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<blockquote data-quote="SnowDog" data-source="post: 1166144" data-attributes="member: 2225">I've been looking at Commune recently, now that my PCs can cast it.&nbsp; They haven't used it yet, because the players don't want to ruin the fun of watching the story unfold.&nbsp; On the other hand, I know it's an in-game resource that makes sense in the world (in fact, I have NPC organizations using it) and can sometimes be the only way certain plot elements can unfold.The biggest issues we have with Commune is that unlike almost every other similar Divination spell, there is no risk and no chance of failure, and no DM leeway to make the story more interesting by using it, instead of less.For example, Augury (L2) and Divination (L4) both have at least a 10% chance of failure.&nbsp; Both are short-term projections into the future.&nbsp; Commune (L5) removes the failure chance and opens up the subject matter quite a bit (even if it is restricted to yes/no).&nbsp; It does have a 100 XP cost, but is that sufficient?&nbsp; For fixes, I've considered doing some of the following (one or some, mix/match).&nbsp; What do you guys think?- Have XP cost apply per question- Only allow one question, not 1/level.- Only allow to be cast once/day- Have failure chance like Augury and Divination- Move to spell level 6- Add ritual requirements (may only be cast in a church of the right god, has long casting time, must have multiple casters/contributors, etc.)I've also considered adopting a new spell which allows PCs to get access to information but gives me as a DM the chance to make the story more interesting by using it.I haven't statted it out yet, but basically the spell would work like Divination, but allow a more in-depth prayer to set the tone for the answer, and the answer would come in the form of a dream that night which the caster would have to interpret.&nbsp; Restrictions like a one hour casting time and that it must be cast immediately before rest (and the caster must rest a full night afterwards) have come to mind.Thoughts?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="SnowDog, post: 1166144, member: 2225"] I've been looking at Commune recently, now that my PCs can cast it. They haven't used it yet, because the players don't want to ruin the fun of watching the story unfold. On the other hand, I know it's an in-game resource that makes sense in the world (in fact, I have NPC organizations using it) and can sometimes be the only way certain plot elements can unfold. The biggest issues we have with Commune is that unlike almost every other similar Divination spell, there is no risk and no chance of failure, and no DM leeway to make the story more interesting by using it, instead of less. For example, Augury (L2) and Divination (L4) both have at least a 10% chance of failure. Both are short-term projections into the future. Commune (L5) removes the failure chance and opens up the subject matter quite a bit (even if it is restricted to yes/no). It does have a 100 XP cost, but is that sufficient? For fixes, I've considered doing some of the following (one or some, mix/match). What do you guys think? - Have XP cost apply per question - Only allow one question, not 1/level. - Only allow to be cast once/day - Have failure chance like Augury and Divination - Move to spell level 6 - Add ritual requirements (may only be cast in a church of the right god, has long casting time, must have multiple casters/contributors, etc.) I've also considered adopting a new spell which allows PCs to get access to information but gives me as a DM the chance to make the story more interesting by using it. I haven't statted it out yet, but basically the spell would work like Divination, but allow a more in-depth prayer to set the tone for the answer, and the answer would come in the form of a dream that night which the caster would have to interpret. Restrictions like a one hour casting time and that it must be cast immediately before rest (and the caster must rest a full night afterwards) have come to mind. Thoughts? [/QUOTE]

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