Canonfire! - Cevinar's Workbook

Cevinar of the Saffron Robes is a name remembered fondly in the central flanaess, but did this strange wizard who died more then two centuries ago realy deserve his kindly reputation? Take a peek at a recently discovered workbook of the Saffron robed mage and judge for yourself.

Cevinar’s Workbook

By: cwslyclgh Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.< br/>
By C. Wesley Clough

Few wizards active in the last three hundred years have proven more enigmatic then Cevinar of the saffron robes. While many people have heard of the wizard, and there are many tales of his exploits, separating fact from fiction about him is difficult. While most of the tales portray Cevinar as a champion of goodness, who fought evil through out the central flanaess, there is another, older cycle of tales, mostly forgotten by the taletellers themselves. These tales, dealing with Cevinar’s early life and career, show a much darker side to the yellow robed mage.

What concrete knowledge there is of Cevinar is scant indeed. It is known that he is first mentioned in the annals of the Library of Greyhawk in a journal entry dated to wealsun of the common year 284, as the victor in a messy mage duel that took place in Dyvers. The journal, that of a noted dwarven sage named Svenderrd Halfaxe who spent he last half of his life living in the city of Greyhawk, makes no further mention of Cevinar or how he came to Dyvers, although it describes him accurately and mentions that he talked with a foreign accent. The only two other positive placement of him in history comes from the last year of his life. In 368 CY, Cevinar was slain, very publicly, upon the claws of the red wyrm Phylophaks in the village of Ritensford north of Critwall in the shieldlands. The village has long since fallen to ruins after repeated raids from the bandit kingdoms and Iuz, but the spot where Cevinar fell is still marked with a standing stone.

The small amount of facts surrounding his life has not stopped the bards from creating many stirring stories of the yellow mages life however. Slowly the old tales where forgotten, tales that centered on Cevinar’s dark heart and covetous nature. In their place came light ballads about the mage of the saffron robes, and the deeds that he did to protect the innocent. Ask any resident of the central Flanaess about Cevinar of the saffron robes and you are likely to get a tale of how he came to the aid of some ancestor, or the town of the taleteller’s birth. Even the recent evidence now coming to light about the true nature of the yellow robed mage is unlikely to sway popular opinion about him.

In the winter of 589 CY, a merchant in the city of Greyhawk hired a group of adventurers to investigate strange sounds coming from his cellar. During the investigation the adventures discovered a secret door that lead to a hidden laboratory. The adventurers easily overcame the colony of dire rats (the source of the noises) that had taken up residence in the secret room. Time and the rats had destroyed most of what was valuable in the lab, but the adventuring party found a book on a high shelf over the secret door. Realizing the value of the find the party’s wizard decided to take the book in lieu of the payment that the merchant had originally offered. The wizard took the book to Harada’s Books and Folios, in Clerkberg, where Darnoc Harada, the proprietor, confirmed that the book was indeed the workbook of Cevinar of the saffron robes. Unfortunately only a week later the wizard and his fellow adventurers entered into the dungeons under castle Greyhawk, and have not been seen or heard from since. The current location of Cevinar’s workbook is unknown.

Cevinar’s workbook appears as an old, leather bound book about a foot long by eight inches wide. It is about an inch thick. The workbook contains 98 pages, and two more have obviously been ripped out. It is filled with Cevinar’s neat but cramped handwriting. In addition to Cevinar’s ramblings on the nature of magic, the book contains eight unique spells. The nature of these spells sheds some insight into Cevinar’s personality, as most of them are exceedingly cruel.

The Spells

Bloodrot
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft +2 Ft/2 levels)
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 round/2 levels
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: yes

You charge the blood of the target with corrosive negative energy. The target is in intense pain and takes 1d4 points of temporary Constitution damage per round that the spell is in effect. In addition the intense pain imposes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks the subject attempts during the bloodrot’s duration. The subject makes a new save each round, and the spell ends if the target succeeds at its saving throw.

A heal spell automatically ends the bloodrot spell.

Bone Blades
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V,S,F
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 100 feet
Effect: one or more bone arms
Duration: 2 rounds/level
Saving Throw: none
Spell Resistance: no

Using this spell you cause one or more miniature bone arms in your possession to grow and become animated by necromantic energies, these arms appear any where with in spell range and one arm can be affected for every three levels caster levels (5 arms maximum) and each arm is equipped with a scimitar of gleaming bone clutched in its skeletal hand.

The Bone blades strike at any opponents with in range, as you desire. The blades each strike once per round with an attack bonus equal to your caster level. The blades strike as scimitars in combat, doing 1d6 points of damage per hit, with a threat range of 18-20/2. Although they get no bonus to attack or damage these bone scimitars act as magical weapons for purposes of damage reduction.

The arms have a flying movement of 20 feet, with perfect maneuverability, all attack forms that effect undead affect them, they have an Armor Class of 15 and 20hp each. If the arms are destroyed their bone scimitars remain behind until the duration of the spell runs out. The Bone blades can never travel more then 100 feet from the caster, if they do so the blades immediately shrink back to their focus size.

