time within that
strange culture or gain it through through weeks
of reading about the faerie races.
Fey Lore: This is the knowledge of the fey folk
and their ways. A character can use this proficiency
to discern what sort of faerie would lurk in
a specific area or terrain, whether or not an item
was made by the fey folk, or simply to gather
some clue in dealing with such creatures in a
diplomatic manner.
Stridesman
Description: Stridesmen are priests
who travel the countryside, never resting,
as they make their way through the
world. Often this life of wandering takes
them into the wilderness, far from civilization.
As opposed to most wanderers — like
bards, rangers, and tinkers — the stridesman
cares little whether he becomes
lost. All the world is to be seen, every
corner visited at least once. So a stridesman
never truly understands the notion
of being lost; his god obviously meant
for him to visit the place he ends up. If
the deity had not, the stridesman would
not be there. This sort of thinking tends
to exasperate other travelers.
Most of these priests worship a god
of travel, who they feel they must emulate
from the time they wake to when
they lay down to sleep. A few pay
homage to deities of healing or comfort,
and these are the stridesman who travel
from village to village bringing relief to
the suffering.
Role: Most stridesmen are of either
good or neutral alignment. Due to their
constant roaming, they rarely care about
something so transient as regional
politics or conflicts; after all, they spend
so little time in one area that they cannot
bring themselves to worry about what
tomorrow might bring. A rare lot of these
priests are actually evil, and these are the
condemned few who are doomed by
their god to wander forever, their presence
hated in many villages for what bitterness
they sow.
Weapon Proficiencies: Required: Staff.
Secondary Skills: Farmer, forester,
trader/barterer.
Duties of Priest: Guidance, Marriage.
A stridesman is vigilant against those
who would bar passage along any highway
or path; thus an enforced toll along
a road by the local monarch would
seem as blasphemous as a band of brigands
ambushing merchants along their
way. Though they are not a violent
order, they will do what it takes to
ensure that free passage is available to
any traveler.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required:
Cartography, directional sense, foraging.
Recommended: Distance sense, endurance,
herbalism, local history, survival,
trail marking, weather sense.
Spheres of Influence: Major: All,
Healing, Protection, Travel, Weather.
Minor: Animal, Elemental, Plant.
Special Benefits: Meeting a stridesman
while traveling is considered good luck, so
the priest receives a +2 reaction adjustment
from bards, rangers, and traveling
folk such as caravan leaders and gypsies.
The stridesman, when walking,
adopts a trancelike state of relaxation.
Thus, the character needs less sleep. At
1st level, the stridesman needs only six
hours of sleep to function normally. This
amount drops to five hours at 5th level
and falls to only four hours of sleep daily
at 10th level.
Special Hindrances: Stridesman care
little for conflict and thus begin the
game with only a single weapon proficiency
with a walking staff (quarterstaff).
However, in their travels they learn new
cultures and languages much more
readily than others. So stridesmen begin
with an additional nonweapon proficiency
that must be spent on either a
local history or additional language.
Because they are constantly traveling
a stridesman wears armor only when he
knows his path passes through dangerous
territory and he might encounter
someone or something hostile. Even
then, the stridesman would wear nothing
more encumbering than leather
armor, depending on the climate.
The stridesman’s preferred means of
locomotion are his own two feet. The
DM can decide whether the character’s
patron deity views travel by horse, cart,
or boat as sacrilegious or merely as a
necessity under certain conditions. It is a
sin, however, for a stridesman to be too
lazy simply to walk somewhere, and the
offending priest will suffer such penance
as spells withheld, ill luck, or poor
weather conditions.
Since they are constantly traveling,
stridesmen never employ retainers,
hirelings, or other followers, though it is
certainly not unheard of for them to
take acolytes along and train them in
their ways. Stridesmen cannot own any
more than they could normally carry
alone, though they may take pack animals
to bear supplies on their journeys.
Wealth Options: 3d6 × 10 gp.
New priest spells
Journey.s Orison
(Conjuration/Summoning, Abjuration)
Reversible
Level: 1
Sphere: Travel
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 week/level of caster
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 individual or object
Saving Throw: None
Using this spell, a stridesman can bless
an individual about to embark upon a
long trip, or he can bless an object that is
being transported over a long distance.
