Megaton (3.5e Epic Spell)



The most powerful of spells, the forbidden magic, Megaton releases a terrible mysterious force into the world, the power of the atom. After the ritual is complete, the casters have only 10 minutes to evacuate, as in the air above, a terrible glowing point of light, like a small sun, begins to blossom. It grows hotter, brighter, and then.... in a flash.... everything is gone.

The area of effect is staggering, and the blast damage tapers out the farther you are from it. Even after the blast, the land is afflicted with a terrible "disease" of radiation poisoning, which behaves like mummy rot for all mechanical game purposes, except that radiation poisoning cannot be spread. This spell ignores evasion, mettle, and similar abilities. Refer to the chart to see the type of damage taken.

Immediately after the explosion, wind speeds rise to tornado-force winds (although flames are not extinguished, given the heat) within 2 miles of ground zero, which slowly decreases in strength every 1 minute, until it reaches "only" strong winds blowing inward after 5 minutes. After that, prevailing weather conditions may change the effect, but usually not for the rest of the day.

For 1 day/level after the explosion, the 2-mile zone outside of ground zero is a hotbed of radiation. Those who explore it unprotected are subject to the possibility of gaining radiation poisoning every round (continuous Fortitude saves are necessary to avoid this outcome). The effects on the world are devastating, and having been so perfectly purged of life, things often will not grow within 2 miles of ground zero for many months afterward; even as the damaged ecosystem attempts to fill in the gaps, new life is extinguished before it begins by the lingering radiation.

Megaton has a lesser variant for more combat-oriented purposes, tactical nuke.

Material Component: 500,000g worth of refined uranium ore.

Focus: A complex series of crystals and coils to accelerate magical particles to great speeds, and key in "igniting" the collected magical energy. The strange device is worth 1,000,000g.