Instant Friends

[AngryMojo]

An Orb wizard can really abuse this power. An orb wizard could theoretically Insta-Friend Orcus with a low roll.

Orb of imposition specifically states that it can only be used with wizard spells that a save can end. Instant Friends calls for a save for the initial effect. Tricky wording, but because the orb is supposed to extend durations, and not help with the initial effect, I'd rule against it.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

There is a big problem with rituals being subsumed into utility powers: a Heroic-tier Wizard (Mage) gets no more and no less than 3 utility powers by level 10, 2 more as a Paragon-tier Enigmatic Mage, and only 1 more when they become an Epic-Tier Indomitable Champion.

By contrast, you can have as many rituals as you have pages in your ritual books or scrolls regardless of level.

Thinking about it more, I don't think this effect should be a ritual. "Rituals are complex ceremonies that create magic effects. You don't memorize or prepare a ritual; a ritual is so long and complex that no one could ever commit the whole thing to memory." (PHB p.296) This doesn't fit the fluff of the spell, or the fluff of the arcane-enhanced glib-tongue of a wizard.

Saruman didn't need a scroll.

I should finish my read-through of the RC this week. Now I'm anxious to see what else they've done with utility powers in Essentials. Did they build on this idea, or is Instant Friends a weird outlier?

I'm getting used to this idea of non-combat utility powers, and coming around to liking it. Just needed to think outloud (or online, as the case may be).

Yeah, I still hate it. There are multiple reasons why this is a lousy design decision.

It forces players to choose between useful combat powers and genuine utilities. Nobody is going to burn rare utility power slots on powers with marginal or niche uses when they can have vital things like Shield and Expeditious Retreat. They MAY put them in their spell books, but basically this means they'll be used even less often than rituals are now, it actually kicks these kinds of things even MORE to the curb.

It means specific classes MUST be played in order to get specific vital capabilities. No longer can a party exist that doesn't have to have someone play a cleric just to get specific vital class feature based "ritualoids" like Raise Dead.

Then there are specific issues with this particular power. Charm Person was ALWAYS a Plot Buster(tm). It is a lazy player's way of solving social problems basically. Now, maybe this isn't so bad in some styles of play. If your DM would just let you get away with rolling a Diplomacy check and getting the NPC to do your bidding then really big deal it is more of the same. OTOH for a lot of DMs they're just going to nerf this kind of thing into the ground because either it easy buttons their scenarios or they have to go through all sorts of unnatural gymnastics to make things work anyway. There is actually a reason these things were demoted to rituals or removed entirely.

There IS a ritual version of this BTW, Call of Friendship. 10 minute casting time and only works on a single "non-hostile" target. Presumably as one of the bard instrument focused rituals it can probably be cast relatively unobtrusively. The target has to stay within 10 squares during the casting, so there is a decent amount of challenge involved in pulling it off. Given the restriction to non-hostile the advantages are moderately limited. The target may "act as a friend" of the caster for up to 24 hours. Overall it is unlikely to be plot breaking or abusable. It could still be quite useful but it isn't likely to get the party around a problem without any other work. BTW this is a level 4 ritual. It only works on natural humanoids at least 2 levels below that of the caster too.

Honestly, I think rituals were a great addition to the game. They allow non-casting classes to have a certain degree of magical power and very handily both allow and restrict problematic or inappropriate abilities. I'm not AT ALL inclined to go back to the old days and seriously don't like this. Well, I guess someone will inevitably take the power, but they are going to be sorely disappointed at what they can do with it because it is going to be locked down pretty hard.

 

[zoroaster100]

If a mage has this utility in his or her spellbook, I don't think the mage will need to select it in place of the combat oriented utilities. If I remember correctly, mages get a class feature at some point (I forget the level) that allows them to instantaneously change a utility spell to another of equal or lesser level.

 

[P1NBACK]

Sounds like an awesome spell. I love it and love the new direction Essentials is taking 4E.

 

[BASHMAN]

A ritual? For what is essentially "Charm Person?". How would this go down?

"Hey, can you hold still for a few minutes surly guardsman? I want to cast a ritual on you to make you more cooperative in letting us out of this cell... thanks." or "Don't mind this chalk outline I'm drawing around you on your floor here, shopkeep. In a few minutes, You'll think I'm your best friend."

 

[Lord Ernie]

A ritual? For what is essentially "Charm Person?". How would this go down?

"Hey, can you hold still for a few minutes surly guardsman? I want to cast a ritual on you to make you more cooperative in letting us out of this cell... thanks." or "Don't mind this chalk outline I'm drawing around you on your floor here, shopkeep. In a few minutes, You'll think I'm your best friend."

How about:

Charming Words
You weave magic into a command word you prepare. Upon speaking this command word, one creature of your choice that hears you speak it must make a saving throw, with a +5 bonus if it's higher level, or a -5 penalty if it's lower level. If the target fails the save, it treats you as a trusted friend for 1d4 hours. It truthfully answers all questions you ask and aids you in any way it can as long as doing so does not risk its life or property.

Upon speaking the command word, the ritual is discharged, regardless if the target saved or not.

Component Cost: 35 gp
Market Price: 130 gp
Key Skill: Arcana (No Check)
Level: 3
Category: Deception
Time: 1 minute
Duration: Until used, or until 24 hours have passed, whichever comes sooner.

Now, I'm not saying this ritual is balanced, or that I like it much, but it's not like this kind of thing can't be done through rituals.

As for the power itself: meh. If our party wizard decides to use it, I'll let him use it, but I was never really a fan of the old-school charm spells. Although in this case, the conditions are rather restricting: not risking life or property takes away most of the risk involving charm spells.

Of course, nothing stops you from charming a rich guy and having him take you out for a drink while you rob his house blind (or steal the magic tome from the wizard, or...), but that isn't something you can't pull off with a good bluff check, anyway.

 

[Psikerlord#]

The more non-combat powers and feats the better, I say. Course they have to be pretty decent to compete with the combat powers, but it's certainly doable. I'm glad to see this kind of power and hope we see more. Having said that, though, I still want rituals, too!

 

[Nahat Anoj]

I'm a little ambivalent about this power. I like how it's a throwback to earlier days, when Charm Person was a low level spell. However, much like how Knock was seen as obviating the rogue, I'm concerned that a spell like Instant Friends could obviate social skill-users. I mean, why use the complex and intricate social skill challenge the DM made up for a tense negotiation scene when the wizard can simply cast this spell and bypass all that? Sure, it's a daily power, but how many important negotiation scenes happen in a day?

I'm a little worried at the changes to adventure and world design powers like these bring. They are subtle but far reaching, and, as I alluded to with the skill challenge example, will require DMs to make adjustments to their own adventures and to published adventures. I'm also not looking forward to the arguments I'll have with players over what, exactly, constitutes friendship.

I think if the spell's length was in rounds or minutes instead of hours, and if the spell was paragon or higher level, I'd feel better about it.

Having said all that, abilities like these are what made earlier versions of D&D wild and zany fun. So, again, I'm torn.

 

[Neonchameleon]

That one makes me wince. And advance warning - the target will hate you afterwards in my campaign. It's an effect so they knew about it and know about it. And you used mind controlling magic on them. You get four hours of help from the mind flayer then he's out for blood.

 

[Plaguedguy]

As someone that never much cared for rituals (or the design issues that they were created to deal with) I'm honestly pleased to see them bleeding back into player powers again even if only in a few specific cases.

It's definitely an old-school power. An ability that seems to openly assume players and DMs will 'wing it' is really quite alien to 4e's design philosophy. It's interesting to see Wizards suggest that players and DMs might be yet still be capable of using their imaginations.