This spell enables a specially constructed chest to be hidden deep within the
Ethereal Plane, to be summoned using a small model of the chest. The large
chest must be exceptionally well-crafted and expensive, constructed for the caster
by master craftsmen. If made principally of wood, it must be ebony, rosewood,
sandalwood, teak, or the like, and all of its corner fittings, nails, and
hardware must be platinum. If constructed of ivory, the metal fittings of the chest
must be gold. If the chest is fashioned from bronze, copper, or silver, its
fittings must be electrum or silver. The cost of such a chest is never less than
5,000 gp. Once it is constructed, the wizard must have a tiny replica (of the
same materials and perfect in every detail) made, so that the miniature of the
chest appears to be a perfect copy. One wizard can have but one pair of these
chests at any given time--even wish spells do not allow exceptions! The chests themselves are nonmagical, and can
be fitted with locks, wards, and so on, just as any normal chest.
While touching the chest and holding the tiny replica, the caster chants the
spell. This causes the large chest to vanish into the Ethereal Plane. The chest
can contain 1 cubic foot of material per level of the wizard no matter what its
apparent size. Living matter makes it 75% likely that the spell fails, so the
chest is typically used for securing valuable spell books, magical items, gems,
etc. As long as the spellcaster has the small duplicate of the magical chest,
he can recall the large one from the Ethereal Plane whenever the chest is
desired. If the miniature of the chest is lost or destroyed, there is no way, not
even with a wish spell, that the large chest can return, although an expedition might be
mounted to find it.
While the chest is in the Ethereal Plane, there is a cumulative 1% chance per
week that some being finds it. This chance is reset to 1% whenever the chest is
recalled and the spell recast to return it to the Ethereal Plane. If the chest
is found, the DM must work out the encounter and decide how the being reacts
to the chest (for example, it might ignore the chest, fully or partially empty
it, or even exchange or add to the items present!).
Whenever the secret chest is brought back to the Prime Material Plane, an
ethereal window is opened for a variable amount of time (usually about one turn);
the window slowly diminishes in size. When this hole opens between the planes,
check for an ethereal encounter to see if a monster is drawn through.
If the large chest is not retrieved before the spell duration lapses, there is
a cumulative chance of 5% per day that the chest is lost.
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