Epic Ranges for Epic spells

[tjoneslo]

I've been looking at the Epic SRD, and reviewing the Epic Spell creation system. Now the epic spells sound neat but in playing with the rules I came across a major limitation, the range and area of effect of the spells don't allow much earthshaking. I want my epic ritual spells to be able to transform dead worlds into living gardens of eden, raise legions of undead, boil the oceans, cover all the lands in darkness, muhahahahaha.... sorry.

Epic Range: Multiplies range of spell x2 for +5 DC. If the seed(s) being used have no range, you will need to modify them into a ranged touch or ray attack. Note that is is cheaper to do small increases in range using the standard increases in range.

Epic Area: Multiplies the area of the spell x2 for +10 DC. If the seed does not have an area effect, you will need to modify it to have an area. Like the Epic range, it is easier to do small increases in area using the standard area increase method.

Using either of these requires the spell be a ritual, and the entire DC of the epic scale be mitigated by either a increased casting duration or additional participants (or both).

I've increased the maximum casting duration from 100 days to a year and a day, it seems more magical that way.

Example spell:
Gaia (Ritual)
Transmutation
Spellcraft DC: 54
Components: V, S, DF, Ritual
Casting Time: 190 days
Range: Touch
Duration Instant/Permanent
Saving Throw None
Spell Resistance None
To Develop: 486,000 gp, 9.72 days, 19,440 XP. Seeds: Conjure x7 (DC 77), Life x7 (DC 189), Transform x7 (DC 149), Transport (DC 27). Factors: Change Touch to Area (20' radius) (+14 DC), Epic Area x72 (+720 DC). Midigating Factors: Casting time to 10 minutes (-20 DC), Casting Time to 190 days (-380 DC), 20 participants each contribute a 1st level through 6th level slot (120 participants total).

This spell transforms a lifeless planet into a garden like eden, creating a breatable atmosphere, large bodies of water in the proper place to create lakes, oceans and rivers, and profusion of plant life covering the open land and plankton to fill the seas. While the spell creates normal tiny insects, it will not create anything larger that that. Other plants, larger animals and other inhabitants may be brought in once the spell is completed.

The spell provides no protection against the environment outside the world, and once the spell is complete, this may destroy the world so transformed. For example, casting the spell on Mercury once the spell is complete the power of the sunlight would boil the oceans, fry the plants and blow the atmosphere away in a few seconds. Casting the spell on Jupiters moon of Io would have everything covered in sulpher from the volcano's in a few week. Casting Gaia on the Earth's moon would work, but some method of maintaining the atmosphere would be required as is slowly leaks away over the course of 10,000 years or so.

Casting the spell on a world which already has life will not destroy the existing living things, but add to them, spreading them across the planet.

 

[Terath Ninir]

Gosh darn Trekkie!

Not being a fan of the epic handbook, I can't comment on the exact numbers, but the concept and general feel of the rules sounds very reasonable.

 

[Corlon]

sounds fair when you put in that clause that says "it must be a long casting time." It also gives a good amount of adventure hooks: stopping rituals from destroying the world, etc.

I'm not an expert on epic spells, and they can generally get out of hand anyways, so this seems pretty fair.

 

[Kerrick]

IIRC, they have "increase range/area by 100%" factors already. I also made a new range - Extreme (1600 ft. + 160 ft./level) for those really large effects.

 

[tjoneslo]

Yes, but if you want to increase the range of a spell to cover the planet you need about +44 million DC to do so. Casting a spell from far orbit (say 100,000 miles) requires a DC +1,760,000.

On one hand, if caster want to push that much magic around it should very difficult. On the other hand, getting a spell caster (or casters) capable of throwing this powerful a spell throws the entire balance of the game way off.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

The Spellcradt DC seems awfully low for a spell of this significance.

 

[vulcan_idic]

Example spell:
Gaia (Ritual)
Transmutation
Spellcraft DC: 54
Components: V, S, DF, Ritual
Casting Time: 190 days
Range: Touch
Duration Instant/Permanent
Saving Throw None
Spell Resistance None
To Develop: 486,000 gp, 9.72 days, 19,440 XP. Seeds: Conjure x7 (DC 77), Life x7 (DC 189), Transform x7 (DC 149), Transport (DC 27). Factors: Change Touch to Area (20' radius) (+14 DC), Epic Area x72 (+720 DC). Midigating Factors: Casting time to 10 minutes (-20 DC), Casting Time to 190 days (-380 DC), 20 participants each contribute a 1st level through 6th level slot (120 participants total).

This spell transforms a lifeless planet into a garden like eden, creating a breatable atmosphere, large bodies of water in the proper place to create lakes, oceans and rivers, and profusion of plant life covering the open land and plankton to fill the seas. While the spell creates normal tiny insects, it will not create anything larger that that. Other plants, larger animals and other inhabitants may be brought in once the spell is completed.

The spell provides no protection against the environment outside the world, and once the spell is complete, this may destroy the world so transformed. For example, casting the spell on Mercury once the spell is complete the power of the sunlight would boil the oceans, fry the plants and blow the atmosphere away in a few seconds. Casting the spell on Jupiters moon of Io would have everything covered in sulpher from the volcano's in a few week. Casting Gaia on the Earth's moon would work, but some method of maintaining the atmosphere would be required as is slowly leaks away over the course of 10,000 years or so.

Casting the spell on a world which already has life will not destroy the existing living things, but add to them, spreading them across the planet.

I like this spell... the spellcraft DC seems a little low, but reasonable only in that it has rather massive other requirements to actually complete it.

I concur Mercury would be a poor choice... Io would also have the work completed soon after completion, but I don't think the Volcano's would be the cause (by my interpretation the volcanos would be a part of the planetary body and thus also affected by the transmutation in such a way that they would be minimized if not eliminated. I interpret it this way due to the superficial similarity of effect to the Genesis Device (Star Trek: Wrath of Khan) which, "would destroy such life" and indeed, the very fabric of matter the planet is made of "in favor of its new matrix". In the case of Io however the more critical difficulties would be the exterior factors of Jovian gravitation (the root cause, to the best of my knowledge, of the volcanos) and radiation.

 

[tjoneslo]

Having 121 people casting a single spell for over 6 months is a hefty investment. If I were to double the cost of the Area requirements, it would probably be a full year and a day casting time, with even more people. This spell requires someone of 45th to 50th level to cast properly, and I'm not sure I'm that cofortable with having people of that level around.

The spell won't replace the planetary core, just the surface. The tidal heating that drives Io's vulcanism won't be stopped for long by the spell. But the volcanos won't blow out over the entire surface immedialy. It will take a while. I'm guessing a few weeks before the atmosphere becomes too polluted with sulpher before it's no longer breathable, and perhaps a year or so before all the (now dead) plants are covered.