Toggle Theme

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen
Mastering the Wild / Spells of the Wild

Mid-Level Play (Levels 7–12)

Source Ultimate Wilderness pg. 159
At the middle tier of spellcasting, many spells with wilderness themes revolve around control effects. While most of them have been previously detailed in Ultimate Intrigue (see Spells of Intrigue and thus are not covered below, mid-level divination spells are plentiful.

Abjuration

Source Ultimate Wilderness pg. 159
Spells that protect against or repel all sorts of wilderness threats appear in this range.

Antilife Shell and Antiplant Shell: These are notable defensive spells because they don’t allow a saving throw to resist their effects. While spell resistance offers a means of defense against these spells, such an ability is almost nonexistent among plant creatures. Despite the lengthy 1-round casting time, successfully casting antilife shell can buy precious rounds of protection to cast other spells. Antiplant shell has a shorter casting time and a lower spell level, making it more useful when dealing with plant threats.

Repel Vermin: Repel vermin is similar to antilife shell, but it takes up a lower-level spell slot and requires less time to cast. While the field created by this spell can be bypassed with a successful Will save, it still deals damage to vermin managing to traverse it—a particularly powerful effect against large numbers of enemies with few hit points. Perhaps the most enticing use of repel vermin is its ability to diminish the effectiveness of vermin swarms.

Conjuration

Source Ultimate Wilderness pg. 159
Conjuration spells fill a wide array of needs. This school of magic encompasses enhancement effects, teleportation effects, the conjuration of allies, and even the creation of permanent or temporary areas of terrain. Most of these spells really begin to show their usefulness at the middle levels of spellcasting.

Heroes’ Feast: Those partaking in a heroes’ feast receive powerful bonuses in addition to the normal benefits of eating and drinking. The combination of neutralize poison and remove disease in this spell is a particularly useful given the number of long-onset diseases and poisons in the wilderness. The spell does require a long casting time and consumption period to be effective; casting and consuming a heroes’ feast takes at least 70 minutes. The flaws of this spell become apparent when the PCs ambush enemies partaking in this spell or are attacked while consuming their own feast.

Transport via Plants and Tree Stride: A dependable means of transportation within a forested environment, tree stride combines the best of several spells, with temporary protection and stealth akin to meld into stone or tree shape. It also offers a wide array of travel distance, with even coniferous trees allowing for transportation range in excess of dimension door, assuming a suitable tree is within range. Transport via plants is similar to an upgraded tree stride, as it allows for theoretically limitless traveling distance on the same world, and it requires only a suitably sized plant with a matching species at the destination.

Wall of Stone and Wall of Thorns: Both of these spells allow for the creation of walls to divide a battlefield. Walls made of stone have the benefit of adjoining to existing stone—a plentiful terrain feature in most wilderness environs. Since this spell has a duration of instantaneous, wall of stone creates long-lasting defenses. Such walls can cut off tight-knit groups in confined areas, though creatures in the path of a forming wall can attempt a Reflex save to avoid entrapment. Wall of thorns creates a temporary effect, and while it doesn’t block off terrain as dependably as wall of stone, it covers twice the space of a stone wall and doesn’t allow a Reflex save. Wall of thorns can be used to deadly effect when sculpted to cover larger area. These walls can be combined with area effects, such as cloudkill or insect plague, to devastate foes.

Transmutation

Source Ultimate Wilderness pg. 160
Mid-level transmutation spells produce a variety of effects. Many augment the capabilities of their casters, allowing for otherwise impossible physical feats. Some transmutation spells control nature and, by extension, operate as mind-affecting effects against plants while bypassing plants’ natural immunities to such effects. Other transmutation spells change vast swaths of terrain, allowing their casters to manipulate the wilderness in ways that range from battlefield needs to agricultural changes taking place over thousands of square feet of space.

