Imprisonment — The Ninth-Level Prison Spell

Level/School: Level 9 Abjuration (Warlock, Wizard)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 30 feet; one creature the caster can see
Components: V, S, M (a statuette of the target worth at least 5,000 GP)
Duration: Until dispelled
Saving Throw: Wisdom negates; on success the target is immune to this spell for 24 hours

On a failed save, the target is confined, needs no food, air or drink, does not age, cannot teleport and cannot be found or perceived by Divination spells. Choose one form of restraint:

• Burial: A small sealed globe of force entombs the creature underground.
• Chaining: The target is Restrained by chains fixed to the ground and cannot be moved.
• Hedged Prison: A sealed demiplane, such as a labyrinth or tower, holds the target.
• Minimus Containment: The target becomes one inch tall inside an indestructible transparent gemstone or equivalent container.
• Slumber: The target becomes Unconscious and cannot be awakened.

Ending the prison: At casting, specify an observable release trigger which the DM agrees has a high likelihood of happening within the next decade. Dispel Magic works only when cast using a Level 9 slot against the prison or component.

Example: A wizard traps an enemy duke within a gemstone and specifies that the effect ends when a named gate is publicly opened. The DM decides whether that action is sufficiently likely within ten years; the wizard cannot leave the release condition indefinite under these rules.

Level/School: 9th-level Abjuration (Warlock, Wizard)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 30 feet; one visible creature
Components: V, S, M (a depiction or small statuette of the target, plus a special prison component worth at least 500 GP per Hit Die of the target)
Duration: Until dispelled
Saving Throw: Wisdom negates; on success the creature is immune to your further castings of this spell

On a failed save, the target stops aging, requires no food, drink or air, and cannot be located or perceived by Divination spells. Choose a form:

• Burial: A globe of magical force entombs the target far beneath the ground; a mithral orb is required.
• Chaining: Precious-metal chain binds and restrains the target in place.
• Hedged Prison: A jade miniature represents a demiplane prison the target cannot leave by planar travel.
• Minimus Containment: The target is shrunk to one inch tall inside a costly transparent gemstone.
• Slumber: Rare sleep-inducing herbs trap the target in unbreakable sleep.

Release: During casting, the spellcaster may specify a plausible observable condition for release, as approved by the DM. A Level 9 Dispel Magic targeting the prison or special component can also end the effect. The same special component can sustain only one prison; using it again releases its prior captive.

Example: A warlock binds a fiend using a gemstone. The appropriate component must be worth at least 500 GP for each of the fiend’s Hit Dice. Unlike the 2024 spell, a release trigger is optional and the printed text has no ten-year likelihood requirement.

School: Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 9
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S
Range: Touch
Target: One creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes

Touching the subject attempts to bury it far below the ground in a small sphere of temporal stasis, isolating it from danger while time stops for the victim. A successful Will saving throw negates the spell. If the caster knows the target’s name and important facts about its life, it suffers a –4 penalty on its save.

Releasing the captive requires Freedom cast at the exact place the Imprisonment occurred, with the imprisoned subject’s name and background known to the rescuer. Discern Location can find the prison; ordinary location or crystal-ball Divinations cannot. Wish and Miracle can locate the captive but do not free it.

Example: A sorcerer touches a captured assassin and knows the assassin’s birth name and history. The target takes the special –4 Will penalty. Decades later, rescuers must travel to that original casting site and prepare Freedom, rather than attempt to break an imaginary gem.

School: Abjuration
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 9
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S
Range: Touch
Target: One creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes

The subject is confined in a small buried sphere far beneath the earth and placed in a state of temporal stasis. If the caster knows the creature’s name and relevant personal facts, the target suffers –4 to its Will saving throw. The spell has no gemstone, chains, demiplane choice or modern 5,000-GP component.

Ordinary Scrying and location spells do not reveal the imprisonment; Discern Location does. Wish and Miracle may reveal where the target was buried but do not release it. The captive is freed through Freedom cast at the original location of the imprisonment, with the victim identified.

Example: A high-level wizard imprisons a rival far underground. The rival does not age in stasis. A rescue party must first learn the original casting site and then find a caster of Freedom; breaking nearby stones does not simply undo the spell.