Explosive Rune Goodness

[RUMBLETiGER]

So, this spell was mentioned in another thread briefly, and it got me to thinking about all the fun one can have with this spell.

I'd love your input as to creative application of this spell. Be imaginative!

-Cast Explosive Runes on a series of pieces of paper, than flood a hallways with those papers!

-Cast Explosive Runes on the labels of potions.

-Cast Explosive Runes on a magical Map.

-Cast Explosive Runes in a Lich's Phylactery

-Cast explosive Runes on the interior of a pair of Goggles.

etc, etc.

 

[anest1s]

Give a note with explosive runes to the barbarian, and tell him to meet you at this place. Wait him near the prison. Illiteracy ftw.

Give a note within a folder to someone, and say to them ''I forbid you to read it until I say so''. Then run before he opens the folder.

Fill an opponents spellbook with those things. Lol while he is left without spellbook.

The lich thing wouldn't be good, bc

The object on which the runes were written also takes full damage (no saving throw).

 

[Greenfield]

The paranoid leaders begin to have all messages checked by Detect Magic, and read by a trusted aide, sort of like a food taster.

And those who wish to counter some of that paranoia start writing their trapped messages on fancy paper covered in gold leaf. (When folded, the metal encloses the spell, and thus interferes with Scry and Detect spells that might otherwise detect it.

Another trick is to add Magic Aura, either to suppress the aura of the Runes, or to show an Abjuration (protection) spell, heightened to a 4th level spell. According to the SRD, if an item has more than one emanation, the stronger of the two is the one revealed.

 

[domino]

Boccomb's Blessed Bomb.

Take a Boccomb's Blessed Book. Fill each page with explosive runes. Toss it at an enemy, then try to dispel the book, and deliberately fail. Watch them all go off at once for 6000d6 force damage, no save.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

How much damage would 6d6 force damage do to most objects?

-Cast Explosive Runes on an opponents Shield, Armor, Clothes, Helm, Gloves, Weapon, etc.

 

[Greenfield]

It may take two casters to ensure success.

The SRD is actually a bit ambiguous on this point. At one point is says that you automatically succeed when dispelling your own spell effects. Later, it say you may choose to automatically succeed. Since it's a single item, you want the targeted dispel, but that's the one you can't fail at if you wrote the runes. The area dispel can fail, but it will only take one of the spell effects, or it can't take any at all, depending on how you interpret the rules for how these interact.

Besides, that's kind of expensive. Carry a ream of ordinary papers so enchanted (in a bag of holding or a pouch lined with lead foil, to protect it from someone else hitting you with a Dispel), then when needed, count out the number you want to use, roll them into a ball, and remember the rules.

Three is thy number and thy number shalt be three. Thou shalt count to one, then to two, then to three. Do count to three unless it is first preceded by one, and then then two. Thou shalt not count to four

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Cast explosive runes...
on a playing card or tarot card.
on a wine bottle label.
in a hymnal or holy book.
on a scratch-off lotto ticket.
on the inside of a bathroom stall door.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Boccomb's Blessed Bomb.

Take a Boccomb's Blessed Book. Fill each page with explosive runes. Toss it at an enemy, then try to dispel the book, and deliberately fail. Watch them all go off at once for 6000d6 force damage, no save.

Oh... deliberate fail on dispel to trigger. Nice.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

This brings me back to the good old Nintendo 64 days, Playing Goldeneye and Perfect Dark with proximity mines. 30 seconds into the game when everyone has littered the entire map with these guys, you end of creeping slowly every footstep, looking around for those tiny little dots of doom.

If a caster spent a month or so writing a bunch of these on papers and storing them away for a rainy day, the potential for damage would be rediculious.

Besides, that's kind of expensive. Carry a ream of ordinary papers so enchanted (in a bag of holding or a pouch lined with lead foil, to protect it from someone else hitting you with a Dispel), then when needed, count out the number you want to use, roll them into a ball, and remember the rules.

This really is the trick, isn't it? a paper wad, shoved down a dragon's throat, or placed in an opponents pocket. Not a lot will protect you from Force damage.

I think I know another thing to add to the list of things my factotum will do during down time.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Oh... deliberate fail on dispel to trigger. Nice.

Yup, deliberately failing is nice. Though most DMs either will only let one spell effect a creature if the radiuses overlap, or simply will beat you upside the head with the DMG for trying that.

On a similar vein, my party decimated an army once with our "dispel cannon." We made tons of papers of explosive runes and laid them on the ground spaced out to cover the entire narrow passageway through the woods we knew the enemy dark elf army was coming through. Then as they marched through, my character sprang out with his rod of scult spell and dispel magic'd in a 120 ft line, purposesly choosing to fail the checks.

Didn't completely destroy their army, and I nearly died from crossbow fire afterwards before another PC pulled me behind cover. But it sure did instantly vaporize at least 1/2 of them!