Focus: The miniature bone arms and blades that are changed by the spell, each must be carved in intricate detail from the bones of a slain warrior. If any of the bone blades are destroyed in combat the focus miniature tied to that bone blade is destroyed also.

Death Scythe
Necromancy [Death]
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V,F
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10ft.
Effect: 10 ft radius burst centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude Partial
Spell Resistance: yes

When you intone the incantation for the Death Scythe spell and then tap a special staff on the ground, a blade of red force will immediately spring from the top of the staff. This long curving blade looks much like the blade of a scythe, and exudes the fetid odor of the underworld; oily black clouds seem to roil within the red force. The scythe then sweeps in a full circle around you, automatically hitting all creatures within ten feet. Those creatures having less Hit Dice then one half your caster level must make a fortitude save or die. Creatures slain in this way have their life force sucked out by the scythe, and can not be raised by any means short of a Miracle or Wish spell.

A creature that makes its fortitude save, or one with to many Hit Dice to be affected by the death effect, instead takes 3d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (with a Maximum of 3d6+25). Of course this may kill the target any way, but a creature killed by damage caused by this spell can be raised or resurrected normally.

Focus: The special staff that helps to form the scythe can be reused, it must be a specially made masterwork quarterstaff of ebony, inlaid with jet, obsidian, and black sapphires, and must be worth no less then 5,000 gp.

Devouring
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft +2 Ft/2 levels)
Target: one creature
Duration: 2 rounds/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: yes

By casting this spell and pointing to a target with in range, you cause a small crimson sphere to streak from your finger to unerringly hit the target. If the target make a successful fortitude save, then the sphere “pops” audibly when it hits and winks out of existence having failed to penetrate the victim.

If the save is failed, however, the crimson sphere is absorbed into the targets body, and starts to devour the target from with in. The target takes 1d4 points of damage per round over the full course of the spell, and if killed in this manner the targets body vanishes in a flash of crimson light (treat as disintegrated).

A successful dispel magic will halt the effect before the duration expires, if an unsuccessful dispel magic is cast on the target the devouring spell is weakened to the point that a cure disease spell will halt its progress if cast with in one round of the dispel magic.

Undead, elementals, and other creatures immune to disease are like wise immune to this spell.

Material Component: The tail of a rat

Flaying Bolt
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 50 ft. +5 ft./level
Area: 5ft. to 50 ft. +5 ft./level
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance: yes

When you cast this spell a bolt of black, crackling, negative energy stretches out from your finger, filling the area of effect. This foul energy attacks the life force of creatures in the area, as well as physically flaying the skin from their bodies. The bolt deals 1d8 points of damage per 4 caster levels (5d8 maximum), and in addition causes 1d4 points of temporary Charisma and Dexterity damage. A successful Fortitude save reduces the normal damage by half, and negates the ability damage.

Material Component: A black pearl worth at least 100 gp

Polar Wind
Evocation [cold]
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5ft/level
Area: 5 ft/level radius sphere centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: yes

The casting of this spell calls into being a swirling vortex of super-cold wind filled with razor sharp shards of ice that momentarily swirls through the area of effect. The sphere is always centered on you; you are never harmed by the casting of the spell (although any companions receive no such guarantees).

All normal vegetation, normal insect life, and creatures with fewer than 3 hp in the area of effect are automatically slain (no save). Other creatures in the area take 1d8 points of damage per caster level (20d8 maximum) half of this damage is cold damage and the other half is physical damage from the slashing ice shards and flying debris, those in the area of effect are allowed a save for half damage. Structures and unattended objects in the area of effect take damage as well (subject to hardness and other factors as outlined in the Players Handbook).

A Polar Wind spell leaves the effected area devastated, looking as if a hailstorm and a tornado hit the area at the same time; water with in the area of effect is left frozen to a depth of 4 inches. This spell cannot be cast under water.

Material Component: The tooth of a white dragon.

Skeletal Spurs
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft +2 Ft/2 levels)
Target: one living creature
Duration: 2 rounds/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: yes

You cause the targets skeletal structure to sprout cruelly barbed spurs of bone that rip their way through its flesh. The target takes 1d4 points of damage per 2 caster levels (5d4 maximum) immediately, and continues to bleed for the duration of the spell, taking an additional point of damage per round, as if from a wounding weapon. Vermin, creatures with exoskeletons and creatures with out a skeletal structure are immune to this spell.

Any application of healing magic ends the spell immediately.

Material Component: A shard of human bone.

Steal Knowledge
Divination[Mind-affecting, Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: One living creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: yes

You forcibly rip a piece of information out of the mind of the creature you touch. The spell is painful, inflicting 1d4 points of damage +1 per caster level (Maximum of +10) and 1 point of temporary intelligence damage upon the target.

You draw one piece of information from the subjects mind per caster level, the information will be true, as least as far as the subject believes it to be true. Each individual piece of information must be precise and specific, such as a command word, name, or a simple answer to a question. Nothing longer then a single sentence or quick mental image can be stolen by this spell.

finis