Observations of Some Spells

It Does What It Says on the Tin: Resolved Issues

Moderators: Moderator, Developer, DM

User avatar
Nomster
Posts: 1941
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:41 pm

Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Nomster »

Some of my observations of the new spells. Some are personal opinions while others are pointing out things that do not quite work as they should. In no particular order... and no offence meant. I actually have no idea how easy/difficult making VFX are but I am one of those people who pick spells based a bit on VFX which is why I have paid attention to it.


Rorick's Rune of Light - shows up as a Cantrip even if the spell descriptor says Sorc/Wiz 1

Dancing Lights - is Sorc/Wiz 1 for some reason. In PnP, it is a Cantrip and I suggest it be changed to that due to the uselessness of the spell other than eye candy. I do not see why it needs to be a lvl 1 spell. There is also an 'issue' with this spell looking truly like christmas lights. There is a thread for the VFX 'issue' already though.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dancingLights.htm

Caltrops - It does 1 damage per caltrop. It does not reduce movement. Am I missing something or why is this spell lvl 2? Seems to me there is no equivalent of this spell in PnP but it was instead adapted from the object 'caltrops' (?). The spell also cannot be dismissed through the Dismiss Spell menu. The Caltrops also appear as an enemy, making it impossible to rest for as long as they are active -anywhere-. Even several maps away. You still cannot rest.

Gemidan's Paralytic Missile - The description says something about the target being able to save every round yet the spell only lasts for 1 round. Should be fixed & clarified to whatever it is supposed to be. I can not find a PnP source for this so can not provide any advise/comment. I wonder if it should not be a lvl 1 spell due to just being a different version of Magic Missile? What is the lore source? Might have been changed for reasons though.

Silent Alarm - I do not understand why the spell has been opened up to more classes and made a lvl 2 spell. In PnP, Alarm has two options: Mental (as in it only sounds in the caster's head) or Audible (which gives off a PING sound which everyone can hear). We have the Audible one already as a lvl 1 spell available to Bard 1, Rgr 1, Sorc/Wiz 1. For some reason Silent Alarm (which really us the Mental version of Alarm) is lvl 2 and available to Bard 2, Clr 2, Drd 2, Rgr 2, Sorc/Wiz 2. It should not be available for Clerics and Druids and should be a lvl 1 spell. Better yet, Alarm should be changed so that there is a drop down function to pick Mental or Audible if drop down functions can be made to work :P
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/alarm.htm

Walk Safely - Description is way too confusing. How is the Will DC calculated? 5 + casting ability modifier + any other DC bonus. Sooo, DC 15 at least if the caster has 30 cha/int... It is not clear enough.

Find Familiar - Does nothing?

Programmed Image - Leaves an empty character portrait when dismissed.

Melf's Minute Meteors - Creates a lvl 61 item with no damage in the inventory, so it cannot be used. Has some other properties which are ok but lvl 61 is a bit too much.

Rinse- Causes a 'bad stref' mini-symbol next to the character portrait. I personally find that the Rinse & Dry spell VFXs are a little to slow to occur once the spell has been cast.

Opalescent Glare - The shadow tendril VFX makes the spell look rather sinister which is odd since it is supposed to be a good aligned spell. The eyes shine yellow when the effect should probably be made white and last for slightly longer. I thought there was no effect to the eyes but it is actually just very short. There is a lot of flash and sparkle which probably does not need to be there. White shining eyes on the caster + a white light around the target would look far, far better than the explosiveness currently. It does not really need any of the other stuff.

Flashburst - Appears to turn the targets Invisible for 1 round. They cannot attack you and you cannot attack them. Not even See Invisibility goes through this. Should not be what this spell does? The spell also has like no VFX whatsoever. Which is odd due to its name. It should be a Flashy Burst, no? :?

Scrying - The scrying sensor can be destroyed. Is it meant to be able to?

Teleportation Circle - I understand that this spell cannot Teleport more than Greater Teleport allows to already but it costs 10.000 gold. What are the benefits, other than it being semi-permanent?

Pass Wall & Mass Pass Wall - Are we suuuuuure that we want these spells IG and the potential headaches they may cause? This was after all the reason all Ethereal Spells were made to function like Sanctuary because people kept passing through walls. Not fun DM-side.

Abyssal Might - Makes the caster look like he is a coal miner. Can the VFX maybe be toned a little? :lol: The darkened eyes effect are neat and if the coal dust is toned down, the eyes could maybe be made more pronounced.

Aberrant Claw- Could not detect that it did anything at all.

Foresight - Being a lvl 9 spell... I have no idea what this does other than giving sneak attack immunity. Seems like it needs a DM to be able to be used as per the description?

