Greyhawk Wizards: The Pentad

The following is shamelessly taken from the Greyhawkery Blog (which I recommend to any and all having an interest in Greyhawk.

Greyhawk Wizards: The Pentad
As my busy day has gone by I've struggled to think of any current online, comic or personal campaign news. Then it hit me, try to create something new off the cuff, so here we go! Wizard groups are one of the most memorable things about a fantasy setting and the World of Greyhawk is by no means short on wizards. Everyone has heard of the Circle of Eight theRing of Five or some of Iuz's Boneheart mages. Here is my attempt to assemble a new ubermage group from remaining canon NPCs available. Let's also take it step further and make it an all female wizard group! This is The Pentad!

Elayne Mystica (19th level, NG) The nominal leader of the Pentad, Elayne has a long and storied history servingCobb Darg and the city of Irongate as well as adventuring with the Company of the Iron Fist. Elayne is an albino of the Lerara tribe of Suel who has also exhibited psionic powers, and possesses her own pocket-plane. Elayne decided to call together the Pentad to share knowledge and deal with dangers to the Flanaess with a "woman's touch".

Fioranna Aielestriel (13th level, NG) This tiny, demure elven mage from Nyrond was once an ambassador to the City of Greyhawk and served to further the interests of the Iron League until 591 CY. She has no love for the Great Kingdom for they slew her father. Fioranna specializes in mind-affecting and concealment spells to travel undetected, though most think she is only a diplomat who dabbles in the art. In semi-retirement, Fioranna still resides in Greyhawk's High Quarter, but has recently jumped at the chance to do some good after being contacted by her Iron League colleague Elayne Mystica.

Marial (15th level, CG) A native of Greyhawk, Marial is the red-headed former apprentice and best friend of the Circle of Eight's own Jallarzi Sallavarian. Marial has seen a lot of action in her time from dealing with the reappearance of Vecna to an untimely attack on Tenser's Castle before she was restored after the Return of the Eight. Marial still resides in Jallarzi's Tower in the City of Greyhawk, where her friend has withdrawn and become paranoid since her experiences at the hands of Tuerny the Merciless and Iggwilv. Marial's social life has suffered as a result and so she spends more time abroad with the Pentad since being contacted by local acquaintance Fioranna Aielestriel.

Rautheene (level unknown, N) The stunningly beautiful and fun-loving Rautheene is notably an apprentice to the archmage Mordenkainen. Rautheene's personal history and her exact mastery of magic is a mystery to most, even her own Pentad associates. What is known is that she claims to have spent much time on other planes traveling meeting other archmagi when not studying from the remote security of Mordenkainen's Obsidian Citadel. Now on her own, Rautheene seeks to apply her skills and knowledge with a new cadre of wizards since being contacted by Elayne whom she looks up to as much as Mordenkainen.

Shemeya (19th level, CG) The oldest of the Pentad by far, Shemeya hails from the Bright Desert but comes from a time long past when the land was called Sulm. This realm was once fertile before a terrible curse forever changed the land and it's people. Already a powerful wizardress back then, Shemeya retreated to her plane-hopping Tower of Sleep, shielded from the curse and the passage of time. Not truly asleep, Shemeya has long been travelling to other worlds and planes of existence to find a way to reverse the curse on the Bright Desert, yet now has been recently distracted by the usurping desert mage Rary. Shemeya was approached by Elayne Mystica to join the Pentad for her vast ancient knowledge and planar experience. In return the Pentad promises to help the sleeping sorceress restore her home someday.

Spell: Fly Like an Arrow

Fly Like an Arrow

​Transmutation
Level: Assassin 4, Sorcerer 4, Wizard 4
BoXM: Wizard 7
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, M (a small platinum arrow (1 inch long) valued at 500 gp.)
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
Source: Dragon Magazine # 308, pg. 24

This spell allows the caster to fly at great speed. If the caster can fly (either with wings or from a spell or item), he can move at 10 times his normal fly speed, but only if he travels in a straight line and traveled the full distance of his normal fly speed in a straight line in the previous round. For example, a caster using the fly spell casts fly like an arrow. He must move 120 feet (double move) in a straight line on round one. Then, on the next round and all subsequent rounds he can move 1200 feet in a straight line. The caster can take no actions other than moving while using this spell, including such things as flyby attacks. If the caster ever stops, turns, or uses an action, his speed immediately returns to normal and remains so until he moves at full speed in a straight line for a round.
 ​
GM Note

House Rule: Added material component in place of the Dragon Magic feat. If the caster has the Dragon Magic feat no material component is required.

