AN: This is a DND 3.5e epic-level character with only 21 levels in Wizard with access to epic-level casting.
The feats he has is Brew Potion, Craft construct, Essence Mastery, Silent Spell, Skill Focus (Knowledge(arcana), Epic level spell casting, still spell, craft magical arms and armor, craft wondrous items, empower spell, forge ring
Epic-level spell casting along with rules for epic-level characters are in the Epic Levels Handbook
Essence Mastery is from Feats book by Alderac Entertainment Group
The adventures mentioned are Savage Tide from Dragon magazine and Bastion of Broken Souls
The other feats can be found in the Players Handbook
Wizarding Worm
Chapter 2: Arcane Might Measured
8:30 am, January 17, 2010, Chicago Illinois
I woke up to knocking at my door. While I was focusing, prepared my spells for the day, being a mix of everything including a [true resurrection] just in case. I did not include Enchantment spells to prevent a few odd looks.
After we ate in what I assume to be their mess hall yesterday, well he ate while gorged myself with these burgers and this fizzy drink called 'soda', I was introduced to a friend and fellow hero Alexandria. She had on a strange black outfit with a skirt, knee-high boots, and elbow-length gloves. She had a long cape coming from her back along a sigil of a tower on her chest. She gave off a sense of certainty. Like she was unwavering. We spoke briefly, mostly me introducing myself and explaining my situation. She seemed to believe me and as I decided to join, she would be the one overseeing my 'power' testing. I explained that I use spells and it's not exactly a power but she still wanted to test them for the record at least which I understood.
The first thing that would be on the menu was the healing spells I have. They have someone who could heal in their roster but he has to transfer the wound to himself and some can be highly lethal. After Mr. Myrddin and Ms. Alexandria picked me up from my room, we moved to the 'cafeteria' and ate breakfast. I did not need to eat but it's nice to do so sometimes.
"So Magnus, do you have your spells ready?" Ms. Alexandria asks. She seemed a lot friendlier than I thought.
"Yes, I have a fair amount of healing spells that can do different things and the rest are combat and situational ones."
"Oh, you don't have access to them all at once?" "Not really. I mean I could force myself to cast the ones I don't have prepared but it will tire me out faster." I should see how to cast more spells here since there isn't any direct magic god as far as I can tell.
"Hm. Let's just focus on the ones you have ready. We're going to take you to the testing room and send in people one at a time for you to heal them. Don't worry, none of them are in life-threatening situations. All but one of them have a few scrapes and bruises. The last one lost his leg in an accident a few days ago and came here to see if you can fix it" That's kinda boring.
"I was expecting you to have me heal a large number of people in rapid succession in various states. I have 10 regular healing spells with 4 being the mass version, stuff to remove disease and sickness, 3 castings of [Regeneration], and even something for the recently dead." I mutter as I inhale this thin pastry covered in honey. This stuff is really good! I should make something at will crank them out on command.
They both just stared at me for a moment. "Wait what do you mean mass versions and have spells that get rid of diseases?" "Oh, the mass versions of the spell just mean that everyone within a radius of me is affected by the heal spell. And the other one gets rid of any non-magical diseases wholesale." I think they didn't hear the past one.
"If that's the case then we can send them 2 at a time then. Should save some time for both of us. Afterward, we can do the fun stuff." Ms. Alexandria stands up followed by Mr. Myrddin "Lets go. After the boring healing, you can blow stuff up afterward." While that does sound fun, do they think I am a child? I know I'm kinda short but come on.
I followed them to this barricaded room that had a separate room to the side. "You will go through this door and we will be watching over hear in the observation area to get the data. After we are done with the healing tests, we will bring in stuff for you to blow up or turn to dust." With that last comment, they entered the other area while I went through the double doors. The room itself was reinforced by some kind of metal in every single crevice of the room. There was only one window and no other door besides the one I went through. There was a voice that came through the ceiling from these odd holes in them.
"Please walk to the other to about midway of the room so we can start bringing people in." I comply, walking to where I would think is the middle of the room. I focus on the door as I go through the spells in my head, various formulas, and sigils appearing in the corner of my vision for a few moments. I did not have to wait long when 2 men entered the room. They had the PRT uniform on but had a few scratches and the man on the left had a black eye. Seems easy enough.
"Please cast your single spells on them as a control for the rest." With the order, I cast [Cure Light Wounds] on the man with the black eye. A soft golden pulse leaves my hand and spreads throughout the man, likely fixing more than the eye problem. The next man was more of the same. They both test out their healed bodies with slight movements and turn their torsos around.
"Do you all feel any different? Any strange tastes?" the one who had the scratches spoke up first. "I don't feel any pain anywhere now, I think he fixed the cavity I had on one of my back teeth because I can't feel it anymore." The other man clears his throat, "I don't feel pain either and he got rid of the soreness of the jog I did earlier in the morning. Thanks, by the way," My first thanks.
"No problem." The ceiling voice breaks the conversation "Please exit the testing room for evaluation." The two men look to the see-through window. Now that I look at it, I can see Ms. Alexandria and Mr. Myrddin along with some people in white robes and PRT uniforms looking at something.
