One of my wife's favorite spells to use back in our D&D 5th Edition game was "Mage Hand." Her arcane trickster used it to great effect, swiping things from a range, causing distractions, or handling hazardous materials (like a chunk of burning star).
When we were recently playing Dungeon Crawl Classics, she was disappointed to discover that a comparable spell doesn't exist in that game. "Invisible Servant" does serves some of the same purpose, but doesn't quite fill the gap.
So I wrote up "Wizard Hand" for DCC. It creates a floating magical hand controllable by the caster. The higher your spellcasting roll, the stronger the hand is and the more control the caster has. With high rolls, you can even use the hand to attack with weapons or use touch spells.
Read and Enjoy!
Wizard Hand
Level: 1
Range: 30’
Duration: 1 turn per caster level
Casting Time: 1 Action
Save: None
General: The caster summons a disembodied hand made of pure magical force. The caster can direct this magical hand using their own actions to guide it, allowing it to act as an extension of their own body at a range.
Manifestation: Roll 1d6. The hand appears as: (1) an exact copy of the caster’s hand, (2) a skeletal hand, (3) a glowing yellow energy construct, (4) a scaly red demon hand, (5) a mailed gauntlet, (6) A white, three-fingered glove.
Corruption: Roll 1d5: (1) The caster’s hand turns transparent, like glass. (2) The caster’s hand withers and turns skeletal. (3) The caster’s hand glows in the dark. (4) The caster’s wrist grows 2d6 inches longer. (5) Minor corruption.
Misfire: Roll 1d4: (1) The hand makes a very rude gesture at the most high-status person in range. (2) The hand undoes the caster’s belt, allowing their pants to drop to the ground. (3) The hand pokes the caster in the eyes, blinding them for 1d4 rounds. (4) The hand smacks the caster in the face, inflicting 1d4 damage.
1: Lost, failure, and worse! Roll 1d6 modified by Luck: (0 or less) corruption + misfire + patron taint, (1-2) corruption, (3) patron taint (or corruption if no patron), (4+) misfire
2-11: Lost. Failure.
12-13: The caster summons a magical hand that can clumsily shove stationary objects with up to 5 lbs. of force.
14-17: The caster summons a magical hand that can lift up to 5lbs and is dexterous as the caster’s own hand. It is not quick enough to handle weapons or make attacks.
18-19: The caster summons a magical hand that can lift up to 10lbs and is dexterous as the caster’s own hand. It is not quick enough to handle weapons or make attacks. Additionally, the caster may choose to make the hand invisible if they desire.
20-23: The caster summons a magical hand that can lift up to 15 lbs and is dexterous as the caster’s own hand. The hand is deft enough to use one-handed weapons, and the caster can use it to make melee attacks with their own attack bonus and may add their INT modifier to attack and damage. Additionally, the caster may choose to make the hand invisible if they desire.
24-27: The caster summons a magical hand that can lift up to 20lbs and is dexterous as the caster’s own hand. The hand is deft enough to use one-handed weapons, and the caster can use it to make melee attacks with their own attack bonus and may add their INT modifier to attack and damage. The caster may also use the hand to deliver touch-ranged spells. Additionally, the caster may choose to make the hand invisible if they desire.
28-29: The caster summons a magical hand that can lift up to 30lbs and is dexterous as the caster’s own hand. The hand is deft enough to use one-handed weapons, and the caster can use it to make melee attacks with their own attack bonus and may add their INT modifier to attack and damage. Without a weapon, the hand can still inflict 1d4 damage (modified by INT). The caster may also use the hand to deliver touch-ranged spells. Additionally, the caster may choose to make the hand invisible if they desire.
30-31: The caster summons a magical hand that can lift up to 50lbs and is dexterous as the caster’s own hand. The hand is deft enough to use one-handed weapons, and the caster can use it to make melee attacks with their own attack bonus and may add their INT modifier to attack and damage. Without a weapon, the hand can still inflict 1d6 damage (modified by INT). The caster may also use the hand to deliver touch-ranged spells. Additionally, the caster may choose to make the hand invisible if they desire.
32+: The caster summons a magical hand that can lift up to 100lbs and is dexterous as the caster’s own hand. The hand is strong and deft enough to use even two-handed weapons, and the caster can use it to make melee attacks with their own attack bonus and may add their INT modifier to attack and damage. Without a weapon, the hand can still inflict 1d8 damage (modified by INT). The caster may also use the hand to deliver touch-ranged spells. Additionally, the caster may choose to make the hand invisible if they desire.
