Mistake Missive– 1st Level Priest Spell (Tome of Magic)
Mistaken Missive (Alteration)
Sphere: Chaos
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: One page/level
Saving Throw: None
This spell alters the appearance of words written in ink. When the spell is
cast upon a written page, the ink imperceptibly begins to move. Over the next few
days, the message becomes progressively more illegible. If the page is left
undisturbed for six days, an entirely new message forms on the page. The new
message is completely legible and is recognizable as the handwriting of the
original author, but is contrary in content to the original message.
After the spell is cast, the message will appear different every day. The DM
decides the message that the page will carry after the sixth day has passed.
Following is a sample of the changes that could take place in a message.
Day One: The words of the letter appear faint, as if the author of the letter was
running out of ink as he wrote.
Day Two: The words have moved slightly from their original positions, as if the person
writing the letter were shaking or in a moving carriage when the letter was
written.
Days Three and Four: The message is gibberish. Although the ink forms groups of letters arranged
in lines with punctuation, nearly all the words are meaningless. This may appear
to be some sort of code, but it means nothing.
Day Five: The ink has formed real words. However, the sentence construction is still
meaningless (e.g., Egg west worse green!).
Day Six (and beyond): The message is coherent, but the opposite intent of the original message has
been created. If the original letter read, “Send troops quickly,” the new letter
reads, “All is fine. Keep your men in reserve.”
If mistaken missive is cast on the pages of a spellbook or a scroll, the ink on the page reforms
into a new spell of the same level as the original spell. Thus, a darkness spell might become a maze spell. However, the spell formula will be wrong. Although it will look like a
proper spell, it will not function when cast.
A coded message that is subjected to mistaken missive will appear as a coded message on the sixth day but will hold a different
meaning than the original message.
A glass of preserved words will allow the original message to be read correctly. Dispel magic will restore the message to its original form.
The material component is three drops of ink.
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