House Rule: Added Assassin 4 to Level.

House Rule: The definition of 'straight line' is exactly that: a straight line. Descending, ascending, straight up, are irrelevant. Normal rules apply for modifications in distance due to ascending/descending.
 ​

C is for Cabiri the Watching Master

Cabiri the Watching Master

One of the oldest obyriths in existence, Cabiri, the Watching Master, grants his summoners the ability to see in darkness or twilight, to observe others from afar, and to uncover potential foes.

Legend: In ages past when obyriths lorded the Abyss, the many-eyed tyrant known as Cabiri ruled a large swath of the layer now known as Pazunia, warring against rival lords such as Bechard, Pazuzu, and Ubothar. The Wtaching Master kept careful eyes on his rivals but spent most of his energy scrying the relatively unknown deeper levels of the Abyss. Some record of Cabiri's observations must have survived in the ruins of his long-abandoned keep, for the Fraternity of Order began its effort to catalog the layers of the Abyss following its exploration of the Watching Master's ruined stronghold.

When the Queen of Chaos called the obyriths to war agaisnt the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, she turned to Cabiri for advice many times, drawing upon his ability to divine futures by utilizing resources in the Abyss unguessed at by most of his kin. Near the end of the war, Cabiri foresaw the Queen's defeat, and fled the field of battle. This act may have ironically been the one that most crippled the Queen's forces and allowed for her Subsequent defeat, Cabiri fled to the depths of the Aybss and hid there for eons while he watched the obyriths suffer the humiliating defeat upon the Fields of Pesh, and the subsequent eladrin invasions that finished off so many of the survivors.

As Cabiri explored the depths of the Aybss, it is believed that he discovered some of the truth behind the creation of the obyrith race, a discovery that compelled him to resurface and seek out the obscure fiends known as the baernoloths. Whatever he confronted them with was enough for them to engineer his capture and subsequent imprisonment in the then-still-young Wells of Darkness. Yugoloths often visit Cabiri's well, more often than any other well in the layer, which suggests that his imprisonment remains of interest to these neutral evil fiends.

Special Requirements: Cabiri requires that his seal be drawn with blood, outside at night or during a solar eclipse.

Manifestation: One or more lights or areas of darkness in the sky above--the stars, the moon, or the solar eclipse--suddenly open, revealing a watching eye behind the lid of light. Under its baelful gaze, Cabiri's seal begins to dissolve into a puddle of blood. The puddle suddenly blinks, transforming the pooled blood into a ring of tiny eyes surrounding a single mouth that speaks with the sonorous voice of lost and distant souls.

Sign: An additional eye appears on your forehead, equidistant from your other eyes.

Influence: Cabiri hungers to see everything, no matter how horrifying or entrancing. You receive a +4 insight bonus on Will saves versus figments, but suffer a -4 penalty on Will saves versus patterns. You are not able to avert or close your eyes when confronted by a creature with a gaze attack.

Granted Abilities: Cabiri grants you his ability to observe others from afar, to perceive threats, and to see unhindered in conditions of twilight or darkness.

Arcane Eye: You can create an inivisible magical sensor at will, as though you had cast arcane eye (caster level equals your effective binder level). You can never create more than one arcane eye at a time, and you can dismiss or renew the effect as a standard action. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Far-seeing Gaze: Your spells and spell-like abilities of the scrying subschool gain a +10 bonus to their save DCs.

Seer in Darkness: You gain darkvision to 60 feet and low-light vision. If you already have darkvision, add 60 feet to the range.

