Earthnodes are areas of extreme magic. They are formed where the fabric of reality has been warped permanently by magic or the blood of an inherently magical creature (ie a dragon, elemental or demon) has been killed. Earthnodes are normally spherical, but can sometimes be found to follow the shape of the creature or effect that created it, ie the shape of a dead dragon. At the geometric centre of a node is an area called the Focus where the nodes effects are most powerful.
All nodes have a class rating, the higher the class thee greater the nodes effects. The higher the class of the node the, greater the node's overall diameter. As you move away from the focus, the effects weaken and the class drops.
| Class | Diameter | DC | Metamagic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | n | 10 | - |
| 2 | n x 2 | 15 | - |
| 3 | n x 4 | 20 | -1 |
| 4 | n x 8 | 25 | -1 |
| 5 | n x 16 | 30 | -2 |
A node has an effect on spellcasting depending upon it's class.
- Skill Check Bonus - Spell casters within a node get a bonus equal to the node's Class to all Concentration and Spellcraft checks. This bonus also applies to all Craft checks made while crafting magic items.
- Caster Level Increase - The spell caster's effective level is increased by the node's class for determining spell damage/saves/range/duration etc.
- Item Creation XP Cost Reduction - When creating items within a node, the item's XP cost is reduuced by (10% x node Class). The crafter must spend the entire time within the node to get this benefit.
- Metamagic Spells - When memorising or casting Metamagic spells within a node, the increased spell slot required is reduced by the value in the table above. Memorised metamagic spells begin to fade when the spell caster leaves the Node. They fade away in a number of hours equal to the node's class.
Before a spell caster can use any of the powers of a node he must attune himself to it. To attune he must make a Spellcraft check with the DC set by the class of the node (see the table above). A spell caster can choose to attune to a lower node class and therefore icrease his chance of getting a success. Failure means that the spell caster cannot use the node's powers that day. If the caster rolls a 1 for the attune roll, the caster loses all memorised spells. Attuning is a standard action.
