Sphere of Ultimate Destruction
Name
Sphere of Ultimate Destruction
Type of Magic
Mage
Spell Level
9th
School
Conjuration and Summoning (House Gaius), Dimensions
Sphere
Reversible?
No
Range
15 ft./level
Components
Material, Somatic, Verbal
The material component of this spell is a dark crystal ball that has been on the Ethereal Plane and that can be comfortably held in two hands.
Duration
1 round/level
Casting Time
9
Area of Effect
Creates a sphere
Saving Throw
Special
Effects
This awful spell brings into existence a short‑lived sphere of annihilation (as described in Appendix 3 of the DMG). The sphere is a black ball of nothingness about 2 feet in diameter that instantly and utterly destroys any matter that comes into contact with it. The sphere appears anywhere in the spell’s range and moves up to 15 feet per round as the wizard directs. If the wizard attempts to bring the sphere into contact with a living creature, the potential victim gains a saving throw vs. breath weapon to dodge aside, but a victim who is unaware of the sphere’sappearance or unable to move is destroyed without a saving throw.
Once conjured, the sphere of ultimate destruction may not move exactly as the caster wishes. The wizard has a 75% chance to control it, plus 1% per point of Intelligence over 12 and 3% for each point over 15. In other words, a wizard with an Intelligence of 18 would gain a +12% bonus to his chance to control the sphere. If the wizard fails to control the sphere in any given round, it automatically moves directly towards him at its maximum speed of 15 feet per round. Unlike the magical item, another wizard may not contest the caster’s control of a sphere of ultimate destruction unless the second wizard possesses a talisman of the sphere. (See the DMG.)
Should a gate spell be cast upon the sphere, there is a 50% chance that the sphere is destroyed, a 35% chance that nothing happens, and a 15% chance that a gap is torn in the spatial fabric, catapulting everything in a 180‑foot radius to another plane of existence. If the sphere is touched by a rod of cancellation, a tremendous explosion inflicts 3d4 x 10 points of damage to everything within 60 feet as the two forces negate each other. No other spell or magical item has any effect on a sphere of ultimate destruction.
There is a 5% chance that any particular manifestation of this spell does not cause a victim’s utter destruction but instead transports him to a random plane of existence. The conjuring wizard has no way of knowing whether he has destroyed his enemy or merely blasted him into some remote dimension.
As noted in the previous chapter, several new spell characteristics appear in the spell descriptions of this book. These include casting subtlety, sensory signature, critical strikes, and knockdown. Refer to page 136 for more information about these new characteristics.
