- For Wizard's Spell Compendium Lvl 6 version, see Spectral Guard - Lvl 6 (Wizard Spell).
This spell creates an invisible guardian which will stand watch at a specific location no larger than a 20-foot-radius sphere. The guard waits, undetectable by normal, nonmagical means, though it will radiate a strong magical aura and be completely visible to true seeing and similar magic.
When the spectral guard is created, it must be given specific activation conditions such as the opening of a particular chest or door, or a specific creature (or creature who is not the caster) touching a particular object. When this condition is fulfilled, the spectral guard appears.
The spectral guard appears as a wraithlike creature with a tapering, legless form and powerful limbs. One of these limbs will wield a melee weapon chosen by the caster at the time of the creation of guard. The spectral guard is noncorporeal and able to pass through solid barriers. It can attack gaseous creatures and creatures in the Ethereal Plane as well as those normally only struck by +2 weapons or better.
The strike of a spectral guard inflicts damage according to the weapon it carries. Victims feel a chill as the spectral blade passes through them. This chill has no game effect. The guard strikes twice per round with the same THAC0 as the caster at the time the guard was created. The spectral guard has the same number of hit points as the caster at the time the guard was created. The creature is AC 0 and flies silently with a movement rate of 24(B). It can move beyond the radius of its initial watch in pursuit of its victims.
The spectral guard cannot be charmed, turned, repelled, blinded, confused, or tricked with illusion/phantasm magic. It can automatically detect living creatures within 50 feet of its position. It will ignore undead, and undead creatures will not activate the spell.
No more than one spectral guard can be placed within a 20-foot radius—attempting to place a spectral guard in an area already under the influence of another spectral guard will cause the second spell to fail. The spectral guard will fight until destroyed or dispelled, or until it successfully defends its charge. The original caster can dispel the spectral guard at will after it has been activated. Others have standard dispel chances against the caster's level.
The material components of the spectral guard spell are a human bone, the dried eye of a beholder, and a nonenchanted version of the weapon to be used by the spectral guard. All are destroyed in the creation of the spectral guard. In creating the guard, the caster can fashion the face and form to resemble a real person the caster is familiar with or just a typical face, race, age, and build.