Herein I describe details of my ongoing campaigns, discuss the D&D game, and talk about other issues in gaming that I find relevant. I am not very fond of 4th edition, having played it once and found it too WoWish. Consequently most of my articles will reference 3.5 and previous editions.
This Spells Trouble, Part II
Posted 17th October 2008 at 05:53 AM by airwalkrr
I apologize for missing last week's entry. I've been having a lot of health problems lately and I haven't had a lot of free time. But without further ado, here are a few spells that my group and I have found troublesome. We tried to come up with simple solutions that didn't affect the overall functionality or nature of the spell. I hope you enjoy them.
Glitterdust
Here the problem is that a spell that was originally designed primarily as a means of highlighting invisible creatures became a highly potent offensive tool as soon as the rules regarding blindness were clarified. Imposing a 50% miss chance, -2 penalty to AC, halving movement, and denying your opponent his Dexterity modifier for the entire duration of the spell is rather prohibitive. A displacement spell only grants 50% concealment to one ally, and that is a higher-level spell. Yet, with initiative and a single 2nd-level spell, you can blind up to a dozen enemies for 1 round/level. To fix this spell, change the blindness effect to dazzled. Additionally, I allow the blindness effect but only on the first round. So the first paragraph of the description now reads:
A cloud of golden particles covers everyone and everything in the area, visibly outlining invisible things for the duration of the spell. In addition, creatures within the area who fail their save are blinded for one round and dazzled for the remaining duration. All within the area are covered by the dust, which cannot be removed and continues to sparkle until it fades.
Greater Magic Weapon/Magic Vestment
Truly, what is so special about magic weapons and armor when a spellcaster can enhance them virtually all day long, and often with a better bonus than any magical weapon you might be able to afford? These spells are also a problem for DMs who want to run low-magic campaigns and don't want players to have 24-hour access to such powers. Fortunately, this is a simple fix. Reduce the durations of these spells to 10 minutes/level. You may find a similar change to mage armor is warranted if you find bracers of armor are always tossed into the "sell" pile.
Heroes' Feast
I have never seen any other spell so commonly burned into my players' spell pages with indelible ink than this offender. With its enticing immunity to poison and fear and it's alluring temporary hit points and bonus to attack rolls that last half a day, it is little wonder that so many adventuring parties choose to begin their day by eating their "Wheaties." That is not to mention the fact that it cures diseases, sickness, and nausea. I've tried various approaches throughout the years, but the one that seems to strike the best balance between a useful spell and a must-prepare-every-day spell is by changing immunity to poison and fear to a +4 morale bonus on saves against poison and fear. It doesn't negate the need to deal with poison and fear altogether, but it also isn't so great that players develop an abnormal attachment to it that causes them to feel they have to rest and recast it anytime it gets dispelled.
Next week, Equipment Failures.
Glitterdust
Here the problem is that a spell that was originally designed primarily as a means of highlighting invisible creatures became a highly potent offensive tool as soon as the rules regarding blindness were clarified. Imposing a 50% miss chance, -2 penalty to AC, halving movement, and denying your opponent his Dexterity modifier for the entire duration of the spell is rather prohibitive. A displacement spell only grants 50% concealment to one ally, and that is a higher-level spell. Yet, with initiative and a single 2nd-level spell, you can blind up to a dozen enemies for 1 round/level. To fix this spell, change the blindness effect to dazzled. Additionally, I allow the blindness effect but only on the first round. So the first paragraph of the description now reads:
A cloud of golden particles covers everyone and everything in the area, visibly outlining invisible things for the duration of the spell. In addition, creatures within the area who fail their save are blinded for one round and dazzled for the remaining duration. All within the area are covered by the dust, which cannot be removed and continues to sparkle until it fades.
Greater Magic Weapon/Magic Vestment
Truly, what is so special about magic weapons and armor when a spellcaster can enhance them virtually all day long, and often with a better bonus than any magical weapon you might be able to afford? These spells are also a problem for DMs who want to run low-magic campaigns and don't want players to have 24-hour access to such powers. Fortunately, this is a simple fix. Reduce the durations of these spells to 10 minutes/level. You may find a similar change to mage armor is warranted if you find bracers of armor are always tossed into the "sell" pile.
Heroes' Feast
I have never seen any other spell so commonly burned into my players' spell pages with indelible ink than this offender. With its enticing immunity to poison and fear and it's alluring temporary hit points and bonus to attack rolls that last half a day, it is little wonder that so many adventuring parties choose to begin their day by eating their "Wheaties." That is not to mention the fact that it cures diseases, sickness, and nausea. I've tried various approaches throughout the years, but the one that seems to strike the best balance between a useful spell and a must-prepare-every-day spell is by changing immunity to poison and fear to a +4 morale bonus on saves against poison and fear. It doesn't negate the need to deal with poison and fear altogether, but it also isn't so great that players develop an abnormal attachment to it that causes them to feel they have to rest and recast it anytime it gets dispelled.
Next week, Equipment Failures.
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