These 3rd level spells were modified from: D&D 3rd Edition, For Gold
& Glory, Frost & Fur, Frostburn, OSRIC, and Pathfinder to fit
my Marth ice world setting. I will be editing them more in the future,
but I wanted to get them out there on the blog. Enjoy.
*Last Edit: 5/6/2022*
Animate Dead (Necromancy)
Sphere: Necromantic Range: 10 yards Duration: Permanent Effective Area: Special Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 5 rounds Saving Throw: None
This spell allows the caster to create the least of the undead creatures, skeletons and zombies, usually from the bones or bodies of dead humans, humanoids, demi-humans, and giants. Optionally, the caster can animate animal corpses. The animated undead remains obey simple commands given to them by the caster. The undead remain animated until destroyed or turned—they are not affected by dispel magic.
The total HD of undead animated by this spell cannot exceed the caster’s level. Humans, demi-humans, and humanoids with only 1 HD in life become 1 HD skeletons or 2 HD zombies, regardless of class levels, experience or HD they once had. Creatures and animals with less than 1 HD can be raised as 1/2 HD skeletons or 1 HD zombies, but clerics receive a +1 bonus to turn checks against these monsters. A creature or animal with 1 HD or more retains its HD when raised as a skeleton and gains one HD when raised as a zombie. Undead have none of the special abilities they had when alive.
While evil spell casters can use this spell whenever and however they wish, the lesser undead created are always neutral in alignment. Neutral spell casters can freely use the spell as long as the body is that of a fallen enemy from a non-PC race. Good spell casters prefer animating animals, and cast speak with dead on a humanoid body to gain express permission. A neutral spell caste may also cast speak with dead to gain permission to animate a PC or a member of a PC race. A neutral or good spell caster would never animate a corpse being prepared for a raise dead spell, because a soul requires the original body to be raised. If the body were animated, the victim would then need a full resurrection, reincarnate or similar spell, such as wish, to be brought back to life.
Even though animating undead is not automatically an evil act, undead are perversions of life, and as such their mere presence is disturbing to most creatures (animals avoid them entirely, unless specially trained). The charnel smell, particularly of a zombie, is quite nauseating. Few, if any, hirelings will sign on to a party that is known to travel with undead. Additionally, most civilizations have regulations regarding the creation of undead. Some cultures seek their immediate destruction, and even the most tolerant require undead servants to be tagged and registered. Lawful spellcasters must get a permit (if possible) or simply avoid finding bodies in graveyards or battlefields, as local governments claim them and grave robbing is punishable harshly (usually by death).
The spell requires the body or bones of the creature to be animated, and the remains must be reasonably intact. Undead destroyed in combat cannot be re-animated. The spell requires a pinch of bone powder or bone shard.
Binding Snow (Transmutation)
Sphere: Weather Range: 360 yards Duration: 1 hour/level Effective Area: one 10-foot square/level Components: V and S Casting Time: 5 Saving Throw: Negates
This spell must be cast on a snow field which makes the area instantly freeze into a sheet of magical and malevolent ice. Those that fail a saving throw vs. spells move at one quarter of their normal movement. A creature that failed a saving throw can make a Strength check to move at half their speed for one round.
Call Lightning (Transmutation)
Sphere: Weather Range: 360 yards Duration: 1 turn/level Effective Area: 10-foot radius Components: V and S Casting Time: 1 turn Saving Throw: Half
This spell can only be cast outdoors when the weather is stormy with a rain shower, heavy clouds, strong winds, or worse. The weather conditions can be natural or magically created, but the spell will not function underground or underwater. The caster can call down one bolt of lightning, anywhere within range, per turn for the duration of the spell. Other actions can be performed while the spell duration is in effect, even casting other spells. Calling down a bolt only requires the caster to con- centrate during the round in which he chooses to calls it.
