Index of Spells by Domain - Pain

Triggered rune wracks nearby creatures with pain.

This spell allows you to scribe a potent rune of power upon a surface. When triggered, a symbol of pain inflicts wracking pains that impose a 4 penalty on attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks one or more creatures within 60 feet of the symbol (treat as a burst). These effects last for 1 hour after the creature moves farther than 60 feet from the symbol. Once triggered, the symbol becomes active and glows, lasting for 10 minutes per caster level. Any creature that enters the area while the symbol of pain is active is subject to its effect, whether or not that creature was in the area when it was triggered. A creature need save against the symbol only once as long as it remains within the area, though if it leaves the area and returns while the symbol is still active, it must save again.

Until it is triggered, the symbol of pain is inactive (though visible and legible at a distance of 60 feet). To be effective, a symbol of pain must always be placed in plain sight and in a prominent location. Covering or hiding the rune renders the symbol of pain ineffective, unless a creature removes the covering, in which case the symbol of pain works normally.

As a default, a symbol of pain is triggered whenever a creature does one or more of the following, as you select: looks at the rune; reads the rune; touches the rune; passes over the rune; or passes through a portal bearing the rune. Regardless of the trigger method or methods chosen, a creature more than 60 feet from a symbol of pain cant trigger it (even if it meets one or more of the triggering conditions, such as reading the rune). Once the spell is cast, a symbol of pains triggering conditions cannot be changed.

In this case, reading the rune means any attempt to study it, identify it, or fathom its meaning. Throwing a cover over a symbol of pain to render it inoperative triggers it if the symbol reacts to touch. You cant use a symbol of pain offensively; for instance, a touch-triggered symbol of pain remains untriggered if an item bearing the symbol of pain is used to touch a creature. Likewise, a symbol of pain cannot be placed on a weapon and set to activate when the weapon strikes a foe.

You can also set special triggering limitations of your own. These can be as simple or elaborate as you desire. Special conditions for triggering a symbol of pain can be based on a creatures name, identity, or alignment, but otherwise must be based on observable actions or qualities. Intangibles such as level, class, Hit Dice, and hit points dont qualify.

When scribing a symbol of pain, you can specify a password or phrase that prevents a creature using it from triggering the effect. Anyone using the password remains immune to that particular runes effects so long as the creature remains within 60 feet of the rune. If the creature leaves the radius and returns later, it must use the password again.

You also can attune any number of creatures to the symbol of pain, but doing this can extend the casting time. Attuning one or two creatures takes negligible time, and attuning a small group (as many as ten creatures) extends the casting time to 1 hour. Attuning a large group (as many as twenty-five creatures) takes 24 hours. Attuning larger groups takes proportionately longer. Any creature attuned to a symbol of pain cannot trigger it and is immune to its effects, even if within its radius when triggered. You are automatically considered attuned to your own symbols of pain, and thus always ignore the effects and cannot inadvertently trigger them.

Read magic allows you to identify a symbol of pain with a DC 19 Spellcraft check. Of course, if the symbol of pain is set to be triggered by reading it, this will trigger the symbol.

A symbol of pain can be removed by a successful dispel magic targeted solely on the rune. An erase spell has no effect on a symbol of pain. Destruction of the surface where a symbol of pain is inscribed destroys the symbol but also triggers it.

Symbol of pain can be made permanent with a permanency spell. A permanent symbol of pain that is disabled or that has affected its maximum number of hit points becomes inactive for 10 minutes, then can be triggered again as normal.

Note: Magic traps such as symbol of pain are hard to detect and disable. A rogue (only) can use the Search skill to find a symbol of pain and Disable Device to thwart it. The DC in each case is 25 + spell level, or 30 for symbol of pain.