Call Lightning from a whirlwind

[Hypersmurf]

Call Lightning has a casting time of 10 minutes. The spell description says you can use the whirlwind from a djinni or air elemental as a "stormy area". It also says if you leave the stormy area, the spell ends.

Given that a djinni's whirlwind lasts for 7 rounds, and an air elemental's for 1 round per 2HD - up to nearly 5 minutes for a really, really big elemental.

Since the "stormy area" ceases to exist before the casting time is even half-finished... how is this supposed to work?

-Hyp.

 

[Zhure]

Maybe you have to start casting way before the djinni or air elemental show up? That takes some preplanning.

 

[Stalker0]

You could do it with an infusion, which lowers the casting time to a standard action.

 

[Zhure]

(which IMO is why an infusion is broken)

 

[Stalker0]

(which IMO is why an infusion is broken)

IMO the only real reason to have infusions at all.

 

[AuraSeer]

This sounds like another thing they missed in the conversion from 2E. When the combat round was shortened from one minute to six seconds, some durations measured in rounds got weird.

To make it work in 3E, you need multiple elementals. A base Elder Air Elemental can produce a whirlwind for 12 rounds; if you had 9 of them working in rotation, they could maintain the "stormy area" for as long as you want.

 

[Zhure]

IMO the only real reason to have infusions at all.

IMO infusions make potions obsolete for casters.

 

[Stalker0]

IMO infusions make potions obsolete for casters.

Except for teh critical fact that infusions can't be given to unconscious creatures.

Which makes me made, I mean that's the perfect use for that Druid last breath spell.