Magic: Sphere of Shadow
Magic: Sphere of Shadow

The Sphere of Shadow deals with spells to cloak and to hide, but it taps into something less easily defined as well -- a little bit of Spirit, a little bit of Illusion, and even a little bit of Scrying: the Sphere generally considered to be the opposite of this one.

Cantrips

  • Imaginary Friend
    This cantrip is sometimes used by young apprentices, since it requires a certain "play-acting" mindset to maintain. It basically summons up a very weak form of shadow elemental that is easily dispelled not merely with magic but simply by disbelief. While it may seem to be sapient, it draws any traces of personality from that of the caster.

  • Suppress Sense
    This spell suppresses any one sense of anyone that is within a small area of effect (generally only big enough to affect one person, unless the targets are standing really close together). This has no effect on anyone outside the area of effect -- if smell is suppressed inside the area of effect, it may smell just fine in there, but it will still stink outside, regardless of where the source of the smell is. Since this affects senses rather than physical elements (light, vibrations of the air, etc.), anyone in the area of effect may have a chance to resist the effect, especially if he or she has Magical Resistance.

    There are varied possible effects, depending upon which senses are suppressed.

  • Black Light: This selectively suppresses sensation of light of different wavelengths, leaving only ultraviolet light in the immediate area for a minute or so. This has the effect of a "black light", but it does not work unless there is already some light source that this spell can "filter" from. It cannot create light.
  • Freshen: By suppressing smell in the area of effect, disagreeable odors can be suppressed but not eliminated. It also dulls agreeable ones as well, and food will tend to taste odd in the area of effect.
  • Numb: This lessens the sensation of touch in the area of effect, but not entirely. This leads to a freaky sensation, but pain is still felt (albiet buffered slightly). Great for freaking out animals.
  • Quiet: The recipient has the effect of wearing earplugs, and sounds made within the area of effect are slightly muffled. The effect is not total, as the recipient can still hear, but things are much more quiet. Useful for providing some relief against loud noises. Not useful for stealth, since those outside can still hear any noises made inside the area of effect just fine.
  • Shadow: Light is dimmed in the area of effect, but not darkened entirely (unless lighting is poor to begin with). Useful to gain some relief from bright sunlight, but not for stealth, since those outside the area of effect can see just fine.
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  • Obfuscate
    People tend to ignore the caster of this spell, unless they have cause to focus on him -- such as if he takes hostile action, or if the observers are guards that the obfuscated mage is trying to get past.

  • Shadow Play
    The caster can shape shadows by means of this spell. One application would be to make a more impressive show when making "shadow puppets" cast on a wall.

  • Shadow Write
    The caster can "write" on a surface, leaving a darkened area on the surface. This only works when there is a source of light, so it can be "erased" by nightfall or by covering up the area to block out light. It is also easily dispelled by all manner of magical means, and will fade out regardless after a while (no longer than a day or so under normal conditions).
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    Minor Spells

  • Blend
    The caster is able to blend into shadows, becoming hard to detect in already dark areas. This applies even to night-vision and heat-vision.

  • Blind
    This spell will temporarily rob the victim of one sense -- sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch, or magic sense. At the discretion of the caster, it can remove some sub-set of that sense, or merely dull it (for example, to rob an Eeee of its ability to echo-locate, but not to deafen it entirely).

    This effect only lasts for about fifteen minutes or so, and can be voluntarily dispelled by the caster at any time. Although this does no physical damage to the victim, healing spells of the Sphere of Life pertaining to healing various senses will work against this temporary enchantment.

  • Blot
    This creates an area of effect of varying size -- up to the size of a small room, or just affecting a single person -- in which a particular sensory medium is suppressed or negated: light, sound, scent, taste, touch, or magic sense.

    It may be "filtered" in the same way as Suppress Sense, creating such effects as "black light", and it may be used to either dim light or other senses, or blot it out entirely. It should be noted that this does not suppress the mere sensation of such things, but it actually stops light and such from travelling outside the area of effect. Therefore, if an area of darkness is created, those inside will be able to see nothing, and anyone outside will see a black roughly spherical area describing the area of effect. If an area of silence is created, those inside cannot hear, and any sounds made won't be heard outside the area of effect.

