Spell: Grease

[N0Man]

I thought I'd try my hand at reproducing an old staple spell, Grease. I posted this on Wizard's forums also, but I thought I'd see what you guys think too.

Grease

Wizard Attack 1​

You conjure a slippery liquid beneath the feet of your enemies.
Daily * Arcane
Arcane * Implement, Zone
Standard Action Area burst 2 within 20 squares.
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: The target falls prone.
Effect: The burst creates a layer slippery liquid that fills the area until the end of the next turn. The zone is considered difficult terrain and slippery. Powers that force a push, pull, or slide effect all creatures within the zone by 1 extra square. All creatures within the zone suffer a –5 penalty Acrobatics used for Stunts or Balance, Athletics used to climb, and to grab attempts, but receive a +5 bonus for attempts to escape a grab or from constraints using either Acrobatics or Athletics. Any creature that ends its move in the liquid slips and falls prone.
Sustain Minor: The Zone Persists

There are a few details I am not sure about. For starters, I wasn't sure how to include the Saving Throw mechanic in a way that would make since and be consistent with other spells. I considered a slow (save ends), but this is slightly redundant considering the "difficult terrain" feature. I also considered having the power granting combat advantage, but that seems like too weak so I went for falling prone On-Hit instead, which grants combat advantage and requires them to take a move to get up (unless they want to stay prone and attack from prone).

I considered requiring balance checks in the area, but 4E doesn't seem to encourage that kind of mechanic.

Anyway, what do you think?

 

[DogBackward]

I'd say that it still causes your targets to grant Comabt Advantage on a miss, as they stumble and wobble trying to stay up. And I'd say that instead of automatically falling prone when they end their move in the area, they simply grant CA while in the area. Auto-falling prone is a bit much like that, I think, especially given the large area.

But yeah, nice one. My wizard probably wouldn't take it, but then he's a warmage with a bunch of blaster spells.

 

[Starfox]

I can see a need for this. Grease has been a standby in my games, and there is a lack of low-level control powers for the wizard. It also seems you described the effect pretty nicely, tough perhaps in a bit to complex terms. Making it slippery might be enough.

I'd prefer an at-will or encounter version, with a smaller area. More like the original. I could even see this as a targeted power.

 

[hong]

It's electrifyin'!

 

[Aegir]

I'd consider handling it a bit like Sleep:

Hit: The target is rendered off-balance, granting combat advantage to all melee attacks until he exits the area (save ends). If the target fails its first saving throw against this power, the target falls prone (save ends).
Miss: The target is rendered off-balance, granting combat advantage to all melee attacks until he exits the area (save ends).

The wording might need a little work, but there ya go.