Sabledrake Magazine
November, 2002
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Sollarin’s Tentacular Palm
A d20 Spell
Copyright © 2002 By Warpmind de InzanE
Type: Transmutation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 25 ft. (Yes, the range is fixed)
Targets: You
Duration: 1 round/ level, or until dispelled
The caster finds his hand (either) stretching, his fingers becoming long, thick, flexible, steel-like cables, launching to grapple an opponent within 25 ft. For this spell, the caster receives a bonus action - a Grapple check to hold, and a second Grapple check to pin. The Grapple checks are made with a DC of 20 + Caster level/3, and will do no physical harm to the grappled creature; the extended tentacles also have a hardness rating of 10, their hold giving the target a +2 to AC while removing the Dex modifier. The beauty of this spell is not its ability to hold a target still, but its ability to allow the caster to use Touch spells while it is still in effect, effectively guaranteeing instant hits while the target is still pinned. As such, the caster must make one Grapple check each round to maintain hold; attempting to suffocate or move the target, however, will not be possible, though the caster may spend his one action on movement within 25 ft. from the held creature.
Material Component: Any metal object; anything from a coin to a full plate armor will work; must be held in the transmuting hand. (Enchanted rings will not be affected if worn on a finger; instead, they will merely disappear into the altered hand until the spell wears off, and then return as they were before the casting. Note: if the Tentacular Palm is dispelled, there’s a chance the ring’s enchantment is affected somehow, per the DM’s judgment.)
Flavor text: The wizard Sollarin devised this spell to aid himself and his comrades-in-arms in close combat; the actual development of the spell was not quite what he initially had in mind, but he found that it worked admirably.
Of late, Sollarin has repeatedly been observed running at impressive speeds, often with a half-dozen angry fathers and husbands in hot pursuit…