Each bolt is a vertical stroke of lightning, inflicting 2d8 points of damage + 1d8 per caster level to all creatures within the effective area. Damage is halved if a successful saving throw, modified by dexterity-surprise modifier, is rolled. All buildings, vehicles, unattended items, trees, bodies of water, etc. within the effective area must save vs. lightning or be destroyed. Wooden structures or paper items that fail their save are usually destroyed completely, but in the case of stone, glass or similar materials, only that part of the structure or item inside the effective area will be ruined, collapsing part of a wall or melting a section into slag. Most liquids inside the effective area that fail will evaporate, or explode if volatile.
Cure Blindness or Deafness (Abjuration)
Sphere: Necromantic) Range: Touch Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 1 creature Components: V and S Casting Time: 1 round Saving Throw: Special
This spell reverses many forms of vision or hearing loss upon the creature touched, however, it cannot regenerate sensory organs lost to injury or disease. The spell must be cast twice to cure both.
The reverse, cause blindness or deafness, requires a successful touch attack, and if touched, the creature is allowed a saving throw to avoid the effects; on a failure, they’re struck magically blind or deaf (caster’s choice upon casting).
Cure Illness (Abjuration)
Sphere: Necromantic Range: Touch Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 1 creature Components: V and S Casting Time: 1 round Saving Throw: Special
With this spell, the caster is able to cure most parasites and diseases by touching the afflicted creature. The GM determines how rapidly the symptoms disappear. The creature may be well in as little as one turn, or the creature may have to rest for up to 10 days, depending on the type of disease and how far it had progressed before the spell is cast. A 12th, or higher, level caster can cure lycanthropy, if he casts this spell on the victim within 3 days of the infection. The spell only removes current parasites and diseases; it does not prevent them from re-occurring in the future.
The reverse is Cause Illness. The caster must make a successful touch attack against the victim, and the victim is then allowed a saving throw to avoid the effect. The caster decides whether the disease is debilitating or fatal while casting. The spell cannot inflict lycanthropy. Cure disease will counter the effects of its reverse. The exact nature of the disease is up to GM discretion, but some typical characteristics are shown:
Debilitating: Within 1d6 turns, this disease causes the creature to begin losing 1 point of strength every hour thereafter, until strength is reduced to 2. The creature is then too weak to move and nearly helpless. If the creature’s strength rating is unknown, it begins losing 10% of its hit points every hour instead, until only 10% of its original hit points remain. Recovery requires 1d3 weeks of complete rest.
Fatal: This devastating disease infects a creature immediately, but requires 1d6 months to kill a victim. The infected creature can no longer benefit from any of the spells that cure wounds, and heals naturally at only 10% of the normal rate. The creature also permanently loses 2 points of charisma each month. The disease can only be cured magically. Lost points of charisma are not restored when the disease is cured.
Cure Serious Wounds (Necromancy)
Sphere: Healing Range: Touch Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 1 creature Components: V and S Casting Time: 7 Saving Throw: None
This spell functions as cure/cause light wounds, but restores/inflicts 2d8 + 1 HP of damage.
Dirge of Dead Gods (Conjuration)
Sphere: Combat Range: 0 Duration: 1 round/level Effective Area: 60-foot radius Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 6 Saving Throw: None
This spell functions as if it was a chant, but the effect lasts until the duration expires, and the caster can perform any other actions once it has been cast. Multiple prayers do not stack, but another caster of the same faith can cast chant, increasing the prayer’s effectiveness to +2 and −2, for as long as both spells are in effect.
The material components are a silver holy or unholy symbol, high-quality prayer beads, or similar religious paraphernalia, which are not destroyed on casting.
Dispel Magic (Universal)
Sphere: All Range: 60 yards Duration: Instantaneous Effective Area: 30-foot cube or 1 item or creature Components: V and S Casting Time: 6 Saving Throw: None
This spell may allow the caster to negate ongoing magical effects that have been cast on a creature or object, temporarily suppress magical abilities of a magic item, negate ongoing magical effects within the effective area, or disrupt another caster’s spell.
