Is spell "Miasma" broken (from MotW)?

[Pielorinho]

It's a shame that it's so uber. Next session, I'll be playing an 8th-level fungus-druid (a temporary character), and I'd love to equip him with a spell like miasma, only describe the effect as a blob of viscous slime in the target's mouth and throat. But given its nasty effects, I'm sure the DM won't allow it.

Daniel

 

[Dinkeldog]

Oddly enough, I never found the spell to be broken. I definitely didn't memorize it every day. Bad guys just held their breath for the duration of the combat. The best usage seemed to be against creatures with breath weapons and verbal spellcasters.

 

[Pielorinho]

Oddly enough, I never found the spell to be broken. I definitely didn't memorize it every day. Bad guys just held their breath for the duration of the combat. The best usage seemed to be against creatures with breath weapons and verbal spellcasters.

My reading of the spell implies that the victim can't do anything BESIDES choke and cough for the spell's duration, making it a no-save, multi-round daze spell in addition to threatening the victim with death.

If that's not the case, the spell isn't quite as bad as I thought. I still think it should allow an initial fort save to ignore its effects entirely.

Daniel

 

[LordAO]

You aren't making saving throws, you're making Con checks, which is in every way worse and ridiculously easy to fail.

Yes this spell is more broken than anything I have ever seen, ever. I've seen some pretty outrageous things, but nothing like this. It's a fourth level kill spell. Unless you have a friend to dispel it from you, you're dead. This would be broken as a 9th level spell, let alone a 4th!

I suggest just getting rid of it. And make sure Wizards hears about it so they get rid of it in the 3.5 edition.

 

[AuraSeer]

Oddly enough, I never found the spell to be broken. I definitely didn't memorize it every day. Bad guys just held their breath for the duration of the combat.

As written, the spell appears to prevent the victim from doing anything except coughing. That means at the least, it takes one target out of combat for the duration.

If you leave that bit out, the spell becomes less useful in a big combat, because the victim will probably be killed by something else before he suffocates. Even then, it remains amazingly powerful against single large opponents. Cast it on the tarrasque or a great wyrm dragon, and as soon as you know you've penetrated SR, teleport away or go hide in a wall of force. Then just sit and wait, and the beastie will die.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Cast it on the tarrasque or a great wyrm dragon, and as soon as you know you've penetrated SR, teleport away or go hide in a wall of force. Then just sit and wait, and the beastie will die.

Better Extend it first... the Tarrasque has a Con of 35.

-Hyp.

 

[LordAO]

Better Extend it first... the Tarrasque has a Con of 35.

-Hyp.

If your caster level is high enough (like 12 or so) , there is no need to extend it. Of course the Tarrasque is immune to such things, but it's a thought anyways.

 

[Hypersmurf]

If your caster level is high enough (like 12 or so) , there is no need to extend it.

If your caster level is 12, the spell lasts for 60 rounds. With 35 Con, it can hold its breath for 70 before it starts making Conc checks.

At caster level 15, the spell lasts for 75 rounds. By round 75, the Con check is up to DC 14... and it has a +12 bonus to its roll.

By caster level 17, it might be in trouble.

On the other hand, a 9th level caster casting Extended Miasma has it lasting 90 rounds, by which point the Con check is up to DC 29...

-Hyp.

 

[Dark Dragon]

Do you mean the breathing through your nose thing? That wasn't me...

-Hyp.

*grin* No, I meant your arguments against resetting the "timer".

After all, the DM (and the players) house ruled it giving Miasma a fortitude save (negates). SR applies.

 

[Leopold]

just came up in my game. House ruled it for the following:

Fort Save to save. If failed then you suffer normally (still horrible!), succeed and is nauseaus for 1d4+1 rounds.


still nasty as sin but hell, hopefully this will get fixed soon!