Spiritwrack (spell)

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Spiritwrack enables the caster to overcome numerous forms of highly dangerous monsters, particularly those of others planes of existence (demons, devils) and non-corporeal undead (banshee, spectres, ghosts and vampires). The defining stipulation is that these creatures have no soul and are not technically alive, so that they are immune to mind control spells or the sixth level spell, death.

Spiritwrack
Range 10 ft. + 10 ft. per level
Duration 4 rounds per level
Area of Effect 1 creature
Casting Time 2 rounds
Saving Throw negates
Level mage (6th)

The chief benefit of spiritwrack is that it ignores the magic resistance of the target. It does, however, provide a saving throw, which negates the spell. The defending creature’s HD are halved by the effect of the spell, as always discarding fractions.

Once the spell is in place, the caster may force the creature back to its plane of existence, or in the case of undead the caster may choose to exile the creature from its current place of residence (but will not end its existence on Earth). Undead will thereafter permanently fear the caster and will not seek revenge for the action.

Contrary to these measures, the caster may choose to bind and flay the creature for the duration of the spell. During the first ten rounds — if the caster so chooses — the creature will be subjected to suffering and pain. Thereafter, for the time remaining, the creature will be helpless to give anything but truthful answers. It will use its words at a premium, but every 20 words spoken by the caster and the demon will count as an expenditure of 1 round (contrariwise, the whole discussion may be timed on a stopwatch). At the end of this time, or at any convenient moment, the caster may exile the spirit away.

The caster need not know the name of the creature being affected.