Insect Plague

Insect Plague creates a swarm of insects which will attack up to 6 creatures. Multiple casts can be stacked on the same enemies to increase damage per round, but it does not bypass magic resistance. Haste effects on plagued enemies will also increase damage significantly, similarly to what happens with poisons and haste.
==Description==
== Gameplay ==
The caster designates a single hostile creature to direct this spell toward, selecting it with the targeting cursor.
The caster can select any creature (friend or foe), and release the spell's insect swarm projectile at it and it will only affect hostile creatures in the area of effect - if any, otherwise it will do nothing.
Upon completion of the spell cast, a relatively slow-moving insect cloud projectile moves unerringly to the target creature - when the swarm reaches the target, it then can spread instantly to other hostile creatures within 15 feet of the initial target as well (if there are any).
Each affected creature has an insect swarm 3D graphic rendered on their sprite for the spell's duration (6 rounds).
A victim is subjected to the following adverse effects:
* For 6-rounds, a 100% Miscast Magic effect is applicable to wizard and priest spell casting - so innate abilities, even magical ones, are unaffected - (characters will show an icon (No. 83) titled "Spell Failure" on their portrait).
* On first contact, and then every 2 seconds (for a total of 18 exposures) 1 Piercing damage is inflicted to simulate the insect stings/bites.
* On first contact, and then every 6 seconds (for a total of 6 exposures) the victim must make a Saving throw vs. Breath or be stricken by Panic for 1 round - if the saving throw is missed a text will read "Panic", and the victim's sprite turns yellow, then runs about uncontrollably. A PC will also show the Panic icon on their portrait.
This spell is very dangerous when targeted on you by enemies. However, there are certain ways to protect against it (all those also work against Creeping Doom):
Magic resistance provides a chance to completely evade the spell.
Spell Immunity: Conjuration: completely protects and can't fail.
Invisibility:
* Turning invisible while the enemy is casting the spell, before it is released, because it requires an initial target the spell will then fail. Use Potion of Invisibility, Shadow Door etc. at the right time. However, this only works if the character who is the initial target turns invisible. Invisibility does not protect against the area spread.
* Improved Invisibility totally prevents targeting by the initial spell, but this also requires your entire party to be under Improved Invisibility as otherwise the enemy could simply target someone else and then the AoE can still hit everyone.
* The invisibility strategies do not work against enemies that innately See the invisible and can easily be negated by a timely True Seeing, Detect Illusion or comparable spell.
An ongoing Insect Plague / Creeping Doom can be removed from an affected person by a successful Dispel Magic roll, but because of the spellcasting failure by the insects, this would require, either:
* A character who is standing outside the area of effect or was otherwise protected (e.g. by Spell Immunity)
* That the affected character casts the spell via an item (e.g. using a Dispel Magic scroll or using one of the daily Dispel Magic casts available from the Wizard Slayer (axe), Carsomyr or the upgraded Purifier) or innate ability (eg Dispel Magic (inquisitor) or Dispel Magic (Yeslick))
* A contingency of some sort (eg Dispel Magic on self when hit)
Protection From Magic scrolls work but are very rare and also remove all friendly buffs on the character. The same for the Potion of Magic Blocking, which only works against Insect Plague but not Creeping Doom.
Someone who is not the initial target, but is standing inside the area of effect, can try to "outrun" the insect swarm before it has spread. This requires high speed (Haste, Boots of Speed...). It is advisable to spread your party out if enemies are going to use insect spells, then it can't hit multiple characters at once.
You can also try to silence the enemies before they can cast, as Druids have almost no way to defend against silence (they can't cast Vocalize or Minor Globe).
Single-target protection spells like Spell Turning do not work and can't reflect / deflect Insect Plague, even if they are applied on the initial target. Spells such as Mirror Image, protection from weapons or fire shield don't help either - at least in the unmodified game.
There are many possible protections against Insect Plague's panic effect (e.g. Remove Fear, Resist Fear, Bard songs ...), but those don't protect against the damage and spell failure part.