A successfully negated spell ends as if its duration had expired. Some spells, as detailed in their descriptions, can’t be negated by dispel magic. Dispel magic can negate magical effects from special abilities just as it does magical effects from spells, but it cannot disrupt their use. The effect of a spell with an instantaneous duration can’t be dispelled, because the magical effect is already over before the dispel magic can take effect.
To make a dispel check, the caster rolls 1d20, modified by the difference between the caster’s level and the level or HD of the caster, creature or device that created the effect. If the caster level is higher, the difference is a bonus to the caster’s roll, and if the caster level is lower, the difference is a penalty to the caster’s roll. If the modified roll is 11 or higher, the dispel check succeeds. A natural 20 always succeeds and a natural 1 always fails.
Commonly, wands are considered as 6th level casters, staves are considered as 8th level casters, and most other magical items (including potions and rods) are considered as 12th level casters. As there are numerous exceptions, the GM is free to make magical items more or less powerful than these guidelines. Artifacts, relics, demigods and deities are unaffected by dispel magic.
Dispel magic is used in one of three ways: targeted, area, or disruption. The caster states which is being used when casting the spell: Targeted: One single object, creature, or magical effect is the target of the spell. If the dispel check is successful, the targeted effect is negated. If the caster targets an object or creature that is the effect of an ongoing spell (such as a monster summoned by monster summoning), the dispel check is made against the level or HD of the conjurer. If the target object is a magic item, the dispel check is made against the item’s caster level. If successful, a potion is completely ruined, most other items become mundane, and non-dimensional interfaces (such as a bag of holding) close, for 1d4 rounds.
Dispel checks automatically succeed if targeted against the caster’s own magical effects. Area: When dispel magic is used in this way the spell affects all creatures and objects within the effective area. Permanent magical items, whether or not held by a creature, cannot be affected by an area dispel. Multiple dispel checks are made. For each creature within the effective area that is the subject of one or more magical effects, the caster makes a dispel check against the effect with the highest caster level. If that check fails, the caster makes dispel checks against progressively weaker spells until a check is successful or until all checks fail. For each object within the area that is the subject of one or more magical effects, make progressively easier dispel checks as above, so that only up to one magical effect per creature or object is ended per casting of an area dispel. For ongoing magical effects whose point of origin is within the effective area, the caster makes a dispel check to negate it. For ongoing magical effects whose effective area overlaps that of the dispel magic, the caster makes a dispel check to negate it, but only in the overlapping area. If an object or creature is the effect of an ongoing spell (such as a monster summoned by monster summoning), the caster makes dispel checks to attempt to dispel magic that may be affecting the object or creature (if any), and another dispel check to negate the spell that conjured it (returning it whence it came). The caster must choose to automatically succeed on dispel checks against his own magical effects in the effective area, or roll unmodified dispel checks against them.
Disruption: When dispel magic is used in this way the spell targets another spell caster. If the caster wins initiative, he may cast this spell and then wait until an appropriate moment in that round to activate the disruption effect, so as to catch the rival spell caster unawares. If not activated in the round it was cast, the disruption effect fails. If a dispel check is successful, any spell that the targeted spell caster is in the process of casting when the disruption effect is activated, or any spell that he casts in the same round after the disruption effect is activated fails. If the targeted spell caster has finished casting his spell before the disruption effect is activated, or waits to cast until the following round, the disruption effect fails.
Endothermic Grasp (Necromancy)
Sphere: Elemental (Cold, Water), Necromantic Range: Touch Duration: 1 round/level Effective Area: 1 creature touched Components: V and S Casting Time: 5 Saving Throw: None
This spell drains the heat from a creature that the caster successfully touches. The creature takes 3D6 points of Dexterity ability damage. Creatures that are immune to cold are immune to the effects of this spell.
