Darsson's Music Box

Using this spell, a wizard can enchant an inanimate object, usually a seashell or small box, to play a magically recorded message or song. The caster may use the spell to save a special song, to play dramatic music when anyone enters his dungeons, or to create a fancy doorbell.

The message recorded can play for up to one turn. To record, the wizard casts the spell and mentally commands the recording to begin any time in the next round. Likewise, the caster can end the recording by mental command before the maximum one turn duration has expired. Any sound made within a radius determined by the caster (up to 30 feet) will be recorded.

Recorded material is played back when specific conditions are fulfilled according to the spellcaster's instructions. Play back can be at any nondamaging volume, determined at the original casting time. Two recordings made of the same musical piece, made at the same time, can be made to respond to the same condition, producing a stereo effect. Most of Darsson 's music boxes are set to respond when the name of a recorded piece is spoken, but they can be set with any trigger, general or specific. Some examples are "when anyone knocks on this door" or "when the king enters the throne room." Another possibility is "when one or more halflings enter the larder." Cues must be audible or visual in nature. The trigger cannot distinguish invisible creatures, alignments, levels, Hit Dice, or classes, except by external garb. Recordings of spellcasting and command words will not actually cast spells or cause magical items to function. A recording can be used to trigger a magic mouth or other spell that requires a specific condition to be met (such as Darsson's music box), provided the condition specifies a recorded message as a trigger.

The material component for the spell is a pearl or a small cube of brass, which is placed inside the ornately carved box, polished seashell, or other fine object on which the dweomer is to be placed.