Plague of Spiders
Spell, Elemental Magic, level 5
Summons a teeming carpet of spiders the caster can steer; victims caught in it take damage each minute unless they escape.
From the book
A swarming horde of spiders covers an area of up to 100x100 ft. Anything caught among them takes 2-5 (d4+1) points of damage each minute. The spiders can climb or cross any terrain or obstacle except magical barriers, water or fire; the caster controls them up to 1,000 ft. away and can move them at up to 10 ft. per minute. The plague lasts 1 hour.
People the spell was not aimed at can simply run from the horde. When it is cast directly on a person or group, each target must save vs Dexterity: success means breaking free after 1-4 minutes, while failure means taking damage until the horde moves on, is dispelled, or someone finds a way to rescue the victim.
At a glance
- Area
- Up to 100x100 ft.
- Control range
- 1,000 ft.
- Movement
- Up to 10 ft. per minute
- Damage
- 2-5 (d4+1) per minute
- Obstacles
- Crosses anything except magical barriers, bodies of water or flames
- Duration
- 1 hour
- Save
- Special: if not cast directly at a person they may flee; if cast directly, save vs Dexterity to escape after 1-4 minutes
- Spell type
- Non-variable
A scene
The witch hunters had followed Mab to her cottage at the edge of the Black Forest, and they were almost at the door when the ground turned black and moving. A tide of spiders poured out of the leaf litter and swarmed over them. Two hunters went down under it, slapping and screaming. A third fought loose after a few minutes of agony and ran. The fourth had been lagging behind the others, outside the swarm, and he was a clever man: he had seen that the spiders would not cross water. He dived into the stream and stayed there, up to his neck, until the plague moved on.