By means of this spell, the priest prepares an area as a defensive position. Fortify may be used to prepare an open outdoors area such as a field, road, or
grassland, or a rough or broken outdoors area such as a hillside, forest, or
boulder-fall. Large rooms or chambers such as a cavern or a great hall may be fortified as well. The exact effects of the spell depend on the nature of the site to be fortified.
A. Open Outdoors Site: A rampart or dike of earth and loose stone rises from the ground along the
perimeter of the site, leaving a shallow ditch on the outward face. Creatures
defending the dike receive 50% cover against missile fire (+4 bonus to AC), or 25%
cover (+2 bonus) if they expose themselves by engaging in melee combat or
firing missiles out of the dike. Attackers cannot charge, run, or sprint over the
ditch-and-dike. Large, open rooms or chambers with few features may fall into
this category.
B. Rough Outdoors Site: Loose stones and boulders, deadwood, and patches of dense briars are arranged
to form a defensible wall or rampart along the perimeter of the area of effect.
Characters hiding behind the wall receive 75% cover (+7 bonus to AC), or 50%
cover if they expose themselves by firing missiles or defending the wall. In
hand-to-hand combat, the wall’s defenders receive a +1 bonus to attack rolls;
man-sized attackers must spend one full round in climbing over the wall in order to
enter the fortified area. Natural caverns and large, cluttered chambers fall into this category,
as well.
C. Marshy or Low-lying Site: In areas such as swamp, marsh, bog, or tundra, fortify cannot raise a wall or dike to cover the defenders. Instead, the spell creates
a water-filled ditch around the perimeter of the area of effect. This ditch is
10 feet wide and 2 to 4 feet deep; most creatures require 1 full round to
negotiate the ditch, and defenders gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls against enemies
who are wading the ditch or climbing up the other side.
The fortifications are permanent, although erosion, weathering, and
excavations, clearing, or filling can quickly raze the site, returning it to its original
state. The material component is the shell of a snail dusted with 100 gold
pieces worth of diamond powder. In Battlesystem® rules, fortify provides a defending unit with a +2 bonus to its AR against missile and melee
attacks, but no bonus against missile attacks in marshy or low-lying areas.
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