Whirlpool - The water elementals try to attack the thing called 'attach spell node'

Mirror Walking - No idea how this is supposed to work.

Gate - Cannot summon an angel as a neutral? :|

Legend Lore
- No idea if it actually applies lore to all the new lore skills. Character sheet does not show it does but when I roll lore (arcane) it is increased.
"I don't want to pretend at magic anymore. I want to be magic."

Telia Santraeger - Emotional sorceress & priestess of Mystra. [Retired]
Tsidkenu

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Tsidkenu »

Walk Safely: Listed as a 4th circle wizard/sorcerer spell in the description but can be chosen at 3rd circle.

Fumble: AoE version targeting icon seems much smaller than its actual AoE. VFX is real pretty though :mrgreen:

Chaos: Targeting icon does not reflect the spell's AoE. Immunity to Mind Spells protects against this (tested on beetles which are naturally immune to mind spells). I did not test if it bypasses Protection from Alignment.

Azuth's Spell Shield: Says 70 SR in the spell description but it is actually 50 SR as the base amount.
User avatar
Snarfy
Posts: 1430
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:14 pm

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Snarfy »

Pass Wall & Mass Pass Wall - Are we suuuuuure that we want these spells IG and the potential headaches they may cause? This was after all the reason all Ethereal Spells were made to function like Sanctuary because people kept passing through walls. Not fun DM-side.
Yikes. I didn't even know this was a thing... and I don't think it should be. For obvious reasons.
There are no level 30's, only level 20's with benefits...
Sylael
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:46 am

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Sylael »

Can I call this one "Observations of Some Invocation"? :)

I have a Warlock/Dragonslayer and Dark Premonition does not seem to be applying it's DR. Instead, even when cast, the monsters hit the class DR.
User avatar
V'rass
Posts: 1251
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:48 pm
Location: Concord, N.H., USSA

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by V'rass »

Dark premonition no longer works?
"To understand magic one must first understand magic."






Agathion Benedictus: Holy Priest. Retired for now.
Tiax Rules-All: Gnomish madman. Retired permanently.
Exordius Vrass: Cleric/Mage. Currently active.
Sylael
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:46 am

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Sylael »

V'rass wrote:Dark premonition no longer works?
Im not sure. Could just be my PC.
User avatar
V'rass
Posts: 1251
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:48 pm
Location: Concord, N.H., USSA

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by V'rass »

I hope its just a bug... that spell is a must take for all warlocks. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool. ;)
"To understand magic one must first understand magic."






Agathion Benedictus: Holy Priest. Retired for now.
Tiax Rules-All: Gnomish madman. Retired permanently.
Exordius Vrass: Cleric/Mage. Currently active.
User avatar
Nomster
Posts: 1941
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:41 pm

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Nomster »

Sylael wrote:Can I call this one "Observations of Some Invocation"? :)

I have a Warlock/Dragonslayer and Dark Premonition does not seem to be applying it's DR. Instead, even when cast, the monsters hit the class DR.
This is a bug that I recall seeing before which only happens to Warlocks with Dragonslayer PRC. It is down to DR conflict. However, forum & Google search do not show anything apart from deleted topics and I can only view the first page of those cached topics. So not sure how it was solved in the past but maybe make a new thread for it?


I would think that otherwise, making observations about Warlock invocations here are fine :)


Sprezzatura - What spells were the scrying sensor able to cast? Anything?
It certainly should not be able to attack... :lol:
"I don't want to pretend at magic anymore. I want to be magic."

Telia Santraeger - Emotional sorceress & priestess of Mystra. [Retired]
Tsidkenu

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Tsidkenu »

The scrying sensor occupies the 'familiar' summon slot, and thus can cast any of the range of spells a familiar can (touch or self target spells). This is supposed to be mitigated by the sensor spawning in with 100% ASF.
User avatar
metaquad4
Posts: 1532
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:51 pm

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by metaquad4 »

Flashburst: It causes blindness for a round, which does cause people to seem "invisible". This has always been the case, they gain the invisibility vfx.

Foresight: Grants +4 dodge ac, and +4 reflex saves as well as the sneak immunity for 1 round/4 DC points (DC 16=4 rounds, for example)

Scrying: The sensor is a "thing", yes? If it can be detected and seen via spells, it should be able to be destroyed too.

Walk Safely: The description seems to say 5 + casting ability modifier (aka INT/WIS/CHA whatever your class uses) + any other DC bonus (aka spell focuses/spellcasting prodigy/epic bonus). It seems pretty clear cut to me.

Find Familiar: More than likely an RP spell.

Teleportation Circle: Probably an RP spell too. There are a couple of these, like Guards and Wards too (which costs 5000 gold).

Aberrant Claw: It seems to attack people nearby, from what I've heard from people who test it, just as intended. Grows what looks like an umberhulk claw from the character's back.

