Atlas of the DragonLance World, Cassandra's Mystical Spy

Love it or hate it if you are a gamer there is a real good chance that you have something DragonLance related in your collection. It has to be the most marketed campaign setting in the history of role playing. I for one am not ill disposed to the setting or the game material but it was sort of the Joshua Tree of D&D....a good product that took something mainstream and it was never the same afterward.

The Atlas of the DragonLance world was released in 1987 making it the first of the Atlas products connected with gaming. The Pern and Middle Earth books beat this but they were not directly tied to a gaming world at the time they were published. Actually I am not sure if there is a Pern role playing game out there. I can't imagine GURPS has not done it.

As I said previously with the Forgotten Realms Atlas the maps in this book are nothing short of amazing.Decipher released some maps of Middle Earth that are more display friendly but the maps in this book could still be hung if someone was into maps. In addition tot he maps there is wealth of material for the DragonLance fan to read on notable location on Krynn. Below is just a partial list of the locations contained in the book.

- Inn of the Last Home
- Towers of High Sorcery
- Tika's house
- Thorbardin
- Ice Wall
- Silvanost
- Istar
- Mount Nevermind
- Sanction
- Neraka
- The Abyss
- Dragon Mountain
- Foghaven Vale
- Solace
- Pax Tharkas
- Tarsis

The Atlas can be picked up cheap either on eBay or on Amazon (where I stole the list above from) so price should not be an issue. Again it comes down to some people just not liking DragonLance either on principle or the setting itself. If you feel you need something DragonLance in the collection you could do much worse than this.


Spell:

Cassandra's Mystical Spy

Level: Fifth
Range: None
Duration: Special
Ares Effect: One Location
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 2 Segments
Saving Throw: None

This spell allows the caster to have an invisible spy deployed at a single location waiting to be activated. The spy will be undetectable except for those that can see creatures that exist in the Astral Plane. If visible the spy will appear as a shifting blob of energy with no consistent form.

The spell must be cast in the location that the spy is intended to monitor. The spy will be located exactly where the spell is cast. Once cast the spy will remain vigilant for a number of days equal to the caster level. They will remain at the location until a specified time or event occurs.

When the trigger event occurs the spy will begin "recording" all that goes on at the location they are posted. They will be able to see and hear all that a person in the location could. The area of effect that they can cover is one single room up to 100' x 100' in size. The spy will record all that goes on in the room for a period of time equal to two rounds per level of the caster.

One the duration of the spell expires the events that the spy recorded will be planted in the mind of the caster. They will be able to see and hear the events recorded just as if they were there. The will not know anything more than what could have been seen or heard though. The spy's position will have been stationary so seeing written words and such will be dependent on where the spell was cast.

The material component of this spell will be a gem whose value is equal to 50gp per day the spy had to remain resident at the location. The gem must be present on the caster when the spell is cast but need not be so when the spell expires.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

Forgotten Realms Atlas, Cassandra's Carpet Trap I

The Forgotten Realms Atlas was first published back in 1990. It was written by Karen Wynn Fonstad who had previously written/created a number of other popular Atlases for other imaginary worlds such as Middle Earth, Pern, The Land (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant) and of course Krynn.We get the following from the back of the book...

TORIL...

Visit the exciting and fantastic world of the Forgotten Realms.

Join adventurers renowned as they trek across Toril in this detailed, beautifully illustrated atlas. Ride with the Ffolk in the magical Moonshae Isles. Brave the brutal elements of Icewind Dale. Follow the gods as hey wreak destruction from the Dales to Waterdeep. Watch as empires of East and West collide.

The maps in the book are nothing short of incredible. Not only are they detailed but they are borderline works of art that one could hang on a wall in some cases. Almost all of the major locations that are covered in the works of fiction are detailed within these pages. This is one of the problems when looking at this as an accessory for gaming. This works much better for fans of the books than characters in the Realms. Gamers will already have access to playable, working maps of the areas. The Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas might be a better choice for the gamer community.

In the end the book is still worth picking up and having in your collection. Even if you don't play in the Forgotten Realms you can still appreciate the maps. It can also be mined for names and ideas as can most things gamers pick up. It can be pricey sometimes on eBay but if you can get it at a good price do yourself a favor and do so.

Spell:

Cassandra's Carpet Trap I

Level: Third
Range: 6"
Duration: Special
Ares Effect: Special
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 3 Rounds
Saving Throw: Special

When this spell is cast the magic user brings into being a carpet that is magical in nature. The nature of the carpet can very based on the caster's desire and the level of the spell.

By default the carpet will be of ornate and of exceptional quality. The caster can specify a different appearance if desired though it will always appear to have been a carpet of some quality at one time.

The carpet created will have a maximum size equal to ten square feet per level of the caster. It will by default fill the space it is cast in though the caster can specify any shape and size.

The carpet will remain until such time as the effect it is intended to have is triggered. The triggering effect can be anything that the caster desires. It can be a timed effect such as one day from now or a specialized event such as the first thief to walk on it or if a spell is cast by someone while standing on it. Until such time as the trigger effect occurs the carpet is nothing more than a carpet. The carpet can be moved with no impact to the trigger effect unless moving was part of it.

With this level of the spell there are two types of carpets that can be created. It is important to note that higher level of the spell can also create all versions of carpets that previous version could create.

Carpet of Adhesion:

This carpet will upon the triggering event transform in to an exceptionally sticky substance. The substance will cause all on it to make a save versus magic or become hopelessly stuck in the spot they were standing when the effect triggered. Those who make their save can move though at a rate of only ten feet per round. Once triggered the carpet will remain in its new form for a period of 6-36 turns. Any who come into contact with the carpet during this time period will need to make a save or become stuck as well.

Carpet of Frictionlessness:

The triggering event for this carpet will turn it into a plane of completely frictionless material. This will have the effect of causing any who are on it or step onto it to fall and continue sliding the direction they were originally moving. The victim will slide 3" for every 1" of movement they had left when they stepped onto the carpet. Should the victim movement make them impact an obstacle before the end of their slide they will suffer damage from the impact. They will suffer 1d4 for each inch of slide movement left. They will also be required to make a save versus magic or become stunned for 3-8 rounds. Once triggered this carpet will remain until the caster actively wills it out of existence or a successful dispel magic is cast on it.

The material component of this spell is a small woven rug of exceptional quality. This carpet will cost no less than 100 gp per level of the Carpet Trap. The rug transforms into the carpet with the casting and is used up. The appearance of the actual carpet will be whatever the caster desires though it will always appear to have been so high quality at some point.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.