"Please return to the center Magnus. For the next set, use the mass version of your spell." This time, 4 people enter, 2 men and 2 women all in the same PRT uniform and all have various injuries.
"How close do they need to be?" "Well, the range is a 30ft radius for these." There was a quick pause before she told them to move closer till she said to stop. After they got into range, I was ordered to cast it. There was a more robust golden pulse from me that spread in a circle around me, engulfing the 4 people with healing light. There were a few sighs of relief as they moved around to test their range of movement. After confirming that they didn't feel any pain, they were ordered to leave for evaluation. I should probably ask about it.
"What is this evaluation about?" "It's for giving them a general check-up after being healed. Most of the other healing capes either have a drawback or don't heal as thoroughly as you." She was looking at whatever the white-robed people were looking at and smiling slightly. At least I think it's a smile.
"What's next?" "2 more groups and then the one without the leg." The next 2 groups were largely the same with another two casting of [Mass Cure Light Wounds]. After another 2 minutes, Ms. Alexandria spoke up.
"The last person for the testing is right outside. Are you going to be okay? The leg needs to be unwrapped but if you need a minute to psych yourself up that's fine" "It's fine I'm already used to stuff like that." There was a good 30-second pause as the two senior heroes looked at each other for a second, they had expressions of concern for a moment before moving on.
"Bring him in." a man on a chair with wheels on it is pushed in with someone behind the chair wheel moving him forward. He was dressed in some kind of gown with bandages in various places with the most being in his right leg.
"Please remove his wrapping." The person behind him goes to do so, wincing as the man reacts to the bandage removal. The wounds look well-maintained and there aren't any obvious infections. Their nonmagical medicine must be very advanced to be able to do this on the regular.
"Mangus, please cast the healing spell that regrows limbs." I nod to the window and face the man. He is in obvious pain but he gives me a strained smile as I go forward to cast. I cast [Regenerate] on him. A bright golden glow flows from my hand and spreads all around the man. The golden pulse lingers around the stump of his leg before a golden construct forms a new leg for a few moments before breaking apart, revealing his new leg free of blemishes.
The man was astonished, he quickly stood up unsteadily, unsure if all this was real. He then engulfed me in a hug, quietly thanking me before walking back to the wheelchair and pushing it out. I look back to the window and see both of them looking at me. Ms. Alexandria was smiling along with Mr. Myrddin. I still have a few healing spells but I think it's time for me to use the attack spells.
"Magnus could you please use an attack spell at the other end of the room." "Okay but what kind?" She looked up from her glowing box. "I have various ones prepared and I want to know which should I do first."
In a few moments, she spoke again "Why not go from least to strongest." "Okay but to clear things up in advance, my attack spells can range wildly in effect." With that, I decided to do the classic [Magic Missile]. Five beads of force wiz past my hand and hit the metal wall on the other side leaving little holes on the side.
"Is that it?" "Well it's a 1st circle spell so don't expect much. Besides, it never misses regardless of the situation."
"It doesn't miss? How does that work?" "Well within the range of it, it will always hit, can't be dodged or blocked unless they have something that directly cancels it." This caused a bit of a stir with the other people.
"Next is a 2nd circle spell." "Go ahead." I point my hand at the wall and cast [Scorching Ray]. 3 sigils of evocation appear around my hand before glowing red hot and shooting out 3 rays that strike the wall. the areas where they hit glow red hot but do not leave any major damage.
"Is that an auto hit as well?" "No, magic missile is unique in that." "Alright go for the next one."
"This one is a favorite of mine." "Does it explode?"
"….Yes." I point my hand somewhere at the same spot as the rays and cast [Fireball]. A small bright orange bead flies from my hand and gets about 20 feet from the wall before detonating. There was a deafening boom that rattled my teeth slightly. The glass of the window wavers but holds. The people inside are scrambling to gather papers that fly. The area where it detonated was partially melted with scorch marks all along the corner.
"You could have said that it was going to be big!" "I forgot I am in a room." She visibly groans before refocusing.
"Do the next one but say if it's going to explode." "Ok this one doesn't explode but it does make the area cold." I point my hand and cast [Ice Storm]. Great magical hailstones pound down onto the floor and walls of that area of the room. It doesn't leave that much damage but it's cold enough for breaths to be seen. Oh, I forgot.
"Uh, I forgot I didn't prepare an attack spell for 5th circle." "Okay. What do you have then?"
"Well, it is called [Wall of Force] and it makes an invisible and largely invincible wall. I can make it cover 21 ten squares of area. I can also make it permanent." There were no sounds from the people in the window but I could see them furiously scribbling something down or using their hands on the boxes.
"We'll come back to that later, let's move on to the next one you have ready. It is a 6th circle spell yes?" "Yeah, and it's good for defeating a lot of people really quickly." I point my hand at the wall and cast [Chain Lighting]. A bright blue spark of electricity shoots out of my finger and starts dancing all over the walls of the room, leaving visible scorch marks and places where the metal was fully melting in decreasing frequency.
"All of these are lethal yes?" "Yeah, I would need to figure out how to not make them lethal." I nervously chuckle "I'm used to fighting to the death back home. Fights rarely ended when someone was knocked out and villains didn't fight to knock out either." The room was quiet for a little while they processed that.