The caster places his hands on the person
or object, intones the spell, and states
the destination of the journey. For the
duration of the trip to a specific site —
which must be one that can be reached
in a number of weeks equal to the level
of the caster — the blessed person
receives +2 on all saves from natural
mishaps and a +1 on reaction rolls for
any fellow wanderer. A blessed object
gains a +2 on all saves as well.
The reverse of the spell, journey’s malison,
is rarely cast by good and neutral
stridesman, though they may use it to
punish brigands or unscrupulous merchants.
Evil stridesmen might cast the
spell and then demand that the only way
for the affected person/object to survive
is to have the priest accompany the traveler
as a well-paid guide.
Easy Road
(Alteration)
Level: 1
Sphere: Travel
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 hour/level of caster
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 mile stretch/level
Saving Throw: None
This spell is used to ensure that passage
along one path or road is quick and
without mishap. The stridesman can
enchant up to 1 mile per caster level,
causing all all movement rates along the
path to be increased by 50% without
any noticeable spell effect. In poor
weather conditions, this spell simply
removes the movement penalty.
In addition, for the spell’s duration,
minor accidents, such as stones caught
in a horse’s hoof or a broken axle on a
wagon, do not occur while traveling on
an easy road.
The material components are the
priest’s holy symbol and a handful of
dirt from the road, both of which are
held in one hand a moment before the
dirt is sprinkled at the feet of the priest.
Pass without Notice
(Enchantment)
Level: 2
Sphere: Protection
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 round/level of caster
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 individual or object
Saving Throw: None
A stridesman makes use of this spell
to avoid confrontations with brigands or
other hostile characters while he makes
his way along the road. The spell allows
the caster to go unnoticed by any
human, demi-human, or humanoid in
the immediate area (up to 40’). While
not invisible, the stridesman can walk
past a person without being perceived.
For the spell to work, the priest must
maintain a steady slow pace and cannot
make any sudden movements. Thus
such activities as running and engaging
in melee are impossible. Also, the priest
cannot make any sound louder than a
whisper, so while passing without notice,
the priest can cast no other spell.
For every three levels of experience,
the priest can include an additional person
under the affects of the spell, but all
those to be affected must link hands for
the duration of the spell. Any who
releases his grip from the others is
immediately revealed.
The material component is the
priest’s holy symbol. The spell is also
cast with the stridesman’s eyes closed.
Merlane
Description: Many an adventurer has
given thought to where some of the
stranger creatures encountered actually
come from. Many a time these beasts
are a weird combination of different animals
that would seem a mockery of
nature.
Remarks about such monsters would
make a merlane chuckle. Creating new
and strange life is his craft: a specialist
mage who transmogrifies animals to fit
his imagination and whim.
Adept at Alteration magic, the merlane
learns how to transform normal
animals or breed new life into the stuff
of dreams — or horrors.
Only humans and half-elves may
become merlanes. A minimum Dexterity
of 15 and Intelligence of 13 is necessary.
Role: Merlanes are prone to spend
much time traveling the world in search
of new creatures and source stock for
their experiments. Some may spend
years holed up in a dismal tower until
they discover that they need to find a
certain beast, while others begin their
lives amid the danger of adventure.
It would seem rare to find a good aligned
person so willing to transform
animal life into what many would call are good-hearted. Such individuals tend
to use their powers to create guardians
and creatures that hunt down evil and
protect the innocent.
More likely, a merlane is neutral or
evil. Such mages enjoy playing with
nature, twisting and experimenting. The
evil ones usually are responsible for
some of the more bizarre and fiendish
creatures that can be found lurking
about in dark corners of the world.
Weapon Proficiencies: Required:
None. Recommended: Dart, dagger, staff.
Secondary Skills: Forester, groom,
hunter, trapper/furrier.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required:
animal handling, animal lore. Recommended:
animal handling, riding — landbased,
herbalism, spellcraft, survival,
veterinary healing.
Special Benefits: Due to their ability
to learn the nature of strange creatures,
merlanes gain a +2 on all saving throws
- any attack from a mutated animal
with whose source stock the mage is
familiar (i.e., he has had the opportunity
to use his animal proficiencies on such a
creature before). This includes gigantic
versions of species, like giant crawfish, to
ones magically enhanced, like winter
wolves.
