[ the author repeatedly refered to planar gravity as "binary" throughout this document for some reason, but that's been fixed :) --ed ]
As we all know, in arcane space gravity is either planar (flat, 2-sided) or spherical (attractive in all directions). Unfortunately, there are many exceptions to this, such as the Scorpion ship (which has a gravity plane that actually curves along the tail and makes a 180 degree turn), some of the artificial objects in Realmspace (like the wizard's tower and the mind flayer "beehive"), and the ships of the tripartite creatures. Being bothered by this, I have finally sat down to do some fiddling with the gravity system.
My original thought was to have different sorts of gravity due to magical spells, but looking at the 7th level spell Reverse Gravity made me pause - if this simple spell only lasts a short time and has a very specific effect, spells that were long-lasting and general would have to be 9th level or higher! Thus the use of such magics by the Scro for their ships would be almost impossible.
Trying to circumvent this problem, I noticed something. All forms of gravity that we know of (in real space or arcane space) are attractive. The R-Grav spell makes gravity act in a repulsive fashion. This must be contrary to the basic laws of the universe, thus the high level of the spell. Spells which alter the direction of gravity, but still allow it to remain an attractive force should be much simpler.
I therefore came up with a new set of spells affecting gravity. Each has a dual nature: one form that lasts a short while, and a more permanent for that one would include in constructing a ship or fortress or whatever.
Minor Gravity Alteration (Alteration, Enchantment)
Level: 3
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 1 round/level or permanent
Casting Time: 3 or 3 hours
Area of Effect: 10' wide path, 10' long/level
Saving Throw: None
This spell allows the directive force of gravity to be turned from its normal path. The change cannot be extreme; gravity cannot be shifted more than 90 degrees from its "normal" state. Also, the change cannot be abrupt; having the gravity suddenly shift from downward to sideways is not possible with this spell. The minimum length needed for this 90-degree change is 10 feet, resulting in a curving transition between one gravity state and another (a 45-degree change would need at least 5 feet, and angles less than 30 degrees require only 2 feet).
The first form of this spell lasts only a few minutes, but can be handy when boarding or being boarded by a ship (especially when the other ship is larger than yours) - cast the spell upon the piercing ram and turn the direction so that attackers must cope with the change as they run up, or cast it on your own piercing ram to lessen the effect of the mis-oriented gravity of another ship. This form requires a paste of iron filings, diamond dust, and Grav blood, smeared in a line that indicates the start of the spells path (which continues onward perpendicularly from that point).
The second for is more time-consuming and expensive to cast, but causes a permanent realignment of the pull of gravity in the targeted area. This form is used in constructing ships and the like. A powder made of dried Grav blood, iron filings, and diamond dust is sifted through a platinum Moebius strip (worth at least 1000 gp) to outline the area to be affected. The caster then casts the spell, at which point the powder and strip disappear forever. The enchanted area retains its gravitational alignment permanently. Note that the spell can still be dispelled, and damage to or construction on the affected area can negate the spell. This form is used to build any area where a safe gravitation path to a precarious area is needed.
Note that in both forms, the spell does not penetrate into the material it is cast upon very deeply. This means that while one side of a turning catwalk may be enchanted for ease of use, the other side will probably still be difficult to move on.
Major Gravity Alteration (Alteration, Enchantment)
Level: 5
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 5 rounds/level or permanent
Casting Time: 1 round or 5 hours
Area of Effect: 10' x 10' area per level
Saving Throw: None
This spell is a more powerful version of the Minor Gravity Alteration spell. While the minimum of 10'/90-degree direction transition is still in effect, gravity may be altered by up to 180 degrees. Thus, a floor could be made into a "ceiling," as it were, with only a 20' space in between where the gravity is changing (thus, a running creature would easily "fall" to the ceiling as in a reverse gravity spell, but would stick to the ceiling, which is now its "floor"). The spell also affects an area, rather than a path, which allows the user to affect the gravity of a room (starting the transition in the adjoining corridor so that when the room is entered, gravity is reversed). As in the Minor version of this spell, damage to or construction on the affected area may disrupt the spell, and it still may be dispelled normally.
The material components for this spell are similar to those for the Minor Gravity Alteration spell, except that powdered Grav bones are used instead of grav blood.
Gravity Shunt (Alteration, Enchantment)
Level: 7
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M
Duration: 5 rounds/level or permanent
Casting Time: 1 round or 5 hours
Area of Effect: 10' x 10' area per level
Saving Throw: None
This spell causes the fundamental force of matter to align itself against itself. In other words, every other square inch of the area of effect aligns its gravity one way, while the remaining spaces align their gravity in the opposite direction, canceling each other out. The result is an area that has no gravity on that surface. This effect is similar to being next to a crystal shell or a Starbeast - there is no pull towards that object. Without gravity, creatures can easily push themselves off of the surface, and the air along that surface tends to bleed away at a slow rate (about 10% per day). Unless this is cast upon a hollow object (like the "beehive" of Realmspace), the object will soon lose all of its air (maneuvering the object or ship, or the motion of creatures will spin some of the remaining air onto the null-gravity area, which will bleed off, etc.).
As before, there are two versions of this spell. The material components are the same except that a Grav brain must be used to make the paste/powder.
