The Spellpool Guild

Available to any member of the Arcane Order who has taken a prestige class level of “Mage of the Arcane Order” and pays their monthly dues of 20gp, the Spellpool is a magical reservoir of spell energy that is bound into a special matrix in a guarded vault on a sublevel of Qehz Hole.

Using their guild focus, a Spellpool Guild member can call spells from this common resource as needed. A caster who has taken this prestige class is known as a Spellpool Guild member, or simply, a “guildmage.”

Calling a Spell

Calling a spell from the Spellpool can be done at any distance but requires the caster to have an open, unused spell slot of the appropriate level. Wizards preparing spells for the day decide at that time whether to leave some spell slots open. A spellcaster can call only for a spell of a level that he could normally cast. They can call a number of spells per day whose total levels are equal to or less than half their caster level (round down, minimum one).

Example: A 5th-level wizard/4th-level guildmage can call one 4th-level spell per day, two 2nd-level spells per day, or any other combination of spells whose levels do not exceed four, assuming they have slots available and their Spellpool debt is not too high.

When a caster calls a spell, they take a full-round action to concentrate on their focus (which provokes attacks of opportunity). The spell appears in the caster’s mind at the beginning of their next turn and can be used immediately. However, if they do not cast the called spell within a number of minutes equal to their caster level, it fades from their mind as though cast. A wizard cannot learn a called spell, despite its temporary presence in their consciousness, though of course they could later attempt to learn the spell through standard means.

Spell Availability

Three stages of access to the Spellpool exist. A member first joining the Spellpool Guild gains Spellpool I privileges, which grants access to spells of 1st to 3rd level. Spellpool II allows access to 4th- to 6th-level spells, and Spellpool III grants access to 7th- to 9th-level spells. No 0-level spells are available, but the Spellpool can provide any other spell on the wizard/sorcerer spell list in the Player’s Handbook.

Spellpool Debt

Every time a spellcaster calls a spell, they incur a debt. They must return an “energy packet” to the Spellpool a spell they have prepared of a level equal level to that of the called spell, or a number of spells whose combined levels equal the level of the called spell. For instance, the Spellpool debt for a 5th-level spell is five levels, which could be paid off with another 5th-level spell or any combination of spells whose levels total five.

Returning a spell is a full-round action, like calling a spell, and depletes a prepared spell slot as if the spell had been cast. The debt must be repaid within a number of days equal to the character’s class level; otherwise, the mage’s access to the Spellpool is automatically suspended. Once the debt is repaid, a suspended caster immediately regains access to the Spellpool—except that failure to pay off a debt within one year results in a spellcaster’s expulsion from the Order. A mage can’t run a “positive balance” with the Spellpool, paying off a debt before incurring it.

The Spellpool Guild is a group within The Arcane Order.

See also The Wayfarer's Union.