Fabricate: the ultimate war-time spell? (Posted for Arravis)

[Knight Otu]

(Posted for Arravis, who has problems starting a new thread)

Can you use the Fabricate spell to turn part of a stone wall fortification into easily moved bricks? Could you use it to turn a wooden palisade into a nice stacks of kindling? Could you use it to essentially demolish a wooden structure by turning it into planks or some such? In a mass-combat battlefield this spell would seem invaluable. Siege engines could be turned into sticks... sticks could be turned into siege engines to help your side. The very ground below you could be turned into a wall, etc. Am I misreading the spell in these examples?

Here is the spell from the SRD for those interested:

Fabricate:
Transmutation; Sor/Wiz 5; V, S, M; Casting Time: See text; Range: Close; Target: Up to 10 cu. ft./level; see text; Duration: Instantaneous; Saving Throw: None; Spell Resistance: No
You convert material of one sort into a product that is of the same material. Creatures or magic items cannot be created or transmuted by the fabricate spell. The quality of items made by this spell is commensurate with the quality of material used as the basis for the new fabrication. If you work with a mineral, the target is reduced to 1 cubic foot per level instead of 10 cubic feet.
You must make an appropriate Craft check to fabricate articles requiring a high degree of craftsmanship.
Casting requires 1 round per 10 cubic feet (or 1 cubic foot) of material to be affected by the spell.
Material Component: The original material, which costs the same amount as the raw materials required to craft the item to be created.

 

[Slobber Monster]

Close range + casting time of 1 round per 10 cubic feet, and it affects a much smaller area when used on a mineral. Meh, there are much more effective 5th level seige spells - like Cloudkill. Fabricate's best use is to quickly outfit an army.

 

[Kilroy]

If you can use 6th level spells, Stone to Flesh is way better (and way, way ickier) as a siege spell.

 

[Joker]

Eeew. That would suck if you were a sentry and the ground underneath you got turned into flesh.

"Ah man, I just stepped in a half-formed ass."

 

[Psimancer]

To actually answer your question; yes, you could do what you are asking. The spell generally focuses on the product of the spell and not the materials. Good, subtle use of the spell.

 

[Jack Simth]

Fabricate can also make for comic relief, especially when combined with Eschew Materials. After all, the converted materials are listed as the material component, and some things have a price tag of -.

So, for instance, you might Fabricate a large wood club out of nothing directly over someone's head.....

Not an effective use of a higher level spell, but quite funny, under the right circumstances.

 

[Tonguez]

Fabricate can also make for comic relief, especially when combined with Eschew Materials. After all, the converted materials are listed as the material component, and some things have a price tag of -..

Wow your right I never noticed that, you can basically fabricate things out of nothing!!!


Anyway as to the wooden palisade to kindling or seige engine to planks example I'd rule no the process is Materials to Product NOT Product to Materials as a building is a product made of wood the spell can't work to 'unmake' it

 

[Corsair]

Anyway as to the wooden palisade to kindling or seige engine to planks example I'd rule no the process is Materials to Product NOT Product to Materials as a building is a product made of wood the spell can't work to 'unmake' it

While this might be true for things like turning Swords into iron ore, it is very easy to turn a palisade wall into sawdust.

 

[Arravis]

Could you turn a bolt of wool into a shirt? A bolt of wool is already produced material... Can you turn an iron ignot into a sword? Iron ignots are produced by a forge. Does nature "produce" trees etc... it can go on forever. If you go too much into what's "produced" and what's not, it gets very messy quickly.

 

[Jack Simth]

Wow your right I never noticed that, you can basically fabricate things out of nothing!!!

Anything with a market price such that (Market Price) / 3 < 1 gp. Depending on the DM's choice of rounding (after all, the money system breaks down into 1 cp = 0.01 gp), you can manage any item worth 2.97 gp or less for free with Eschew Materials and Fabricate. So a backpack, a bedroll, a blanket, an (empty - drat) glass wine bottle, a bag of caltrops, 29 square yards of canvas, nearly a year's worth of firewood (Hmm... at 20 lbs per day's worth of firewood, market price 1 cp per day, 297 cp worth of material is 297 day's worth of firewood, or 5,940 lbs of material, created at a location of your choosing....), a hemp rope, a spade or shovel, a Sunrod, a wooden holy symbol for the cleric that was disarmed, a traveler's or artisan's outfit, a good stay at an inn, a good meal from an inn, a bit and bridle....

Far from an exhaustive list, but many heavy utility items that you rarely need in there, a few abuses suggested, but not really something to build a character around.

Although it's quite easy for a DM to nix that idea by pointing out that the original materials are also listed under "target"....