Wood Rot (Priest Spell)

This spell accelerates the decay of a ship's hull or deck structure. The wood thus affected crumbles away at a rate of 1 square ft. of surface area each round to a depth of 2 inches, effectively destroying hull integrity, a mast, or up to 10 square feet of 1-inch thick deck each round. All affected wood must be a continuous area; casting this spell more than once in one area cannot speed up the rot.
The material component is the caster's holy symbol.
The reverse of this spell, prevent wood rot, immediately negates a rot wood spell, or slows the effects of natural decay for one month. It does not reverse rotting effects that have already occurred (see cure rot). If a ship has been protected by pre­vent wood rot, then a wood rot spell negates this protection without other effect.
Notes: Uncommon for Sea Priests; otherwise, very rare.
DM Notes: If in common use, this spell can cause severe problems for ships in play. The more commonly it Is used, the raster countermeasures to defeat the effect will develop. Ship enchant­ments that proof a ship against this spell will become fairly common as the use of the spell spreads. In short, the introduction of this spell should be treated as a dynamic, evolving event, rather than a static one.
If a ship is holed at the waterline or below by wood rot, the crew can often make sufficient temporary repairs to prevent the ship from sink­ing outright. Assume that a ship's seaworthiness decreases by 1% each round the spell is in effect, with seaworthiness checks being made every 5th round the rot continues. Allow a work crew of 5 sailors to restore 5% of lost seaworthiness with 5 rounds of work, up to half the inflicted damage.
Category:Priest Spells
Category:Spells from Priest's Spell Compendium
Category:Spells