| abstract | - This ritual allows the wizard to inscribe a magical barrier upon a portal or in a passageway, to prevent access to what lies beyond. The wizard uses the bronze rod to trace the pattern of the ward in the space of the portal to be protected. Anything attempting to pass through a Ward of Forbiddence (e.g. opening a door when a ward has been cast in the doorway and then walking through) must make a WP test or they will be opposed by a wall of force and physically unable to bypass the ward either voluntarily or unvoluntarily. A creature who has been unable to bypass a Ward of Forbiddence may try again after one day (count to the next dawn-to-dusk period), but with a -10 modifier to the WP test. A third attempt, with a total -20 modifier, can be made one day later if the creature still cannot pass, but after three failed attempts that creature will never be able to break the ward. The basic ward costs 6 MPs, but if the wizard is of third level or higher and spends an extra 6 MPs in creating the ward, it is possible to add a second spell to the enchantment, within one turn of creating it. At third level, a wizard can cast Cause Panic, Dispirit, Steal Magical Power, or Steal Mind into the ward. At 4th level, choices include any one of Cause Cowardly Flight, Corrode, Dispel Aura, Drain Magic, or Stand Still. The MP cost of the second spell is added to the base 12 MP cost of the ward. This secondary spell effect will only affect the first being that tries to pass through the ward; after that it is dispelled, although the ward stays. The ward is not visible, save to the wizard who created it, who sees it as a thin pattern of blue magical lines standing in mid-air. However, wizards using the Detect Magic spell can see it clearly and, if they expend 1 MP, can make it visible to others by tracing its lines with their fingertips. The ward will remain visible for 1D10 hours. Wizards can always bypass their own Ward of Forbiddence, and can lead others past it if they have direct physical contact with them (for example, by holding hands). A wizard can only maintain one ward per level of experience; any attempt to create a new ward beyond that number will automatically dispel the last ward created.
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