Fire Walk with Me (Transmutation)
Sphere: Elemental (Fire) Range: Touch Duration: 1 round + 1/level Effective Area: 1 or more creatures Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 5 Saving Throw: None
When casting this spell, the caster touches 1 creature (or themselves) plus up to one additional creature per caster level above 5. The selected subjects are able to endure non-magical fires with temperatures ranging up to 2,000◦F (molten lava would not harm the subject). Saving throws vs. magical fires are made with a +2 bonus, and any damage is reduced to half or one-quarter. Flame walk is not cumulative with resist fire or similar fire protection spells.
The material components of the spell are the caster’s holy or unholy symbol and powdered ruby worth at least 500 gp per selected creature.
Hold Animals & Plants (Enchantment)
Sphere: Animal Range: 80 yards Duration: 2 rounds/level Effective Area: 1–4 animals in 40-foot cube Components: V and S Casting Time: 6 Saving Throw: Negate
This spell functions as the hold humanoid spell but only affects nonmagical, normal or giant-sized birds, mammals or reptiles or animated plants or plant-like creatures that can move. It cannot affect undead animals. If only one animal or plant is targeted, it saves, modified by wisdom—surprise modifier, with a −4 penalty, −2 penalty if two animal or plants are targeted, −1 penalty if three animals or plants are targeted, and with no penalty if four creatures or plants are targeted.
Ice Walk (Transmutation)
Sphere: Elemental (Cold, Water) Range: Touch Duration: 1 turn + 1/level Effective Area: 1 or more creatures Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 5 Saving Throw: None
When casting this spell, the caster touches 1 creature (or themselves) plus up to one additional creature per caster level above 5. The selected subjects are able to endure non-magical cold with temperatures ranging down to -200◦F (being naked in the middle of the tundra would not harm the subject). Saving throws vs. magical cold spells and effects are made with a +2 bonus, and any damage is reduced to half or one-quarter. The affected target of the spell takes no movement penalties for walking on slippery surfaces, trudging through deep snow, etc.
The material components of the spell are the caster’s holy or unholy symbol and powdered ruby worth at least 500 gp per selected creature.
Locate Corpse or Object (Lesser Divination)
Sphere: Divination Range: 60 yards + 10 yards/level Duration: 1 round/level Effective Area: 1 item Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 1 turn Saving Throw: None
This spell can assist the caster when he is searching for either a specific, known item or a non-specific, general item. When the caster searches for a general item (swords, gems, stairs, elevators, etc.), he learns the direction in which lies the nearest one of its kind (if any), within range. The caster must have seen or otherwise physically handled a specific item, in order to search for them with this spell. A thin coating of lead blocks the spell. The caster cannot use this spell to search for a creature.
The material component is a forked twig.
The material component for the spell is a piece of lodestone.
Oneirmancy (Illusion)
Sphere: Sleep Range: special Duration: 4 hours, special Effective Area: 1 creature Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 1 hour Saving Throw: Negates
A creature that is known to the Druid that currently resides on the same plane of existence has their dreams shaped by the caster of this spell in any way that they so wish.
If the caster wishes to appear in the dreams as a messenger to converse with the target of this spell they can do so for as long as they remain in a trance-like state and concentrate.
The material component is the caster’s holy symbol. If the caster has a piece of hair or personal item from the target of the spell, the dreamer has a penalty of -4 on the saving throw to resist the spell's effects.
Paralysation (Illusion)
Sphere: All Range: 10 yards/level Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 20 feet x 20 feet Components: V and S Casting Time: 1 turn Saving Throw: Negates
A certain number of creatures in the spell's area of effect are frozen in place, magically convinced that they can't move. The druid can affect a number of HD equal to twice the character's level. Each creature is entitled to a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect. The druid can end the paralysis at any time; otherwise a dispel magic spell is the only way to remove the paralysis.
Plant Growth (Transmutation)
Sphere: Plant Range: 160 yards Duration: Permanent Effective Area: Special Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 1 round Saving Throw: Special
This spell causes mundane brush and trees to increase in size and twist together, instantly forming an overgrown thicket or heavy jungle environment. Briars, bushes, creepers, roots, saplings, thistles, thorns, trees, vines, and weeds grow into thick and dense barriers, forcing creatures to hack their way through at a movement value based on their physical size.
