Ghost busting tactic

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I'm playing an 8th-level wizard in an Eberron campaign, and one of my favorite spells is O's resilient sphere.

In one encoutner, we fought the Ghost of some former Cannith lord ... he was a sorcerer. He was quickly surrounded by the fighter-types in the party, and I tried to trap him with the O's resilient sphere spell. The tactic is designed to trap him and the melee characters within the sphere, so he can't escape. Then he gets the stuffing kicked out of him. Unfortunately, he had a gaze attack, so it probably wouldn't have worked out...

Anyway, the sphere is a Force effect, meaning it interacts with incorporeal creatures without the 50% miss chance thing, and it can keep the ghost from moving. The PCs willingly failed their saves so they wouldn't disrupt the spell. The ghost made his save both times I cast it, however. Do you think this means the spell was disrupted anyway?

The DM ruled that the sphere was disrupted, so I didn't have to spend an action dismissing it. Does that sound about right?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

For reference:

Resilient Sphere
Evocation [Force]
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: 1-ft.-diameter/level sphere, centered around a creature
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
A globe of shimmering force encloses a creature, provided the creature is small enough to fit within the diameter of the sphere. The sphere contains its subject for the spell’s duration. The sphere is not subject to damage of any sort except from a rod of cancellation, a rod of negation, a disintegrate spell, or a targeted dispel magic spell. These effects destroy the sphere without harm to the subject. Nothing can pass through the sphere, inside or out, though the subject can breathe normally.
The subject may struggle, but the sphere cannot be physically moved either by people outside it or by the struggles of those within.
Material Component: A hemispherical piece of clear crystal and a matching hemispherical piece of gum arabic.

The spell is "centered around a creature" and continually references only a single subject. According to my reading of the stats and description, you can't trap multiple creatures inside a single sphere. If you were targetting the ghost, the sphere would fail each time it made its save. Regardless of that, the melee folk would not--could not--be caught inside the sphere as well.

 

[RigaMortus]

For reference:The spell is "centered around a creature" and continually references only a single subject. According to my reading of the stats and description, you can't trap multiple creatures inside a single sphere. If you were targetting the ghost, the sphere would fail each time it made its save. Regardless of that, the melee folk would not--could not--be caught inside the sphere as well.

What if the Fighter was grappling with the Ghost? What if you cast the sphere on a swarm of bats?

I'd say you can do it. It is centered around a creature, but if other things (objects and creatures included) are close enough and there is enough room in that sphere (1ft diameter per level), it should work fine.

 

[Goolpsy]

a swarm of bats is ONE creature for stats purpose.. so i would allow the spell there...
dont know about the grappling though

 

[Lord Pendragon]

What if the Fighter was grappling with the Ghost? What if you cast the sphere on a swarm of bats?

As mentioned above, the bats would be "one creature." I'd have the ghost enclosed and the fighter sharing the square with it (like a creature can share a square with a Flaming Sphere for instance.) Then next round the fighter can do whatever he likes, other than attack the now impervious ghost, of course.

I'd say you can do it. It is centered around a creature, but if other things (objects and creatures included) are close enough and there is enough room in that sphere (1ft diameter per level), it should work fine.

Not me. Ruling it that way makes it far too strong IMO.

 

[Hypersmurf]

As mentioned above, the bats would be "one creature."

Of course, if the sphere were Target: One creature instead of Effect: Sphere surrounding one creature, the bats would be immune to it.

-Hyp.

 

[Andre]

For reference:The spell is "centered around a creature" and continually references only a single subject.

Actually, that's not precisely correct. Read the line right above Material Component:

"The subject may struggle, but the sphere cannot be physically moved either by people outside it or by the struggles of those within." (emphasis mine) "Those" can be read as plural.

 

[Tatsukun]

The other question would be what happens ot others in the space ?
If the target is surrounded by others, and a 15 food wide sphere surrounds the target, do the other people get hedged out? What if there is nowhere to go (a wall or something)? Do they get crushed?

If so, this makes a whole new use fo the spell.

I would say they all get trapped if they fail the save, if they make the save, they get hedged. (The grappling thing is a better example of this question, oh well).

-Tatsu

 

[winterwolf]

I would like to point out that the spell description states that the spell has a diameter of 1ft/caster level (8 ft in this case). The spell would definitly only affect the one ghost, unless a fighter was standing in the square with the ghost (don't know what the ghost would do then, but it would probably be bad...possess, drain stats, what?). Since the ghost made its save, I would agree with the dm that the spell does not affect it.

 

[ARandomGod]

The tactic is designed to trap him and the melee characters within the sphere, so he can't escape. Then he gets the stuffing kicked out of him. Unfortunately, he had a gaze attack, so it probably wouldn't have worked out...

The sphere blocks line of effect, so it would have worked. The gaze couldn't have gotten out (but could still have affected any within

Anyway, the sphere is a Force effect, meaning it interacts with incorporeal creatures without the 50% miss chance thing, and it can keep the ghost from moving. The PCs willingly failed their saves so they wouldn't disrupt the spell. The ghost made his save both times I cast it, however. Do you think this means the spell was disrupted anyway?

The DM ruled that the sphere was disrupted, so I didn't have to spend an action dismissing it. Does that sound about right?

I'd say that the ghost managed to escape the shpere. However any others who didn't try to escape would still be caught.

The spell says it's an effect centered around a creature. It also says reflex negates. One *could* rule that a save on the part of the creature it's centered on negates the spell, as per the 'reflex negates' description in the spell. However that leads to abuses of you targeting something ELSE (like your friends) who don't attempt the save, and having the ghost auto-trapped. Because by the logic that the spell would be negated by a reflex save on the target, you're stating simultaniously that the others who might be caught in the shpere do not count.

IMC if a reflex is made the shpere still pops into existance. It's just empty.


As for Lord Pendragon's reading that it *could* only trap a single creature... the effect of the spell does imply that multiple creatures could be affected at higher caster levels. (Or in the case of multiple creatures occupying a 5ft square).

The effect is ...
Effect: 1-ft.-diameter/level sphere, centered around a creature.

At tenth level that's a ten foot diameter sphere. Two medium creatures can fit in that easily. At 15th level it's a 15 foot diameter sphere. Etcetera. I see no reason why it can't catch more than one person inside it.

But, as I said, that interpretation presupposes that the reflex save does not negate the entire sphere, but instead means the creature targeted isn't inside the sphere when it appears.