Spells
Notes from the Nails: just a few ideas that came to me in a flash of inspiration.
The Immortal General’s Spells
The Immortal General was a legendary hero of ancient times, and is believed to have fought a thousand battles without suffering a single defeat. The title is, of course, a misnomer; the Immortal General is not alive today, though their writings on military strategy have survived to create an everlasting legacy. Among the most interesting aspects of the Immortal General’s philosophy was the use of magic on the battlefield: they consistently advocated for the deployment of spellcasters in supportive and logistical roles rather than as frontline combatants, and popularized several spells that are still in use today.
Conjure Artillery
6th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You create one or more siege engines made of magical force and summon extraplanar spirits that take the form of humanoid crews, which all appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears:
- 1 cannon, 3 crew members and 10 cannonballs,
- 1 trebuchet, 5 crew members and 10 large stones,
- 2 mangonels, 10 crew members and 20 large stones, or
- 4 ballistae, 12 crew members and 40 ballista bolts.
Each summoned creature or object disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.
The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your companions. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as a group, which has its own turns. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you), but always act as a cohesive group. If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions.
The DM has the creatures’ and siege engines’ statistics; the crew members use the statistics for commoners.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 8th level or higher, you choose one of the summoning options above, and twice as many siege engines, crew members, and units of ammunition appear.
Conjure Cavalry
6th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You summon extraplanar spirits that take the form of humanoids and beasts and appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears:
- 6 NPC scouts, each riding a warhorse, or
- 2 NPC knights, each armed with lances in addition to their normal equipment and riding warhorses with plate barding.
The NPCs all have proficiency in Animal Handling.
Each summoned creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.
The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your companions. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as a group, which has its own turns. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you), but always act as a cohesive group. If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions.
The DM has the creatures’ statistics.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, you can summon three additional mounted scouts or one additional mounted knight for each slot level above 6th.
Conjure Infantry
4th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You summon extraplanar spirits that take the form of humanoids and appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears:
- 1 humanoid NPC of CR 3 or lower,
- 2 humanoid NPCs of CR 2 or lower,
- 3 humanoid NPCs of CR 1 or lower,
- 6 humanoid NPCs of CR 1/2 or lower, or
- 12 humanoid NPCs of CR 1/4 or lower.
Each summoned creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.
The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your companions. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as a group, which has its own turns. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you), but always act as a cohesive group. If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions.
The DM has the creatures’ statistics.
At Higher Levels.When you cast this spell using certain higher-level spell slots, you choose one of the summoning options above, and more creatures appear: twice as many with a 6th-level slot, or three times as many with a 8th-level slot.
Leadership
4th-level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (a ceremonial baton, fan, or flag worth at least 100 gp)
Duration: 1 hour
Until the spell ends, any friendly creature within 60 feet of you that can see or hear you can use your proficiency bonus in place of its own.
Mass Skirmish
7th-level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a branch from a tree)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
This spell allows you to enhance the mobility of any number of willing creatures that you can see within range. You bolster each target, enabling them to move easily through enemy formations. For the
duration, each target’s movement speed is increased by 15 feet, is unaffected by nonmagical difficult terrain, and doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Power Word: Rally
2nd-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (60-foot radius)
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
You speak a word of power that fills the hearts of your allies with courage. If any friendly creature within 60 feet of you is frightened, that condition ends.
Rapid Redeployment
5th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
Briefly surrounded by silvery mist, you and any willing creatures within 15 feet of you are teleported to a up to 30 feet to an unoccupied 15-foot-radius circle that you can see.
Skirmish
3rd-level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a branch from a tree)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You enhance the mobility of one willing creature you touch, enabling them to move easily through enemy formations. For the duration, the target’s speed is doubled, it is unaffected by nonmagical difficult terrain, and it doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
Tactical Map
1st-level divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You touch a map, floorplan, or other visual representation of a physical space, and name one creature, type of creature, or group of creatures. The criteria for types and groups of creatures must be something that would be immediately obvious when looking at the creature. For example, you could ask the spell to find hobgoblins or the soldiers of a particular army. This spell locates all instances of the named creatures within the space depicted by the map, and marks them with one or more points of light. These points capture the locations of the creatures only at the instant the spell was cast. The points remain attached to the map until you use a bonus action to dismiss them, or the map is destroyed.
Teleportation Field
8th-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (120-foot radius)
Components: V, S, M (an ornate chessboard inlaid with onyx and pearl worth at least 1,000 gp)
Duration: Instantaneous
You infuse a wide field around you with teleportation magic, gaining sweeping control over the area.
When you cast this spell, you can teleport any Small, Medium, or Large creature, or an object which can fit within a 10-foot cube that is not being worn or carried, within the area to any other unoccupied place within the area. An unwilling creature can make a Charisma saving throw to avoid being teleported, though they do so with disadvantage. Each creature or object can only be moved once, but you can move as many creatures or objects as you wish. You cannot change a creature or object’s height above ground level using this spell.
Changelog: 05/17/2019: Conjure spells require concentration.
10/30/2021: Skirmish and Mass Skirmish brought into line with the versions in Valda’s Spire of Secrets; both now increase movement speed.
