The character conjures up an immobile, opaque globe of shimmering, multicolored light that surrounds the character and protects the character from all forms of attack. The sphere flashes in all colors of the visible spectrum. The sphere flashes with seven colors, each of which has a distinct power and purpose. The sphere is immobile, and the character can pass through and remain near the sphere without harm.
When the character is inside the sphere, the sphere blocks any attempt to project something through the sphere (including spells). Other creatures who attempt to attack the character or pass through suffer the effects of each color, one at a time.
Typically, only the upper hemisphere of the globe will exist, since the character is at the center of the sphere, so the lower half is usually excluded by the floor surface the character is standing on.
Any creature with fewer than 8 HD that is within 20 feet of the sphere is blinded for 2d4 x 10 minutes by the colors if it looks at the wall.
Each color in the sphere has a special effect. The accompanying table shows the seven colors of the sphere, the order in which they appear, their effects on creatures trying to attack the character or pass through the sphere, and the magic needed to negate each color.
The sphere can be destroyed, color by color, in consecutive order, by various magical effects; however, the first must be brought down before the second can be affected, and so on. A rod of cancellation or a disjunction spell destroys a prismatic sphere, but an antimagic field fails to penetrate it. Dispel magic and greater dispelling cannot dispel the sphere or anything within it. Spell resistance is effective against a prismatic sphere, but the caster level check must be repeated for each color present.
Color Order Effect of Color Negated By
----- ----- --------------- ----------
Red 1st Stops nonmagical ranged weapons Cone of Cold
Deals 20 ponts of fire damage (Reflex half)
Orange 2nd Stops magical ranged weapoins Gust of Wind
Deals 40 points of acid damage (Reflex half)
Yellow 3rd Stops poisons, gasses, and petrification Disintegrate
Deals 80 points of electricity damage (Reflex half)
Green 4th Stops breath weapons Passwall
Poison (Kills; Fortitute partial to take 20 points of damage instead)
Blue 5th Stops divination and mental attacks Magic Missile
Turned to stone (Fortitude negates)
Indigo 6th Stops all spells Daylight
Will save or become insane (as insanity spell)
Violet 7th Energy field destroys all objects and Dispel Magic effects
Creatures are sent to another plane (Will negates)
The violet effect makes the special effects of the other six colors redundant, but they are included here because certain magic items can create prismatic effects one color at a time, and SR might render some colors ineffective (see above).