Blasphemy = Broken?

[Anubis]

I was just keying the climactic battle of my next stage (against a Half-Fiend Fire Giant) when I looked up Blasphemy and saw its effects. Okay, based on that, anything up to Level 10 is paralyzed for 1d10 minutes with no save, which is effectively the same as instant death. As my party is at Level 10, that makes the battle unwinnable because they have no reason to prepare special defenses against this spell.

Is a saving throw justified, perhaps?

 

[Jack Simth]

Possibly - but it'd probably be easier to add hints that they need to prepare for that spell-like ability (SR, Walls, Silence, readied actions with a Greater Dispel Magic or some such), or, if you think it's overpowered and/or want to take a different route, note that a Half-Fiend Fire Giant can only use it once per day (barring Cleric levels or some such, of course), and that such a powerful ability might have been used earlier - perhas the BBEG has enemies other than the party who visited today, and it was used then for the 1 round Daze it has on critters with HD up to the caster level.

 

[Crothian]

What's the range? Perhaps it battle is in a big room and only certain party memebers get effected

 

[Rackhir]

Yeah, blasphemy is pretty broken. Its the absolute effects with no save. You would probably wind up with a TPK, unless they are prepared to counter its effects. A pair of half-dragon/half-fiend/blackguard fire giants nearly wiped out our 18th lv party with some pretty broken characters.

It's not absolute HD though, it's level relative to the Giant's HD, which does drop them in the effect range that you are talking about.

 

[Jack Simth]

What's the range? Perhaps it battle is in a big room and only certain party memebers get effected

40 foot spread. But when the party brick(s) charges in to keep the critter away from the fragile blaster(s), and is rendered a complete non-threat for the duration of the battle, you still have a recepie for a rather difficult situation.

 

[Nail]

Blasphemy is broken.....in the best sense possible: that is, it uses a mechanic that is clunky and mostly un-fun.

Staying within the rules, your best bet is to throw a minion of the Fiendish Fire Giant at the party that also has Blasphemy.....but will only be able to daze them, rather than paralyze them. They should get the hint in short order that having a Silence spell is mandatory.

 

[FEADIN]

I was just keying the climactic battle of my next stage (against a Half-Fiend Fire Giant) when I looked up Blasphemy and saw its effects. Okay, based on that, anything up to Level 10 is paralyzed for 1d10 minutes with no save, which is effectively the same as instant death. As my party is at Level 10, that makes the battle unwinnable because they have no reason to prepare special defenses against this spell.

Is a saving throw justified, perhaps?

I hope that someone in the group is under a freedom of movement, no paralysation here....no grappling.....
The best magical object for a fighter ever

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Do they know about the giant? The half-fiend part? If not, give them the chance to find out. And as soon as they know (assuming they don't know already) let them make a knowledge check to find out about the blasphemy. As soon as they know about that, they have the chance to prepare against this.

If not, they're toast. But they are sent against an enemy with a CR 3 above their level...

 

[Thanee]

Give them an item with a Khelben's Suspended Silence spell cast on it, keyed to trigger when Blasphemy is used within range.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Rystil Arden]

Blasphemy gets particularly ridiculous with something like a half-fiend advanced tyrannosaurus or anything else with a large amount of Hit Dice compared to its CR, as it can pretty much decimate even significantly more powerful opponents. I've found it prudent to cap the effective caster level of any Blasphemy effect at 20, so at least characters at levels 16-20 don't have to worry about CR 12 monsters that can automatically kill them.