Celestial apotheosis rituals

First Apotheosis

School transmutation [good]; Level 4
Casting Time 4 hours
Components V, S, M (exotic incense worth 500 gp)
Skill Checks Diplomacy DC 18, 2 successes; Knowledge (planes or religion) DC 18, 2 successes
Range personal
Target caster
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Backlash The caster takes 4d6 points of damage and is exhausted.
Failure The caster is rendered unconscious for 2d4 hours and must wait 1 year before attempting the first apotheosis again.

EFFECT

The first ritual is the simplest and requires nothing more than for the caster’s alignment to become lawful good, neutral good, or chaotic good (depending on the type of celestial the user wishes to transform into). To prepare for this ritual, the caster must undertake acts of a selfless and righteous nature over the course of a year. The caster must select a powerful celestial or good-aligned deity at this point to serve as a patron. The acts the caster must undertake can vary, but they should be of a nature that represents and honors the areas of interest of her chosen patron—these acts are intended to attract the patron’s attention, after all. Even casters who begin the transformation ritual with a good alignment must undergo this stage of the ritual, if only to select a celestial patron.

On the day precisely 1 year after she began these good acts, she must perform the 4-hour first apotheosis ritual to properly devote her previous year in the name of her chosen patron. Once she successfully completes the first apotheosis, she becomes eligible to undertake the second apotheosis.

Second Apotheosis

Source PRG:BotD
School transmutation [good]; Level 5
Casting Time 5 hours
Components V, S, M (exotic incense worth 500 gp, meaningful offering of a good nature)
Skill Checks Diplomacy DC 23, 3 successes; Knowledge (planes or religion) DC 23, 2 successes
Range personal
Target caster
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Backlash The caster takes 4d6 points of damage and is exhausted.
Failure The caster is rendered unconscious for 2d4 hours.

EFFECT

Preparation for the second apotheosis requires many more months of unmblemished conduct and righteous acts, but at some point during this second year, the caster must contact her chosen celestial patron, via either commune or contact other plane. A trusted minion or ally can cast this spell on the caster’s behalf; it’s common for a spellcaster to gain a cassisian, silvanshee, or harbinger archon familiar so that it can use its commune spell-like ability for this purpose. Once contact is made, the patron must be told of the caster’s desire to become a celestial; during this time, the commune or contact other plane spell cannot be used to ask any other questions. At any point thereafter but before a year has passed, the caster must offer a significant offering to her celestial patron as a burned offering in a temple consecrated to the celestial. This offering can be either physical (the destruction of a powerful unholy weapon or relic) or spiritual (a captured and converted evil creature who pledges herself to a life of redemption).

If this ritual fails, the caster can try again. Once the second apotheosis is successful, part of the caster’s body transforms into something celestial as proof of her patron’s favor. The specific transformation granted is up to the GM, but typical results include gaining a halo that sheds an archon's protective aura or shining wings. Once the caster successfully completes the second apotheosis, she becomes eligible to undertake the third apotheosis.

Third Apotheosis
Source PRG:BotD
School transmutation [good]; Level 6
Casting Time 6 hours
Components V, S, M (exotic incense worth 2,000 gp; prior completion of special quest); SC (up to 8)
Skill Checks Diplomacy DC 28, 3 successes; Knowledge (planes or religion) DC 28, 3 successes

Range personal

Target primary caster
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Backlash The primary and secondary casters take 4d6 points of damage and become exhausted.
Failure The primary and secondary casters are reduced to –1 hp.

EFFECT

At some point after the primary caster contacts her celestial patron (typically after she succeeds at the second ritual, but sometimes before), the fiend sends the primary caster a vision of a task she must complete (such as banishing a powerful evil outsider from a Material Plane prison or recovering a holy item fallen into evil hands). This task is typically one of significance to the celestial, and in many cases it is one that the primary caster has no hope of completing until she grows more powerful. There is no time limit for how long the primary caster has to complete this task, but she must perform weekly devotions to her patron in the intervening time in the form of regular worship and continued acts of good in the celestial's name. Additional offerings to the patron, aiding those in need, and sparing or converting enemies are popular choices. Once the assigned task is completed, the primary caster can perform the third apotheosis. Unlike the first and second rituals, the third apotheosis allows for the use of secondary casters, yet it carries a much greater risk for failure. If the primary caster succeeds, she permanently gains the half-celestial template.