Zone of Speed, outrageous?

[JLXC]

OK.... for those without the BoEM.

Zone of Speed. 4th level Wiz/Sor. Close Range, 20'r area of effect, 1 min/level duration, No Save, No SR. No monetary cost Material component.

What does it do? The caster chooses a speed from 1 to 100 and nothing can move faster than that speed through the sphere. If you pick 10' speed or less all missile weapons and such do no damage and just fall flat.


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Taken to it's logical conclusion...

You cast on yourself and you are now completely Immune to all ranged attacks that are not pure magic. (i.e. Catapult Stones, avalanche, boulders, +5 Arrows, you name it) Also, no creature without magic (teleport or the like) can move more than speed 1 within the spell. So it will be several rounds before they can reach you, while you throw spells at them, and then teleport/dim door away before they get you.

You cast on any group of non-magic users and they are useless for several rounds while they try to move, and they cannot use any physical ranged attacks of any kind.

Whatever, you get the point.

Is this a well balanced 4th level spell? No Save... No SR... only defense = Teleport or the like / Dispel Magic...

Is it better than Ice Storm? Is it balanced with Dimension Door? How about Stone Skin?

I'll put it to you... then I'll tell my side.

evileeyore this is for you buddy!

 

[Xarlen]

Well, if a party doesn't have Dispel magic, then they're asking for it to begin with.

Wizards can do a *lot* of things to really mess with parties, in the right variables. Got all up close melee fighters? A mage with Flight will just mess them up. Tack on Ghost form, and those magical missiles have a good chance of missing. Meanwhile, the mage is popping them.

Not to mention Gust of Wind and Flight are essentials to keeping missile fire away from you.

 

[hong]

Wizards can do a *lot* of things to really mess with parties, in the right variables. Got all up close melee fighters? A mage with Flight will just mess them up. Tack on Ghost form, and those magical missiles have a good chance of missing. Meanwhile, the mage is popping them.

Interestingly, fly and ghostform are two oft-mentioned sources of cheese when it comes to magic. Fighting cheese with cheese can be effective, albeit not very tasty if you don't like cheese.

 

[Caliban]

Well, if a party doesn't have Dispel magic, then they're asking for it to begin with.

Wizards can do a *lot* of things to really mess with parties, in the right variables. Got all up close melee fighters? A mage with Flight will just mess them up. Tack on Ghost form, and those magical missiles have a good chance of missing. Meanwhile, the mage is popping them.

Magic missiles are force effect. As such, they have no miss chance when hitting incorporeal creatures.

Not to mention Gust of Wind and Flight are essentials to keeping missile fire away from you.

Flight only works if you can get beyond the maximum range of their weapons and still target them with spells. A longbow has a range increment of 100 feet. At 1,000 feet away they can't hit you, but you are reduced to using only those spells with a range of over 1,000 feet. (Even spells with a range of LONG won't make that until you are 15th level.)

In general, Wall of Wind is the best defense against ranged attacks.

 

[AGGEMAM]

Flight only works if you can get beyond the maximum range of their weapons and still target them with spells. A longbow has a range increment of 100 feet. At 1,000 feet away they can't hit you, but you are reduced to using only those spells with a range of over 1,000 feet. (Even spells with a range of LONG won't make that until you are 15th level.)

Not to mention that any respectable archer is going to have a composite longbow (range incr: 110 feet) and the far shot feat (one-and-a-half times range) and probably have the bow enchanted with the Distance enhancement (doubles range).

 

[Mr.Binx]

Everything that they can throw out at you, you can throw in at them. That seems to be pretty fair to me. Though it does seem a bit odd that you can swing a weapon with enough force to do damage, magic doesn't nesessarily have to follow any rules of modern day science since it is fantasy after all. Put a Ring of Freedom of Movement and a Mantle of Spell Resistance on the caster and you have one nasty combo. Dispel Magic is indeed an easy fix. According to the information you've posted (I do not have a copy of BoEM), it does appears that the caster is likewise effected by the spell and all of it's effects as long as he/she is within it's area of effect. Dimension Door you and your fighter buddy in to grappling distance and the caster is going down. Most spells are only as potent as the minds that use them.

 

[hong]

Everything that they can throw out at you, you can throw in at them. That seems to be pretty fair to me.

"Fairness" is not the only metric of interest. If it was, then you could have 1st level characters casting slay living and disintegrate, and waving vorpal swords around, and if the NPCs did the same, it would still be okay. However, I doubt anyone really runs a game like that. Plausibility, parity between classes, and general reasonableness in terms of magic are also important.

 

[Victim]

Solid fog does pretty much the same thing and also provides concealment.

 

[Xarlen]

Yes, Magic Missile hits them.

However, there is reference to a group without a magic user. So, I'm not taking magic into context.

 

[HeavyG]

Just a silly thought :

5' steps aren't defined as or affected by the character's speed in the rules.