Avatar (spell)

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Avatar creates an alternative, incorporeal duplicate of the caster's body, that can be projected anywhere, upon any plane of existence. The avatar appears as a stand-in for the caster, appearing as the caster to other beings, enabling direct communication. The caster is able to perceive what the avatar can see, hear, feel or smell, while being unable to interact physically with the visited environment; conversely, the caster cannot be attacked through the avatar.

Avatar

Range	self
Duration	see text
Area of Effect	self
Casting Time	3 rounds
Saving Throw	none
Level	cleric (7th), illusionist (6th), mage (9th)

The avatar is fully visible once manifested — though it can move or conceal itself to avoid being seen. Because it has no substance, the avatar can pass through walls or conceal itself inside an object — with the understanding that doing this will completely cut off the caster's sensory contact; the caster cannot see or hear through solid objects, any more than if he or she were there personally.

The avatar will appear exactly as the caster appears; if the caster removes his or her cloak, the avatar will appear to do so as well. The avatar's movement rate is that of the caster, exactly at the level of encumbrance the caster possesses. It cannot become invisible, or fly, or act in any way the caster cannot. Spells cannot be cast through the avatar.

While sensing the world as an avatar, the character will be insensate to the world surrounding his or her real person. This perspective can be maintained indefinitely, until the caster feels hungry, the need to sleep or a desire to return to his corporeal body. While concentrating on the avatar, the caster's body will relax, resting prone or seated, waiting for the caster's consciousness to return. To an outsider, the body will be alive; if jostled firmly, the caster will become aware of the need to return; but the caster must break the spell in order to return and learn what's happening.

Upon seeing an avatar, characters with heightened senses have a 10% chance per level of identifying the illusion for what it is.

Location

There is no limitation on the avatar's distance from the caster; it can be cast to appear immediately adjacent to the caster or to any known place the caster's knowledge and experience can identify. Clairvoyance, a crystal ball, gate, plane shift or other like methods can be employed to help realize the avatar's arrival at another place. Success is automatic. The caster can make specific references to known places, though he or she may never have actually been there. For example, the caster could ask the avatar to be placed "One mile north of the largest pyramid in Egypt," or "Five feet from the oldest man named Robert in England." Unless otherwise specified, the avatar will always appear to the north of a location named, and will not appear at all unless a distance from an object is named.