Sphere of Annihilation
(Evocation)

Range:  40 yards
Components:  V, S, M
Duration:  Permanent
Casting Time:  12 hours
Area of Effect:  2-foot diameter sphere
Saving Throw:  None

This ancient and arcane spell was first found in the Libram of Tel' Aknus the Mad. It is used to create a sphere of annihilation. The wizard must prepare a special magical device, which costs 15,000 gp to construct, to house the energies required to bring the sphere into existence. The construct is made of the rarest of ores, adamantite, and requires a full year of work by a master smith to fashion. A master alchemist must then fuse ten vials of essence of platinum, ten vials of essence of gold, and ten vials of essence of silver, in this order, into the construct (which looks something like a giant spider when finished). This will take two weeks per vial and the chance of success is equal to the alchemist's chance of creating said essences (checked for each vial fused to the structure) and any failure means that the entire structure has been transmuted in the metal of the current essence which is being fused into the construct.
Then the casting procedure can take place. It consists of a highly ritual ceremony requiring a black pearl of at least 1 foot in diameter being placed inside a magic circle and then calling forth the various magics of the planes to instill the pearl with anti-planar power of a sphere of annihilation. The spell then temporarily doubles the current hit points of the casting wizard as it starts. Every hour of casting time instills the pearl with more and more power. At the end of every hour's casting the wizard must roll a successful saving throw versus death magic which is unadjusted by any means other than his current level of mastery. If successful, the casting continues for the next hour. If unsuccessful, the wizard takes 1d20 points of damage for an unsuccessful hour of casting and the casting time is extended for anther hour. The spell will only be successful if 12 hours of continual casting is completed. Remember that if the spell is successful the wizard must still attempt to bring the sphere under his control. This spell in no way gives any special bonuses for control attempts.
If the wizard is reduced to zero hit points the pearl disappears (in a harmless, but spectacular flash of light) and his Strength and Constitution are reduced to 1 and he is thrown into a coma, losing knowledge of all spells currently memorised. These statistics and normal hit points are regained at a rate of 1 point per day of total rest unless some form of magic is used to increase healing. Until the wizard reaches half of his original Constitution score he is extremely susceptible to diseases and will take 4 times the amount of damage a disease would normally inflict. When half of his original Strength is restored, he may save versus spell each day to see if he comes out of the coma. Failure means that he remains in the coma. Once the wizard comes out of a coma he will be in a ravenous state and will not be able to regain spells again till he has eaten and rested for as many days as he was in the coma. Success or failure notwithstanding, this spell will always destroy the construct and the pearl used as the material components. If the spell is successful, the construct and pearl are sucked into the sphere, and if unsuccessful, the construct crumbles into a useless crystal substance and the pearl disappears as mentioned above.
If the wizard is physically touched during the casting of this spell by anything, including the power of another magic, and sustains damage which subtracts from his hit points or any ability score or level, the pearl will explode in a force of magic dealing out damage equal to 1d20 per hour of casting time that has passed (rounded down) in a radius equal to 10 yards per hour of casting time that has successfully passed (again, rounded down and a unmodified saving throw versus spell will allow anyone in the area of effect to save for half damage). Also, when this happens the extra hit points disappear (if they are still present) and the wizard takes damage from his normal remaining hit points. Death by this explosion means that the body has been disintegrated, ruling out raise dead or resurrection for bringing the victim back to life.

