2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary - Day Seventy

Celebrating 2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary of Blackmoor and of Role-Playing!

Today is Part 15 of my series of looks at OD&D starting with Men & Magic - Volume 1.

Today we will look at the 2nd Level Magic-User Spells:

Detect Invisible (Objects): A spell to find secreted treasure hidden by an Invisibility spell (see below). It will also locate invisible creatures. Durations: 6 turns. Range: 1” × the level of the Magic-User casting it, i.e. a “Wizard” would have a range of 11”, more if he was above the base value.

This had a duration of 6 turns, so I ruled that it was effective over an area 10 feet wide within the range of the Magic-User and during that time it could be moved around to search a considerable area. Bear in mind it was "detect" and not "locate."

Levitate: This spell lifts the caster, all motion being in the vertical plane; however, the user could, for example, levitate to the ceiling, and move horizontally by use of his hands. Duration: 6 turns + the level of the user. Range (of levitation): 2”/level of Magic-User, with upwards motion at 6”/turn.

You descended at the same rate that you ascended so it was vitally important to make sure you had allowed sufficient time to return to the ground before the spell ran out or suffer falling damage. Accurate tracking of time was quite important. No extra weight could be carried beyond the normal clothing, a wand or stave or scroll and small items. Constant concentration was not necessary, so you could do other things; however, concentration was required to stop or start an ascent or to change over to descent and to stop or start descent.

Phantasmal Forces: The creation of vivid illusions of nearly anything the user envisions (a projected mental image so to speak). As long as the caster concentrates on the spell, the illusion will continue unless touched by some living creature, so there is no limit on duration, per se. Damage caused to viewers of a Phantasmal Force will be real if the illusion is believed to be real. Range: 24”.

So yes, Phantasmal Forces can kill if the level of belief is high enough. We did a savings throw vs spell altered by the wisdom score. For example a 6th Level Magic-User saves vs spells by rolling 12 or higher. So with a 13 Wisdom or higher, it reduces the saving throw target from 12 to 11. But with a Wisdom of 8 or less the saving throw target is increased from a 12 to a 13.

Locate Object: In order for this spell to be effective it must be cast with certain knowledge of what is to be located. Thus, the exact nature, dimensions, coloring, etc. of some magical item would have to be known in order for the spell to work. Well known objects such as a flight of stairs leading upwards can be detected with this spell however. The spell gives the user the direction of the object desired but not the distance. The desired object must be within range. Range: 6” + 1“/level of the Magic-User employing the spell, i.e. a “Necromancer” has a 16” range.

This spell pulled their fat out of the fire on numerous occasions.

Invisibility: A spell which lasts until it is broken by the user or by some outside force (remember that as in CHAINMAIL, a character cannot remain invisible and attack). It affects only the person or thing upon whom or which it is cast. Range: 24”

In combination with a Silence Spell(an added spell), we had many a plate clad Fighting-Man that walked right up to an enemy and subdued/captured that enemy. But sometimes the wind shifted and then they could smell the approaching Fighting-Man.

Wizard Lock: Similar to a Hold Portal, this spell lasts indefinitely. It can be opened by a Knock without breaking the spell. A Wizard Lock can be passed through without a spell of any kind by a Magic-User three levels above the one who placed the spell.

I always thought it was pretty sweet that you could open it with a Knock spell without ending the spell, as was the three levels above the caster power.

Detect Evil: A spell to detect evil thought or intent in any creature or evilly enchanted object. Note that poison, for example, is neither good nor evil. Duration: 2 turns. Range: 6”.

Some creatures such as Evil High Priests and Vampires were always detectable. Orcs, Ogres, Dragons, and many others might or might not be detected depending on circumstances. Remember in the original game, very few things were all evil all the time, very few.

ESP: A spell which allows the user to detect the thoughts (if any) of whatever lurks behind doors or in the darkness. It can penetrate solid rock up to about 2’ in thickness, but a thin coating of lead will prevent its penetration. Duration: 12 turns. Range: 6”

Varied from highly useful or not at all depending on what was on the other side of the door and what the door was made of. The deeper you went into the dungeon the more likely the character would be saving some of these for use once you got there.

Continual Light: This spell creates a light wherever the caster desires. It sheds a circle of illumination 24” in diameter, but does not equal full daylight. It continues to shed light until dispelled. Range: 12”.

Unlike the Light Spell, this one was not tied to the caster and it was of indefinite duration. So it was cast on stones and other objects to use as a non-smokey light source in dungeons and at night. This could also be cast specifically at eye level to your opponents and in this way you could blind a lot of opponents at the same time. I ruled 75% chance of blinding each individual the first row, and 50% chance of blinding each individual in the second row.

Knock: A spell which opens secret doors, held portals, doors locked by magic, barred or otherwise secured gates, etc. Range: 6”. 

I was surprised at how long it took the players to figure out that it could be used to open a locked chest. Of course it also set off any traps automatically on doing so. Even that 6" range was not enough at times. Too, when you opened the chest, the trap was often not directly on the chest but somewhere else in the room often just inside the doorway to the room.

Tomorrow we will look at the 3rd Level Spells.