Ashnar Spells IIb

[Knight Otu]

As mentioned in the other thread, Ashnar's research priorities have shifted a bit, due to the events of his current adventure. Of course, it mostly referred to his death.

Ashnar's Athleticate Augmentation
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
You get an enhancement bonus on Climb, Jump checks, and Swim checks equal to your caster level, to a maximum of +10. In addition, when running, you retain your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class.

After constant reminders about his physical inadequacy, Ashnar considered creating a spell to aid with this all-too-common adventuring hurdle.

Ashnar's Eye for Taint
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
This spell makes your eyes glow blue and allows you to see enchantment and illusion auras within 60 feet of you. The effect is similar to that of an arcane sight spell, but Ashnar's Eye for Taint is limited in range and in what kind of auras it can detect. Also, you cannot determine if a creature has spellcasting or spell-like abilities (or any further information this could grant), nor can you distinguish which shools of magic are which auras.
You know the location and power of all enchantment and illusion auras within your sight. An aura’s power depends on a spell’s functioning level or an item’s caster level, as noted in the description of the detect magic spell.
Ashnar's Eye for Taint can be made permanent with a permanency spell, requiring requiring caster level 10th, and 1000 XP.

Strengthened in his beliefs about illusion magic after his death by a phantasmal killer, Ashnar set out to detect such magic earlier than normal.

Ashnar's Reflect Domination
Abjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Until expended or 10 min./level
Fear spells and spell-like effects and Mind-Affecting spells and spell-like effects targeted on you are turned back upon the original caster. The abjuration turns only spells that have you as a target. Effect and area spells are not affected. Ashnar's reflect domination also fails to stop touch range spells.
The next spell of 5th level or lower is affected by the turning. When you are targeted by a spell of higher level than 5th, that spell has its normal effect, but Ashnar's reflect domination is not expended. You cannot be under the effect of multiple spell turning effects (such as spell turning and Ashnar's reflect domination). When you cast a new spell turning effect, the old one immediately ends.
If you and a spellcasting attacker are both warded by spell turning effects in operation, a resonating field is created.

Roll randomly to determine the result.
d% 	Effect
01–70	Spell drains away without effect.
71–80	Spell affects both of you equally at full effect.
81–97	Both turning effects are rendered nonfunctional for 1d4 minutes.
98–100	Both of you go through a rift into another plane.

Material Component: A small silver mirror.

Ashnar's phantasmal killer were the many faces of failure. He swore that he would never have to face it again.

 

[Erekose13]

Very nice to see spells directly related to a character's adventures. I'll have to look over them in more detail when I have the chance.

 

[Erekose13]

With the athletic one it sounds weak for a 2nd level spell. I'd add Balance in there and make it 10min/level. or if you want to stick with 1min/level add retain dex when climbing and the bit about taking 10 while swimming or what ever it is when you have a swim speed.

i dont like the second one, because it is exactly the same as arcane sight, but only for 2 schools. doesnt seem like a valid reason to create a new spell or to lower it a level.

fear and mind affecting spells is a pretty broad category. I don't think it warrants lowering Spell Turning by 3 levels. Perhaps 2 (making it 5th) and keeping it at 1 5th level or lower spell might make it okay. I'd rather see it countered, then I could see it being a 4th level spell. Turned makes it quite a bit more powerful and even at 5th I'm not so sure.

 

[Bront]

Actualy, I think it's fine, given that Jump is only 1 skill, this is 3 and an ability.

I like the first 2, the 3rd will need some more reading.

 

[Velmont]

The last spell, I would at least made it level 5, because he can turn level 5 spells. I would not see a lower level spell being able to turn a higher level spell, even if it has restriction. And if it was only fear spell, fine, but mind-affecting too make it broader group, just as Erekose13 told.

The other two seems fine.

 

[Erekose13]

I'd still add Balance, just to cover off the strictly physical skills.

The second is alright, as mentioned it doesn't seem like much of a difference to me. While I think it is not quite enough to warrant a lower level, arcane sight is not the most powerful spell in the book, so its fine to have a limited version of the spell be lower.

 

[Velmont]

I'd still add Balance, just to cover off the strictly physical skills.

For a second level spell, I don't see a problem to add another skill, but telling Balance is the only missing strictly physical skill... what about Escape Artist? Or Tumble? Swim, Jump and Climb are the three physiscal skills linked to Str, I think that was the main idea. I would even suggest another thing:

The bonus to the skill is equal to the caster level (max +10).

If we compare to jump, the total bonus is exactly the same in high level (+30, but on three diffreent skills in stead of just 1, but it also give another bonus as you can keep your dex while running). I think it will justify more his second level spell, because all teh basic stats are teh same as Jump, except you can use it only on self, you can,t offer that to someone else (Jump is not Personal, but Touch.)

 

[Erekose13]

good point I forgot about those two. I do like the idea of a scaling bonus.

 

[Rystil Arden]

I like Velmont's idea for the Athletic Augmentation. I agree with others that Eye for Taint is not sufficiently weaker than Arcane Eye to justify being lower level, but since Arcane Eye isn't exactly a superpower spell anyway, it may be okay, though I'd hate to be an illusionist with that spell around unless I had Daryne's Imagination, and even then I'd have to pray. The Reflect Domination is way too low--now admittedly, WotC has made some 'immune to certain effects' spells that are also way too low and are at level 4 (Death Ward and Freedom of Movement), but Mind Blank is 8th for a reason, and this even punts it back at the caster like Spell Turning.

 

[Knight Otu]

1) I've been back and forth whether the first spell should scale. I guess the consensus is that it should.
2) I misestimated the effects of dropping the schools and the detect caster bit, making it more useful for specific situations. Possible solutions to reduce the power would be reducing the scanned area (60 feet) and/or dropping the ability to discern the auras.
3) I actually wanted to make the level ? rather than 4?, and my estimate was 5 rather than lower. Note that it is fully based on Spell Turning, including the targeted bit. It is not based on Mind Blank in any way. I think it does only two things that Spell Turning doesn't do. The number of spell levels reflected is fixed, but always lower than the amount of spell turning, and it doesn't try to turn spells that are higher than the remaining turning (which may make it weaker).