Mirror Walking: Going to take a solid guess...RP spell, RP spell, RP spell ;)

Gate: You can right-click, and go to that new button they added (character properties?) to change what your spells summon.

Legend Lore: Probably because it hasn't been keyed to the other lores. Its likely going to be limited to DM only, since, they rule on what is "legendary" and what isn't.

Pass Wall & Mass Pass Wall: Tested on the FAI walls, they didn't seem to do anything. My guess is they probably get past bodyblocking, or something (which, is what the wall summons do).
aka aplethoraof (on discord too)
User avatar
Nomster
Posts: 1941
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:41 pm

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Nomster »

metaquad4 wrote:Flashburst: It causes blindness for a round, which does cause people to seem "invisible". This has always been the case, they gain the invisibility vfx.
If you test it again, you will see that it prevents the one affected from Flasburst to attack anyone for 1 round but also prevents anyone else from attacking them as well. That is not how Blindess works, it only affects the target.
metaquad4 wrote:Scrying: The sensor is a "thing", yes? If it can be detected and seen via spells, it should be able to be destroyed too.
It is supposed to be something abstract. The way to get rid of it is to Dispel it. It is not supposed to be able to cast spells or to attack. That is of course in PnP.
metaquad4 wrote:Teleportation Circle: Probably an RP spell too. There are a couple of these, like Guards and Wards too (which costs 5000 gold).
It does not answer why it is as powerful as Greater Teleport but costs 10.000 when it cannot move more people. PnP Teleportation Circle can move unlimited amount of people (which was why it was used in some DM events, DM approved).
metaquad4 wrote:Aberrant Claw: It seems to attack people nearby, from what I've heard from people who test it, just as intended. Grows what looks like an umberhulk claw from the character's back.
I attacked wolves, spiders & bandits and saw no effect.
metaquad4 wrote:Gate: You can right-click, and go to that new button they added (character properties?) to change what your spells summon.
As True Neutral, the character only had evil and neutral options. There were no good options.
metaquad4 wrote:Legend Lore: Probably because it hasn't been keyed to the other lores. Its likely going to be limited to DM only, since, they rule on what is "legendary" and what isn't.
This spell differs from PnP. It adds Lore, nothing legendary about it at all. Of all the times I have used it, only one DM has acknowledged the PnP version of it. So on our server, it really does just work as a Lore bonus.
"I don't want to pretend at magic anymore. I want to be magic."

Telia Santraeger - Emotional sorceress & priestess of Mystra. [Retired]
User avatar
metaquad4
Posts: 1532
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:51 pm

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by metaquad4 »

A couple spells I noticed after testing:

--Greater Reflect Pain doesn't work.
--Chaos is impeded by mind immunity
--Moonblade is stopped by any sort of SR (I had a 34 CL and Assay Resistance up vs a 40 SR character) and only hits once per round (feature on the latter for Moonblade?).
aka aplethoraof (on discord too)
User avatar
Convolutedline
Recognized Donor
Posts: 172
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:53 pm
Location: California, Long Beach
Contact:

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Convolutedline »

I tried flashburst recently an it was all good :D

this thread from 2016 sorry if weird revive

Can I please read an explanation or link to the impact of rinse and dry? I would like to make use of this spell set maybe, even auto quicken...

I'm not seeing the bonus of it from my novice search skills..

I'll probably try it as I have access to it from my cleric spells an then use wizard lightning but, if a quick answer readily available would happily accept that :D
User avatar
K'yon Oblodra
Recognized Donor
Posts: 1002
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:38 am
Location: Berlin

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by K'yon Oblodra »

Convolutedline wrote:I tried flashburst recently an it was all good :D

this thread from 2016 sorry if weird revive

Can I please read an explanation or link to the impact of rinse and dry? I would like to make use of this spell set maybe, even auto quicken...

I'm not seeing the bonus of it from my novice search skills..

I'll probably try it as I have access to it from my cleric spells an then use wizard lightning but, if a quick answer readily available would happily accept that :D


The rinse effect gives a small boost to fire resistance and makes you more susceptible to I think cold damage.

The cancel each other out, the dry makes one more susceptible to fire damage and lowers cold damage.

Might be that cold is actually electricity not entirely sure on that.... So yea it was electricity ;)
Last edited by K'yon Oblodra on Sat Apr 08, 2017 8:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
K'yon Oblodra
Necromancer of the school of Necromancy
Silent seat for the school of Necromancy
Tsidkenu

Re: Observations of Some Spells

Unread post by Tsidkenu »

Rinse makes you damp, giving you temporary resistance to fire and vulnerability to electricity.
Post Reply

Return to “Solved Problems”