The effective area is equal to 20 square feet per caster level. The caster can arrange the effective area in any square or rectangular shape. Each individual plant is still within the normal size for its type, but they become fuller, bushier, and more thickly woven and overgrown. The plants are subject to a plant door spell. The spell is permanent until destroyed through mundane means such as fire or the axe, or a successful dispel magic is cast.
The second version of the spell is often cast at planting time as part of a ceremonial festival. In this version, the caster affects up to one square mile. The GM secretly rolls a saving throw for the caster to determine if the spell is effective. If successful, plants in the effective area become hardier and produce up to 50% (1d4 + 1) × 10%) more yield during the fall harvest. The spell effects last for only one growing/harvest season, and do not prevent natural or magical disasters, such as floods, droughts, insect plagues, etc., from damaging the magically enhanced crops before, during or after the growing season.
Protection from Cold (Abjuration)
Sphere: Protection, Elemental (Water) Range: Touch Duration: 1 hour/level Effective Area: 1 creature Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 6 Saving Throw: None
This caster can cast this spell, either on his self or on another creature, with different effects.
Personal: This effect bestows the caster with immunity to mundane and magical cold, until the spell duration expires or until 12 points of damage per caster level is absorbed from magical cold.
Non-Personal: This effect bestows another creature with immunity to mundane cold; provides a +4 bonus to saving throws against magical cold attacks, and reduces damage incurred by magical cold by 50%.
The material component is the caster’s holy symbol.
Pyrotechnics (Transmutation)
Sphere: Elemental (Fire) Range: 160 yards Duration: Special Effective Area: 1 fire source Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 6 Saving Throw: Special
This spell allows the caster to affect an existing fire within range to produce one of two effects, chosen at the time of the casting.
Fireworks: This effect causes flashing, fiery bursts of colored air-borne fireworks to fly out of the existing fire for one round. Creatures within 120 feet of the effective area and that have an unobstructed view to the effective area are temporarily blinded for 1d4 + 1 rounds, unless they save vs. spell. This effect fills a space up to 10 times greater than that of the original fire, but is harmless, producing no heat or damage.
Choking Smoke Screen: This effect creates a writhing stream of thick smoke to pour forth from the existing fire source, obscuring vision (including infravision) beyond 2 feet. The smoke otherwise behaves like normal, non-magical smoke, filling an area up to 100 times greater than that of the original fire, in a roughly spherical shape for one round per caster level. Any creature caught in the smoke must save vs. spell or choke, suffering a +2 penalty to AC, and a −2 penalty to all attack and saving throw rolls.
The material component for this spell is the existing fire. The spell extinguishes a mundane fire source up to 20 cubic feet in size. A larger mundane fire source is only partially extinguished. Magical fire can be used as the material component but is not extinguished. A fire-based creature can also be used as the material component, but the creature suffers 1 point of damage per caster level.
Remove Curse or Paralysis (Universal)
Sphere: All Range: 30 feet Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 1-4 creatures in a 20-foot cube Components: V and S Casting Time: 6 Saving Throw: Special
Remove curse typically (but not always) enables a creature afflicted with an accursed magical item to get rid of the accursed item, but most often the item remains cursed, except in the case of magical cursed scrolls (remove curse destroys a targeted cursed scroll). The spell is also used to counter the effects of magical cursed scrolls, its reverse, bestow curse, and similar curses, however, certain special curses may not be countered by this spell or may be countered only by a caster of a certain level or higher. The spell can also counter lycanthropy, remove insanity caused from contact other plane, and cure the sicken effect of an eye bite spell.
Remove Paralysis frees up to 4 creatures, within the spell’s range and effective area, from paralyzation effects, including ghoul attacks, or related magical effects, such as hold or slow.
