New Spell – Carapace of Insects

The last words of the spell were more of a sequence of clicking sounds than words and within seconds, the sorcerer’s body was swarmed by insects.  Moments later, the cover became living armor as the interlocked layers of beetles moved with his body.

Carapace of Insects

School conjuration (summoning) [insect]; Level Druid 4, Sor/Wiz 4, Sum 4; Domain Insect 3

Guardian Bees

Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, DF or M (live beetle or other insect)
Effects
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 min./level or until discharged
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

Description
The Carapace of Insects summons a layer of living insects that shields the caster from attacks.  It provides the caster with:

•    +2 deflection bonus to armor class.
•    DR 2/-, this DR increases by 1 for every 5 levels of the caster to a maximum of 6.  Once the carapace has prevented a total of 8 points of damage per caster level (maximum 160 points), it is discharged.

The insects that compose the carapace also strike back at those who attack the them, any successful melee attack on the caster will cause a group of insects to leap to the attack, this causes 1d4 damage + 1 per five levels of caster (to a maximum of +4), this damage is doubled to anyone grappling or grappled by the caster, and anyone who suffers damage from these insects suffer a -2 to attack rolls and skill checks for the following round.

If cast on another, they suffer a -1 circumstance penalty to attacks and skill checks for the duration of the spell due to the distraction.  If they are unprepared for the effect of the spell or have an aversion to insects, the subject must make a Will save or be shaken for the duration of the spell.

Notes: The bonus is deflection as the living nature of the insects blocks touch attacks.

Inspired by the spell Living Shield created by Wymarc of Quag Keep.

Photo by Simon Barnes from Wikimedia Commons and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.