Creatures with innate spell Power level immunity, such as a Lich, Rakshasa or Demilich will shrug off the spell because of that immunity. All of the internal spell effects of Insect Plague are assigned Power level 5 attributes.
== See also ==
Other insect-based Druid spells:
* Summon Insects, level 3 spell
* Creeping Doom, level 7 spell
== Trivia ==
The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition priest spell Insect Plague is common for druids and is well described and has clearly defined rules.
The PnP ruleset's Player's Handbook and the Priest Spell Compendium clarify that the swarm's dimensions occupy a fixed 180-ft. diameter x 60 ft. high cloud - the PnP spell doesn't spread or follow a creature like it does in the BG video game spell version.
The insects swarm in an area that centers around a summoning point determined by the spellcaster. The point can be up to 120 yards away from the priest. The insect plague does not move thereafter for as long as it lasts. Note that the spell can be countered by a dispel magic spell.
Heavy smoke drives off insects within its bounds. Fire also drives insects away. For example, a wall of fire in a ring shape keeps a subsequently cast insect plague outside its confines, but a fireball spell simply clears insects from its blast area for one round. A single torch is ineffective against this vast horde of insects. Lightning, cold, or ice are likewise ineffective, while a strong wind that covers the entire plague area disperses the insects and ends the spell. The plague lasts two rounds for each level of the caster, and thereafter the insects disperse.
The insects obscure vision, limiting it to 10 feet. Spellcasting within the cloud is impossible. Creatures in the insect plague, regardless of Armor Class, sustain 1 point of damage for each round they remain within, due to the bites and stings of the insects. Invisibility is no protection. All creatures with 2 or fewer Hit Dice will automatically move at their fastest possible speed in a random direction until they are more than 240 yards away from the insects. Creatures with fewer than 5 Hit Dice must check morale; failure means they run as described above.
==Gallery ==
InsectPlague1.png|Party Fighter Druid casts Insect Plague at enemies in the The Planar Sphere. Many exposed, including their Aerial Servant (who is invisible), showing the power of this spell to attack hidden creatures in the area.
Jaheira Insect Plague Pai Na.png|Jaheira's Insect Plague worked well for panicking or even killing many of the spiders in Pai'Na's cave below the Graveyard District of Athkatla.
==Mod content==
Sword Coast Stratagems mod will install the following:
Rebalance Insect Plague spells (and the like)
In the unmodified game, Insect Plague and Creeping Doom (and, to a lesser extent, Summon Insects) are very hard indeed for a spellcaster to deal with or defend against. This component (which was partly inspired by Demivrgvs's Spell Revisions) grants a per-round saving throw against the spell-failure effects of the insects. It also handles the insects more systematically as summoned creatures: they cannot harm or affect creatures immune to nonmagical weapons; they are unaffected by antimagic or by Dispel Magic; they will not attack undead creatures, and cannot penetrate the extreme heat or cold of a Fire Shield.
Spell Revisions mod version as follows:
Insect Plague
Level: 5
School: Conjuration
Sphere: Animal
Range: Long
Duration: 6 rounds
Casting Time: 5
Area of Effect: Target, and enemies within 30’
Saving Throw: Special
When this spell is cast, a mass of creeping, hopping, and flying insects gather and swarm, first attacking the target, and then moving on to all enemies of the caster within the spell’s radius.
For the duration of the spell, those affected fight with a -2 penalty to attack rolls and armor class. In addition, each round the victims suffer 2d3 points of damage from insect bites and have a 100% chance of spell failure. If a successful save vs. breath at -2 is made, the target manages to avoid most of the swarm, reducing damage from bites by half and completely negating the spell failure penalty. Magic resistance does not affect this spell.
==Mod gallery ==
Mod FS Dragon 8.png|The Green dragon releases an Insect Plague upon a PC in its lair. SCS AI shown, with SR mod's spell version.. The PC's 30% magic resistance can't block it.
==External links==
*
*Advanced D&D 2nd Edition Wiki - Insect Plague (Priest Spell)
Category:Druid 5th level spells
Category:Piercing damage