Protection from Malevolence (spell)
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Protection from malevolence is a spell that bestows a protective bonus to the recipient's armour class. This bonus applies against physical attacks, whether by weapon or missile, against creatures wishing to cause harm maliciously. The benefit is not accrued against defenders who bear no ill will while being attacked — though this stipulation cannot be made to apply to any creature who, by nature, instinctively wish harm to the recipient, regardless of who began the combat.
| Range | touch |
| Duration | 6 rounds per level |
| Area of Effect | 1 creature |
| Casting Time | 1 round |
| Saving Throw | none |
| Level | cleric (1st); mage (1st) |
If cast by a cleric, the recipient must be of the caster's faith. This stipulation does not apply if the caster is a mage.
The effect is a +2 benefit to the recipient's armour class against weapons, with a +4 benefit against bodily attacks. This bonus is gained against non-intelligent creatures or those of low intelligence that attack by instinct, such as various animal predators. To be exempt from the spell, the attacked must be genuinely put upon — this suspends the effect of the spell when the recipient is the malevolent perpetrator of violence, not the defender.
Naturally, this assures that numerous creatures that are prone to evil, such as undead or creatures from the various underworlds, may be safely identified as "malevolent." Likewise, in a war that is being fought against an enemy, where that enemy is as bent upon winning the battle as the character employing the spell, that the spell functions as desired.
Saving throws when under the influence of the spell receive a +2. No benefit is granted to initiative or to the chance of being surprised.
Multiple uses of the spell do not produce a cumulative effect. Paladins, who experience a continuous protection that functions like this spell, are not affected by the spell's use.
