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When Mystrl reincarnated herself -- this time as Mystra -- she used the form of a beautiful peasant girl learning the basics of cantra magic but with the capacities for archwizadry. Her first piority was to recreate the weave of magic. This time she made magic follow a few more rules, and no spell above 10th level would function.

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First, Mystra (Mystrl's replacement) changes the Weave banning arcanists from accessing 11th and 12th level magic

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Originally posted by Slaygrim

Very interesting discovery Caedwyr. Have new rules and guidelines been redrawn, or are 10th level spells still possible? Or are those 10th level spells now considered "Epic Spells"?

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The Srinshee's Spellshift
(Abjuration, Alteration, Divination)
Level: 10
Range: 100 yards + 10 yards/level
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 round
Duration: 1 round/level
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None

At the least, this spell cloaks the caster (or a target creature) in an immobile, faintly shimmering magical 10'-radius sphere. This sphere prevents all spells from entering its boundaries to affect those within, though spells can be cast from inside with no effects on the sphere or cast spells. If the spell is focused on its caster, the spellshift's full capabilities are discovered, as the caster now views the Weave in all its glory, using the sphere as the lens through which it is viewed. With this sight and the magic active to a wide range, the caster can reach out and manipulate the Weave for various effects on active spells.

With the expansion of senses through the spellshift, the caster can visualize an opponent's forming spells and targeted area of effect by observing the manipulations in the Weave around them. The caster can now manipulate the Weave a bit to either focus or blur it around one target per round, causing wild and dead magic zones. If the spellshift - protected caster has initiative, he can forfeit his normal spellcasting or other actions to reach out and affect an opponent's forming spell (or a pre-existing spell), changing its effects without the knowledge of its caster. The rules for and primary effects of such maneuvers are below:

- Aid: Any spell forming or existing within range can be boosted for a round, increasing its range, damage, or area of effect by double its normal effects. Thus, a comrade's fireball could be spellshifted to explode with a 40'-radius or its damage could be boosted to double the caster's level in six-sided dice! This effect can be used only on wizards' spells, so it cannot double the amount of healing gained from a priest's cure light wounds spell.

- Cancel: The spellshifted wizard can snuff one forming spell within the Weave before it is fully formed, so none of its effects ever manifest. The casting wizard of the cancelled spell, unless aware of the actions of the spellshifted character, would merely believe that the spell failed or was improperly cast.

- Deaden: The spellshifted caster can place a 5'-radius globe of dead magic around one target creature or areas within range for the remainder of the current round. All magic and all magical items within that area are canceled. This allows characters a way to pierce magical fields or penetrate the defenses of a previously invulnerable foe.

- Manipulate: The spellshifted wizard can reach out using this new spellsight to reshape a concurrently forming spell, changing either its range or area of effect. In other words, someone using spellsight can take the time to manipulate the targeting of another's mage's fireball and have it explode atop its own caster with normal areas of effect. The spellshifting mage cannot move the spell effects beyond the range of the spell as cast by the opposing mage. Alternatively, he could allow it to travel to the caster's intended target but minimize its area of effect by up to 75% (reducing a normal 40'-radius fireball's explosion to a 5'-radius explosion at the target).

- Wild: The spellshifted wizard can focus and tighten the Weave in a 10'-radius globe around a target creature or area to create a wild-magic zone. All magic cast within that target area must check against wild-magic surges to ensure that it is cast without complications. If wild-magic rules are unavailable, the simplest effect is to have the caster within the wild magic target zone take shock damage (shock from agitated magic during the casting) equal in hit points to twice the level of the cast spell. Any magical items worn within this area will also spark, dealing an additional and unavoidable hit point of damage each. The wild magic endures only until the end of the current round.

Only one of the above options can be used each round, or all can be ignored in favor of standard spellcasting. Given the spell's range, it could be cast at a far-away comrade, whether that person was a spellcaster or not. In cases like this, when the caster of the spell is not the focus of the spell (as was common), the spellshift only provided the protection as noted above. The target of the spellshift gained no insights or control over incoming magics, even if the target is a wizard of proper levels. For all intents and purposes, the spell becomes solely a protective globe of invulnerability.

