Glyph of Warding

(Abjuration, Evocation)

A glyph of warding is a powerful inscription magically drawn to prevent
unauthorized or hostile creatures from passing, entering, or opening. It can be used
to guard a small bridge, to ward an entry, or as a trap on a chest or box.

The priest must set the conditions of the ward; typically any creature
violating the warded area without speaking the name of the glyph is subject to the
magic it stores. A successful saving throw vs. spell enables the creature to
escape the effects of the glyph. Glyphs can be set according to physical
characteristics, such as creature type, size, and weight. Glyphs can also be set with
respect to good or evil, or to pass those of the caster’s religion. They cannot be
set according to class, Hit Dice, or level. Multiple glyphs cannot be cast on
the same area; although if a cabinet had three drawers, each could be separately
warded.

When the spell is cast, the priest weaves a tracery of faintly glowing lines
around the warding sigil. For every 5 square feet of area to be protected, one
round is required to trace the warding lines of the glyph. The caster can affect
an area equal to a square the sides of which are the same as his level, in
feet. The glyph can be placed to conform to any shape up to the limitations of the
caster’s total square footage. Thus, a 6th-level caster could place a glyph on
a 6-foot x 6-foot square, a 4-foot x 9-foot rectangle, a 2-foot x 18-foot
band, or a 1-foot by 36-foot strip. When the spell is completed, the glyph and
tracery become invisible.

The priest traces the glyph with incense, which, if the area exceeds 50 square
feet, must be sprinkled with powdered diamond (at least 2,000 gp worth).

Typical glyphs shock for 1d4 points of electrical damage per level of the
spellcaster, explode for a like amount of fire damage, paralyze, blind, deafen, and
so forth. The DM may allow any harmful priest spell effect to be used as a
glyph, provided the caster is of sufficient level to cast the spell. Successful
saving throws either reduce effects by one-half or negate them, according to the
glyph employed. Glyphs cannot be affected or bypassed by such means as physical
or magical probing, though they can be dispelled by magic and foiled by
high-level thieves using their find-and-remove-traps skill.

The DM may decide that the exact glyphs available to a priest depend on his
religion, and he might make new glyphs available according to the magical
research rules.

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