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Age Object

Level 5 priest spell · Alteration

Reversible
Sphere
Time
Range
10 yards
Components
V, S, M
Casting time
1 round
Duration
Permanent (Instantaneous - PSC)
Area of effect
1 cubic foot/level
Saving throw
None

With this spell, the caster can cause an amount of nonliving, nonmagical matter to age dramatically. Matter can be aged up to 20 years per level of the caster. The following table gives typical results of 100 years of aging for various objects, arranged in order of descending severity:

Object Result of Aging
Diamond None
Silver Becomes tarnished
Masonry Cracks and weakens
Iron Rusts and corrodes
Parchment Cracks, turns brittle
Wood Rots, crumbles, turns to sawdust

The caster controls the extent of the aging; thus, he could age a book so its pages become yellowed and brittle but stop short of causing the book to crumble to dust. As a guideline, each additional 100 years of aging causes an increasingly severe reaction. Thus, after 200 years, parchment might become little more than powder, while iron might begin to flake away at a touch.

Many items (especially gems) show little reaction to age. The DM must adjudicate all effects.

The material components are a flask of seawater and a piece of coal.

The reverse of this spell, youthful object, returns an object ravaged by the effects of time to its original condition; thus, rusty iron becomes strong and shiny, crumbled masonry becomes firm, and rotten wood becomes solid. The age of matter can be reduced by 20 years per level of the caster.

The material components for youthful object are a piece of eggshell and a hair from the head of a human or humanoid infant.

Notes: Common for to priests with major access to the sphere of Time (ToM).

Sources

This spell on the AD&D 2nd Edition Wiki