Upon casting this spell, the magic-user brings into being a shimmering sword-like plane of force. The spell caster is able to mentally wield this weapon (to the exclusion of activities other than movement), causing it to move and strike as if it were being used by a fighter. The basic chance for Mordenkainen’s sword to hit is the same as the chance for a sword wielded by a fighter of one-half the level of the spell caster, ie. if cast by a 14th level magic- user, the weapon has the same hit probability as a sword wielded by a 7th level fighter. The sword has no magical “to hit” bonuses, but it can hit any sort of opponent, even those normally struck only by +3 weapons or astral, ethereal or cout of phase; and it will hit any armor class on a roll of 19 or 20. It inflicts 5-20 hit points on opponents of man-size or smaller, and 5-30 on opponents larger than man-sized. It can be used to subdue. It lasts until the spell duration expires, a dispel magic is used successfully upon it, or its caster no longer desires it, The material component is a miniature platinum sword with a grip and pommel of copper and zinc which costs 500 g.p. to construct, and which disappears after the spell’s completion.