Visions of Terror: You can share your terrible knowledge of existence with others. You can cast phantasmal killer, as per the spell, three times per day (caster level equals your effective binder level).

Feat: Suspend Spell

Your control over spells that you cast upon yourself is such that you can delay their onset.

Prerequisites: 5th level caster.

Benefit: A suspended spell is delayed (for up to 24 hours or the next time the spellcaster prepares spells) until the caster uses a swift action to activate it. Upon activation, the duration of the spell begins normally. Only spells that affect the caster can be suspended. A suspended spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.
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Spell: Mage Clock

Mage Clock
Divination (phantasm)
Level: Sorcerer 1, Wizard 1
BoXM: Wizard 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: A phantasmal clock
Duration: 1 day/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
Source: The Mage’s Tower website

Upon casting this spell, a phantasmal timepiece appears. It can either mentally sound in the caster's mind at the times prescribed at the time of casting; or it can audibly chime. If the audible chime is selected it can sound so softly it can only be heard from 5 feet away or so loudly that it can be heard from 120 feet away.

At the time of casting, the caster can select the appearance of the mage clock as well as when it chimes. The mage clock can appear as something as small as a round disk one inch across or as large as a 10 foot tall grandfather clock. It can chime on the hour, the half hour or even quarter hour as the caster wishes.

Some casters use more than one mage clock, having each sound at differing times and with differing sounds.

​The mage clock is stationary and unmovable; however if it is cast inside a moveable object such as a box, carriage or ship, it remains stationary relative to wherever it is cast.​

Mage clock can be made permanent with a permanency spell.​

GM Note

The BoXM entry is for players playing in the Arcane Age of Greyhawk campaign. It is based on Monte Cook's Book of Experimental Magic. I cannot recommend it enough.

Spell: Vampiric Lanthorn

Vampiric Lanthorn​

Necromancy (shadow)
Level: Sorcerer 4, Wizard 4
BoXM: Wizard 7
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, F (an inscribed and carefully prepared silver lantern fueled with pure oil
   and shadowstuff; such a lantern always has hardness 4 and 30 hp, and it costs 400 gp)
Effect: One 30-ft.-radius circle
Duration: 1 round/level or until lantern destroyed
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: No
Source: The Mage's Tower website

By lighting a ritually prepared lantern, you generate an area within which the life is drawn out of all creatures around you and channeled through the lantern into you. At the time of the spell’s casting, all creatures within the lantern’s light must make a Fortitude save each round that they remain in the area. Success means they are unaffected that round. Failure means they suffer 2d4 hit point loss, and you gain hit points equal to 1d4 per creature damaged in this way. You retain these points for 10 rounds after the spell ends.

If the lantern is destroyed, the spell ends immediately, and you lose all leeched hit points.
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GM Note

The BoXM entry is for players playing in the Arcane Age of Greyhawk campaign. It is based on Monte Cook's Book of Experimental Magic. I cannot recommend it enough.

Spell: Guide Craft, Greater

Guide Craft, Greater

​Transmutattion
Level: Sorcerer 5, Wizard 5
BoXM: Wizard 10
Components: V, S, M (an arrowhead)
CastingTime: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: See text
Duration: One hour/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
Source: The Mage’s Tower website

A cart, wagon, boat, or ship moves as you command. The vehicle can be no larger than 100 feet long + 20 feet per level (a 10th-level wizard can steer a 300-foot-long vessel). The craft must have its normal means of locomotion, or you may cast power craft. You do not need to concentrate to maintain this effect—so you could cast it on a horse-drawn wagon, command it to “go straight,” and take a nap. The horse will pull the wagon straight until you tell it otherwise or the duration ends.

Unlike guide craft, more complex instructions are possible. While the craft is affected by greater guide craft, it responds to situations and commands nearly as well as it would if you were actually at the controls (treat the craft as having half your Int and Wis scores and half your ranks in any relevant skills (Profession Navigator, Profession Sailor, etc.).
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GM Note

The BoXM entry is for players playing in the Arcane Age of Greyhawk campaign. It is based on Monte Cook's Book of Experimental Magic. I cannot recommend it enough.