2/14/01 From “Drew Id” <sean_atlas@nospam__.yahoo.com>:
This is nice spell for gnome inventors or tinkerers, if you have them in your campaign:
| School | Evocation |
|---|---|
| Level | Clr 3, Sor/Wiz 2 |
| Components | V, S, M |
| Casting Time | 1 minute |
| Range | Touch |
| Effect | causes a small disk, wheel, or gear to spin |
| Duration | Permanent |
| Saving Throw | None |
| Spell Resistance | No |
A small disk, wheel, or gear (no heavier than 1 ounce per caster level) will spin around it's axis at a rate of 1 revolution per caster level per second. If force is applied to the wheel equal to 1 pound per caster level, the spinning can be slowed or stopped, but will return to spinning as soon as the force is removed. Removing the gemstone from the center of the wheel will disrupt the spell until the gemstone is returned.
Material Component: The small disk, wheel, or gear to be enchanted and any gemstone worth 50 gp or more, which must be attached to the center of the wheel.
This spell lets the clever gnomes (or other tinkering races of the world) to create magical machines for whatever use they can imagine and engineer. Due to the weak abilities of each small wheel, the gnomes must combine numerous small magical wheels into complex gear structures to achieve any large scale use from them, so gnome inventors often produce mechanical monstrosities with thousands of wheels and gears working together to produce a particular effect, such as water pumps, mining machines, war machines, and transportation devices.
The point of this spell is to allow semi-permanent mechanical devices to exist in a fantasy campaign, which do not necessarily work off of the power of steam or other fuels. This also allows for plotlines where the PC's encounter ancient machinery in some uncovered and ancient place and find that the machinery is still running, and would run *forever* if somehow protected from the elements or interruption. The limited size, speed, and torque of the wheels was put in to require the use of a vast number of gears, etc., if someone is going to use this spell for any kind of larger use, such as to create a rotating city. However, for other small uses, it can be perfect, such as using it to create a small clock. Add in a permanent grease (to keep the wheels oiled) and protection from elements, and you could have a clock that could sit outside and run forever.
Physics note: For anyone with knowledge of physics, they might want more precise measurements on the wheel and it's strength, etc. I leave that up to them to develop, though I would be interested in their answers.