Skeletal Hands (Wizard Spell)

By casting this spell, a wizard animates a pair of skeletal hands that levitate in midair and move as directed by the caster, who uses verbal commands and somatic gestures to guide them. The hands can perform only simple grasping, lifting, and carrying activities. They cannot perform complex movements that require great dexterity, such as picking locks. They can, however, open unlocked doors and chests, or turn pages in a spell book. The hands can also make two clawing attacks per round, each attack directed against a different target. They attack using the wizard's table at the same level as the spellcaster, and each inflicts 1–3 hp damage on a successful hit. The hands may be physically attacked in turn (each hand has AC 5, hp 4, and MV 6) and may move anywhere within their range.
The hands can carry up to 5 pounds each; together, they can carry an object of up to 20 pounds. The hands may wield weapons within these weight limits. When using weapons, the skeletal hands attack on the wizard's combat table, with a level half that of the spellcaster and with applicable penalties for nonproficiency. Hand-held melee weapons do half their normal damage (round up fractions), because the hands cannot generate the proper forces that the weapons need in order to inflict normal damage. The hands may fire an already loaded crossbow and inflict normal damage, because the crossbow provides the necessary force to propel the bolt. All other missile weapons have their ranges reduced to one quarter and inflict their normal damage (round up fractions).
The material components are the complete, skeletal hands of any human, demihuman, or humanoid. These hand bones may be reused in multiple castings of the spell, providing the hands have not been damaged or destroyed in combat.
Notes: Restricted to necromancers; uncommon.
Category:Wizard Spells
Category:Spells from Book of Necromancers
Category:Spells
Category:Spells from Wizard's Spell Compendium