Meral's Minor Bang
(Evocation)

Range:  10 yards + 10 yards per level
Components:  V, S, M
Duration:  Instantaneous
Casting Time:  5
Area of Effect:  Special
Saving Throw:  Special

This spell brings into being a microscopic quantity of anti-matter wherever the wizard decides within range. The anti-matter will detonate instantly with whatever matter happens to be there, doing considerable damage to creatures, depending on the range from the blast. If it materializes in a vacuum, embedded in a force field, or other place without matter, the spell dissipates. The major effect is to cause a fireball-like blast affecting things within 20 yards of ground zero, causing 1d6 points per level of the wizard, up to a maximum of 12d6, with a saving throw for half damage. Targets immune to fire or normal physical attacks take only half of the result, and targets immune to both take none.
The spell will also affect creatures made of living tissue as follows, depending on the distance from the centre of the blast:
•	Centre up to 20 yards: the creature will die of radiation sickness in 2d6 days unless a cure disease spell is cast on it or unless it is immune to disease, and it will be permanently blinded (until cured), its optic nerves having been destroyed.
•	20 to 40 yards: unless immune to disease, the creature will be afflicted with radiation sickness that will cause it to die in 1d3+1 weeks. Furthermore, it will be blinded for a period of one week.
•	40 to 60 yards: one hour later, the creature will become violently ill with radiation sickness, with an effective -2 each to Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength, until a month passes or it rests for half a day per level of the wizard. Blindness also occurs, lasting 1d6 days. The penalties for radiation sickness also apply to terminally ill creatures at less than 40 yards.
•	60 to 80 yards: the creature will become mildly ill (no game effect), and will be blinded for one day.
The target must make a separate saving throw for radiation and for blindness damage, and if it succeeds it keeps making saving throws until it fails. Each success reduces the effect to that of one level farther out. The radiation passes through solid objects, but each 6 inches of stone or yard of water reduces the effect to the next outwards level. A sufficiently wide barrier, such as a wall, will eliminate the blindness entirely.
Creatures not made of flesh, like xorns, but that still see using eyes, are affected by the blindness only, not by the radiation. Creatures such as elementals or golems are unaffected by either. Undead and creatures from the lower planes are not blinded by the light, but take extra damage from it of 3d6, 2d6, 1d6, or nothing depending on their distance from the targeting point of the spell.
The wizard can optionally materialize the anti-matter inside a creature or thing. A creature gets a saving throw versus petrification, and an object a saving throw versus crushing blow. If it fails, it takes double damage, but all others automatically make the saving throw for half damage and one saving throw against the radiation. This version works only against corporeal creatures. Against fortifications, the spell does one structural point per level if materialized inside, half damage otherwise.
The material component of the spell is a mushroom.

