By using this spell, the caster can place one willing subject in a state of suspended animation. The victim’s breathing, heartbeat, and other vital processes slow to the
point of nonexistence, although he or she seems to be deeply asleep, not dead. A
caster of 7th to 10th level can maintain the suspended animation for up to one
week plus one day per level; a caster of 11th to 15th level can maintain the
state for up to one month plus one week per level; and a caster of 16th level or
higher can place someone in suspended animation for one year plus one month per level.
This spell has many useful applications. First, all bodily or mental
afflictions become quiescent during the victim’s slumber. Poison, insanity, and many
curses (lycanthropy, geas, and mummy rot included) can be arrested, if not cured,
and have no effect on the subject while he sleeps. Of course, if the spell is
broken prematurely, all the conditions that were halted by the spell will start
once again. Second, the subject requires no food or water, but he still needs
air and dies if deprived of oxygen. Third, for every month that the subject is
in suspended animation, he recovers one hit point.
The caster can awaken the subject at any time within the spell’s duration,
although he must be in the subject’s presence to do so. Optionally, the priest may
pre-specify an amount of time within his normal duration or a special
condition to awaken the sleeper. A condition must include a physical stimulus to the
subject, such as a change in temperature, the touch of the sun, the kiss of a
princess, or whatever the priest desires. If the priest maintaining the spell dies
or is not able to awaken the sleeper, then the subject can be taken to another
priest of the same deity to be awakened.
If the subject is attacked, he is completely helpless and can be killed by a
single blow. However, if the subject is attacked without being slain for some
reason, he gains a saving throw vs. spell each round to emerge from his suspended
animation. The subject will be extremely groggy and disoriented if his slumber
is disturbed in this fashion, suffering a –2 penalty to all die rolls for 1d6
turns, but if he awakens in the normal or prescribed fashion, he is disoriented
for only one round.
Some of the drawbacks to this spell affect the casting priest. First of all,
it takes all of the priest’s concentration to cast and maintain this spell. This
means that the priest cannot cast any other spell while a subject is being
held under the influence of the suspended animation. For each week that the subject is in suspended animation, the priest loses one point of Constitution. This happens each week until the
priest transfers the spell to another priest of the same alignment.
Transferring this spell requires a successful saving throw vs. spell. If the saving throw
is successful, then the priest who transfers the spell can start recovering
Constitution at a rate of one point per hour of bedrest. If the saving throw
doesn’t succeed, then the priest loses another point of Constitution and cannot try
to transfer the spell again for 8 hours. Either way, because of the temporary
lapse of the spell, the subject will automatically lose 1 hit point each time a
transfer is attempted.
The material component for this spell is a rare herb that must be prepared
with exacting care. The treatment costs at least 200 gold pieces and requires 1d3
days of the priest’s time and attention.
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