    If "magic sense" is the thing being darkened, what this means is that persons able to sense the presence of active magic will not be able to use that sense while in the area of effect ... and any magical activity inside the sphere (or the magical activity of the sphere itself) won't be sensed by those outside. There are limits to what this spell can suppress. It would take a casting of ritual-level power to try to suppress the sound or flash of an explosion, for instance. It can be cancelled out by light, sound, etc., of magical origin.

  • Ink
    The caster can "paint" something black (or darker shades), much like with Shadow Write, but the effect is more durable, lasting about a day.

  • Softstep
    This specialized spell suppresses sounds caused by walking and bumping around caused by the caster or a recipient, and also suppresses sounds of normal breathing, etc. It does not, however, deafen the recipient, nor does it prevent the recipient from intentionally making noises or speaking when desired.
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    Rituals

  • Conceal
    This ritual can make something invisible, but it works best if the subject remains stationary, and is not particularly large. On the upper end of things, it can conceivably be used to hide an airship, but only if the airship is specially constructed in ways to facilitate the use of this spell. It could even be used to hide a castle or somesuch, but this would be a major ritual taking many days, requiring many assistants, and involving much expense.

    The ideal situation is to hide an object or creature, making that object or creature in effect invisible to just about any sense. Upon casting of the spell, the caster needs to "fine-tune" the spell to the environment, and it works best if the caster actually has the senses that he or she is trying to hide from. If not, the "invisibility" to those senses will be less than perfect, and won't hold up to scrutiny. Moving of the object, close examination of it or changes to its surroundings may reveal "flaws" in the invisibility. For example, if something pungent is brought near by, after it is taken away, the smell may linger for too long ... or if someone examines the area where the object is hidden, there may be a "fringe" or distortion effect that limns the object. Actually moving the object requires that the mage be present to "fine-tune" the invisibility again, or it will look as if a chunk of the previous location has been moved to the new position.

    If used for "personal invisibility", this generally works best if it's used for the caster himself, who can alter the illusion as he moves to a new location or new position. Every moment spent "fine-tuning", however, will trigger the senses of anyone who is able to detect active magic.

  • Curse of Blindness
    This spell acts as the Blind spell, able to "blind" any one sense: sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, or magic sense. It can be used to instead merely "dim" the effect, or affect a certain sub-set of that sense. (For example, it could be used to rob an Eeee of the ability to echo-locate, or a bloodhound Gallee to track by scent. For a more bizarre effect, it could curse the victim to only see in black and white, or to see everything as if illuminated by a black light.)

    The spell can be dispelled by the caster at any time, and since it is linked to the caster's will, the death of the caster will dispel the effect as well. (Alternatively, the caster can "free" this spell, making it linger even if the caster is killed, but the caster will no longer be able to voluntarily dispel it.)

    This spell has an extended duration, and is magical in nature, not doing any physical damage to the victim. (This does not prevent damage the victim might do to himself in the meantime, though, due to lack of the given sense: staring blindly at the sun, sticking one's hand into boiling water, etc.) This spell can be dispelled by various means, including healing spells of the Sphere of Life that would normally be used for treating physical loss of the appropriate sense. The difficulty of dispelling such effects is tied to the ability of the spellcaster and the power and time put into the casting of the curse.

  • Nightfall
    This major ritual takes about four hours to cast. It causes darkness to fall upon an area approximately a mile in diameter for about a day.

  • Shadow Elemental
    This conjures up an "elemental" of shadow that is able to go out and spy for the caster, then come back and relay its observations to the caster. The shadow cannot exist in areas of intense light or complete darkness for extended periods of time -- it will be "suffocated". Also, it is easily held at bay by magical wards against scrying or illusions, and there are even non-magical wards that can hold it off -- such as walls of thistlebark, and other means of holding off "spirits". The "spy" can also act as a sentinel against scrying, able to home in on and "battle" with other "spirits" (manifestations of spells).

    This spell can also be used to just conjure up "shadow elementals" for purposes of amusement, without actually assigning them a role. It should be noted that Shadow Elementals are among the weakest (if not the weakest) of elementals, and are fairly easily dispelled.

    It should be noted that the "elemental" is not alive, nor is it sapient. However, it may seem to exhibit traces of personality, drawing upon that of the caster.

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