Best 4th level spell to place in a contingency?

[Suldulin]

the title says most of it: playing a 13 caster level wizard in a planescape campaign

 

[Gaiden]

Dimensional Door
Improved Invisibility
Polymorph Self
Stoneskin

Your choice depending on the character.

 

[Limper]

I'd have to vote for Minor Globe myself... saves you more grief in a high magic environment.

 

[Norfleet]

Dimension door wouldn't really make a very good choice, since it requires a relative directional specifier, which presumably must be specified at the time of casting, being, at the time the contingency is set up. Since dimension door's destination is specified, as I mentioned, in direction and distance relative to you at the time of triggering, this means that it is highly likely anything you specify in advance will warp you into a wall and stick you into the Astral plane. While it does include provisions for getting out of the astral plane, it doesn't guarantee you won't land in something nasty. The alternative targetting method, visualizing an area, isn't any better, because you have no idea where you will be when it goes off, and it is quite likely the visualized area you had in mind at time of casting won't be in range.

Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, on the other hand, is definitely THE 4th level spell of choice. Useful both as a defensive, and offensive tool, it provides near invulnerability to just about anything, magical or otherwise, as it states that nothing can pass through the sphere, inside or out. Nothing, as in, any weapons, any attacks, any magic, nothing. While it's possible to bring down the sphere itself by dispelling or disintegrate, this doesn't affect you, and you are free to reshield, or do something else.

In the meantime, you're in your own little bubble. You're free to do anything you want, including vanishing by any means which doesn't involve passing through the sphere, such as dimension door, healing and buffing in safety, or just slumming it.

You can also use it to protect a partymember, which can be done both offensively and defensively: Defensively, for the same reason YOU might want an emergency shield, and simultaneously offensively, as since the shield is impenetrable, you're free to use the targetted invididual as a contigency-triggered decoy, and the moment the shield goes up, lay the smackdown on the area, which has surely attracted the attention of the monsters, since the bait obviously goes first.

You can also cast it to immobilize and remove enemies, but since this spell allows a saving throw to negate, this use is not recommended, as enemies never fail saves.

 

[Suldulin]

thank you, had forgotten resilient sphere biggest trouble is that it makes it hard for a healer to get to you, am mainly looking for a 'pull bacon out of fire' one and that seems to be the best so far

any other suggestions

 

[Gaiden]

Dimensional Door is not quite as bad as you make out with a certain qualifications. It obviously would not work in the underdark or any similarly confined space. So with the qualificationthat the PC is outside most of the time he could specify to dimensional door straight up. Even if he is inside a structure it is unlikely that he will not end up on the outside of that structure when his direction is upwards.

 

[AuraSeer]

So with the qualificationthat the PC is outside most of the time he could specify to dimensional door straight up. Even if he is inside a structure it is unlikely that he will not end up on the outside of that structure when his direction is upwards.

It's generally a bad idea to contingency yourself into a dangerous situation. If the wizard is hindered in any way, the 1000' drop may be worse than whatever he was originally facing.

Maybe the wizard already had to burn his fly and feather fall spells that day. Or perhaps he was silenced, held, stunned, feebleminded, or otherwise prevented from casting freely. If he was depending on a Ring of Feather Falling, it might have been eaten by a rust monster.

It's a neat mental picture though, I'll grant you that much.
::BAMF:: "Wow, good thing I had that contingency prepared! Now I'm perfectly safe from that dragon." ::SPLOOTCH::

 

[Gaiden]

It's generally a bad idea to contingency yourself into a dangerous situation

I can't disagree with that. I just find that usually the best sort of save spell is one that gets you out of the situation. So long as you are alive, if you are transported 1000 feet away, the enemy is going to have a hard time finding you at that moment, giving you the necessary time to make yourself invisible, heal, or whatever. While I agree that you could burn your fly and featherfall, I find it hard to believe that you would not have some catch. Afterall, you could simply have something like a parachute made. Moreover, there are so many little magical tricks you could do outside of featherfall, levitate, fly, alter self, and polymorph self.

For example, at that level you could have a persistant reduced flying mount, you could enlarge your flying familiar, you could cast dimensional door again, you could cast web, etc. etc. etc.

 

[AuraSeer]

For example, at that level you could have a persistant reduced flying mount, you could enlarge your flying familiar, you could cast dimensional door again, you could cast web, etc. etc. etc.

...none of which help if you got hit with feebelmind before your contingency triggered. (No, not even the mount. If it's small enough to DD with you, it's too small to carry your weight, and reduce is not dismissable.) Parachutes don't exist in the standard D&D world, and characters lack the knowledge to spontaneously invent them.

 

[Gaiden]

Auraseer,

If you disagree and think contingency could be better used with a different 4th level spell - kudos to you.

I am not trying to say that Dimensional Door is the best possible option or that it is the only option. I am not trying to even say it is a particularly good option. All I am saying is that it was not as bad as Norfleet suggested and that you can have contingency plans (no pun intended) if you have already used your featherfall (which is really the only spell that matters).

I personally like spells for contingency that get me out of the situation, hence the recommendation. However, for Suldulin, simply wear the shoe that fits - if you like any of my suggestions, I am glad I could help, if not choose another's. I only wrote the last post as I believe the the level of usefulness of DD (what is being contended) is higher than it would appear you or Norfleet believe.

Certainly take into account the fact that it it only has verbal components and if Suldulin's character has a high enough concentration and/or silent spell, it might be worth it to contingency another spell as dimensional door is very easy to cast and then can also be set to the appropriate parameters of the particular setting.

I would argue that it is perfectly reasonable to at least allow parachutes - it was only meant as an example in the first place though. However, if you look at RoF, they have some sort of hang-glider type device for the great rift sky guard. If there are contraptions that allow someone to actually glide, I would reason that a less sophisticated invention such as the parachute is available. If you want to call this a house rule, no problem. To me it merely makes sense that this could and would exist.