Level: 4
Range: Touch
Duration: See below
Area of Effect: One creature
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 4 segments
Saving Throw: None

Casting
this spell brings into being a thin shaft
of faint grey, shimmering force extending
2" from the caster's pointing finger.
This "lance" is weightless and intangible
intangible,
but if any creature touches or
passes through any part of it, the lance
vanishes with a loud clap of thunder,
and the creature struck is dealt 4-24 hit
points of damage.

The lance may be
willed out of existence by its caster at
any time without any discharge or
harm to the caster (although the spell is
lost), and disappears in any event if the
caster dies, loses consciousness, or
begins to cast another spell.

The caster can employ the thunderlance
in many ways--held steady, as a
barrier against some creature's passage
or as a tripwire, at ankle height, to stop
a pursuer. It is also highly effective
when wielded as a weapon; the caster
can move his arm and finger about to
strike with the lance. In any combat situation
against a thunderlance, potential
victims are regarded as having a base
armor class of 10 (before any Dexterity
adjustments); the blow of the lance is
transmitted through armor and shields,
and the presence of such protection
does not benefit the target of a thunderlance
attack. However, the bonuses
of magical armor and shields are not
negated, and will improve a target?s
effective AC by the amount of the
bonus.

The damage of the lance is a physical
blow, as opposed to (for instance) a discharge
of electricity. It is fully effective
against creatures that are resistant or
immune to either blunt weapons or
edged weapons (since the lance is actually
neither of those).

The touch of a thunderlance destroys
a shield spell, wall of force, or minor
globe of invulnerability, but the lance
itself discharges (vanishes, without
damaging anyone) upon such contact.
Stronger protective spells (such as antimagic
shell) will also cause the lance to
discharge, but will themselves withstand
the shock of its strike and remain
in existence. A lance penetrates fire,
water (including ice and snow), and
electrical discharges of natural or magical
(e.g. wall of fire, wall of ice) origin
without discharging, and thus the caster
may strike through such phenomena
at an enemy.

Anyone wielding a thunderlance (i.e.
spellcasting is complete, but the lance
has not yet discharged) cannot be
harmed by magic missile spells, regardless
of what direction these strike
from -- their force passes harmlessly
through the lance wielder to be
absorbed by the lance, increasing the
damage it does (by 2-5 hp per missile)
when it discharges. This will not occur
if the lance wielder has some other
magical protection against magic missiles.
A lance does not confer any protection
against other forms of magical
attack, nor can it be passed to any other
creature without discharging it--an ally
of the caster cannot wield the lance on
the caster's behalf.
 

Aubayreer's Workbook

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Books of the Forgotten Realms