Rant: WotC can't design their spells "right"

[Al'Kelhar]

[RANT] Or "does someone in WotC hate evokers?"

OK, the more WotC publications I see with new spells in them, the more frustrated I am that their spell designers don't even apply WotC's own design principles to spells, and continually come up with spells which one can only respond to with a bemused/annoyed "what the ...?".

Issue #1: No conjuration spells are subject to spell resistance Read the SRD guys:

Conjuration: These spells are usually not subject to spell resistance unless the spell conjures some form of energy. Spells that summon creatures or produce effects that function like creatures are not subject to spell resistance. (emphasis added)

Is it me, or is it the case that no friggin' spell from the Conjuration school applies spell resistance, even when it's conjuring energy. If you read the DMG, it even states that Melf's acid arrow is an example of a Conjuration spell which is subject to spell resistance; and then the PH and SRD descriptions of the spell say it isn't. And since then, every friggin' energy conjuring Conjuration spell hasn't been subject to spell resistance. Maybe I could live with this, if WotC didn't keep friggin' creating more friggin' energy-conjuring Conjuration spells than you could poke a sharpened stick at, and which are equally powerful to their Evocation counterparts of an equal level.

Guys, the spell design rules on this subject are simple. STICK TO THEM.

1. Any spell which causes instantanous direct energy damage is an Evocation spell, and is subject to spell resistance.

2. Any spell which causes direct energy damage over an extended period is a Conjuration spell, and is also subject to spell resistance.

3. If, for some demented reason, a Conjuration spell is not subject to spell resistance, it must be balanced by (a) a saving throw; and/or (b) an attack roll; and/or (c) lower damage than a comparable spell which is subject to spell resistance.

Issue #2: Where are all the good evocations? Mid- and high-level evocation spells suck. The evocation school should be the premier school for big, glorious, smack-down damage spells. Whaddya get at mid- and high levels? Some giant hands which can "flick the bird" to the bad guys but are useless for actually doing anything. The 4th-level+ direct damage spells in the SRD are laughable. And WotC obstinately refuses to either "fix" crappo spells like cone of cold, chain lightning and Otiluke's freezing sphere or to provide viable alternatives in any of their splatbooks and other products. Spells which should be Evocation are instead made Conjuration or (more rarely) Transmutation, and are either woefully underpowered (e.g. dragon breath from Complete Divine) or incredibly broken [e.g. dragon breath from Draconomicon, legion's fire shield from Miniature's Handbook).

Some other spell design principles which WotC should adhere to:

4. A spell which requires an attack roll should not generally be subject to a saving throw.

5. A spell which causes cold or sonic damage should do less direct damage than an equivalent-level spell of another energy type, but should require a Fortitude save (not a Reflex save), and should generally have secondary effects.

[/RANT]

Cheers, Al'Kelhar

 

[MerricB]

Given that most of those items are you making rules up...

...meh!

Evocation needs some new spells, definitely. That's more the problem than the Conjuration spells (which seem pretty well-balanced).

Cheers!

 

[ARandomGod]

They don't make good spells of 4th level or higher because they expect you to metamagic them. Sure, hard work may pay off in the long run, but laziness pays off RIGHT NOW!

As such, I recommend that you research 4th level and higher spells. You can use existing metamagic feats as guidelines for what the writers feel would be an appropriate power level for those spells.

 

[Remathilis]

Ok, I'll bite...

Burning Hands INVOKES a blast of magical flame from your hands.

Shocking Grasp INVOKES a charge of pure electrical force to strike your foes.

Scorching Ray INVOKES a line of pure fire.

Lightning bolt INVOKES a line of pure electricity.

Cone of Cold INVOKES a cone of freezing energy.

BUT

Blast of Flame CONJURES a blast of magical flame.

Lesser Electric Orb CONJURES a ball of pure electrical force.

Orb of Fire CONJURES a ball of pure fire.

Arc of Lightning CONJURES a line of pure electricity.

