This week we are back in Gal Hadre, and taking a deeper dive into a specific path of magic. If you want a refresher on Dragon Magic as a whole, you can find that blog post Here. We are starting off with the Path of the Worldwind, because I think it is one of the better paths for easily illustrating the range that each path has. This path includes air, wind and electrical magic as well as time, fate, and divination. We will also look at one hybrid spell at the end to see how different paths can combine to create incredibly powerful effects, in this case a path of death hybrid. Now it is important to remember that different mages develop their own spells, so the ones that are being covered here are just some examples of the many things the path can do.
The first spell we will look at today is Zzap, a fast, contact based electrical damage spell. It has the added bonus that the target is likely to drop anything they are holding as they temporarily lose muscle control. It is basically the magical version of a cattle prod, and about as subtle. More complicated damage spells could affect targets at range, do more damage, bounce to other targets or hit an area. Possibly even some combination for difficult and powerful spells.
Second is Wind Guard, a spell that lasts for a minute rather than a brief moment. It creates a minor swirling of the air around the caster making ranged attacks against them more difficult as it can divert arrows, javelins or other missiles at the last moment. As a longer duration spell it can more easily be dispelled by other mages than Zzap or other immediate spells. More advanced versions of wind guard could increase the disruption around the caster making it even more unlikely for them to take damage, cover a larger area around the caster or even be cast on a different creature or location than the caster.
The next spell is slightly more complicated, Shifting Winds moves the caster up to 25 feet in any direction with a gust of wind. Of course it can’t move the caster through anything like walls or even a grate or the bars of a prison cell. But the utility of being able to avoid attackers or cross small obstacles can be incredibly useful. And like Zzap, it can be cast quickly and used effectively in combat. Upgraded versions of this type of spell could let the caster move objects or other people, travel farther or pull objects closer.
Now we get into the time/fate side of the path with Search the Winds of Time. Slightly longer to cast than the spells we have covered so far, it gives the caster the ability to adjust fate about something involving them in the very near future. Mechanically in an rpg, this means that they roll the standard check dice, so a d20 in D&D or pathfinder, and at some point in the next minute can replace rolling a check with that result; but this can be any check involving them so it could be the to hit roll of an enemy attack, or their dodge roll to avoid something. It can’t stack, if you cast the spell again you don’t get another dice roll, you replace the one you have set aside. Upgraded versions of this spell would likely either increase the time you could peer forward into the future or affect the fate of those around you, likely increasing either the casting time significantly or coming with considerable risk of miscasting.
Moving into tier 2 spells, we have Wings of Wind, which unsurprisingly give the caster or someone he touches as fly speed. While not the sudden burst of motion that shifting winds gives, it lasts for a minute instead of being one motion and allows more control than a direct point to point move has. Of course it comes with the considerable downside that if it was dispelled by another caster, or you lose track of time the spell can go away while you are in mid-air with all the negative consequences that implies. Even more advanced versions of this type of spell would likely increase the flying speed or duration of the spell.
The last spell we are going to look at is a tier 3 hybrid spell combining the path of the Worldwind and the Path of Death for Know the Last Moments. This spell takes a while to cast, so it isn’t really a combat spell, but that long casting time means that for a tier 3 spell it is very low risk to cast. And depending on the circumstances it can be a very powerful spell because it lets you see the last minute of a creature’s life. Of course you have to be touching the body, so you need a body to touch, but it has no time limit. If a body was preserved for some reason then in theory the spell could be cast a century after death. The mental consequences of casting this spell could be significant as many creatures experience significant trauma in their last moments. There aren’t many ways this spell could be upgraded, though it could show either more time or pull from more senses as this spell you only get what the creature saw, not what any other sense was picking up at the time.
Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the flexibility within a path of magic. I haven’t looked at other fairly obvious areas such as reducing/avoiding fall damage, using wind to pass messages or significant time manipulation. What do you think of the Path of the Worldwind? Are you interested in more articles on the other seven paths of dragon magic that can be found in Gal Hadre? What spell would you try to create in this path?
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