Special Hindrances: As a specialist of
the school of Alteration, a merlane cannot
cast spells of Abjuration or
Necromancy. Many merlanes have been
slain by their creations, simply because of
the lack of protection they can summon.
Because of their focus in warping animal
life, a merlane cannot use any spells
of Alteration magic upon humans, demihumans,
or humanoid races (even those
that seem to have come from original
animal stock, like bullywugs or lizard
men). This power is rumored to have
been possessed once by long-dead
members of the kit and has never been
regained. Plants also cannot be transformed
by the wizard. However, for
those appropriate Alteration spells (such
as alter self, the merlane can still cast
them upon himself without problem.
Because of their callous view of animal
life, a merlane cannot have a familiar
as per the normal wizard spell. Instead
these mages tend to raise lusus naturae or
alter existing pets to serve them.
Finally, there is some stigmata to
being a merlane. All druids despise
these wizards for what they do to nature
and will never have anything better
than a Cautious reaction. So too will
rangers and other sylvan races have a
-2 on all reaction rolls.
Wealth Options: 3d6 × 10 gp.
New wizard spells
The drawback of the polymorph other
spell is that no special abilities are truly
gained. Yes, that lion you just transformed
into a dragonne might be able
to fly, but he cannot create that terrible
roar. To achieve that end, the merlane
must cast spells like lusus naturae or teratism.
At the lower levels, their spells are
used to alter a creature, either giving it
additional strength or weakening it so
that it may be more easily handled.
Enhance Trait
(Alteration)
Level: 1
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 turn + 1 turn/level of caster
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: 1 animal
Saving Throw: None
By means of this spell, a merlane can
enhance one aspect of an animal. This
trait can range from its ability to run fast,
to the size of its claws, to its talent for
stalking prey. This spell works only on
normal animals.
The following traits can be enhanced:
the animal can gain one of the following
bonuses: an additional Hit Die; +1 to
THAC0; +1d3 to damage inflicted; +2 to
any single MR; +1 to a single saving
throw; +1 to surprise rolls; +2 to
Intelligence. Other special traits of an
animal can also be enhanced, but these
require adjudication by the DM.
By using this spell, the merlane could
induce his horse to run faster, his guard
dog to be more ferocious, and the like.
Several traits can be affected at once
with additional castings of the spell. For
the magic to be made permanent, a teratism
spell must be used.
Discern Sire
(Divination, Phantasm)
Level: 2
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: 2 rounds
Casting Time: 2
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None
This spell is very important to the
merlane’s craft, as it allows the mage to determine the origins of the most
strange hybrid creatures he encounters.
It is a dangerous spell to cast, as the target
must be well within view; often it is
performed on the remains of truly fearsome
beasts.
When cast, discern sire causes spectral
images to rise from the body of the creature.
These phantasms are of the original
source stock used to create the monster
or found in its evolution. For example,
when the spell is cast upon an owl
bear, the merlane would see hovering
over the creature a great horned owl
and a grizzly bear.
If the merlane makes a successful
Intelligence roll, he also learns some of
the secrets in the creation of such a creature.
In the above example, he might discern
that the images slowly coalesce into
a scene wherein an owl’s egg is bathed
in the blood of the bear, then wrapped in
the pelt, all the while kept in total darkness.
Now such practice alone will not
hatch an owlbear, but with the right
magic, a merlane may well succeed in
generating such a creature.
Unbridle the Wild Beast
Level: 2
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 2
Area of Effect: 1 animal
Saving Throw: See below
A merlane can use this spell to release
an animal from the effects of domestication
or training. Any mundane animal,
ranging from a songbird to a bull to a
hunting dog, is automatically affected
with no saving throw permitted.
The only animals that are allowed a
chance to resist the effects of the spell
are those under the personal care and
attention of a trainer, animals affected
by an animal friendship or charm mammal
spell, or followers of a druid or ranger.
Familiars gained by the find familiar spell
are immune to this spell.
An affected animal immediately
seeks to flee the area and return to its
natural habitat. If prevented from doing
so it may become hostile. If the animal
is hungry, injured, or frightened, it may
lash out at the closest being.
The animal’s keeper may try to help
the animal resist the spell if he is present.
