When a priest enters othertime, he steps into a different reality in which the world around him is frozen at
a moment in the future. Until time catches up to him, he may move about
unhindered and observe his surroundings; no force known can detect his presence or
harm him in the alternate reality, although he in turn cannot affect any creature
or object in the physical world. For instance, he could read a book at the
page it was opened to, but he could not turn the page since that would require him
to move an object that is temporarily immovable for him. To his companions or
enemy in real time, the priest appears to simply vanish altogether, only to
reappear at some later point.
The duration of this spell is a little odd, to say the least. The priest may
choose a duration of up to 1 round at 7th to 9th level, 2 rounds at 10th to 12th
level, 3 rounds at 13th to 16th, 4 rounds at 17th to 19th, up to a maximum of
5 rounds at 20th level or higher. The duration chosen by the priest governs the
length of the othertime; if the priest decides that the spell will last 2 rounds, then he is
instantly transported to that point in time, surrounded by the frozen still-life of the
world as it will appear 2 rounds after the priest cast othertime. The caster then has 2 rounds to himself to take any actions he cares to,
although he cannot affect the real world by any physical, magical, or mental means.
While the caster is in the othertime, he is completely unaware of the intervening events. In the example above, if
the caster’s friends were teleported away 1 round after the caster left and replaced by an identical group of
dopplegangers, the caster would have no chance to detect the switch; all he sees are
the bodies of his “friends,” frozen in the positions they will occupy when he
emerges from the othertime. This also means that nasty things like dragon breath, cloudkills, or mind blasts that pass through the spot where the caster happens to be have no effect on
him—he simply does not exist in the real world while he waits for everyone else
to catch up to him.
As noted above, the caster gains an amount of subjective time equal to the
duration of the spell. By leaping 3 rounds into the future, the caster gains 3
rounds of actions in the othertime. He could drink a potion, cast a spell, and then maneuver for an attack, for
example, or he could gain a 3-round head start by running for his life while no
one else can pursue him. If the priest uses this time to study a battle and
position himself for an attack, he gains a –4 bonus to his initiative roll on the
round he emerges from othertime, and a +4 attack bonus with his first strike.
Leaping in and out of the time stream is a dangerous activity; every time the
priest employs this spell, there is a 1% noncumulative chance that he becomes
stuck in othertime, doomed to death by thirst or starvation when his own rations run out. Only
the most extraordinary measures (a wish spell, divine intervention, etc.) can save a character in this predicament.
Once a priest is in othertime, he cannot pray for further spells. After all, if the priest is going to
attract his deity’s attention by praying for spells, the deity will most likely
allow him out! The material component for this spell is an hourglass filled with
rare salts, worth at least 100 gold pieces.
Table of Contents