Sanctuary
Author - Bret Boyd
Illustrator - Rick Hershey
“Behind the Spells” is a pdf series which ex-
amines those spells from the SRD that are listed
time and again on character sheets throughout
fantasy gaming. Each pdf in this series exam-
ines the spellcaster who created the spell, one or
more of the spell’s hidden capabilities, and any
related magical items or spells. Narrator and
host, Maxolt Alberiim, guides you through the
ins and outs of these spells. Actually an ancient
gold dragon, Maxolt masquerades as a human
fighter-mage to better continue his research into
magic and to aid others as his kind is want to do.
For this issue, Maxolt tells us about the spell
that began as a religious practice–sanctuary.
1
Leonardo Abdala (Order #1763092)
The Creator
In past Behind the Spells articles, I’ve often
used the word “pantheon” to mean the deities
as a whole. In this article’s case, however,
Pantheon (note the capitalization) refers to a
meeting place for all the gods’ worshippers.
“What do you mean,” I hear you quickly ob-
ject, “There is no all-encompassing house of
worship.” That’s what many faithful believe
and indeed this is true of today’s churches. But
back when the gods were still vying for their
first few thousand worshippers, the most fre-
quently asked question was: “How best should
we worship you?” Instead of having a different
 church on every corner—for larger communi-
ties were few during this sparsely populated
age—the most powerful priests agreed to erect
one multi-faith structure where all could come
and worship.
Situated along a great mountain range
which cut through the most densely packed
communities of the age, the Pantheon be-
came the place to worship for those who fol-
lowed the major deities (good, neutral, or
evil). To make certain opposing faiths would
not do harm to one another in the Pantheon,
the concept of “sanctuary” was created. As
long as you were within the Pantheon’s walls,
no one could hurt you; lest they be punished
by all of the other faiths represented there.
The idea of sanctuary was remarkably upheld
time and again despite the many holy con-
flicts that were waging outside (not directly
outside, mind you, although that was nearly
the case on a few occasions). In addition to
protecting worshippers, sanctuary also pro-
tected all creatures within the church’s walls
from outside seizure and persecution. “Out-
side” meant anyone not of one of the faiths
represented in the Pantheon—local govern-
ments could not touch fugitives, for example.
I think because of this secondary protective
clause, the sanctuary concept spread to all
other single-faith houses of worship when
they began to disseminate. If nothing else,
the religions assumed (correctly, in most in-
stances) that those persons to whom sanctu-
ary was given would be easy converts to the
religion that protected them.
To tie all of this exposition together, I must
point out that sanctuary was the idea, natu-
rally, of the Protection god’s faithful. Within
the Pantheon, clerics of the Protection deity
served as the de facto enforcers of the peace.
Some two centuries after the Pantheon was
erected enters the protagonist of our tale, a hu-
man cleric named Kellic Mantruso. Second
only to Curate Alman in seniority, Kellic’s
strong faith and amiable nature proved indis-
pensable at the Pantheon. Kellic was a fervent
believer in the concept of sanctuary, where ev-
ery creature had the right to contemplate his
actions (whether already taken or not) without
immediate fear of the consequences.
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Leonardo Abdala (Order #1763092)
All was well at the Pantheon until a half-
orc named Gruag requested asylum within its
walls. The council ruling Pantheon granted the
request without question, such was the way of
sanctuary. Even when it was later revealed that
Gruag was wanted for the murder of an elderly
couple whose house he robbed, sanctuary was
upheld. Standard practice called for any crea-
tures protected by sanctuary to confess their
sins to clergy of the Protection deity. In Gruag’s
case, the one to hear his confession was Curate
Alman. The more the ranking priest heard the
half-orc’s tales of deceit, thievery, and murder,
the less inclined he was to honor sanctuary for
the full term (normally one month).
Kellic, in his role of sub-Curate, kept a pro-
tective eye on Alman and his work and he
noticed his superior’s growing irritation. He
offered to hear the half-orc’s remaining con-
fessions and supply the requisite prayers in
Alman’s stead but the Curate would not hear
of it. If only they knew that refusal would di-
rectly lead to the Pantheon’s downfall. When
Gruag got around to confessing his most re-
cent sins—the elderly couple’s murder—Al-
man realized from the descriptions that these
innocents were his own parents! The Curate
could suffer the loathsome creature no longer
