Broken spells?

[plavi]

Hi all,

I've seen sometimes mentioned what are considered to be overpowered and/or 'broken' spells. Since I would like to warn my players in advance which spells I may or may not fix for my campaign, my question is: which are generally considered broken spells and why?

I've seen shield, feeblemind and Harm mentioned for example.

Regards

Chris

 

[Berk]

Harm, shield, haste.

Those are usually the 3 big ones that most people around here seem to complain about. I've always found em to be fine as is but hey, that's my own opinion. =o) =o)

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

*William Shatner voice*

Read.
My.
Sig.

 

[bret]

Harm and Haste are definately the ones most complained about.

You are going to have to decide on which version of Polymorph Other / Polymorph Self you are going to use. Same goes for Wildshape. Tome & Blood changed Polymorph, and the wilderness one changed Wildshape.

Shield is fine when it is only Mages using it. When you put it in potions and such, so that anyone can use it, people start seeing problems.

Several people in the Archer thread think that Greater Magic Weapon is unbalanced when used on archer's ammunition. That hasn't been my experience, but I thought I would add it.


Mordenkainen's Disjunction is another spell people have complained about. I have no idea since I've never worked with spellcasters who can cast Wish and such.

 

[Rashak Mani]

Any forgotten realms spell can be broken !

The druid spell that suffocates people... Miasma !
Entangle with thorns spell that I forgot name now !
Kiss of the Vampire !

Haste isnt broken I think... EVERYONE gets it... but its not Broken... its THE mandatory spell to cast thou !

 

[kreynolds]

The druid spell that suffocates people... Miasma !

Now that I know how that spell actually works though, it's not bad.

 

[James McMurray]

Now that I know how that spell actually works though, it's not bad.

How does it actually work? By reading it, it appears to say: No saving throw allowed, target does little more than try to breathe, then dies.

I'd be interested in alternative interpretations (as well as the reasoning behind them).

And so I don't completely highjack the thread: Geas / Quest is broken as written. The simple addition of a save or allowing the creature to resist the effects fixes it quite easily.

 

[James McMurray]

P.S.

When did you drop the H from the 'IMO' in your sig?

 

[Kraedin]

Shapechange, polymorph other, polymorph any object, shield, harm, gate, simulacrum, mord's disjunction, time stop.

Simulacrum, shapechange, disjunction, and gate are probably the most broken.

 

[kreynolds]

How does it actually work?

You have the options of 1) coughing and spitting, 2) holding your breath, or 3) breathe deeply and start dying. I'll see if I can find the thread on it. It was pretty recent.