Deepen Shadows

This spell slowly, inconspicuously darkens the room where the ninja is. The change is gradual, taking five rounds (five minutes). With a successful saving throw at a -4 penalty, someone inside the room can notice that it is getting darker, but this observation does not affect the spell's progress.

When the spell is completed, the room is as full of shadow and darkness as possible without arousing suspicion. If it is daylight outside, it will seem that a cloud has passed over the sun. If it is nighttime, the candles and fire seem to have burned low. The dimming of the light does not appear at all menacing to people in the area, though a detect magic spell will reveal the presence of the deepen shadows spell.

The caster receives a +2% bonus per experience level to her hide in shadows roll within the effect of the deepen shadows spell. Only the caster receives this bonus, because only she has complete understanding of the way the shadows fall.

This spell is useful to a ninja who cannot use her ability to hide in shadows because the area is too bright. The shadows created by this spell can help ninja to escape, to infiltrate, to pull sleight-of-hand switches, etc.

If the casting ninja is in a portal or doorway between rooms, she may choose which room is darkened by this spell.

If the ninja is of sufficient level that she could cover more than the area of the room she occupies, the excess area is lost unless there is an open portal between the ninja's room and an adjacent room, and the ninja's spell can affect enough area to cover both rooms completely.

If the ninja is not of sufficient level to affect the entire area of a room, the spell automatically fails.

:Example: As a 10th-level Spirit Warrior, Noriko casts magic as a 2nd-level spellcaster and thus can cover a 10'x20' area with her deepen shadows spell. However, she is standing in a 20'x20' room and so cannot cover the entire area. If she attempts to cast her spell here, the casting will fail.

Notes: Restricted to ninja spellcasters and those trained by them; common.