Freezing Fog CONJURES a mist of Freezing energy.

So where is the consistancy?

 

[MerricB]

It should be noted that we are currently in the middle of the "rebalancing of the spells".

To make specialisation a meaningful choice, Wizards rebalanced the spell lists. However, that rebalancing is not yet complete - there are still holes to be filled.

Hopefully, more Evocation spells will soon be forthcoming.

Cheers!

 

[alsih2o]

So where is the consistancy?

OOOH! I know! The verbs are in all capital letters!

 

[ARandomGod]

It should be noted that we are currently in the middle of the "rebalancing of the spells".

To make specialisation a meaningful choice, Wizards rebalanced the spell lists. However, that rebalancing is not yet complete - there are still holes to be filled.

Hopefully, more Evocation spells will soon be forthcoming.

Cheers!

In that case, can I suggest that some real, effective direct damage roll to hit no save spells be made for the mid levels? I really DO have to research them. And they are important to me. ^_^

 

[Gez]

You want a good example of a badly designed spell:

Defenestrating Sphere
Evocation [Air]
Level: Sorcerer/wizard 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: 2-foot-radius sphere
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes

You evoke a cloudy gray sphere of whirling air and howling wind that hurls your enemies screaming into the sky. It flies at up to 30 feet per round and attacks the creature or object you indicate. You must succeed at a ranged touch attack to strike a creature with the sphere. The sphere stops moving for the round when you make an attack on a creature or object. You must actively direct the sphere on your action to move it to a new target; this requires a move action on your part. The sphere winks out if it exceeds the spell's range.

If you succeed with your ranged touch attack to strike a creature with the sphere, the target takes 3d6 damage from the battering power of the winds. Creatures of Medium size or smaller must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw or be knocked prone. Creatures who fall prone must then succeed on a second Fortitude save or be swept up into the sphere and expelled 1d8 x 10 feet straight up, falling 1d6 squares in a random direction from their original position. Falling damage applies normally. If some obstacle prevents the subject from reaching the height to which the sphere expelled him, he sustains 1d6 points of damage for every 10 feet of movement he was unable to complete (so a character hurled 50 feet up in a room with a 20-foot ceiling sustains 3d6 damage, and then falls from there).

The sphere may affect one creature or object per round, provided it is directed to a suitable target.

Material Component: A gray pearl worth no less than 100 gp.​

See? It's called "defenestrating sphere" and it does not defenestrate! It should hurl people horizontally toward the nearest window, not vertically! Look at the friggin' picture:

Where's the defenestration? All the windows are intact! The dude isn't hurled toward any of them! It's like having a spell named fireball whose effect is "you create a cube of ice, because that way, it's neither fire nor ball, haha!" -- I hate it.

 

[reanjr]

Revision of Defenestrating Sphere:

Defenestrating Sphere
Evocation [Force]
Level: Sorcerer/wizard 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One creature (see below)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex partial (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes

You evoke a cloudy gray sphere of whirling air and howling wind that hurls your enemies screaming towards the nearest window. There must be a window which the target could concievably fit through within 60 ft.

The target takes 1d6 points of damage for every 10 feet traveled towards the window from crashing into it. If this amount of damage is not sufficient to shatter the window, the target stops at that point and slumps prone next to the windows. If the damage is sufficient to break the window, the target takes only an amount of damage equal to the damage the window received before shattering and is propelled just out of reach of the window sill and begins to plummet towards the ground as normal. A successful Reflex save indicates that the target has caught themself on the edge of the window sill and can pull themself up using a full round action.

This window in question must be built as a window for its primary function. A door, for instance, or glass cupboard can not be substituted.

Additionally, if this spell is cast in Czeckoslovakia or against a Czeckoslavakian politician, the target receives a -20 penalty to their saving throw.

Material Component: A small piece of stained glass worth 5gp that is shattered during the casting.​

 

[Gez]

Much better!