Creating New Spells?

[FCWesel]

<rhetorical>Why use your call lightening duration, if I JUST said it wasn't confusing?</rhetorical>

Well, because this works better than that.

1 minute per level is still 20 attacks per minute (via rapid shot) for even most low level archery minded types. What happens if you get down to the last minute? Do they get that full last minute or no?

A 10 minute window of opportunity to use the magic, and being able to do other stuff between ranged attack shots makes it more versatile. It's simple and calculations are minimal and set. 10 minutes is good because it lets a character have free range during a combat, no combat lasts 10 minutes, but is not overly long to be abused by a player in general.


As for Wisdom, as we mentioned, this is really meant more for Ranger types then Wizard types. Most Rangers would have a higher Wisdom, thuse they'd get more benefit for it. (In all likelyhood, we'll be dropping the spell from the Wiz/Sor spell lists and only having it be on Ranger.)



In general:

The ability the spell grants is automaticaly gained by Rangers at 11th level who choose a Archery Path. EVERY other class (within "wotc canon", don't know about 3rd party) either has limited or NO chance of getting the Feat at all. Fighters can, for instance and Wizards/Sorcerers can't short of going EPIC, as they can't get the +11 BAB needed. I have yet to find a PRC (none of the archery themed ones do that I could find) that allows the ability.

Thus the spell gives an ability that no class short of 11th level can achieve, and only one garunteed, while the majority can't or rarely can achieve the ability.

 

[Infiniti2000]

<rhetorical>Why use your call lightening duration, if I JUST said it wasn't confusing?</rhetorical>

Maybe it's my background in programming, particularly in the medical field, but I prefer designing features of the game (spells, feats, etc.) with a certain amount of consistency. I like to use the given ranges, close, medium, long, personal, etc. and not come up with custom ranges for each and every spell. I like to use standard BAB progressions for new classes. I prefer durations on spells to be similar to others and not have specialized types of durations all over the place.

Don't feel the need to defend yourself on this. My suggestion was only that, a suggestion.

1 minute per level is still 20 attacks per minute (via rapid shot) for even most low level archery minded types. What happens if you get down to the last minute?

A low-level character will not have 20 attacks, will he? He'd have to have a caster level of 20 to have 20 attacks possible in this spell. And, I think maybe I used the wrong example. With the subtract 1 minute suggestion, maybe I was thinking of a spell out of complete divine or something. Anyway, the idea is that the spell expires when the duration expires. Having less than 1 minute left, you can still take an attack, but then the spell immediately expires. Regardless, remove the subtraction portion if that bothers you.

Personally, I see no real game play difference in 10 min. vs. 1min/level or even 10min/level. It seems like you want 10 min because the character is low level. Fine, then use 10 min/level. It certainly won't be broken at higher levels.

As for Wisdom, as we mentioned, this is really meant more for Ranger types then Wizard types.

The first two spell suggestions listed by the OP didn't even allow this as a ranger spell. That's extremely odd.

 

[FCWesel]

A low-level character will not have 20 attacks, will he?

10 Rounds per Minute with 2 attacksd per Round via Rapid Shot, which even a first level character (human, mainly; and most archery builds WILL have this Feat, just like most every fighter has Power Attack) can have equals 20 attacks a Minute. In any event, why bother keeping track of how many minutes are taken away by how many attacks, when there's a simpler solution like we have.

Maybe it's my background in programming, particularly in the medical field, but I prefer designing features of the game (spells, feats, etc.) with a certain amount of consistency.

There are spells with solid increment of time instead fo the X/Level way: 1 round (command, earthquake), 7 rounds (Heat Metal), 1 minute (dancing lights, divine favor), 10 Minutes (Remove Fear), 1 hour (prestidigation), 8 Hours (obscure Object), 24 Hours (endure elements, screen), "seven days or seven months" (shambler).

Then there's "Magic Stone" which is "30 minutes or until discharged"...which is effectively the same thing we have for this spell. (There's also "60 days or until discharged" via Leomund's Secret Chest, which has a % per day thing past sixty.)

You may like a certain "consistency" but the GAME itself doesn't follow that logic. While a lot of spells follow x/level, however the reality of the game is that the spell durations are fairly well over all of the map.

The first two spell suggestions listed by the OP didn't even allow this as a ranger spell. That's extremely odd.

Look at the dates of his postings of the spells: they're two months apart. It's a work in progress. The main thing about that is that Tracerbullet42 hadn't even considered it a possibility for non-wizard spell types to come up with a new spell. TB42 is new to spellcasting classes and the whole idea of how spells work for the most part. Once he understood that any casting class character could create/inspire a spell one of the first things he commented on was the "Ranger-ness" of the spell and moving it over to the Ranger list.

Hope that helps you.

 

[Infiniti2000]

10 Rounds per Minute with 2 attacksd per Round via Rapid Shot, which even a first level character (human, mainly; and most archery builds WILL have this Feat, just like most every fighter has Power Attack) can have equals 20 attacks a Minute.

I assumed the restriction on the maximum number of attacks was still in place.

Hope that helps you.

This was about helping you guys, not me. Feel free to ignore all of my responses if it suits you. As I suspect I'm not helping here at all, I will not respond further.

 

[TracerBullet42]

I assumed the restriction on the maximum number of attacks was still in place.

This was about helping you guys, not me. Feel free to ignore all of my responses if it suits you. As I suspect I'm not helping here at all, I will not respond further.

Don't sweat it...you're not privy to the emails and AIMs that we have had going back and forth...so it's bound to get confusing.

Regardless, here's the "unofficial non-playtested" version of the spell that we're going to try out. (Mind you, I won't be able to tell you how it plays out for a little while, since Verus Horne is currently a Ranger 2/Wizard 2, so it'll be at least three more levels before he can even cast this spell.)

But here's what we're going to try:

Verus Horne's Meticulous Precision
Divination
Level: Rgr 1
Components: V, F
Casting Time: 1 Standard action
Range: Personal
Duration: 10 minutes or until discharged

This spell guides ranged missile attacks (arrows, bolts, stones, spears, but not ranged spell attacks) to strike true, even into a tangled wrestling match. The creature can fire a ranged attack into a grapple and, if it hits, strike the intended target without having a chance to hit any other targets within the grapple.

A multi-classed Ranger who has Sneak Attack or Skirmish Damage would benefit from this spell as per the normal rules of those damage types against a grappled opponent.

The duration of the spell lasts for a number of ranged attacks equal to the Caster Level (which is 1/2 Ranger level for Rangers) plus Wisdom Modifier or 10 minutes, which ever comes first. So if Verus Horne is a Ranger 6 and has a WIS bonus of 2, he gets a total five attack rolls within a 10-minute period.

Spell Focus: A small golden arrowhead charm (1gp value) that must be worn on the character or even their favored weapon.