This spell is a part of theĀ Frightful TouchĀ spell chain and is found in the Frightful Touch rune stone.
There is a difference between using fear and wearing it. The timoramancer who casts Shuddering Presence is learning that difference for the first timeĀ and finding it considerably more uncomfortable than they anticipated.
Dread does not radiate gently. When the timoramancer opens themselves to it and lets it breathe outward rather than directing it at a specific target, what emerges is raw and indiscriminate - a palpable wrongness that settles over everyone within 2 spaces instantly, the primal recognition that something near them should be feared. Every target within the aura is inflicted with Fear as Dread announces its presence without subtlety or precision. Those who wish to attack the timoramancer must find the courage to do so first - a Hard Mental Balance check standing between their intention and their action, Dread asking simply whether they are certain they want to get closer.
The timoramancer is not spared. They opened the door and Dread came through it, and they are standing in it alongside everyone else. Each round they must make a Normal Mental Balance check or be Dazed as the weight of what they are channeling presses back against them. Dread is not distinguishing between its host and its targets, at least not yet. This will become easier. It always does, for those who persist. But the first time wearing Dread, there is no pretending it doesn't cost something.
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