Air Walk and Wind Walk: Air walk is an effective method of bypassing treacherous terrain. When a caster typically gains access to this spell, the duration of air walk is about only an hour, making it an effective tool for combat encounters but diminishing its utility for long-term travel. Another hindrance of air walk is that it affects only a single target, making it difficult to apply to an entire group without expending several spell slots. Wind walk, however, can grant a group the ability to traverse long distances over open air. As this spell allows for travel of 600 feet per round, it’s over 10 times as effective as spells such as fly and overland flight as a means of long-distance travel. However, wind walkers are particularly vulnerable to attack along the way if their movement can be curtailed with an obstruction. The caster must either dismiss the spell entirely or have everyone in the group to go through lengthy transformations back into their normal forms while being pummeled by attacks.

Command Plants: Similar in many respects to charm person, this spell entreats plant creatures to obey the spellcaster. As plants are normally immune to mind-affecting effects, this spell falls under the transmutation school of magic, meaning that feats such as Spell Focus (transmutation) apply to it. Two important differences between this spell and charm person, aside from the spell level and ability to affect plants, are the increased number of targets and no requirement that the caster has to know a language understood by the target.

Control Water and Control Winds: These spells are both broad in their effect, with uses beyond combat. The ability to control the speed of winds is a useful tool in hampering foes that rely on flight or ranged attacks. Remember that wind speeds can impose penalties on creatures’ Fly checks, with hurricane speed winds inflicting a massive –12 penalty. Manipulating water allows for access to otherwise inaccessible spaces and reveals secrets hidden in exceptionally deep areas of water. Aquatic creatures that rely on water for breathing and maneuverability can be significantly disabled by this magic. As a body of water can be lowered to as little as 2 inches deep, this spell can be a major threat to aquatic foes that don’t have base speeds.

Move Earth: This spell allows for the movement of various sorts of natural terrain, with the express purpose of digging or filling in dips in the earth. While it’s relatively useless once combat has begun, because of its long casting time, this spell is exceptionally handy for flattening terrain or otherwise adjusting it in preparation of combat. A common use for move earth is in the creation or deconstruction of natural cover as part of an ongoing siege.

Passwall: The bane of intrepid dungeon designers everywhere, passwall allows for the disruption of the expected path through a complex structure. Allowing the spell to assist in navigating hazardous terrain is important, but it should not come at the expense of storytelling or allow the characters to bypass important areas of exploration. When designing encounter areas, consider insulating critical areas with stretches of solid matter that extend 20 feet or farther, effectively inhibiting passwall from creating its passage into or out of key locations. Furthermore, as passwall is susceptible to dispel magic, a perfectly timed dispel effect can separate a party, potentially over several (possibly as-of-yet-unexplored) areas of a dungeon.

Reincarnate: The ability to reincarnate a deceased companion is often a mixed affair. Many adventurers see the use of reincarnate as a means of bypassing the costly raise dead (a 5th-level spell). Some even view the ability to return as a different race as a boon, especially in cases where the new race has powerful physical ability modifiers. It’s important to reinforce the monumental changes that a creature undergoes after being reincarnated, though. Former acquaintances and allies won’t recognize the reincarnated person, and depending on the nature of the new race, the reincarnated creature might find itself the subject of discrimination or even attacked on sight.

Repel Wood: This spell is particularly powerful in tight corridors. Wooden objects in the path of the spell are hurled away, moving 40 feet back from their current position. This includes items such as wooden armor, wooden shields, and wood-hafted weapons; these items often carry the wielder along with them. Creatures can opt to drop shields and weapons, but a creature wearing wooden armor (especially darkwood or ironwood-enhanced equipment) doesn’t have the ability to quickly remove the armor and is thus forced back with no saving throw or spell resistance. Note that the spell has no effect on most plants, since they are rooted to the ground, but it can be used to clear wooden blockages such as deadfalls.

Transmute Rock to Mud: Transforming large areas of unworked rock into mud creates effectively impassable terrain. Most creatures trapped in a transmuted area of mud reduce their base speed to 5 feet. Considering the vast area that even a minimum caster can affect, this mud acts as a slowing effect on all creatures without a means of flying or levitating. The most effective, and oftentimes unexpected, use of this spell is when it’s used on the ceiling of a cavern. Along with creating an area of mobility-restricting terrain, the collapsing mud deals a hefty sum of damage to creatures caught underneath the falling deluge. Keep in mind that transmuted mud can be dispelled, with effects similar to a casting of transmute mud to rock.