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Awaken

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Awaken
  • Level: 5
  • School: Transmutation
  • Class: Bard, Druid
  • Casting Time: 8 hours
  • Range: Touch
  • Components: V, S, M (an agate worth 1,000+ GP, which the spell consumes)
  • Duration: Instantaneous

You spend the casting time tracing magical pathways within a precious gemstone, then touch it to a Huge or smaller beast or plant. The target must have either no Intelligence score or an Intelligence of 3 or lower. The target gains an Intelligence of 10 and the ability to speak one language you know. If the target is a plant, it gains the ability to move its limbs, roots, vines, creepers, and so forth, and it gains senses similar to a human's. Your DM chooses statistics appropriate for the awakened plant, such as the statistics for the Awakened Shrub or the Awakened Tree.

The creature is charmed by you for 30 days or until you or your companions do anything harmful to it. When the charmed condition ends, the awakened creature chooses whether to remain friendly to you, based on how you treated it while it was charmed.

Tactical Usage​

When to Choose Awaken:

  • Create permanent intelligent allies and companions
  • Establish long-term surveillance networks in natural environments
  • Generate sources of information about local areas and events
  • Build relationships with previously inaccessible natural entities

Target Selection:

  • Large Beasts: More combat capability and utility
  • Ancient Trees: Extensive local knowledge and permanence
  • Strategic Plants: Access to important locations or information
  • Loyal Animals: Existing bond enhances post-charm relationship

Relationship Building:

  • Treat awakened creatures with respect during charm period
  • Provide for their needs and acknowledge their new intelligence
  • Include them in decision-making to build genuine friendship
  • Plan for long-term alliance beyond initial charm effect

Spell Combinations​

Enhancement Synergies:

  • Animal Friendship: Build relationship before awakening
  • Speak with Animals/Plants: Communicate during selection process
  • Enhance Ability: Temporarily boost target capabilities
  • Polymorph: Transform targets for better awakening candidates

Support Magic:

  • Telepathic Bond: Maintain communication over distance
  • Animal Messenger: Coordinate with awakened creature networks
  • Transport via Plants: Travel through awakened plant allies
  • Commune with Nature: Gather information for target selection

Material Component Details​

Agate Worth 1,000+ GP:

  • Quality: Higher value stones create more stable awakening
  • Preparation: 8-hour process infuses stone with consciousness magic
  • Consumption: Gemstone becomes part of creature's new awareness
  • Rarity: Significant investment requiring careful planning

Roleplay Opportunities:

  • Describe the intricate magical pathways traced within the stone
  • Reference the moment of consciousness dawning in target's eyes
  • Use component value as representation of life's preciousness
  • Emphasize the permanent transformation of both stone and creature

Creator Notes​

Adjudication Guidance:

  • Awakened creatures become permanent NPCs with their own goals
  • Intelligence 10 means they can think, plan, and make complex decisions
  • Charm effect is temporary but relationship can become permanent
  • Creator should develop personality, motivations, and backstory

Long-term Campaign Impact:

  • Creates ongoing allies or adversaries based on treatment
  • Establishes permanent changes to local ecosystem and politics
  • Provides information sources about regional events and history
  • Can become central figures in nature-based storylines

Balancing Considerations:

  • 5th-level slot and 1,000 GP cost prevents overuse
  • 8-hour casting time requires significant commitment
  • 30-day charm period allows relationship development
  • Awakened creatures have their own agency and goals

Environmental Interactions​

Ecosystem Changes:

  • Awakened plants can communicate with other plant life
  • May become leaders or protectors of natural areas
  • Can fundamentally alter local environmental dynamics
  • Other creatures may react differently to awakened entities

Social Integration:

  • Awakened creatures need to find their place in the world
  • May face discrimination or wonder from civilized societies
  • Can serve as bridges between natural and civilized worlds
  • Require consideration of legal and social status

Knowledge Access:

  • Awakened trees may have centuries of local observations
  • Animals possess knowledge of territory, dangers, and resources
  • Plants have unique perspectives on seasonal and environmental changes
  • Can provide information unavailable through normal means

Common Rulings & Clarifications​

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Can awakened creatures advance in class levels? A: Creator discretion, but many allow awakened creatures to develop like other NPCs.

Q: Do awakened plants need to eat, drink, or breathe? A: They retain their plant nature but gain human-like senses and mobility.

Q: What happens if the awakened creature dies? A: Death is permanent; the spell cannot be recast on the same creature.

Q: Can awakened creatures reproduce and pass on their intelligence? A: Creator discretion, though typically the awakening is unique to the individual.

Alternative Applications​

Campaign Building:

  • Druidic Networks: Create communication systems across regions
  • Environmental Guardians: Establish protectors for important natural sites
  • Information Brokers: Develop sources of local knowledge and news
  • Diplomatic Bridges: Create mediators between nature and civilization

Creative Problem-Solving:

  • Gain allies who can access areas party cannot
  • Establish permanent bases in natural environments
  • Create witnesses to important events for later testimony
  • Develop unique solutions to environmental challenges

Intelligence Magic:

  • Enhance Ability: Temporary intelligence enhancement
  • Feeblemind: Intelligence reduction effect
  • Modify Memory: Alter creature memories
  • Geas: Long-term behavioral compulsion

Creature Creation:

  • Animate Dead: Create undead servants
  • Conjure Animals: Temporary creature summoning
  • Polymorph: Temporary creature transformation
  • True Polymorph: Permanent creature transformation

5th-Level Alternatives:

  • Dominate Person: Direct creature control
  • Geas: Long-term behavioral modification
  • Modify Memory: Alter creature's past experiences
  • Scrying: Information gathering magic

Scaling Analysis​

Level Progression:

  • Available at Level 9: Mid-to-high level character option
  • Campaign Integration: Becomes more valuable in established campaigns
  • Resource Investment: Significant but manageable at appropriate levels

Long-term Value:

  • Permanent Effect: Investment pays dividends throughout campaign
  • Relationship Building: Value increases with time and proper treatment
  • Information Network: Becomes more useful as campaign scope expands
  • Environmental Allies: Essential for nature-focused campaigns

Scaling Considerations:

  • Awakened creatures may advance in capabilities over time
  • Multiple awakenings can create substantial ally networks
  • Higher-level campaigns may involve entire awakened ecosystems
  • Economic impact of 1,000 GP cost decreases with character wealth

Narrative Flavor​

Extended Description: For eight hours, you carefully trace intricate patterns of consciousness within the precious agate, each line representing a pathway for thought, memory, and self-awareness. As dawn breaks, you gently place the stone against your chosen target and speak the final words of awakening. The agate dissolves into pure mental energy, flowing into the creature and igniting the spark of true intelligence. You watch in wonder as awareness dawns in their eyes—the moment when a simple beast or plant becomes something greater, a thinking being with hopes, fears, and dreams of their own.

Sensory Details:

  • Visual: Gemstone dissolving into streams of golden consciousness
  • Emotional: Profound moment of witnessing birth of intelligence
  • Spiritual: Connection to fundamental forces of life and awareness
  • Temporal: Eight hours of focused magical work culminating in transformation

Cultural Context: Awaken represents one of the most ethically complex spells in the magical repertoire, raising fundamental questions about consciousness, free will, and the responsibilities that come with creating intelligent life. Different cultures and philosophical traditions may view such magic as divine gift or dangerous overreach, influencing how awakened creatures are received in various societies.