Barnyard Battalions - crunch???

[Sigurd]

Illusion / Transformation

Level ???? 3+

This spell transforms barnyard items into the illusion of an army. Dogs become gnolls and company commanders. Chickens become kobolds. Pigs become orcs. Pumpkins, squash etc... might become siege engines & covered wagons.


The spell is sort of like the sleeping beauty pumpkin spell only aimed to create an illusionary army.

I think the spell would be broken if the army had to travel to far or actually fight.

What do people think?

Any idea on the game detail?

Sigurd

 

[Nellisir]

By "travel to far", I can only assume you mean more than 10 feet. I mean, have you ever tried to get a chicken to go where you want? Forget about two chickens. They have two speeds - standing and racing -- and they like to throw in alot of unnecessary corners at high speeds.

More seriously, from a game mechanics standpoint I don't think the animals do anything for the spell, except work as a arcane focus. I'd design the spell -without- the animals, work out the details and level, and then add them back in once you get an idea of how the spell really works.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Nifft]

Sounds like you'd need a bunch of charmed animals -- or at least calmed animals -- so a friendly local Druid would be of some help.

After that, I'd suggest veil.

-- N

 

[Sigurd]

I was thinking more of a powerful spell with strange components.

The odd spell, known by the wierd wizard. With the town surrounded he nonetheless manages to find reinforcements or so the attackers think. It wouldn't be a common spell - might not even be a good one. But in some cases....

S

 

[Nellisir]

I was thinking more of a powerful spell with strange components.

The odd spell, known by the wierd wizard. With the town surrounded he nonetheless manages to find reinforcements or so the attackers think. It wouldn't be a common spell - might not even be a good one. But in some cases....

The essential problem with using an illusion is that you'll end up with soldiers that act like chickens, and making the chickens act like soldiers (or even people) gets into enchantment and/or transformation.

I'll think on this a bit more.
Nell.

PS - I could definately see this as a transformation - each animal is transformed into an NPC classed character with a level equal to its HD, and an intelligence equal to the base creature's plus the caster's intelligence (or charisma, or wisdom) modifier. They'd be smart enough to follow simple orders, dumb enough to be useless for much else, and weird. Would have to be an expensive spell or have restrictions, though, otherwise PCs would load up with chickens and use them as mobile cannon fodder - turn 15 of them into 1st level warriors (or commoners), hand them clubs, and turn them loose on the goblins or something.