Enthrall (spell)
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| Range | self |
| Duration | special |
| Area of Effect | 30 ft. radius sphere |
| Casting Time | 1 round |
| Saving Throw | negates |
| Level | bard (2nd); cleric (2nd) |
Enthrall places creatures under a bewitchment that causes them to cease what they are doing and — once the caster begins to speak —they will listen, enraptured. Those affected by the spell will be able to understand, and following the spell's duration, they will remember what they were told. Depending on what was said, they may act on this information of their own volition, to protect themselves or take advantage of an obvious opportunity. If the caster wishes to press an audience into a specific non-threatening service, such as helping a search or committing themselves to labour, then each enthralled character should make a morale check using standard morale; those that succeed will agree to act as wished.
When the spell is cast, creatures within the area of effect are permitted a saving throw vs. magic. Those with less than four hit dice suffer a -4 penalty to this roll. Creatures that are not humanoids receive a +4 modifier. Creatures with an intelligence of 4 or less are not affected by the spell.
Listeners who fail their save will, in any event, continue to listen so long as the caster continues speaking. The maximum time will be 1d4 per level, multiplied by 5 minutes. For example, a 5th level caster would be able to continue speaking for 40 to 200 minutes. The caster can pause comfortably, but can take no other action during this time without breaking the spell. The caster need not say more than four words, if that is all that is necessary; the after-effect of the spell would be unchanged.
Those who succeed in making a save will not be able to accost or affect other listeners; they will be able to fight with non-listeners, but so long as they remain in the spell's area of effect, they will not be able to attack the cleric. Unrealizing, if they wish to attack the caster, they will automatically move out of the area of effect first.
Bringing the Spell into Play
It is not unusual for a cleric to employ the spell while presenting preaching a sermon, to enhance the effect of moral sensibilities throughout the local populace. Doing this regularly encourages the congregation to act in keeping with the cleric's vision for the community, ensuring the cleric's status and effect, even when not using the spell.
If wanting to urge a crowd to save themselves in an emergency, a player might cast the spell and shout, "Run for your lives!" If there was an evident threat, everyone in the area of effect would automatically pay attention, see the danger and run. And if no evident threat existed, at least those who made their morale checks would act nonetheless.
If the goal was to distract one or more subjects, a caster could cast the spell from a safe distance, move up slowly while concentrating and then begin speaking, discharging the spell, once the subjects were in the spell range. If they failed their saves, the caster could keep talking for as long as it was needed to distract them.
The spell would be excellent for inducing students to listen to lectures.
