Isakson's Temporal Fireball

(Alteration, Invocation/Evocation, Chronomancy) Level: 7th Range: Special Components: V, S, M Duration: Special Casting Time: 7 Area of Effect: 20--Foot radius Saving Throw: None Author: David Isakson This is just like the 3rd level fireball spell with one very important difference; the wizard can and must send it through time, either 1 round back or 2 rounds ahead. How ever if the latter is chosen the caster must be very careful in casting a fireball into the future. Friends or enemies, even the wizard himself if caught with in the area of effect of the fireball once it goes off, do not receive a saving throw for half damage. The same is true for the past but it requires less guesswork because the wizard already knows the out come of the last round. The reason that no saving throw is allowed is because the spell appears to fail and all persons concerned assume that is has failed; thus they don't try to dodge an incoming fireball. The wizard must specify at the time of casting if he/she is going forward or backward in time with the fireball. If it is backward damage is rolled immediately and applied to those caught with in the blast radius from the previous round. And all persons in the present immediately know what has happened. To all others except the caster it appears that a fireball appeared out of nowhere at the beginning of the previous round. If a person or creature dies from a temporal fireball in the past then any damage that he caused in the present never happened. All rolls and action for the present remain the same but obviously the actions and rolls for a deceased person are discarded. Any person who died in the present because of someone in the past are naturally alive and able to take action as if nothing happened to them (which of course nothing did). Only the wizard who cast the spell knows what truly happened. There is one danger that must be noted for both the wizard and the DM. If the wizard has a wild surge during the casting he/she must save vs. spells or the entire battle from the past round and the present round is caught in a time casualty loop. Success means that the DM rolls on table 2, failure means that the group fighting is doomed to repeat the combat sequence over and over for eternity unless it is ended by direct intervention of an external force such as a GOD or powerful wizard who casts a wish spell. The rest of the universe is unaffected by the loop. If the wizard chooses to go forward with the fireball he/she must specify weather it is to go 1 or 2 rounds into the future. This option is safer because the affects won't occur until the beginning of the round specified. All person or creatures within the area of effect take full damage and are totally taken by surprise and must make a system shock roll or die even if they still have hit points left. They also receive a +5 penalty to their initiative rolls and must check moral at a -4 penalty. Those with an intelligence of 12 or less automatically fail their moral and leave without making an initiative roll. Those unaffected by the fireball except the caster are surprised and receive a +2 penalty to their initiative rolls but don't check moral. The caster receives a -2 bonus to his initiative roll because he/she knew about the fireball before it happened. Thus, if the caster were forced into the area of effect prior to the

round he could move out of the area before the fireball went off. But if that is not possible he/she is entitled to a saving throw for 1/2 damage. The material components for this spell are a finely made miniature hourglass worth 500 GP filled with a dry mixture of sand, sulphur, and guano. Note to DM: The wizard must also specify the distance and direction of the fireball as well as the time frame. The range is the same as for the 3rd level fireball spell.