Alteration

This spell is an advanced magical trick that spellcasters use to practice the basic techniques of spell craft.

All effects created by this spell last one hour. You cannot have more than one effect from this spell active at a time. The DM may determine if the result you want isn't appropriate. For example, adding the dissonant whispers movement effect to firebolt, because that spell works through the spoken word, and not the impact of a projectile. You can perform the following techniques in and out of combat with this spell:

• As a reaction, change the damage type of an active spell within two spell levels to that of one in your spell book. When casting this spell using a spell slot of the second level or higher, you can affect spells up to two spell slots higher.
• As an action, plan out a reaction to add an effect from your spell book to a spell you see another creature cast. You must know what spell will be cast, and you must find a specific effect within a spell's description that is in your spell book, and expend a spell slot of that level when alteration is cast. Finally, you must pass an arcana check when casting alteration in this manner. The DC is ten plus the level of the spell slot you are expending. On a failed check, you take necrotic damage equal to the level of the spell slot, and that spell slot is wasted. For example, you tell a friendly wizard to cast firebolt. You spend your action take a reaction: to cast alteration while the firebolt is being cast, to add the ten foot radius from the second level spell shatter in your spell book to firebolt. If the friendly wizard casts firebolt on their next turn, and you pass the arcana check, you add a ten foot area of effect to the firebolt. If the alteration is purely switching damage types, you automatically pass the arcana check. For example, changing the damage type of firebolt to acid.
• As an action, you can do simple transmutations of material created by spells within ten feet. For example, change an active Sleet Storm spell into a billowing cloud of ash, sand, or salt, or change the daggers within a Cloud of Daggers spell from metal to wood, or change a pool of water created by Create Water into a pool of acid. The level of spell you can affect using alteration in this manner is a maximum of two levels higher than the spell slot expended.