The spellshift is unknown as the 10th-level spell as noted above, except within the Srinshee's own personal and long-hidden spellbooks; of all her apprentices and students, only Aravae Irithyl, Mythanthor, and Elminster Aumar learned this powerful magic. However, she and Elminster Aumar created a 9th-level variant of the spell with the same name, which is now among the rarest of spells on Faerun today. The differences between the 9thlevel version and the 10th-level form detailed above are these:

- The range drops to 25 yards + 10 yards per level.

- The duration is reduced to 4 rounds plus 1 round per every 5 levels of the caster.

- The sphere prevents only spells of up to 7th level from penetrating and affecting those within it; 8th and 9th-level spells now can pierce the spellshift.

- Now, the Manipulate effect is all that remains of the spellsight ability. As long as the caster of the spell to be affected is within 50 yards, one spell per round can be manipulated so the spellís target is of the spellshift caster's choice. Also, the caster can only manipulate and change the course of spells equal to his level in spell levels (i.e., a 19th-level wizard can spellshift two meteor swarms and a magic missile spell to targets of his choosing). Once the maximum is reached, the spellshift burns out and dissolves, no matter what the duration is.

In fact, many learned scholars who have heard of this incredibly rare and ancient spell postulate that this spell was one of the primary precursors for the globe of invulnerability spells that are now quite common. Others argue that ancient mantles paved the way to those spells, and they don't believe this spell ever existed in it 10th-level form. As in most things cloaked in the past's mysteries, truth depends entirely on one's point of view.

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[Mystra] did this by altering their enchantments to make them both inoperative and incomprehensible to the Netherese alive at the time (in other words, all of the recorded incantation could no longer "take hold of the Weave" at all, and hence the spells simply would not work). Mystra also altered a few of the symbols and glyphs of these incantations to make the injurious to the minds of beings attempting to memorize them or read and tinker with them.

History incorrectly records this as changing humans to make the use of such magic beyond their grasp, or changing the nature of magic to make spells of greater than 9th level unintelligible to humans, because that is what the goddess wanted mortals to believe (to keep strivings after such forbidden spells to a minimum, and the waste of spellcasters' lives and efforts small).

It is possible, in the Realms of today, to research True Dweomers adn even new 9th level spells to achieve specific, severely limited ends that resemble parts of what a 10th level spell could achieve. It is also possible for mortal spellcasters alive today to use any written 10th level magic they may find, with the following warnings:

- Attempts to cast such magic will always fail the first time.
- All castings will be failures if the caster has less than 18 Intelligence and 16 Wisdom, and is of less than 20th level.
- All castings result in unintended wild magic results if the caster does not have the assistance of a second spell caster (of at least 18th level and 18 Intelligence) who uses another spell or spells to link his or her will, mind, and life energy to the principal caster, as an "anchor." Minor (or deliberate) discord among casters prevents the effective use of a third or additional spellcasters joining the anchor to make the spell more likely to take precise effect.
- All casting attempts are very likely (85% chance) to result in a loss of one experience level on the part of all casters involved, and will always cause the loss of 2d6 hit points and 1d4 other memorized spells (if any) from each of them.
- All casting attempts attract the attention of both Mystra and Azuth. If they deem the casting to be for purely personal ends, or to have the death or destruction of a rival mage or magical items as their primary goal, or to be in support of any tyranny or oppressive authority (in other words, to work against the free and individualistic ongoing development of magic use across Faerun), they will cause the end result to be feeblemindedness of all the casters involved and the instant disappearance of the written spell.

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Originally posted by Caedwyr
It is possible, in the Realms of today, to research True Dweomers adn even new 9th level spells to achieve specific, severely limited ends that resemble parts of what a 10th level spell could achieve. It is also possible for mortal spellcasters alive today to use any written 10th level magic they may find, with the following warnings:

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Originally posted by Caedwyr
- All casting attempts attract the attention of both Mystra and Azuth. If they deem the casting to be for purely personal ends, or to have the death or destruction of a rival mage or magical items as their primary goal, or to be in support of any tyranny or oppressive authority (in other words, to work against the free and individualistic ongoing development of magic use across Faerun), they will cause the end result to be feeblemindedness of all the casters involved and the instant disappearance of the written spell.

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