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D&D General Why Do You Think Wizards Are Boring?
- Thread starter Sparky McDibben
- Start date
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
Its from Polyhedron and latter included in the Wizards Compendium.
Its a silly spell and an example of the kind of spell I dislike - in this case the components are soap added to a pool of water, ie something that can be achieved without need for magic.
but being silly and obscure its meh
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
This is part of why I like the idea of rituals so much. "Spells" in the form of slots and the like? That at least kinda-sorta makes sense as a form of magic that needs to happen fast, so of course it's all prepped and ready ahead of time.
Weird little utility effects like Aunty's bath? That's USDA-prime material for a ritual. Something learnable by anyone who dabbles in a bit of hedge magic.
Likewise, I imagine the vast majority of really stolidly proper "academic" wizards don't have a ton of use for most slotted spells. Who cares about dropping a fireball? But rituals are the kinds of things that line pockets and define research programs (alongside related things like alchemy and artifice.) And because, at least in 4e, these things actually tied into the skill system--meaning they were the product of training and expertise, not purely magical mojo turned utilitarian--it made sense that someone could be a powerful wizard academic while being terrible at combat wizardry.
FYI, mundane soapy water can have detrimental effects on arthropods, worms, etc., as well as plants.
Garden Q&A: How soaps and oils work to eliminate pests
You often mention the use of soaps and oils for killing pests. But I don't understand how they work, especially soaps. Interesting question, and one I have been wondering about. It turns out we hav…
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https://www.hunker.com/12246671/how-does-soapy-water-affect-plants
So the spell actually has potential combat uses. Obviously, how ACTUALLY useful the spell is depends on a DM’s ruling.
Adding Rituals were one thing I definitely applauded. I’m not sure they’ve ever gotten it right, but it’s something I always thought the game was missing to that point.
I think this shows a type of mismatch between the play context in which the class was designed - in which players would explore the dungeon, then set their own goals for return expeditions and choose spell load-outs to match those (as Gygax describes in his PHB advice to players) - and contemporary approaches to play, which often emphasise GM control over what it is that the PCs encounter, thus generating the "guess" aspect that you describe.
MichaelSomething
Legend
Then I guess cribbing from Warhammer Fantasy is out of the question for you too...
Attachments
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
That would be correct, yes.
Aldarc
Legend
There are many otherwise excellent tabletop roleplaying games out there that I refuse to touch so long as they have corruption rolls for magic.
Incenjucar
Legend
That's the one, thanks! It actually has a lot of potential uses; 2000 gallons of soapy water for an hour can cause a lot of chaos, especially if that can be spread out over an area as a thin layer, mess with sight lines, remove stench coatings from monsters, etc. Good vs aboleth slime!