If this spell is cast on only one creature, the paralyzation effect is instantly negated. If this spell is cast on two creatures, they are both allowed a new saving throw against the effect with a +4 bonus. If three or more creatures are targeted, each gets a new save with a +2 bonus. For the spell to be effective, there must be no physical or magical barrier blocking the caster from his targeted subjects.
Shape Ice (Transmutation)
Sphere: Elemental (Water) Range: Touch Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 9 cubic feet + 1 cubic foot/level Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 1 round Saving Throw: None
This spell allows the caster to form an existing piece of ice into any shape of the same volume that suits his purpose. While it’s possible to use this spell to make a crude ice coffer, weapon, idol, etc., fine detail isn’t possible. The spell can shape an ice door into a wall of ice, assuming the amount of stone involved is within the effective area, however, there is a 30% chance that any shape that includes moving parts simply doesn’t work.
The material component for the spell is a piece of aquamarine stone.
Speak with Dead (Necromancy)
Sphere: Divination Range: Touch Duration: Special Effective Area: 1 creature Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 1 turn Saving Throw: Special
This spell allows the caster to ask a dead creature a number of questions and possibly receive answers. The caster receives the answers in his mind. A dead creature’s knowledge is limited to what it knew in life, including its spoken languages, so the caster must be able to speak a language that the creature knew in life. An unwilling dead creature with either a different alignment than the caster, or higher HD at the time of death than the caster level, is granted a saving throw to resist the spell. A successful save means the creature refuses to answer and the spell ends. Each individual dead creature can be spoken to no more than once per week.
The caster level determines the length of time the creature can have been dead, the number of questions that can be asked, and how much time is allowed to ask them, according to the table below.
Dead creatures can answer truthfully, however, they rather tend to take questions from the living in a very literal sense, and their answers are often brief, evasive and cryptic.
The material components are the caster’s holy symbol, burning incense, and some part of the dead creature’s bodily remains. The creature’s remains are not destroyed by this spell.
Caster Level / Max. Time Dead / Question Time / Number of Questions
1–7 1 month 1 round 2
7–8 1 year 3 rounds 3
9–12 10 years 1 turn 4
13–15 100 years 2 turns 5
16–20 1,000 years 3 turns 6
21+ 10,000 years 1 hour 7
Suck Poison (Necromancy)
Sphere: Healing Range: Touch Duration: Permanent Effective Area: 1 creature or 1 cubic foot of substance per 2 levels Components: V and S Casting Time: 7 Saving Throw: None
This spell neutralizes any type of venom within a creature that is a victim of poison. The Druid sucks the poison from the victim and they are immune to its effects until they spit it out.
A poison victim can be saved, if this spell is cast upon him before they die. The spell is permanent with respect to existing poison, but a creature can be poisoned again by the same source, and venomous creatures will eventually generate more poison.
Warm Tree (Transmutation)
Sphere: Plant Range: 0 Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn/level Effective Area: The caster Components: V, S and M Casting Time: 6 Saving Throw: None
This spell allows the caster, along with all of the gear he is wearing and carrying, to take the form of either a small living tree or shrub, or a large, dead tree trunk. The caster is aware of his surroundings and retains his current AC, saves and hit points while in tree form, however, in other mundane ways, he cannot be distinguished from a genuine tree. If properly detected for, the caster radiates his alignment and a faint aura of magic (transmu-tation), while in tree form.
The caster can end the spell before the duration expires by reverting to his normal form at the beginning of a round. The caster is then able to roll initiative and act normally during the rest of that round.
The material component is the caster’s holy or unholy symbol and a twig from a tree.
Warmth (Conjuration)
Sphere: Healing Range: touch Duration: instantaneous Effective Area: one creature/5 levels Components: V and S Casting Time: 1 round Saving Throw: None
This spell cures all subdual damage caused from exposure to cold, and removes all frostbite and hypothermia effects from each creature touched by the caster. Their bodies are infused with divine warmth, although environmental effects will once again begin taking effect after the spell is cast as per normal.
