Aether Spells

A Treatise on Trans-dimensional Travel by Hylax the Barker, Runemaster-in-training

Navigium Vectorium at the Armitage Inn, Teufeldorf

Introduction

For most people, there is only one world: the mundane world of kings and queens, serfs and slaves, of earth and sea and sky. Glimpses of dimensions beyond that experienced as the everyday world are rare, although the belief in other dimensions is widespread among the common folk. Tales of the afterlife, of heaven and hell, have flourished in the stories told around the hearth for uncounted generations, yet only the palest glimmerings of multidimensional reality emerge from these folk superstitions.

While the commoners live largely in ignorance, scholars of the arcane arts have devoted lifetimes studying and exploring these other dimensions and learning the secrets which allow travel between them. I humbly follow in their footsteps.

I start by introducing the concept of a dimensional world. This concept can be defined as a discrete spatial reality in which beings can exist and take action. My study seeks to illuminate some of these dimensional worlds and how travel is possible between them.

There are four classifications of lands beyond the Realm - also known as Pendar or the Land of the Living.

Extra-Terrestrial Pellum travel to via mundane connections; rune weapons high-tech world; interactions with Pendar only at conjunctions The Netherworld travel to via pyramid artifacts (now inert) ship between Pellum and Pendar; now destroyed Extra-Dimensional The Void travel is via the NV @ Armitage Inn; rune weapons Cave with 28 gates Inter-Dimensional Oblivion - Land of Shades Dead Man's Coins @ portal; rune weapons Souls from the Realm who are not at rest Land of the Dead Dead Man's Coins @ portal; rune weapons Souls at rest Intra-Dimensional Aether Many spells allow point-to-point travel; a few allow travel within the Aether A few native creatures; Assassins and other clandestine groups can stay in the Aether

On Trans-dimensional Runes

My research into true runes, following the work of Morgan the Enchanter, has led me to realize that trans-dimensional travel is possible. I have started work on a rune staff which will allow me to master such travel. The staff is carved only with the task runes indicating the type of travel to be undertaken. The invoker can be variously the caster, an enemy or a friend, or group. Likewise, the target is the final destination desired by the wielder of the rune staff. This can be a place known intimately, or a place known only through rumor and research. The dangers inherent in such travel are obvious. It is the task rune which harnesses the power of the tendrils to travel multi-dimensionally. I suspect that the more powerful travels will need to be undertaken near the crossroads of the tendrils, while simple travels can be done anywhere.

I start work on four runes for my staff. The first rune, which I call Pendar, will allow me to travel effortlessly between the Realm, Oblivion, and the Land of the Dead. I will utilize a Dead Man’s coin in the forming of this rune. The second rune, which I call Voidwalker, will allow me to travel to the Void. As I gain skill and do additional research, I expect to be able to travel through the twenty-eight portals at will. What treasures exist beyond, I dare not try to imagine. I will utilize a Compass of the Void in the forming of this rune. The third rune, which I call Aether, allows me travel through the Aether without limitation. My corporeal body in the Realm will become a simple extension of my far-travelling soul. I will utilize a Pyramid once used for transport in the Netherworld to form this rune. The fourth rune, which I call, Timelord, I suspect will be the most difficult to master. This rune, in combination with a locational rune, will allow me travel both forward and backwards in time. Perhaps one day I can visit the Navigators in their mighty ship before it was destroyed, or see the world beyond the end of my days. I leave the last space on my staff empty. I must admit that the last rune will be carved when I am ready to travel to those worlds outside of the tendril net which binds the dimensional worlds to the Void. I long to be the first traveler to repay the visit made by the inhabitants of Pellum to our humble world and to learn the secrets of their vast magic.

Spell considerations:

The following spells in Savage Pathfinder involve planar travel.

