Search This Blog

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

B/X style Magic Spell rules, https://epicsavingthrow.com/b-x-spell-rules-summaries/

 https://epicsavingthrow.com/b-x-spell-rules-summaries/

Very helpful to remember old B/X rules. 

Maybe this too: https://vanishingtower.blogspot.com/2017/03/bx-spellcasting-by-book.html

  • Haste doesn't affect spells or wands.
  • Slow doesn't affect spells or wands.
  • Lightning Bolt: A bright 5-foot-wide, 60-foot-long blast of electrical energy, heat, and thunder burst from a point up to 180 feet away from you. Anyone caught on this path suffers 1d6 damage per your caster level, or half that damage if successful on a saving throw versus spells. If the lightning bolt strikes a solid surface before reaching its 60-foot length, it will extend back toward the caster until it reaches its full length.
  • Mirror Image: You become surrounded by 1d4 illusionary duplicates of yourself. Any attack targeting you will instead target a duplicate, which then instantly vanishes regardless of the attacker’s “to hit” roll. All remaining mirror images of yourself vanish after one hour.
  • Phantasmal Force: A moving illusionary vision covers a 20-foot cube (20x20x20) at a point up to 240 feet away. If anything touches the illusion (Armor Class 9), the spell is broken and the vision disappears. If the illusion appears to attack someone or create a damaging hazard (fire, a collapsing wall), targets may make a saving throw versus spells to disbelieve the illusion. This spell never inflicts any real damage; targets that fail the save will believe they have been hurt and become unconscious at “zero hit points,” or suffer some other appropriate consequence (paralyzed if “turned to stone”). Fooled targets remain affected for 10 to 40 minutes (1d4 x 10). The illusion persists as long as the caster concentrates, remains in position, and is not targeted by an attack; otherwise, it disappears and does not return.
  • Raise Dead/Finger of Death: --When reversed, this spell forces one target within 120 feet to succeed at a saving throw versus death ray or immediately die. 
  • Read Magic: For 10 minutes, you know how to read one magic-user spell scroll and understand how to cast it at any point in the future. This spell may also be used to learn spells from the spellbook of another magic-user.
  • Shield: For 20 minutes, a magical barrier gives you an Armor Class of AC 2 against missiles and AC 4 against other attacks.
  • Silence 15-Foot Radius: A point within 180 feet becomes the center of a 15-foot-radius area inside which no sound can be made for two hours. Noises from outside this area can still be heard from within the spell’s radius. If this spell is cast directly at a creature, the target must make a saving throw versus spell or become the center point of the silence zone for the duration, even if moving away. If the targeted creature makes the saving throw, the spell immediately takes effect in the surrounding area instead.
  • Sleep: Within 240 feet, up to 2d8 Hit Dice/levels of targets with each 4 Hit Dice or less fall unconscious. (Ignore pluses on Hit Dice; treat “2d8+2” as two Hit Dice). This spell can instead target one creature of 4d#+1 Hit Dice. For mixed groups, lower hit die/level targets are affected before higher hit die/level targets. Any targets with more than 4d#+1 Hit Dice (or of 5th level or higher), along with all undead creatures, are immune to this spell. Any sleeping creature may be awakened by force (such as a slap). A sleeping creature may be killed (regardless of its hit points) with a single blow from any edged weapon.
  • Sticks to Snakes: You transform 2d8 sticks within 120 feet into snakes that obey your commands (Snakes: AC 6, HD 1, 4 hit points, MV 90 ft. (swim 30 ft.), one bite attack per turn for 1d4 damage, Save as Fighter Level 1, Morale 7, Alignment neutral). There is a 50% chance the transformed snakes will be venomous, forcing those bitten to make a saving throw versus poison or die. Each snake reverts into a stick after one hour or immediately when its hit points are reduced to 0.
  • Striking: (I recall from the arcade game) For 10 minutes, one normal weapon within 30 feet becomes enchanted to harm creatures only hit by magical weapons. The weapon also adds +1d6 extra damage to hits against any opponent, but the spell has no effect on an attacker’s “to hit” roll.


Other B/X type rules
  • 1 round = 10 seconds
  • B/X Moldvay/Cook says: Treasure, and this is in regards to the magic item known as Scrolls. Here a spell casting character can cast a spell without memorizing it and can also be of a spell level beyond their current ability. The magic-user/elf classes are restricted by needing to cast Read Magic on the scroll in order to understand it so that it may be used later.
  •  

No comments:

Post a Comment