Question on Rainbow Pattern (hopefully easy)

[Lamoni]

My sorcerer picked up Rainbow Pattern recently and finally used it. However, in reading through the spell description we couldn't find anything that would break the effect of the spell except for:
a successful saving throw,
blocking the view of the lights or
the spell coming to an end.

My DM ruled (with my complete consent) that if they were attacked, they would cease to be fascinated. Did we just create a house rule, or did we rule correctly by accident?

If we did create a house rule, is this spell overpowered as written? It seems like making a 24 HD creature unable to take actions to fight back while you still pound on him is too good for a 4th level spell. Am I wrong?

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

The spell makes the targets fascinated:

Fascinated: A fascinated creature is entranced by a supernatural or spell effect. The creature stands or sits quietly, taking no actions other than to pay attention to the fascinating effect, for as long as the effect lasts. It takes a –4 penalty on skill checks made as reactions, such as Listen and Spot checks. Any potential threat, such as a hostile creature approaching, allows the fascinated creature a new saving throw against the fascinating effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a ranged weapon at the fascinated creature, automatically breaks the effect. A fascinated creature’s ally may shake it free of the spell as a standard action.

So, your DM's ruling wasn't really a house rule. Threatened creatures break free of the spell.

AR

 

[Lamoni]

Thanks. I was pretty sure there was something written about it. I just needed to look further than the spell description.

And for the record, it wasn't really a DM's ruling. I think that I first mentioned that they would no longer be fascinated if attacked. We then looked for it in the spell description and couldn't find it, but we still both went by that ruling because it just made sense. I guess it still was a DM's ruling because he could have ruled the other way, but as it was it was more of a group ruling. And now I am even happier that we didn't end up adding our first house rule.

 

[dcollins]

You know, I looked at this thread and thought to myself, "That can't be right." Why wouldn't the spell explicitly state all its ending conditions, like is the custom for Hypnotism and Hypnotic Pattern? And furthermore, why would Rainbow Pattern be 4th level if it basically has the same effect and weakness as those 1st- and 2nd-level spells?

And the answer is that it was changed in 3.5 to have a weaker effect, but without the new editors bothering to fully describe the effect like most spells do. In 3.0 the target was "captivated" and had no such ending-vulnerability (so it was in fact quite powerful). In 3.5 they dialed it down (like a lot of other magic), to just "fascinated", which includes the ending clause that's been noted above.