Insect Plague (spell)
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Insect plague conjures a horde of hopping, creeping an flying insects that form in a thick cloud, obscuring vision and causing 1 hit point (h.p.) of damage to all creatures within the area of effect, per round.
| Range | 360 ft. |
| Duration | 10 rounds per level |
| Area of Effect | 360 ft. circle, 60 ft. high |
| Casting Time | 3 rounds |
| Saving Throw | none; see text |
| Level | cleric (5th); druid (5th) |
The caster is able to designate the centre of the cloud, which must be within the spell's range — thus the caster could affect areas as far as 540 ft. away.
The radius of the swarm is huge, 36 combat hexes; once the plague has been conjured, however, it cannot move. Within the swarm, visibility is limited to 4 hexes, or 20 ft. Spellcasting inside the cloud is impossible, as the caster cannot hope to concentrate.
Effect
The swarm terrifies creatures with less than 12 h.p., causing them to flee the swarm once the first bite has occurred. All others must make a morale check or do likewise. Very few creatures will choose to ignore the insects — though very large creatures and those who can only be hit by magic will ignore them.
Spells vs. Swarm
Things that affect natural insects have some practical value. Heavy smoke causes insects to clear a 5 ft. around the smoke. A bonfire will do likewise, but a torch will have no effect. A wall of fire and other enduring fire spells form a shield against the swarm. A fireball clears away the insects inside the blast radius ... but the empty circle will fill up again at a rate of 10 ft. per round. Other damage spells affect the swarm similarly.
If the spell is used in conjunction with summon insects or creeping doom, the spells operate independent of each other, to mutual effect.
Dispel magic disperses the cloud, if the spell's range can penetrate to the swarm's centre.
Invisibility, protection from malevolence, shield provide no benefit; the insects land on everything solid and don't need to hit in order to cause damage. armour and phantom armour soak up insect damage. withdraw gives the caster time to bat the insects away, rendering them harmless, though half the time inside withdraw must be used for defense. sanctuary provides complete immunity.
