Sands of Time (Reversible)
- SchoolAlteration
- ComponentsV, S, M
- Range10 yds.
- AreaUp to 10 cubic feet/level
- Casting time8
- Duration1 rd.
- SaveNeg.
With this spell, a wizard can reverse the effects of aging and erosion on any non-living, material object. The degree of aging that can be reversed depends upon the level of the caster.
The table also shows the average effects of time and the elements on various materials (items protected from the elements might take longer to erode, but use these times for all restoration). Papyrus and wooden objects fade over time, making it difficult, but not impossible to read or identify surface features. Fragile objects must survive an item saving throw vs. fall each time they are used; brittle items must survive vs. crushing blow. Crumbled items are unusable but still identifiable as papyrus or wood; dust is completely unidentifiable and unusable.
Stone and metal items wear away over time, and their shapes smooth out until the item is completely worn away. Paint indicates that artificial coloration is gone or unrecognizable; etching means carved letters or pictures are worn away; relief indicates that deeply carved letters or images are severely eroded; form indicates that time has eroded away all but the basic form of the original stone or metal. The fractions V2 and % tell when the item has lost that amount of its original mass. Dust means the original item is completely gone, eroded away to nothing.
An 18th-level wizard could, for example, turn even a pile of dust back into the new, clean piece of papyrus it once was, turn the crumbled remains of a staff back to its original form, or even restore a painted map on the wall of a temple constructed of soft stone. This spell cannot restore damage done to an object by anything other than natural aging or erosion; for example, it could not recover a wand whose final charge was expended. Use the table as a guide for other objects that don't exactly fit into these categories.
The reverse of this spell, accelerate erosion, allows the wizard to speed up the erosion of any non-living material object. In the example above, the 18th-level wizard could turn a clean piece of papyrus to dust, turn a new staff of wood into crumbled pieces, or erase a painted map from a wall of stone.
Sands Of Time Table ! colspan="5" | Effects on: | | | | | | ----------------------------+-----------------+----------+----------+------------+------------+-------- Level | Time Reversed | Papyrus | Wood | Soft Stone | Hard Stone | Metal 9 | 30 days | Faded | - | - | - | - 10 | 1 year | Fragile | - | - | - | - 11 | 2 years | Brittle | Faded | - | - | - 12 | 5 years | Crumbled | Fragile | - | - | - 13 | 10 years | Dust | Brittle | - | - | - 14 | 20 years | - | Crumbled | Paint | - | - 15 | 50 years | - | - | - | - | - 16 | 100 years | - | Dust | Etching | - | - 17 | 200 years | - | - | Relief | Paint | - 18 | 500 years | - | - | Form | - | Paint 19 | 1,000 years | - | - | 1/2 | Etching | - 20 | 2,000 years | - | - | 3/4 | - | Etching 21 | 5,000 years | - | - | Dust | Relief | - 22 | 10,000 years | - | - | - | - | Relief 23 | 20,000 years | - | - | - | Form | - 24 | 50,000 years | - | - | - | - | Form 25 | 100,000 years | - | - | - | 1/2 | - 26 | 200,000 years | - | - | - | - | 1/2 27 | 500,000 years | - | - | - | 3/4 | - 28 | 1,000,000 years | - | - | - | - | 3/4 29 | 2,000,000 years | - | - | - | Dust | - 30 | 5,000,000 years | - | - | - | - | Dust
The material components for this spell are a tiny hour glass (during the spell, the sands run up) or for the reverse, a miniature sundial that timed the passage of at least 1 year.
Sands Of Time Table
| ! colspan="5" | Effects on: | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Time Reversed | Papyrus | Wood | Soft Stone | Hard Stone | Metal |
| 9 | 30 days | Faded | - | - | - | - |
| 10 | 1 year | Fragile | - | - | - | - |
| 11 | 2 years | Brittle | Faded | - | - | - |
| 12 | 5 years | Crumbled | Fragile | - | - | - |
| 13 | 10 years | Dust | Brittle | - | - | - |
| 14 | 20 years | - | Crumbled | Paint | - | - |
| 15 | 50 years | - | - | - | - | - |
| 16 | 100 years | - | Dust | Etching | - | - |
| 17 | 200 years | - | - | Relief | Paint | - |
| 18 | 500 years | - | - | Form | - | Paint |
| 19 | 1,000 years | - | - | 1/2 | Etching | - |
| 20 | 2,000 years | - | - | 3/4 | - | Etching |
| 21 | 5,000 years | - | - | Dust | Relief | - |
| 22 | 10,000 years | - | - | - | - | Relief |
| 23 | 20,000 years | - | - | - | Form | - |
| 24 | 50,000 years | - | - | - | - | Form |
| 25 | 100,000 years | - | - | - | 1/2 | - |
| 26 | 200,000 years | - | - | - | - | 1/2 |
| 27 | 500,000 years | - | - | - | 3/4 | - |
| 28 | 1,000,000 years | - | - | - | - | 3/4 |
| 29 | 2,000,000 years | - | - | - | Dust | - |
| 30 | 5,000,000 years | - | - | - | - | Dust |
Notes: Common for spellcasters from the Dark Sun setting; otherwise, very rare. Optionally, uncommon for chronomancers.
Sources: Dragon Kings · Wizard's Spell Compendium