Dancing Weapon - Alhoon

This spell enables the caster to animate a single weapon to fly about (at MV Fl 27, MC A) and attack a single target being by itself. The foe must be visible to the caster during casting. Thereafter, the caster can cast other spells or turn his attention to other tasks.

The weapon always hits. Each round, the victim and the weapon roll 1d20. If the weapon roll is higher, the weapon does its maximum damage; if the rolls are equal, roll for damage in the normal way; if the victim's roll is higher, roll again: an even result means the weapon does 2 points of damage, and an odd result means it does 1 point of damage.

During the spell, the weapon is AC -1, and has 44 hit points. It has no sentience, and can't be affected by mind-controlling spells. It cannot strike at the caster or at the wrong target: it only attacks the target chosen during casting, and can't switch targets (if the target flees out of range, dies, or otherwise escapes, the spell ends). The caster can end the spell in an instant, by silent act of will. It also ends if the weapon is destroyed by spell or by hit point loss.

This spell won't work on magical weapons (weapons bearing a permanent dweomer). It will work on an otherwise normal weapon that has had a temporary spell cast on it, but consumes such a weapon when the spell ends or is stopped.

If a tool or handy item is used instead of a fashioned weapon, a hand-held item causes 1d4 points of damage, a shovel or other tool with a shaft causes 1d6 points of damage, and anything larger than the volume of a large man can't be moved by the spell (wasting the spell). The largest items that can be animated by this spell include such objects as a barrel, a high stepstool, a suit of armor strapped to a rack, a small boat anchor, a two-wheeled pushcart, and the like-typically these cause 2d4 points of damage; never more than 2d6.

The material components of this spell are the wing of an insect or the feather of a bird. The required weapon is consumed only if it has been temporarily enchanted.

Notes: Restricted to alhoon (undead illithid); common.