Related to both the contingency and permanency spells, persistence allows a wizard to cast a spell of 6th level or lower and then hold it until
it is needed. There are two general uses for persistence: to use a personal spell effect as needed up to the maximum duration of the persistence itself, or to prepare an instantaneous spell and hold it ready until the
caster wishes to use it.
A. Personal effect. Any spell that augments the wizard’s natural abilities—detect magic, protection from evil, jump, infravision, fly, wraithform, or other caster-affecting spells—can be made persistent by use of this spell. The wizard casts persistence and then immediately follows with the desired spell. Instead of taking effect
immediately, the magic of the persistence holds it ready for use by a simple act of will. The wizard can then “turn on”
or “turn off” the girded spell as often as he likes over the course of the
duration of the persistence. The duration of the girded spell only runs while the spell is active, so a
15th-level wizard who makes a fly spell persistent will be able to use 1d6+15 turns of flight (the normal duration of fly) over
the next 15 days (the duration of the persistence) as he sees fit.
This is especially useful because it allows the wizard to cast the girded
spell and the persistence and have the girded spell’s effects available while he then memorizes another
spell in place of the spell made persistent. It is also useful because the girded spell can be activated instantly by an
act of will. The main difference between this spell and contingency lies in the fact that a persistent spell may be invoked several times (up to the limit of its normal duration)
while a contingency functions once only.
B. Held spell. Spells that have an instantaneous effect, such as most attack spells and some
movement spells like teleport or dimension door, can be rendered persistent as well. The held spell may be activated or discharged at any time during the
duration of the persistence, but its magic is then exhausted as if it had been cast normally. This
resembles the effect of a contingency spell, but the effect has no predefined conditions and simply occurs when the
caster wills it to.
Damaging or offensive spells that have a duration (for example, flaming sphere or wall of fire) cannot be rendered persistent. A wizard may have no more than one persistence spell active at any given time; if he girds a new spell while an old one is
still persistent, the old spell is simply replaced by the new one. The material component is a
crystal chalice of exquisite workmanship worth at least 2,000 gp. The material
component of a held or girded spell is expended when the spell is made persistent.
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