Hearthfire of Valenhall
AbjurationAbjurations are protective spells. They create physical or magical barriers, negate magical or physical abilities, harm trespassers, or even banish the subject of the spell to another plane of existence.
If one abjuration spell is active within 10 feet of another for 24 hours or more, the magical fields interfere with each other and create barely visible energy fluctuations. The DC to find such spells with the Perception skill drops by 4.
If an abjuration creates a barrier that keeps certain types of creatures at bay, that barrier cannot be used to push away those creatures. If you force the barrier against such a creature, you feel a discernible pressure against the barrier. If you continue to apply pressure, you end the spell.
Ritual Level 4
- Casting Time
- 4 hoursRituals take far longer than spells to perform — typically 10 minutes per ritual level, and sometimes hours or days. The ritual fails if its casting is interrupted.Spell rule: Casting Time ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Components
- V, S, F (a cold iron and silver lantern worth 5,000 gp), SC (up to 12)V (Verbal): Spoken incantations, often chanted by all participants throughout the casting.S (Somatic): Precise ritual gestures performed during the casting.F (Focus): A prop used but not consumed by the ritual — it can be reused.SC (Secondary Casters): Additional casters who aid the primary caster; the required count appears in the components line as "SC (…)".Spell rule: Components ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Range
- touchHow far the ritual's effect reaches from the primary caster, measured like a spell's range.Spell rule: Range ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Target
- one ship or vessel (up to one 10-ft. square/character level of the primary caster)How the ritual is aimed: a Target (specific creatures or objects), an Effect it creates, or an Area it covers. "Target or Area" means the ritual uses either, at the casters' choice.Spell rule: Aiming a Spell ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Duration
- 1 yearHow long the ritual's effect lasts once completed — from instantaneous to permanent. A trailing "(D)" means the primary caster can dismiss it.Spell rule: Duration ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Saving Throw
- noneIf the ritual allows a save, this lists which save and its effect. A ritual's save DC is usually fixed by the ritual rather than derived from a caster's ability.Spell rule: Saving Throw ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Spell Resistance
- yesWhether a creature's spell resistance can block the ritual's effect (Yes/No).Spell rule: Spell Resistance ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
Skill ChecksThe heart of a ritual: during the casting the primary caster (and sometimes assistants) must succeed at the listed skill checks. Each entry gives the skill, its DC, and how many successes are required. Failing a check can trigger the ritual's Failure entry.Casting Occult Rituals ↗
| Skill | DC | Successes |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge (arcana) Knowledge You are educated in a field of study and can answer both simple and complex questions. Like the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of different specialties. Below are listed typical fields of study. View on Archives of Nethys ↗- Arcana (ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols, constructs, dragons, magical beasts) - Dungeoneering (aberrations, caverns, oozes, spelunking) - Engineering (buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications) - Geography (lands, terrain, climate, people) - History (wars, colonies, migrations, founding of cities) - Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids) - Nature (animals, fey, monstrous humanoids, plants, seasons and cycles, weather, vermin) - Nobility (lineages, heraldry, personalities, royalty) - Planes (the Inner Planes, the Outer Planes, the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, outsiders, planar magic) - Religion (gods and goddesses, mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition, holy symbols, undead) | 29 | 2 |
| Survival Survival You are skilled at surviving in the wild and at navigating in the wilderness. You also excel at following trails and tracks left by others. View on Archives of Nethys ↗ | 29 | 2 |
BacklashHarm or strain the casters suffer simply from performing the ritual, regardless of whether it ultimately succeeds.Casting Occult Rituals ↗
The primary caster takes 2d6 points of fire damage, and all casters become exhausted.
FailureWhat goes wrong if the ritual's skill checks fail — often dangerous, ranging from wasted effort to summoning a hostile creature or worse.Casting Occult Rituals ↗
All casters become chilled and cannot warm themselves for 24 hours (treat as exposure to cold weather, regardless of outside conditions).
Description
A closely guarded practice among the Linnorm Kings, this ritual descended from far more ancient traditions practiced by the Erutaki to survive at the Crown of the World. After hours of singing, woodcarving, and fire-building, the primary caster throws an iron lantern into a raging bonfire, then plucks it from the flames with a bare hand. The ritual imbues the lantern with an inextinguishable yellow flame for a single year. When hung from the prow or mast of a ship, the lantern projects a protective bubble in which the temperature never falls below 50° F, rain and snow never fall heavier than a light shower, winds never blow faster than strong, and the light never darkens beyond dim (though outside conditions created by extreme weather, such as ice flows or large waves, may still threaten the ship and crew). Anyone resting inside this space dries easily, and preserved food and water do not naturally spoil.So long as the lantern hangs from a ship, its flame always flickers toward the east, granting a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost.