Stromberg's Frozen Court (3.5e Spell)

You call into creation a fortress fashioned from shifting ice, that emerges from the ground beneath your feet. The fortress in question is roughly 40 by 40 feet, and may be up to four stories, or 40 feet, high. A wall of thick, solid packed ice settles in the shape of a 20 feet tall embankment wall surrounding the fortress. These walls of ice may be treated as being 5 foot thick, with hardness 10 and 300 hit points. As with normal defensive walls, a gate stands at the front.

The style of the fortress and the walls are up to the caster, and may contain windows, crenellations and balistrarias at the caster's will. The fortress itself may have any internal layout the caster desires. The walls cordon off an area of maximally 100 by 100 feet. The courtyard spanning the open space between the fortress and the walls may be filled in any fashion, although only mundane objects or structures may be created, and none taller than 20 feet or with moving parts more intricate than a door hinge. Despite the cold from the spell, bodies of water may be freely shaped within or outside of the Court.

Furthermore, the Frozen Court generates the following specific benefits.


 * Cold Aura: The fortress radiates an aura of uttercold up to 100 feet away from its outer walls. This effectively manifests in an area of unearthly cold (see Frostfell Hazards, Frostburn p8, for more information). This cold does not permeate the Court itself, but is merely generated out from the walls, safekeeping those inside them from the cold.


 * Frost Orb (Sp): A person holding the frost shard that was used as a focus to create the Court can use a frost orb effect (basically, a fireball turned into a cold spell with the Energy Substitution metamagic). This power can only be used inside the Court, uses the caster's caster level, and has a 1d4 round cooldown time. The frost orb allows a Reflex save for half damage.


 * Spell Enhancement: Any spell with the Cold descriptor is heightened 2 levels (maximum 9) and cast at a caster level 2 higher than normal, without requiring a higher level spell shot. The frost orb spell-like ability described above does not benefit from this enhancement.


 * Servitors: As this spell is cast, you gain the service of 4 gargoyles or kapoacinth (per the caster's choice), each advanced to 8 HD and armed with the Cold subtype. These creatures will remain faithful until the spell's duration ends, but are inextricably bound to the Court and unable to leave the area of the spell.

The spell must be cast in a large enough area to suitably facilitate the formation of the Court. Attempting to cast the spell when insufficient space is available causes it to fizzle.

Focus: A shard of permanent frost.