"…How old are you?" "Oh I'm 20 summers old, give or take a couple months." It got quiet again before she cleared her throat. "We are going to have to talk about that later but let's just finish the rest of them for now."
"Next is something that doesn't really have a big explosion or anything." I cast [Mage's Sword]. It brings into being a shimmering, sword-like plane of force at my right side. I direct it to attack the wall. its blade leaves deep slashes on the wall with little resistance. After the 3rd swing, I dismissed it.
"You can make constructs? How long do they last?" "Depends on what I'm casting, I could probably research and create spells that do things similar to the sword." This cause a bit of a stir.
"You can create new spells for you to use? Is there a limit or material requirements?" "Yes, to the first question and no/yes to the other question. It would be easier to explain later." She nods before motioning me to continue. Damn it!
I groan " I forgot to have a spell prepared that doesn't erase the wall for 8th circle spells!" she chuckles "its fine. How many more circles do you have left?"
"The last one is a 9th circle spell…. It also explodes. It explodes a lot. It also might kill everyone in the room." She sighs "Don't cast it here. We can do the rest somewhere else. Is that your last attack spell?" it is but I remember the other 9th circle spell.
"It is but remember that I wanted to show you and Mr. Myrddin this one! Its one of the other ones we talked about at breakfast." Mr. Mryddin thought for a moment before Ms. Alexandria spoke up.
"I need everyone to leave the room." Without a word, everyone leaves leaving her in the room that everyone was in alone. You could hear a pin drop.
"Please explain in detail how resurrection works, leave nothing out." She was a lot more serious than earlier. Were resurrections not common here?
"So since resurrections are not common or a thing here I will explain. The series of spells resurrect the target in various states. The one usually used is called [Raise Dead]. It can bring life back to someone within, for me as of now 21 days of death. It also needs the body at least somewhat intact and a large diamond or a couple of smaller diamonds." I pause here. She asks a question.
"Does the quality of the diamond matter or the type?" "The quality of the diamond matters more than the type but I prefer the clear kind. The person resurrected would need to be tended to afterwards and I would need a cast another spell on him to get rid of the strain of the body. I do have the spell prepared before you ask."
I clear my throat "The next stronger version is called, well, [Resurrection]. This one doesn't need an intact body and it doesn't have to be as soon as 21 days for me. The farthest it can go back is 210 years old. It still does the strain as before but the person is healthy when they are resurrected. It also requires about a palm-sized diamond or more than a few smaller ones." "How much of a body would you say you need for it to work." I think for a moment.
"I would say I need like 40% of the body minimum. Even then I would cast [Regenerate] on it to be safe." She nods her head, scribbling everything down in a journal of some kind.
"The strongest version, the one I have prepared, is called [True Resurrection]. This does not require a body at all. All I would need is something that relates to only him in some fashion. When and how they died, their full name, things of that nature. I would absolutely need a diamond the size of a fist or more than a dozen of smaller palm-sized ones. I would also need holy water but I have a few vials on hand so I would just need the diamonds." "If I find some diamonds, would you be willing to cast the strongest one for someone?"
"Do you not have diamonds in this building? Is this place poor?" she frowns.
I loudly sigh before reaching to my {Bag of Holding} "You are lucky I have some on me at all times. Give me a second to reach for it." It takes me about a minute before I grab the bag of diamonds I have for emergencies. A quick count reveals I barely have enough for it.
I shake the bag at her "I would like a reimbursement eventually for these. They were a pain in the ass to constantly get when the local churches started buying gem mines to keep them with the faiths."
I look around the partially destroyed room, the side I am on isn't touched so I'll just do it here.
"I am going to cast it. It takes 10 minutes and I will need to not be disturbed or else it will fail." She nods resolutely. "Nothing will disturb you. The person I need you to resurrect is called Hero."
"Hero? No other name?" "Do you need his real name"
"Not really, this Hero is famous for his name right?" "Yes."
"That will do." I pull out the diamonds arrange them in an oval and sprinkle the holy water along them. The diamonds start to pulsate softly with golden sigils all over them. This is it.
I begin weaving the words of faith coming from the diamonds and shift them to arcane sigils. Since I don't have the divine powers fueling the spell, I would need to adjust it. The diamonds start to float and spin slowly. For the next 10 minutes, I weaved them to the correct arcane sigils to have them function as the faith aspect. In the end, I will Hero back into the mortal plane!
There was a flash of light and a thunderous boom that shook the building. Everything rattled for a moment before it suddenly stopped. The light dissipated and I saw him where the diamonds were. He was blonde and of fair complexion. He was about average height and had definitive muscle on him.
He was also damn naked. Why was he naked? I quickly pull out a spare blue blanket I had in my bag and sorta cover him with it. Almost immediately Ms. Alexandria comes from the bigger doors along with Mr. Mryddin. They both stare gob smacked at the man on the floor. There was tears in Mr. Myrddin's eyes forming and Ms. Alexandria as well.
The one called Hero stirs in his sleep before sitting up and opening his eyes looking at us.
"What did I miss?"