- Level: 1
- Range: Touch
- Components: V, S, M
- Duration: 1d3 rounds + 1 round/level
- Casting Time: 1
- Area of Effect: Creature touched
- Saving Throw: None
When spellcasters dream of mastering the air, they usually look toward Levitate or Fly. However, long before a wizard has the magical reserves to defy gravity permanently, there is Jump. This Alteration spell does not offer the graceful hovering of higher-level magic; instead, it delivers raw, kinetic momentum. It is a strictly physics-bound utility spell that turns characters into biological siege weapons—though it is notorious for being just as dangerous to the user as it is to the enemy.
Functional Overview
Upon touching the target and breaking the material component, the wizard imbues the creature with immense, explosive leg strength.
- Leap Frequency: The recipient can make one massive leap per round for the duration of the spell.
- The Distances: A leap can carry the creature 30 feet forward, 30 feet straight upward, or 10 feet backward.
- The Trajectory Arc: Horizontal jumps are practically flat. The arc rises only about 2 feet for every 10 feet traveled (meaning a 30-foot forward jump only raises the character 6 feet off the ground at its apex).
- The Danger Clause: The spell explicitly does not ensure safety upon landing or when attempting to grasp a ledge at the end of the leap. Gravity still applies the moment the upward momentum stops.
Tactical Insights & Exploits
A close reading of the mechanics—and decades of crushed fighter kneecaps—reveals that Jump requires precise spatial awareness and party synergy to use effectively:
1. The Heavy Infantry Delivery System
The most common mistake wizards make is casting this on themselves to run away. The optimal play is casting it on the party’s heavily armored frontline fighter. In AD&D 2e, plate mail reduces movement rates drastically. Jump completely bypasses ground-speed limitations. The wizard touches the fighter, and suddenly a fully armored juggernaut can launch themselves 30 feet across the battlefield, bypassing the enemy frontline to land directly adjacent to a vulnerable enemy spellcaster.
2. The 30-Foot Death Trap (Vertical Scaling)
The 30-foot vertical leap is a trap for the unprepared. If a character jumps 30 feet straight up into the air and misses the ledge they were trying to grab, they will immediately fall 30 feet, suffering 3d6 falling damage. Smart dungeoneers never use the vertical leap without having the party Thief ready to catch them, or a wizard ready to cast Feather Fall the moment they miss their grip.
3. The “Flat Arc” Corridor Exploit
The incredibly low trajectory of the horizontal jump (peaking at only 6 feet) makes this spell exceptionally useful indoors. Unlike a natural long jump that requires high clearance, a character buffed with Jump can launch themselves 30 feet straight down a standard 10-foot-high dungeon corridor without smashing their head on the ceiling. It is the perfect tool for leaping entirely over a known pit trap or pressure plate in a confined space.
4. The Tactical Disengage (Backward Leap)
The 10-foot backward leap is an incredibly potent defensive maneuver. In standard melee, retreating usually exposes a character to free attacks or prevents them from taking standard actions. A wizard engaged in melee can use their action to cast Jump, immediately leaping 10 feet backward out of sword range, establishing enough distance to safely cast a ranged evocation spell on the following round.
Research & Acquisition
Jump serves as a wizard’s first practical lesson in transferring kinetic energy and manipulating muscle mass via Alteration.
- Research Time: 1d10 + 1 weeks.
- Financial Investment: 100–1,000 gp.
- Material Components: A grasshopper’s hind leg, which the caster must physically snap when the spell is cast.
Theoretical Variants
Alterers focused on dungeon traversal and physical enhancement often refine this spell to remove its inherent lethality:
- Safe Landing (Level 2 Research): Integrates a minor localized gravity dampener. The target still jumps with explosive force, but at the apex of the leap, their mass briefly shifts, ensuring they take no falling damage if they land on a surface level with or lower than their starting point.
- Kinetic Strike (Level 2 Research): A combat-focused variant. If the character makes a melee attack in the exact same round they execute a forward leap, the raw momentum of the jump is transferred into the weapon, granting a +2 bonus to the damage roll of that single strike.
- Bounding Stride (Level 2 Research): Rather than one massive leap per round, this variant alters the recipient’s natural gait, effectively doubling their base movement rate across flat or difficult terrain for the duration, acting as a low-level alternative to Haste.
The Verdict
Jump is a spell of brute force and high risk. It removes the obstacle of difficult terrain and slow movement rates, replacing them with the raw physics of a horizontal bullet or a vertical rocket. When combined with a heavily armored fighter or a precisely mapped dungeon layout, it becomes an unparalleled 1st-level mobility tool. Just make sure you know exactly where you are landing before you snap the grasshopper leg.
