Another version of "Easy Math"

[Koveras]

Official version from Song and Silence:
Easy Math
Transmutation
Level: Brd 0
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: No (see below)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
This minor magical effect makes counting and calculating a breeze. You can estimate the number of gold pieces in a pile, the distance of a gap you might have to leap, the number of foes rushing toward you, or the like-all in a flash. To make such an estimate, make a Perform check (DC 15). Success means your guess is within 10% of the true figure; failure means it is off by 20% or more. The exact extent of such a miscalculation is up to the DM.

Changed version
Easy Math
Divination
Level: Brd 0, Sor/Wiz 0
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: No
Spell Resistance: No
This minor magical effect makes counting and calculating a breeze. You can estimate the number of gold pieces in a pile, the distance of a gap you might have to leap, the number of foes rushing toward you, or the like-all in a flash. To make such an estimate, make a Knowledge: Mathematics or an Intelligence check (DC 15). Success means your guess is within 10% of the true figure; failure means it is off by 20% or more. The exact extent of such a miscalculation is up to the DM.

I was going to create a wizard cantrip for my diviner which acts like a calculator but I'm not that good at creating spells, then I saw on Song and Silence a bardic cantrip which reveals information but is a Transmutation not a Divination and uses Perform to make a mathematic estimative instead of using Knowledge: Mathematics (from Sword and Fist). So I did not create a new cantrip, I just changed this one. Does it's a good change or does it make less sense? Opinions are welcome.

 

[Anabstercorian]

I think it's better than the Song and Silence version.

 

[Koveras]

Good... Well, I hope the DM of my next game will think like you.

Another spell to complement Easy Math:

Improved Easy Math
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 Full-round
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)

As Easy Math but there is no check or chance of miscalulating.

 

[Cheiromancer]

As a DM, I don't like to be put in the situation where I have to estimate the number of things. So if you don't want to irritate the DM, don't go asking how many leaves are on a tree, or stuff like that. Just numbers he would have recorded somewhere.

But yes, making it a knowledge (mathematics) check rather than a perform check does improve it.

 

[Koveras]

Don't worry Cheiromancer, I would not waste a spell just to bother the DM (in fact the divination spells I create are of much help to the DM. I created a Detect Weapons to know who were armed in the streets - to avoid troublemakers and thiefs - but the DM used it for city gatekeeper wizards to notice if the new visitor is armed or not).

Easy Math is to quickly estimate how much gold there is in a sack I just stole before I cast a Change Self, walk a bit and blend into a crowd (following laws, traditions, or codes would not make me any better or more noble) or to estimate how much innocent victims will kill the fireball I casted at a thief who stole a copper piece of mine and then tried to disappear in a crowd (I shed no tears for those I kill).

Improved Easy Math is to a war wizard estimate how much spearmen are waiting for the cavalry, for the same war wizard to estimate what is the distance between the city walls and the enemie's army or to know how far is the band of orcs before you cast your Extended Fireball (depending on the situation you can see orcs 1000 ft. away, but how would you know that they are really 1000 ft. away? Why you will not think that they are 950 ft. away or 1060 ft. away?).

 

[Quip]

I would increase the effect of the improved version of the spell, make the error only be 5% or less, seems fair for a 1st level spell. Even perfect accuracy would be ok.