and, while the half-orc was proudly describ-
ing his ill-gotten gains from the home, Alman
rushed at him. Unprepared for the older hu-
man’s sudden move, Gruag was caught com-
pletely off-guard when Alman shoved him out
the window behind him. Unfortunately, an
acolyte bearing the Curate’s midday meal had
quietly entered the chamber moments before.
The man witnessed the half-orc’s feet vanish
from the windowsill on their way down the
five levels to the rocky ground below.
Mad with grief and rage, Alman spun to face
the horrified acolyte. The Curate quickly re-
gained some composure and tried to explain
his actions when an impenetrable darkness
descended on the Pantheon and its surround-
ings. You see, the gods had been keeping a
careful eye on the multi-faith structure and
had prepared for the inevitable moment when
sanctuary would be violated. Since that was
the cardinal rule which allowed the residents
to live together in relative harmony, break-
 ing it forced the gods to make an example of
Pantheon and its people. It was at that mo-
ment that Kellic was returning with a supply
caravan and was forced to pull short of enter-
ing the dark mist which suddenly appeared in
front of the Pantheon’s gates.
Thinking the mist the work of some at-
tacking evil, Kellic made ready to dispel the
great cloud. But before the words of the spell
reached his lips, the Protection deity granted
him a vision of what his superior had just
done to Gruag. Kellic felt as if someone had
punched him and he fell backwards to cry in
the dirt. Just as the caravan master was asking
what was going on, a cacophony of horrified
and pained cries erupted from inside the dark
cloud. The noise lasted but a moment and
then vanished along with the cloud…and with
the Pantheon itself! Kellic and the caravan
now sat before a great hole in the mountain,
nothing to indicate that a structure had ever
existed there.
And Kellic was not the only cleric to receive
a vision on that day. Every priest of the faiths
represented at Pantheon were shown the same
vision—a Curate of the Protection deity vio-
lating sanctuary. On that day, the practice of
sanctuary died. Kellic shortly after moved to
the closest Protection shrine to practice his
faith but could not shake the need to somehow
atone for his superior’s transgression. After
much meditation and prayer, Kellic finally de-
cided to keep the idea of sanctuary—a con-
cept so close to his deity’s ethos—alive for all
time in a useful form. That form was the spell
sanctuary, unchanged since Kellic detailed its
specifics to his god so long ago.
And what was done to Pantheon, you ask?
If you’re very lucky, you’ll never find out.
From what I’ve been able to piece together,
the Pantheon was sent by the gods to magi-
cally drift across the planes, appearing at one
site for a number of days (never more than
nine) before disappearing to another random
location. The poor souls inside were cursed
in different ways—some going insane, oth-
ers becoming gruesome undead creatures or
worse monsters—but all were granted im-
mortality and forbidden from ever leaving the
expansive structure. If there’s a way to bring
3
Leonardo Abdala (Order #1763092)
these creatures a final rest, much less a way to
predict the Pantheon’s movements, no one has
yet discovered it.
Spell Secrets
Sometimes you only require a few moments
to get yourself and your allies through a hos-
tile area to safety. Other times, you simply
want to avoid a fight for the sake of expedi-
ency. In either case, a few modifications to
the casting of sanctuary can possibly provide
such safe passage.
You can use sanctuary to target multiple
creatures with a successful Spellcraft check
(DC 10 + 1 per target). Success means you
can ward up to one creature per caster level.
However, the duration of the spell is cut in
half (round down). Failure of the check
means the spell is wasted.
When a loose coalition of minions is only
held at an enemy’s side by intimidation,
sanctuary might be able to reverse that aura
of fear. Casters might chafe when imagin-
ing getting close enough to a powerful foe to
touch him for this spell secret but, if success-
ful, the gain is worth the risk at the sight of
those cowed minions turning on their mas-
ter.
Instead of warding a creature from attack,
you can reverse sanctuary to cause the target
to provoke attacks from nearby creatures. If
you know at least two Enchantment spells of
2nd level or higher and succeed a Spellcraft
check (DC 15), the touched target radiates
a peculiar aura of hostile provocation. All
intelligent creatures within the 15-foot
radius area of effect during the duration are
compelled to attack the target unless they
succeed a Will save. This save must be
repeated until one of the following occurs:
the creature moves beyond the area of
effect, the Will save is successful (negating
further saves for that duration), or the spell
duration expires. If you fail the Spellcraft
