5e: Seven Far Realm Spells

Today I'm presenting a set of new spells! Like last time's fire spells, this group share a theme: they're all designed to capture the alien horror of aberrations and the Far Realm. They're therefore perfect for spellcasting monsters of the aberration type, eldritch cultists, and Great Old One pact warlocks!

Stock Art © Gary Dupuis.

The spells described below belong on the following class spell lists:

Class Spell Lists

Bard	Cleric	Druid	Paladin	Ranger	Sorcerer	Warlock	Wizard
Cantrips
―	―	―	―	―	Alien Terror	Alien Terror	―
2nd-Level
―	―	―	―	―	Void Warp	Void Leech, Void Warp	―
3rd-Level
―	―	―	―	―	―	Call Lesser Horrors	Call Lesser Horrors
4th-Level
―	―	―	―	―	―	Call Greater Horror	Call Greater Horror
6th-Level
Madness Spiral	―	―	―	―	Madness Spiral	Aberrant Parasite, Madness Spiral	Madness Spiral

Aberrant Parasite

6th-level conjuration | Classes: Warlock

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V, S, M (flesh from a tsochar tentacle valued at 500 gold pieces)

Duration: 13 rounds

Select one target within range which must not be a construct or ooze. A writhing alien worm appears in the target's belly. The target must immediately make a Constitution saving throw, forcing themselves to retch out the worm on a success. On a failed save,  The target is poisoned for its next three turns as the worm grows rapidly within, and may spend its action on each of those turns to grant itself another saving throw.

If the worm is still in the target's body at the end of the third turn it fuses with the target's nervous system. The target becomes charmed by you and recognises your allies as its allies. It continues to be charmed for 1 minute, until you fall unconscious, or until there is a distance between you greater than the spell's range (60 feet).

While the creature is charmed, you have a telepathic link with it. You can use this telepathic link to issue commands to the creature while you are conscious (no action required), which it does its best to obey. You can specify a simple and general course of action, such as "Attack that creature," "Run over there," or "Fetch that object." If the creature completes the order and doesn't receive further direction from you, it defends and preserves itself to the best of its ability.

You can use your action to take total and precise control of the target. Until the end of your next turn, the creature takes only the actions you choose, and doesn't do anything that you don't allow it to do. During this time, you can also cause the creature to use a reaction, but this requires you to use your own reaction as well.

When this spell ends, the worm dissolves into goo which the target immediately vomits out. This costs them their reaction, if they haven't already used one since their most recent turn. 

Each time the target takes damage, it makes a new Constitution saving throw against the spell. If the saving throw succeeds, the spell ends. If you or creatures that are friendly to you are fighting it, it has advantage on the saving throw.

Alien Terror

Divination cantrip | Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You utter a few words in Deep Speech, briefly exposing the mind of a creature you can see within range to horrifying visions of the Far Realm. 

The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage and loses its reaction if it hasn't already spent it this round. 

This spell's damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4).

Call Greater Horror

4^th-level conjuration | Classes: Warlock, Wizard

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (the brain of a humanoid killed within the last 24 hours, a vial of black sand laced with crushed meteorite)
Duration: 1 hour (concentration)

You utter words in Deep Speech, tearing open the walls of reality to summon forth an aberration from the Far Realm. You choose the aberrations’s type, which must be one of challenge rating 5 or lower, such as a chuul or otyugh. The aberration appears in an unoccupied space you can see within range, and the aberration disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

Roll initiative for the aberration, which has its own turns. When you summon it and on each of your turns thereafter, you can issue a verbal command to it (requiring no action on your part), telling it what it must do on its next turn. If you issue no command, it spends its turn attacking any creature within reach that has attacked it.

At the end of each of the aberration’s turns, it makes a Charisma saving throw. The aberration has disadvantage on this saving throw if you say its true name. On a failed save, the aberration continues to obey you. On a successful save, your control of the aberrations ends for the rest of the duration, and the aberration spends its turns pursuing and attacking the nearest non-aberrations to the best of its ability. If you stop concentrating on the spell before it reaches its full duration, an uncontrolled aberration doesn’t disappear for 1d6 rounds if it still has hit points.

As part of casting the spell, you can form a circle on the ground with the black sand used as a material component. The circle is large enough to encompass your space. While the spell lasts, the summoned aberration can’t cross the circle or harm it, and it can’t target anyone within it. Using the material component in this manner consumes it when the spell ends.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the challenge rating increases by 1 for each slot level above 4th.

