Upon converting my artsy type cleric to Pathfinder I thought it would be neat to give him a personal spell. One that he could have researched in the downtime.
I based the spell on Wall of Stone and worked my way up from there.
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Wall of Statues
School: conjuration (creation)
Level: 7
Casting time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, DF
Range: Medium
Effect: A row of animated statues 5 ft per level long [S]
Duration: 24 hours or 1 rd/level
Saving throw: Will negates, see text Spell Resistance: no
Upon casting this spell a line of humanoid statues grow from the ground. They appear to be made from whatever material the ground consists of and have the same hardness. However the hardness can never be higher than 10. The given area is for medium sized statues. Using small or large statues doubles or halves the length respectively.
For up to 24 hours after casting, the wall can be commanded to animate. After the animation effect is over or 24 hours have passed the statues become inert or crumble to dust (caster's choice).
There are two options for the animation.
First the statues can be commanded to grapple any creature within reach (5ft for small and medium statues, 10 ft for large ones). The statues' CMB is equal to caster level + wisdom modifier and its CMD is equal to CMB + 10. Small statues have a -1 penalty to CMB and large statues have a +1 bonus to CMB.
If the grapple is successful the statues can either deal damage (1d6+Wis for medium, 1d4+Wis for small, 1d8+Wis for large statues) or move the creature along the wall in any direction (even up) as far as reach allows (similar to the drag maneuver). The wall does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Every 5-ft section of the wall can grapple one creature and it does so the moment a creature enters its reach. Thus running along the wall provokes an attack from every 5-ft section passed.
The statues stand close together, sometimes even fused at the legs or hips. To squeeze through the wall, a medium creature must succeed on an escape artist check with a DC of 25. The DC is 30 for small statues and 20 for large statues. If the wall is active, it grapples any creature attempting to squeeze through.
This effect lasts for 1 round per caster level.
Each 5-ft section of the wall has 50 hitpoints and a break DC of 26 (+10 hp and +4 break DC for large statues, -10 hp and -4 break DC for small statues).
The second option is a hypnotic dance. Creatures that see the statues move, must make a will save or be fascinated for as long as the effect lasts. The effect is similar to a hypnotic pattern except there is no HD limit. The DC of the effect is increased by 2 if the caster has 10 or more ranks in Perform(dance) or an appropriate craft skill (such as carpentry, stone masonry, etc...)
The statues can be shaped like the caster pleases, even depicting specific individuals. A craft check is necessary for any high quality work however.
If the caster only wishes to use the hypnotic dance effect he can also make a solid wall with the statues depicted as drawings or reliefs. This prevents creatures from squeezing through the wall.
I like it! It's very cool. Not too overpowered at first blush (especially for a 7th level spell).
For the hypnotic dance part (which I think is great), I would note that it is a mind-effecting effect; also, can this effect be used in combat?
do those affected get a bonus on saves if they are already in combat? How long does it last (1 round/level is my assumption, since it is part of the "animate statues" effect).
Thank you. I am glad you like it.
You can use the hypnotic dance similar to hypnotic pattern. I don't know how exactly that is used in combat, but I'd assume that you can fascinate attackers and they will keep calm as long as you do not attack them.
And yes, duration is 1 round per level. I forgot to add duration for the hypnotic effect.
I like the flavor so much. I wish you would not limit the size of the statues, a 7th level spell should be able to animate stuff that can be bigger than large.
Perhaps specify how many 5 ft. of length each statue occupies. Each medium statue occupies a 5 ft. square, large occupies two 5 ft. squares, huge occupies three 5 ft. squares, gargantuan occupies four 5 ft. squares, and colossal occupies six 5 ft. squares, etc. (all touching, but not necessarily consecutive: E.g. not just a straight line 5 ft thick) I used the Creature size table, spacing specifically.
This allows the wall to be shaped vertically as much as it does horizontally, and also allows the caster to make the wall thicker by using larger statues, since the wall does not have to be exactly 5 ft. thick only.
I would also state that there would have to be a minimum amount of statues created by the spell, so it is an actual wall.