check, the spell is lost.
 Related Research
Based on the legend of the Pantheon, an in-
spired human bard named Lafarra Nax designed
a strongbox which looked exactly as the cursed
structure is said to have appeared in its prime.
Lafarra commissioned a mage friend of modest
power to imbue the box with two powers also
based on the Pantheon legend—invisibility
and teleportation. The safebox was a success
among the wealthy who adored the power to
both hide and, if necessary, whisk to safety a
prized possession.
NEW MAGIC ITEM—Safebox
Measuring one foot in width, half again
as long, and six inches deep, the safebox
is comprised of white marble with a
lid fastened by silver hinges and a red
velvet interior. The lid is engraved with
a colonnade studded with tiny turquoise
stones. When the stones on the end pillars
are touched simultaneously, the safebox
becomes invisible for 9 minutes except
to the creature that activated the power
(usable once per day). The activating
creature (the “owner”) can also command
the box to teleport to a single destination of
his choosing once per week. The command
must be verbally issued within 30 feet of
the box. The safebox recognizes its owner
as the last creature to hold/touch it for one
continuous minute; imparting knowledge
of its two powers immediately after that
time.
Moderate conjuration; CL 9th; Craft
Wondrous Item, invisibility, teleport; Price
33,500 gp.
Although pleased with his sanctuary spell and
its subsequent usage by other clerics, as Kel-
lic aged he was still bothered by the fact that
there were no designated areas creatures could
take absolute refuge in. Such places, formerly
churches and shrines, were part of his heritage.
In an effort to regain those “better times,” even
if only in a limited capacity, Kellic created spe-
cial stones which radiated protective proper-
ties. Unfortunately, the priest never made more
than a few dozen before him, his home, and
the notes pertaining to the stones’ construction
4
Leonardo Abdala (Order #1763092)
were lost in a great fire. As a result, sanctu-
ary markers are quite valuable. The tragedy
was later discovered to be the handiwork of
the Destroyer deity’s faithful, who never held
any love for worshippers of the Protection god
(see Behind the Monsters: Skeleton for another
chapter in that feud). A set of three sanctuary
markers was once discovered in a particularly
vile dungeon, the adventuring group who used
them undoubtedly establishing safe havens dur-
ing exploration (before their untimely deaths).
NEW MAGIC ITEM—
Sanctuary Marker
This eye agate gemstone is commonly
whitish-pink in color and at least 2
inches in length with a protection rune
(Knowledge (arcana) or (divine) DC 12
to deduce the meaning) engraved at the
center of the stone’s bands of colors.
When not found as part of the treasure
of a creature ignorant of its true nature,
the sanctuary marker is embedded in the
ground or a tree. A creature activates the
stone’s powers by touching the rune and
speaking “sanctuary.” The protections
have a maximum duration of 10 minutes,
usable three times per day but need not be
continuous (stone can be (de)activated by
tapping it). A sanctuary marker provides
the following protections within a 30-foot
radius when nestled firmly in a natural
substance (stone, wood, etc.):
• Damage reversal: When a physical attack
successfully strikes someone inside the
protected area, the attacker (be he inside
or outside the area) suffers half of the
damage inflicted (the other half still being
inflicted on the target).
• Discern lies: When someone within the
protected area knowingly lies, he must
succeed a Will save (DC 17) or be outlined
in a faint green haze for one round.
• Protection from energy: The creature that
activates the marker chooses one energy
type; when that energy comes into contact
with the protected area (whether its source
is inside or outside the area), it appears to
evaporate into nothingness (affects up to
 120 points worth of damage before this
power is nullified).
• Sanctuary: As per the spell but protects
all creatures within the protected area.

It is important to note that the marker

provides no protection when simply held
by a creature. It must be inset within a
natural location, thus providing the kind
of sanctuary envisioned by its creator.
Sticking the marker between two stones
or shoving it partially into soft ground is
sufficient, for example.

Moderate abjuration; CL 10th; Craft

Wondrous Item, discern lies, protection
from energy, sanctuary, shield other; Price
83,500 gp

5
Leonardo Abdala (Order #1763092)
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System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rick Baker, Andy Collins,
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Behind the Spells: Sanctuary, Copyright 2008, Tricky Owlbear Publishing, Inc.

Leonardo Abdala (Order #1763092)