Call Lesser Horrors

3^rd-level conjuration | Classes: Warlock, Wizard

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (the brain of a humanoid killed within the last 24 hours, a vial of black sand)
Duration: 1 hour (concentration)

You utter words in Deep Speech, tearing open the walls of reality to summon forth aberrations from the Far Realm. Roll on the following table to determine what appears.

Horrors Called

d6	Aberrations Summoned
1-2	Two aberrations of challenge rating 1 or lower.
3-4	Four aberrations of challenge rating 1/2 or lower.
5-6	Eight aberrations of challenge rating 1/4 or lower.

The DM chooses the aberrations, such as slaad taadpoles or starspawn grues, and you choose the unoccupied spaces you can see within range where they appear. A summoned aberration disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The aberrations are hostile to all creatures, including you. Roll initiative for the summoned aberrations as a group, which has its own turns. The aberrations pursue and attack the nearest non-aberrationss to the best of their ability.

As part of casting the spell, you can form a circle on the ground with the black sand used as a material component. The circle is large enough to encompass your space. While the spell lasts, the summoned aberrations can’t cross the circle or harm it, and they can’t target anyone within it. Using the material component in this manner consumes it when the spell ends.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th or 7th level, you summon twice as many aberrations. If you cast it using a spell slot of 8th or 9th level, you summon three times as many aberrations.

Madness Spiral

6^th-level enchantment | Classes: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 ft.
Components: V, S, M (a shard of stained glass)
Duration: 1 minute (concentration)


This spell creates a whirl of kaleidoscopic energy in a 15-foot radius sphere centered on a point within range. When a creature other than yourself enters the spell's area for the first time on its turn or starts its turn there, it must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, a target rolls a d8 to gain a randomly determined madness from the following table, which lasts for the duration of the spell.

Madness Spiral Random Madness

d4	Madness
1	The target screams, laughs, or weeps uncontrollably. The creature is restrained and incapacitated
2-3	The target's mind wanders, hardly present, and they find it difficult to remember and apply the things they used to know. The target is incapacitated. On their turn, the creature may attempt an Intelligence saving throw against your spell save DC to try to briefly focus their mind. On a successful save, they can take an action (but not a bonus action) this turn. On a failed save, they may move this turn but can't do anything else.
4-5	The creature is filled with undirected rage. It must use its action each round to make a melee attack, ranged attack, or cast a damaging cantrip against the nearest creature. If multiple creatures are the same distance away, determine the target randomly.  It may only move if that movement brings it closer to the creature it is currently attacking, or if there are no creatures it can currently attack, in which case the creature uses as much of its movement as necessary to be able to attack the nearest creature it can see.
6-8	The target is frightened of every creature it can see. If that means it can't move in any direction on any given turn it remains in its current space.

At the end of each of its turns, as well as at the end of any turn on which it took damage, an affected target can make a Wisdom saving throw. If it succeeds, this effect ends for that target.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the radius of the sphere increases by 5 feet for each slot level above 6th.

Void Leech

2^nd-level conjuration | Classes: Warlock

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a jar of living leeches)
Duration: Instantaneous

A spatial rift opens in an unoccupied space adjacent to you and an alien tentacle emerges from within and connects with your chest. Another identical rift opens in an unoccupied space within range, and a second tentacle appears from the rift to attack one creature within 10 feet. Make a melee spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes cold damage equal to 1d6 + your spellcasting modifier, and you regain hit points equal to the damage you dealt. The tentacles then withdraw into their rifts, which disappear.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you create an additional tentacle for every two slot levels above 2nd. The tentacles must attack different targets, which must be within range of you but need not be in range of each other.

Void Warp

2^nd-level conjuration | Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 300 feet
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

You are swallowed up by inky blackness, only to reappear instantaneously at any other spot within range. You have no clear recollection of where you went or what happened there, only remembering that it was a nightmarish place, hostile to humanoid life.

You arrive at exactly the spot desired. It can be a place you can see, one you can visualize, or one you can describe by stating distance and direction, such as "200 feet straight downward" or "upward to the northwest at a 45- degree angle, 300 feet."

You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn't exceed what you can carry. You can also bring one willing creature of your size or smaller who is carrying gear up to its carrying capacity. The creature must be within 5 feet of you when you cast this spell.

You and any creature you take with you take cold and psychic damage, the amount of which depends on the distance you try to travel, as shown in the table below.

If you would arrive in a place already occupied by an object or a creature, you are rejected by the void  and the spell fails to teleport you. You still take cold and psychic damage according to the intended distance of the teleport.

Void Warp Damage

Distance (ft.)	Damage
1-100	1d4 cold and 1d4 psychic damage
101-200	2d4 cold and 2d4 psychic damage
201-300	3d4 cold and 3d4 psychic damage