He gets one opportunity to roll his skill at
animal handling. For every point by
which he makes the roll, the animal
gains +1 on its saving throw. For those
under the influence of a prior enchantment,
the animal has a bonus to resist
equal to the level of the spell used to
bind the animal (thus a mare that has
been tamed via animal friendship gains a
+1 on its saving throw). Followers of a
druid or ranger resist the spell at the level
of their master rather than their own Hit
Dice (i.e., a puma follower to an 8th-level
ranger saves as if it were 8 Hit Dice).
An animal that becomes wild by this
spell may once more be domesticated
though the DM may impose certain
penalties to any attempt to do so.
Teratism I
(Alteration)
Level: 3
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 animal
Saving Throw: None
As opposed to the more powerful
merlane spell, lusus naturae spell, which
allows the mage to breed unnatural animals
and creatures, teratism transmutes
an animal instantly with permanent
effects.
The first version of this spell is the
weakest, causing only minor changes in
the animal. Some of the following
aspects of an animal may be altered
with a touch of the caster’s hand:
v Minor changes to hide can be
made. This will lower (or raise) a creature’s
natural AC by only 2 levels. But a
tiger whose skin is like striped leather
would be a remarkable sight. A shark
whose skin is furred may fetch a great
deal to some menageries.
v Strange coloration can be added to
any feature of the animal. Thus the merlane
can cause a hound’s eyes to glow a
sinister orange or endow a songbird
with bright silver plumage.
v Unnatural sounds can be added.
Though the animal is incapable of intelligible
speech, it could be made to say a
phrase over and over again. Or its normal
cries would be changed into something
different. Strange sounds can be
linked to the animal’s movements, so
that when the hawk flaps its wings a resonance
of thunder is heard.
Other minor changes can be made in
accordance with the DM.
This spell has no effect on animals
that have already been magically
altered by anyone other than the casting
merlane. So a giant insect cannot
suddenly have its carapace changed to
scales unless it was enlarged by the same
merlane. Of course the spell (or its more
powerful variants) can be cast multiple
times on an animal, the end result being
something that rarely resembles its
source stock.
This spell allows Alteration magic
spells below 3rd level to be cast upon an
animal (such as enhance trait or enlarge)
with permanent effect.
The altered animals, known as teratisms,
are sterile.
Note that in no way does the casting
of this spell ensure that the creature will
obey the merlane. If the wizard is wise
he will only make trained pets into
teratisms.
Degenerate Breed
(Alteration)
Level: 4
Range: 0
Components: V, S
Duration: See below
Casting Time: 6
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: Negates
This spell allows a merlane to degenerate
a monster back to its source stock.
Only those creatures that are based on a
normal animal can be affected. As with
most merlane spells, wizard familiars are
immune to the effects of degenerate breed.
Should a targeted creature fail its saving
throw against magic, it degenerates
that round. Winter wolves transform
into normal pale wolves. Giant-sized versions
of a normal animal, such as spiders
or snakes, simply shrink down two
steps in size (so from L to S, and so on).
The DM has final say when considering
if some monsters may appear to be
altered animals in form but are truly
supernatural (such as shadow hounds)
and thus unaffected by this spell.
The duration of the spell is dependent
on how tough the affected creature
- Should the merlane be of higher level
than creature has Hit Dice, then the
change is permanent until dispelled.
Otherwise, the effects last for a number
of rounds equal to the caster’s level.
Teratism II
(Alteration)
Level: 5
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 animal
Saving Throw: None
This spell is a more potent version of
teratism I. All the limitations of that spell
16
still apply. However, the merlane can
now induce stranger changes in an animal’s
form and magical capabilities may
now be imbued.
v An additional limb can be added. It
is fully functional but can be placed
wherever the character touches.
However, while this may allow an additional
attack, this also tends to hamper a
creature’s movement, at least, for several
weeks depending on where the limb
is located.
