Thaw

School transmutation [water]; Level cleric/oracle 3, druid 3, sorcerer/wizard 5

CASTING

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S, M/DF (a pinch of ash)

EFFECT

Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft. level)

Area ice and snow in a volume of 10 ft./level by 10 ft./level by 2 ft./level (S)

Duration instantaneous (see text)

Saving Throw none; see text; Spell Resistance no

This spell instantly melts ice or snow including frozen earth to reduce its depth by as much as 2 feet per caster level within a square-shaped area whose sides are up to caster level x 10 feet long. The volume of water created by the spell is equal to 90 percent the volume of melted ice and snow. You may reduce one horizontal dimension by half and double the other horizontal dimension to change the overall area of effect.

Frozen earth or permafrost thawed by the spell turns the ground into a deep bog (see “Marsh Terrain”). Water created by the melted ice and snow may seep into the remaining ice and snow or the ground, especially if it is no longer frozen, but most of it washes away along the path of least resistance toward the closest nadir. The water is generally too shallow to cause a flood or deal damage to creatures and objects in its path. However, under the right conditions, such as melting the ice and snow surrounding a depression or adjacent to a mountain pass, the GM may determine the onrushing water duplicates the effects of flowing water or causes a flood (see the “Aquatic Terrain” and “Flood” sections in Chapter 13 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook). Creatures standing atop thin ice are especially vulnerable to this spell. A creature who has a chance of jumping onto solid ground with an Acrobatics check may attempt a Reflex save to leap to safety and avoid falling into the chilly water beneath the suddenly melted ice. A creature who could not leap onto solid ground automatically falls into the frigid water. (See the “Thin Ice” section in Chapter 3 of this sourcebook for details regarding the effects of falling through thin ice.)

When cast on ice elementals (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2) and other creatures made from ice or snow, this spell deals 3d6 points of Strength damage to such creatures (Fortitude half). The spell has no effect on other creatures. Earth and water affected by this spell refreeze when subjected to temperatures below 32° Fahrenheit, 0° Celsius.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Icebound Copyright 2021, Michael Mars; Author: Tom Knauss

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