The Hungering of Shadows
EvocationEvocation spells manipulate magical energy or tap an unseen source of power to produce a desired end. In effect, an evocation draws upon magic to create something out of nothing. Many of these spells produce spectacular effects, and evocation spells can deal large amounts of damage.
Ritual Level 9
- Casting Time
- 1 dayRituals 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, M (lavender and green ioun stone split into 6 shards), F (an onyx throne worth at least 40,000 gp), SC (6)V (Verbal): Spoken incantations, often chanted by all participants throughout the casting.S (Somatic): Precise ritual gestures performed during the casting.M (Material): Physical substances consumed by the ritual. Costly components are listed with their price.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
- 10 miles/character level of the primary casterHow far the ritual's effect reaches from the primary caster, measured like a spell's range.Spell rule: Range ↗Casting Occult Rituals ↗
- Area
- 1 mile radius/character level of primary casterHow 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
- instantaneous; see textHow 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
- noneWhether 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) | 47 | 4 |
| Knowledge (geography) 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) | 47 | 2 |
| Knowledge (nature) 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) | 47 | 1 |
| Spellcraft Spellcraft You are skilled at the art of casting spells, identifying magic items, crafting magic items, and identifying spells as they are being cast. View on Archives of Nethys ↗ | 47 | 2 |
BacklashHarm or strain the casters suffer simply from performing the ritual, regardless of whether it ultimately succeeds.Casting Occult Rituals ↗
The primary caster gains 2 permanent negative levels, and all secondary casters are permanently blinded and deafened. None of these effects can be removed by any means unless the ritual is reversed.
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 ↗
The primary caster and all secondary casters are immediately transported to different locations on the Negative Energy Plane or Shadow Plane (50% for either plane, roll separately for each caster). The secondary casters remain catatonic for 1 hour upon arriving.
Description
The primary caster sits upon the onyx throne, invoking ancient rites blaspheming against the light of the sun. The secondary casters offer up prayers to the gods of darkness. In turn, each of the secondary casters consumes one of the ioun stone shards, which induces a state of catatonia for 1 hour. Throughout the ritual’s casting, a localized partial solar eclipse marks the location of the throne with an obvious pillar of darkness from above, easily noticed by creatures throughout the ritual’s area.If the ritual is successful, the area is draped in a curtain of eternal darkness, removing sunlight from the area. Illumination in the area can never be brighter than dim light, and only a miracle or wish can even temporarily alleviate this restriction (though direct intervention of a deity can end the ritual’s effect). Any light beyond dim light that would touch the area is instead transported into the ioun stone shards consumed by the secondary casters, making the secondary casters’ entire bodies glow. Any object with a light spell having its light thus dimmed by the ritual counts as a part of the secondary casters’ bodies for the purpose of a connection for spells like scrying. Collecting these ioun stone shards then piecing them back together while within the affected area ends the effects of this ritual.