Lusus naturae modifiers
Situation Modifier
Have studied a similar creature before +10%
Have cast discern sire on specimen of creature to be bred +20%
Have created a similar creature before +25%
New species 25%
Creature is a combination of different animal classes (mammal, avian, insect, etc.) -10%/class
Each Hit Die of creature 5 %
For every additional spell that needs to be cast – 5 %
For every additional week in experimentation spent in the past month +5%
v A lesser special ability may be
added. The merlane can grant the teratism
an arcane trait equal to any spell
of 2nd level or below. The merlane must
cast the spell within the round following
the teratism casting. Thus, he can imbue
a trained hawk with the ability to detect
evil, so that it might better stop foes of its
creator. Or that large toad could breathe
out foul vapors equal to a stinking cloud.
Of course, since a merlane is unable to
cast spells of the schools of Abjuration
or Necromancy, a teratism cannot possess
such abilities either.
v Special limbs can be added or
existing limbs warped. Thus, wings or
fins can be created, allowing the creature
to move in another environment.
Lusus Naturae
Level: 6
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 individual or object
Saving Throw: None
This is the spell for which a merlane
is infamous. Lusus naturae allows the wizard
to create new life and form new
breeds, for good or ill. This is no easy
task, and failure is common.
This is not a swift spell like teratism;
rather it takes at least a month to
attempt to fashion a lusus naturae.
During that time, the merlane must be
deeply involved in imbuing in his creation
all the traits he desires, an effort
that calls for painstaking research, careful
administration of additional spellcasting
or rare components (see below),
and the casting of lusus naturae every
third day to ensure that the source stock
is affected.
Before the casting of the spell, much
time should be spent in preparation. The
player and the DM should meet and
confer on what sort of life the merlane
character wishes to create. The DM then
can consider the proposal and suggest
the means to that end in regards to
material components.
Such components should be either
animal parts that will be related to the
final result or actual living specimens.
The base chance of success is equal
to the merlane’s Intelligence plus five
times his level of experience. Of course,
there are modifiers, as shown in the
table above.
Unnatural abilities can be imbued to a
lusus naturae through the casting of similar
spells and/or rare material components
during the process. For instance, if
the merlane wishes to create a gigantic
scorpion with a stinger that can ignite
into flames, he may need to cast burning
hands around the source stock every day,
and perhaps let it lie on a bed of rare
charcoal specially imported from faraway
lands.
If the spell fails to work, the DM then
rolls the percentage chance again,
secretly to see if something horrible and
unexpected does come from the experiment.
If that roll succeeds then a creature
is created, but not the sort the merlane
had anticipated let alone wanted.
Lusus naturae can breed amongst their
own kind. Their ecology will vary, but is
still dependent on the source stock from
which they came. Thus, a creature made
from canine stock will be easier to train,
be a carnivore, and tend to travel in
packs if let loose in the wild. Something
fashioned from fish stock may be hard to
control, dependent on water, and be
omnivorous. A merlane can never truly
be totally sure what the consequences of
shaping new life may bring.
Much like teratism, this spell does not
in any way make the created creature
domesticated to the merlane’s will. He
must go through the slow process of
handling and training the young creature
if he is to be its master.
Teratism III
(Alteration)
Level: 7
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 1 animal
Saving Throw: None
This is the most powerful version of
the teratism spell to date. The traits listed
below are only some of the possible
transformations that can be induced in
an animal. The DM has the final say in
what other traits can be bestowed.
v An additional head can be created.
This would allow for an additional bite
attack, perhaps increased senses that
would make surprising the creature near
impossible, and so forth.
v Greater special abilities can be
imbued. The merlane can grant the teratism
a special trait equal to any spell of
4th level or below. Again the merlane
must cast the spell within one round of
the teratism casting. Thus he can have
lizard’s eyes burn with such brilliance
equal to that of a fire charm spell, so that
hapless victims will approach and be
enthralled by the blaze until within
reach of the creature’s jaws.
v Speech can be given to an animal,
but it will only be as capable of language
as its intelligence allows. The usual
means of granting greater intelligence is
usually through enhance trait, though
some have used teratism; the results of
the latter are not always to be trusted, as
insanity has occurred occasionally.
v Unnatural hide can be given to the
beast. The skin can be radically changed
to such materials as stone or metal. Some
merlanes have even hinted that they
have created dangerous raptors with
feathers of silk but claws of glass. Such
reports have yet to be substantiated. The
teratism can benefit by an increase of up
to 6 levels to its AC.
FORGOTTEN REALMS 41100 MO 