Since it is homebrew nobody stops you from homebrewing it some more ^^
But I had reasons to limit the spell like this.
Once is simplicity. As it is you only need to double or half the sections and add/subtract a few numbers here and there (for some the spell is rather complex already).
If you allow even bigger sizes you'd need to cover the increasing reach, where each statues stands, the sections that are allowed to grapple and so on.
Then there is the problem with the exponential increase in volume/mass. A large creature may be twice as high as a medium creature but it has 8 times the volume (since it doubles in all 3 dimensions). I neglected this and limited the spell to small/medium/large.
As worded as it is now the wall has the advantage that each 5-ft section can grapple regardless of size. Imagine the statues more as a wriggling mass of arms and legs protruding from a wall-like structure, rather than actual statues standing neatly next to each other on each 5ft square (you can fit 4 humans onto a 5ft square with a bit of squeezing. The spacing for creatures is based on creatures in combat swinging their weapons and evading attacks).
Also the spell "Animate Objects" shows that in Pathfinder size increases are usually handled by doubling. Meaning increase from large to huge would cost at least 4 sections, Gargantuan would cost at least 8 sections.
Lastly the spell descriptor [S] indicates a shapeable area spell. Meaning the wall was always intended to be shaped as the caster pleases. You can make a ring of statues to trap people or make them grow on the ceiling to grab people running below.
Updated the description of the spell with some clarifications.
Wall of Statues
School: conjuration (creation) and illusion (pattern) [mind-affecting]
Level: 7
Casting time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S, DF
Range: Medium
Effect: A row of animated statues 5 ft per level long (S)
Duration: 24 hours or 1 rd/level
Saving throw: Will negates, see text Spell Resistance: no
Upon casting this spell a line of humanoid statues grow from the ground (or any other solid surface). They appear to be made from whatever material the ground consists of and have the same hardness. However the hardness can never be higher than 10. The given area is for medium sized statues. Using small or large statues doubles or halves the length respectively (the wall is always 5-ft thick though).
For up to 24 hours after casting, the wall can be commanded to animate. After the animation effect is over or 24 hours have passed the statues become inert or crumble to dust (caster's choice). Activating the wall is a swift action.
There are two options for the animation.
First the statues can be commanded to grapple any creature within reach (5ft for small and medium statues, 10 ft for large ones). The statues' CMB is equal to caster level + wisdom modifier and its CMD is equal to CMB + 10. Small statues have a -1 penalty to CMB and large statues have a +1 bonus to CMB.
If the grapple is successful the statues can either deal damage (1d6+Wis for medium, 1d4+Wis for small, 1d8+Wis for large statues) or move the creature along the wall in any direction (even up) as far as their reach allows (similar to the drag maneuver). The wall does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Every 5-ft section of the wall can grapple one creature and it does so the moment a creature enters its reach. Thus running along the wall provokes an attack from every 5-ft section passed.
The statues stand very close together, even fused at the legs and/or hips. To squeeze through the wall, a medium creature must succeed on an escape artist check with a DC of 25. The DC is 30 for small statues and 20 for large statues. If the wall is active, it grapples any creature attempting to squeeze through.
This effect lasts for 1 round per caster level.
Each 5-ft section of the wall has 50 hitpoints and a break DC of 26 (+10 hp and +4 break DC for large statues, -10 hp and -4 break DC for small statues).
The second option is a hypnotic dance. Creatures that see the statues move, must make a will save or be fascinated for as long as the effect lasts. The effect is similar to a hypnotic pattern except there is no HD limit. The DC of the effect is increased by 2 if the caster has 10 or more ranks in Perform(dance) or an appropriate craft skill (such as carpentry, stone masonry, etc...)
This effect lasts for 1 round per caster level.
The statues can be shaped like the caster pleases, even depicting specific individuals. A craft check is necessary for any high quality work however.
If the caster only wishes to use the hypnotic dance effect he can also make a solid wall with the statues depicted as drawings or reliefs. This prevents creatures from squeezing through the wall.