The Pact of Dominance is a multipart law that dictates the use of magic in Midlorr and cosmic or divine access by being from Beyond. Most familiar with the Pact of Dominance know that it bars cosmic or divine access to Midlorr under most circumstances. A god cannot use its own magic to gain access to the planet. By god, the Pact refers to any being with a divine rank of 0 or higher (which would include avatars). In addition, although a mortal worshipper could attempt to bring a god into Midlorr, such an act results ina greatly weakened god in the best of cases and likely an avatar in most cases (worst case scenarios usually do far worse that kill the mortal). The restrictions for mortals are not as severe due to the fact that mortals did not sign the Pact. However, mortals are limited through the concept of forbidden magic.
Forbidden magic was introduced in the Dicefreaks publication, The Gates of Hell. Although The Gates of Hell implies that forbidden magic is epic level magic, such a perspective only applies to the idea as presented in The Gates of Hell. For The Godspell, epic magic is synonymous with forbidden magic because it severely (or ought to severely) bend the rules of the Mortal Coil. These spells have built in limitations and backlash effects that typically are doubled in intensity in Midlorr.
Certain core spells fall under the definition of forbidden magic so far as the Pact is concerned. Any spell that can open a portal between this world and the Realities Beyond, and/or any spell that is potent and stable enough to allow a divine rank 0 being access to Midlorr considered forbidden. Thus gate, plane shift, and similar magicks are forbidden magic.
Rules for The Word and forbidden magic
The Word is a concept that represents the source of reality, the Ideal. In most other worlds, The Word is known as “magic.”
The ability to manipulate The Word manifests itself in different ways. The awesome might of a deity or planar being is simply the manipulation of The Word at the highest levels of understanding. Other creatures, like dragons and other aulspawn, are born with a connection to The Word, allowing them to not just cause magical effects, but to breathe fire, destroy minds, and any number of effects. Most mortals are not so blessed with an inborn ability to use The Word, although mortals are able to learn. The best known practitioners of The Word among mortals are the arcane spellcasters. Bards have unlocked the symbolic ties between music, the voice, or other forms of expression and the Ideal. Sorcerers are invested with The Word and use its power instinctively, lending credence to theories purporting a common heritage with aulspawn or outsiders. Wizards use a variety of techniques, some fairly simple and others incredibly complex, to manipulate The Word through years of study.
Divine spellcasters receive their power in The Word through belief in an ideal, cosmic entity, god, or Nature. While gods and other immortal spirits divest portions of their access to The Word to their servants, Nature itself is imbued with magic and those dedicated to it may maniipulate some of that power.
There are also those who train themselves to use The Word for very specific ends. Some unarmed combatants, like monks, have learned to use The Word to empower their bodies while others use The Word to naturally enchant their weapons or armor.
Wielding The Word does not come without a price. Due to the Pact of Dominance, there are aspects of The Word that can bring woe to the unwary or unwise.
• Summon Monster and Summon Nature’s Ally spells: These spells are not affected by the Pact of Dominance. In Midlorr, creatures summoned by these spells appear translucent (usually animals and elementals) or transparent (outsiders), reflecting their partial existence in the Mortal Coil. The partial existence and short time-frame of their intrusion is such that their acts are unlikely to have a severe impact on the material plane. It is not unusual for the summoner to actually summon a specific creature repeatedly who, particularly for divine casters, functions as a kind of “guardian” (assume that if a creature possesses a CR of 6 or greater, that it is a specific being with a name, history, and relationship with the summoner is summoned).
• Secure Shelter, Secret Chest, etc: These spells are not affected by the Pact of Dominance. Such spells create a pocket dimension similar to that of a bag of holding that does not allow entrance from Beyond into the Mortal Coil.
• Major and Minor Creation: These spells are not affected by the Pact of Dominance. Most wizards and scholars of The Word believe that these spells conjure trace materials of the actual object from across the planet itself to create new, “magical” objects.
• Planar Ally and Planar Binding spells: These spells fall under the auspices of the Pact of Dominance as they blatantly violate both the letter and spirit of the agreement. The casting of these spells results in the caster having to make a Spellcraft check = 10 + spell level + CR of the creature involved. Failure indicates that the spell fails and that the caster suffers 100 xp per point by which the save was failed. Success results in the spell succeeding; however, even in success there is a 3% chance per the creature’s CR that another creature of the diametrically opposed alignment but equal CR value is called to the Mortal Coil 7d10 miles from the allied or bound creature. This creature receives a Will save DC 15 + the spell level to overcome the need to track down (which it does naturally) and defeat the physical form of the allied or bound creature; in doing so, both creatures are returned to their appropriate Realm Beyond. The creature may not use its spell resistance, if applicable, to avoid this effect. If the creature succeeds in the save, it may return whence it came or remain in the Mortal Coil to do as it pleases for as long as it likes (which still includes effortlessly tracking down the allied or bound creature).
• Plane Shift: This spell falls under the auspices of the Pact of Dominance as it blatantly violates both the letter and spirit of the agreement. When plane shift is cast, the caster must succeed in a Fortitude save DC 17 + his spellcasting modifier; failure results in the spell being wasted and the caster suffering a flat 500 xp loss and an additional 100 xp per point by which the save was failed; if there are multiple participants, each participant also loses 100 xp. Success results in the spell functioning as per normal except that within 7d10 miles of the casting, an extraplanar creature appears in the Mortal Coil (if the caster is traveling to an Element, an elemental appears; if the caster is traveling to a Realm Beyond, an outsider appears). The challenge rating of the extraplanar creature is equal to 1/3 of the caster’s character levels rounded up. The creature is stuck within a seven mile radius of its appearance until the caster returns to Drm after which point it can either return whence it came or remain in the Mortal Coil indefinitely.
• Gate: This spell falls under the auspices of the Pact of Dominance as it blatantly violates both the letter and spirit of the agreement. Quite possibly the greatest non-epic conjuration, gate grossly violates every aspect of the Pact. As such, its nature is severely limited in Midlorr. Gate cannot be used to call or contact any unique being (effectively any being in possession of cosmic or divine rank 0). When gate is cast, the caster must succeed in a Fortitude save DC 19 + his spellcasting modifier; failure results the spell being wasted and the caster suffering a flat 1000 xp loss and an additional 500 xp per point by which the save was failed. Success results in the spell functioning as per normal except that within 1d6+1 miles of the casting, an extraplanar creature appears in the Mortal Coil (if the caster is traveling to an Element, an elemental appears; if the caster is traveling to a Realm Beyond, an outsider appears). The CR of the extraplanar creature is equal to the caster’s character levels. The creature has free range in Drm and may do as it pleases. The faulty casting of an epic version of gate (usually referred to as Uriyens’ summons) by Uriyens the Green resulted in the Demon Wars when thousands of fiends (including a few powerful cosmic fiends) and seven evil gods were called to Drm.