• Banish - Banish sends entities from other planes back to their native dimensions. This includes ghosts, demons, elementals, and similar beings (at the GM’s discretion). Banishing a being is an opposed roll of the caster’s arcane skill versus the target’s Spirit. Success means the target is Shaken, and each raise causes a Wound. If this Incapacitates the target it returns to its native plane of existence. Banished entities may return when the Game Master feels it’s appropriate, or even a few rounds later if the being has the ability to travel between planes on its own!
• Intangibility - With a successful arcane skill roll, whoever receives this power becomes incorporeal. He is unable to affect the physical world, and it cannot affect him. He can travel through walls, and non-magical weapons pass straight through him. Any items carried at the time of casting are also incorporeal. While incorporeal, the character may affect other incorporeal beings (including himself), and he is still susceptible to supernatural attacks, including powers and enchanted items. With a raise on the activation roll, reduce the damage from supernatural attacks by 4. The being becomes corporeal when the power ends, but if within someone or something he’s shunted to the nearest open space and Stunned. If cast on an unwilling target, the victim resists with Spirit. If affected, he shakes off the effect with a Spirit roll as a free action at the end of his following turns.
• Planar Binding - The caster summons a creature from another plane, trapping them in some sort of prison, such as a binding circle. The trap is created with chalk, salt, glyphs and wards, or other materials prior to the power's activation, and takes ten minutes to prepare. Once the trap is prepared, the caster selects an Outsider to summon. She must know about the creature somehow, perhaps by previous encounter, access to books and scrolls, or an Occult roll with a modifier set by the Game Master. The caster can summon a specific entity if she knows its proper name.Casting is an opposed roll between the caster's arcane skill and the entity's Spirit. If the spell fails the entity knows who attempted to bind it. If the caster rolls a Critical Failure, the creature may appear if it chooses to and is unbound — it may do as it wishes and its abilities allow. If the caster wins, the creature is summoned into the trap and magically bound there until it agrees to perform a service for the caster or breaks free (see below). The Power Points used to bind the target are invested and unavailable until the creature breaks free or completes its task. Bargaining: Casters summon creatures to task them with a "service" of some sort, such as taking part in a difficult battle, acting as a bodyguard, or some difficult or unpleasant task. The negotiation can usually be handled through roleplaying (and perhaps a Persuasion or Intimidation roll). Cunning creatures require more incentive. An evil being might ask for time to wander the earth and wreak havoc, a sacrifice, or some other "devil's bargain" proportional to the service required. A good or noble creature might aid the summoner without reward if the cause is just, or might require she perform some task for her followers or sphere of influence. Entities never agree to impossible or unreasonable demands. Once the creature agrees to the terms, it must carry them out to the best of its ability. The caster does not have to live up to any promises she set— though entities might seek revenge if deceived or their kind are summoned too often. Casters must be wary of this, especially if the beings have a way back to the prime material plane! Breaking Free: If no agreement is made after 24 hours, the caster must renew the mystic bonds by making another opposed roll of her arcane skill versus the creature's Spirit. This continues every 24 hours until an agreement is reached or the creature breaks free. The entity can't use any other power or ability to escape.
• Plane Shift - Plane shift allows the caster to move directly to another plane of existence (see page 163). If plane shifting to a known location, a success indicates the target appears within 10d10 miles of the intended location. With a raise, the mage appears half that distance away. If the caster doesn’t know exactly where he wants to go, he can research locations within that plane to target a specific city, geographic location, etc. Failure means he arrives at a completely random location on that plane. Success puts him in the general vicinity, and a raise puts him closer to the desired locale. This is in addition to the accuracy of the arcane skill roll.
  • EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL SPACE (+1): Instead of traveling to a known plane, the recipient travels to a pocket dimension where he’s conjured a magical shelter or similar structure with basic necessities, food, and water for up to five people. The structure remains afterward, so the mage and his companions may return to this space or to a new one, as desired.
• Teleport - Teleport allows a character to disappear and instantly reappear up to 12″ (24 yards) distant, or double that with a raise. Opponents adjacent to a character who teleports away don’t get a free attack (see Withdrawing from Melee, page 141). If casting teleport on willing subjects, the caster decides where they move to, not the targets.
  • GATE (+5): Instead of teleporting, the caster opens a temporary portal connecting her current location and the destination. Creatures and objects can travel through this gate from either side for 5 rounds.
  • GREATER TELEPORT (+5): The character can teleport much farther. The caster must concentrate on her destination for at least one round, taking no other actions. This makes her Vulnerable; if Shaken or Stunned, the spell fails. For one round of concentration, the character can teleport up to 100 miles. For two rounds, she can travel 1000 miles, and with three rounds, she can go anywhere on Golarion. If you've physically been there yourself, there is no modifier to your roll. With success you arrive within 2d6 x 10 feet of your target, or on target with a raise. If you have a detailed map or have seen it through a power or device, you suffer a –2 to the roll. With success you arrive within 2d6 x 100 feet, or on target with a raise. If you have a crude map or a general notion of the place on a regional or world map, you suffer a –4. You arrive within 2d10 miles with success, or within 2d6 x 100 feet with a raise. In the absence of such information, teleporting is not possible. A Critical Failure transports the recipient to a random location (GM’s call) on the same plane of existence.

Consideration for the Nine Books of Magic:

• "Shadow" spells are standard teleport with the requirements of shadows being present
• Teleport, Shadow Step, etc. are just point-to-point connections

Properties of the Aether:

• There is no natural healing.
• There is no need for sleep.
• Spells are not recovered.
• Some spells (especially divine spells that require a deity to respond) are weakened.
• Etherealness and magic attracts creatures here.

In the Land of Shades

• There is no natural healing.
• There is no need for sleep.
• Spells are not recovered.
• Some spells (especially divine spells that require a deity to respond) are weakened.
• Time moves at a different rate.
• Etherealness and magic attracts creatures here.

In the Land of the Dead

• There is no natural healing.
• There is no need for sleep.
• Spells are not recovered.
• Some spells (especially divine spells that require a deity to respond) do not work.
• Time moves at a different rate.
• Etherealness, magic and life attracts creatures here.