Spell
Mark, the title of that post is exactly right. The 4th level spell is a 'jokey' spell mainly designed, far as I can tell, for out-of-game purposes. Otherwise, it's a Dispel Magic. It seems so system- and DM-dependent that is so vaguely worded that it could change Geases, Wishes, and demonic summoning pacts.
And yeah, I got that the 1st level spell is a tracer, see below. 1st level no save ain't right. There's nothing PCs hate more than no save spells. Give them a die roll, make it at -4, but to just pull things on players tweaks them out-of-game. (I rarely ambush a party, I usually always ask for alertness and perception checks, else the cries go around the table.)
Anyway, this is also a DM-dependent spell. In my games, if a PC wants to follow/find another PC, he just does it. I don't have people lost in town or in mazes. Following an NPC? Almost never done in any of my games. Certainly not an NPC you have to touch and then you only get 10 minutes to follow him.
Paul, can you tell a story? What's the best use you've put this spell to? I'm not trying to be snide, I'd like to know.
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In doing all of this, you have to ask not 'is this spell neat', but 'would I mind out-of-game if this spell was cast on me'.
...
Spells like Fly, Knock and Wizard Lock, Water Breathing, and Identify are great because they open doors. (Literally.) So they work to expand the scope of the game, or the direct plot of the game. Dave had this great campaign where mage magic was just discovered, and 2nd circle spells (Knock) finally invented. Then this mysterious iron door no one could open, suddenly could be opened... that's how the campaign began, and it's one of the top campaign-starters I've ever heard. Divinations of all sorts fall in this category, in which the players and DM are working together to make the game more interesting.
Other spells like Fireball, Detect Magic, and Shield are just workhorses. Nuff said.
Conjurations, Summonings, and Illusions are great although systemically problematic. Nothing insoluble. But they should be nice, functional alternatives to blast magic.
Charms, spells like Contingency, and Hold Person are the real awful spells. They reduce the game fun for both players and the DM. Do you guys remember the Narbohring 'Otto's Seen Servant' spell? Dominate a zero-lvl guy no save. Systemically fine (basically an Animate Dead), good for some laughs, but horribly broken nonetheless. Contingency is mainly used to save special NPCs from certain doom. Basically that's the point of Paul's 4th level spell, right? To break Contingency, thus to kill 'unkillable' NPCs, and thus it's a spell that involves struggle between PCs and the DM for narrative control. Completely the opposite of a spell like Contact Other Plane, in which the PCs directly ask the DM for narrative expansion. I mean, would this spell get a lot of use changing Magic Mouths? When's the last time you had a Magic Mouth in a game? For me it was 7th grade.
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For a similar reason, the Horology spells are going to be hard. They're long-duration stun spells, basicallly, taking PCs out of the game for real-time hours, maybe.
I think we should focus more on game- and narrative-expanding spells, Divinations and their ilk. I give you my version of wizard eye:
Create Seeker
Circle: 3rd
Resist:None
Duration 10 minutes/level
Casting time: -10
Effect: Special
Range: 100 yards/level
School: Conjuration
Damage Type: None
Conjures a small (6") imp-like creature. The creature has wings but no other limbs, an eye but no mouth, can fly, and has rudimentary telepathic communication with the caster, much like a familiar. It is mostly invisible (+8 penalty to perception checks to see it), is AC:3 due to size and agility, and has 0.5 hp/caster level. The imp is used as a scout and can report visual sensory information to the caster. Detect Magic and similar spells can be cast though it.
...
By the way, we should make a decision whether or not to have spells be called X's Spell. If we do, we're by default building a world around the system. I'm on the fence.
And yeah, I got that the 1st level spell is a tracer, see below. 1st level no save ain't right. There's nothing PCs hate more than no save spells. Give them a die roll, make it at -4, but to just pull things on players tweaks them out-of-game. (I rarely ambush a party, I usually always ask for alertness and perception checks, else the cries go around the table.)
Anyway, this is also a DM-dependent spell. In my games, if a PC wants to follow/find another PC, he just does it. I don't have people lost in town or in mazes. Following an NPC? Almost never done in any of my games. Certainly not an NPC you have to touch and then you only get 10 minutes to follow him.
Paul, can you tell a story? What's the best use you've put this spell to? I'm not trying to be snide, I'd like to know.
...
In doing all of this, you have to ask not 'is this spell neat', but 'would I mind out-of-game if this spell was cast on me'.
...
Spells like Fly, Knock and Wizard Lock, Water Breathing, and Identify are great because they open doors. (Literally.) So they work to expand the scope of the game, or the direct plot of the game. Dave had this great campaign where mage magic was just discovered, and 2nd circle spells (Knock) finally invented. Then this mysterious iron door no one could open, suddenly could be opened... that's how the campaign began, and it's one of the top campaign-starters I've ever heard. Divinations of all sorts fall in this category, in which the players and DM are working together to make the game more interesting.
Other spells like Fireball, Detect Magic, and Shield are just workhorses. Nuff said.
Conjurations, Summonings, and Illusions are great although systemically problematic. Nothing insoluble. But they should be nice, functional alternatives to blast magic.
Charms, spells like Contingency, and Hold Person are the real awful spells. They reduce the game fun for both players and the DM. Do you guys remember the Narbohring 'Otto's Seen Servant' spell? Dominate a zero-lvl guy no save. Systemically fine (basically an Animate Dead), good for some laughs, but horribly broken nonetheless. Contingency is mainly used to save special NPCs from certain doom. Basically that's the point of Paul's 4th level spell, right? To break Contingency, thus to kill 'unkillable' NPCs, and thus it's a spell that involves struggle between PCs and the DM for narrative control. Completely the opposite of a spell like Contact Other Plane, in which the PCs directly ask the DM for narrative expansion. I mean, would this spell get a lot of use changing Magic Mouths? When's the last time you had a Magic Mouth in a game? For me it was 7th grade.
...
For a similar reason, the Horology spells are going to be hard. They're long-duration stun spells, basicallly, taking PCs out of the game for real-time hours, maybe.
I think we should focus more on game- and narrative-expanding spells, Divinations and their ilk. I give you my version of wizard eye:
Create Seeker
Circle: 3rd
Resist:None
Duration 10 minutes/level
Casting time: -10
Effect: Special
Range: 100 yards/level
School: Conjuration
Damage Type: None
Conjures a small (6") imp-like creature. The creature has wings but no other limbs, an eye but no mouth, can fly, and has rudimentary telepathic communication with the caster, much like a familiar. It is mostly invisible (+8 penalty to perception checks to see it), is AC:3 due to size and agility, and has 0.5 hp/caster level. The imp is used as a scout and can report visual sensory information to the caster. Detect Magic and similar spells can be cast though it.
...
By the way, we should make a decision whether or not to have spells be called X's Spell. If we do, we're by default building a world around the system. I'm on the fence.
posted by Rob @ 10:24 AM
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