Researching a spell- Input please

[clark411]

Hi, I'm attempting to create a 7th level spell and could use a lil input, as I'm rather new to it. Beyond evocation spells, it seems really hard to gauge appropriate power! Anyhoo, please offer advice or additions / revisions that would make this spell reasonable. Right now there are a few very definite ways in which it could be abused. Any wording changes would also be more than welcome, thanks!

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Galascient’s Felo-de-se
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]

Level: Sor / Wiz 7
Components: Verbal / Somatic
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft + 10 ft / level)
Target: One living creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

This enchantment causes your opponent to see you miscast a powerful spell and slay yourself. The target sees your corpse lay on the ground where you cast the spell, and can interact with what he believes is real, including all items on your person at the time of your casting. The target will refuse to believe that you are still alive, even if others in the vicinity claim to see you or be under attack from you. Any unattended objects you pick up or move do not seem to be moving until you stop interacting with it.

If you choose to attack, cast a spell, or interact in any way with the target of this spell, the spell is broken.

Remove curse does not remove galascient's felo-de-se. Greater restoration, limited wish, miracle, and wish can restore the creature.

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So far, I can see a few probs- mostly when asking "If someone couldn't tell I was alive, ever... what mischief could I give him?" I'm picturing walking through a dragon's domain and taking her hoard, but I can't imagine a DM not making an exception there. Undead are unaffected by this spell, so no worries with me smashing lich phylacteries with impunity.

Anyhoo, comments? Suggestions? Just as a bit of history, this spell came about with my wizard's realization that many people want him quite dead, and the easiest way to please all parties is to give them exactly what they want. =)

 

[Hygric]

I like the idea behind this spell!

I don't know exactly why, but it screams illusion at me rather than enchantment. It works as an enchantment though, but if I was doing it I would do it as an illusion.

As for what can remove it, it seems (as an enchantment) to be close to domination in relative mind control. By this, I would allow any effects that remove / prevent domination to work against this spell, such as break enchantment, mind blank etc. Although prevention will be taken care of by it's compulsion/mind affecting subtypes, so no need to go there.

It is a powerful spell, but it does allow a will save to negate, so I would guess that 7th should be about right. Maybe throw in a 100 xp cost to cast it (loosing a little bit of yourself every time you convince someone that you are dead) to stop it being over-used.

 

[Al]

Two things:

Should it not be Illusion (Phantasm)?
Is 7th level not too high?

The former is obvious; with regard to the latter, consider that by this level you can Dominate the foe with a failed Will save or kill him outright with a failed Fort save. Having him believe that you are dead is probably less powerful than either of the two effects (in the former case, you can order him to not notice what you are doing; in the latter, there is little doubt that he cannot notice you). Also, bear in mind spells like Mislead- which this is probably roughly in line with. I'd call 6th, or perhaps even a strong 5th (circa Dominate). At 7th, it's a tad weak.

I originally thought this spell was an Will-save-or-die spell, making the target commit suicide. I might work on that.

 

[clark411]

Thanks for the replies!

I can see the Phantasm aspect though... being something that only the target sees. That's going to be changed!

In regards to the dispel magic, vs greater restoration etc- that's no biggie, I pretty much looked at the only Enchantment spell in 7th level (PHB that is) and noted that it took more than a dispel magic to get rid of it- so figured that was an aspect of the balancing act. I'll have to review how phantasms are done (although the later level ones seem to just harm the person and vanish, while this one persists).

Also, with regards to the power of the spell- i'm not quite sure. I play the role of a baron on the edge of a large Republic that considers me a usurper- and while I get the usual perks (most obviously in a tax income of slightly over 810,000 gp a year), I also am discovering that I am becoming the target of assassins. Raises and Resses are no big deal on either side- so the issue becomes not a matter of "who dies last" but a matter of "who stays dead." I consider this spell an alternative to the seemingly endless attrition we face (where only the priestly coffers benefit). Having a dead opponent is nice, but when they never stop coming somehow, making them think yer no longer amongst the living has a good deal more merit than the ungraceful Hold Person / Dominate Person Coup de Grace combo. ^_^

I can definitely see how this spell would be of little use in a dungeon romp, but when yer a LG Elven Wizard at court with a 17 year old Queen who is in the proverbial bed with the devil (in the form of Hextorian / Vecnan / Nerullian priesthoods).. this spell is of merit imho =)


More input on the power level and the wording / spell types is of great help.. If this isn't powerful enough as is, what could I do to work it up a bit more without going over the 7th level spell slot limit? (I'm making this spell as part of a personal quest "research a 7th level spell for our arcane brotherhood" type deal)

 

[jlhorner1974]

I like the concept of this spell. I strongly agree with the others that this spell should definitely be an Illusion spell (I think it should be a Glamer). Probably the closest spells in the d20 SRD are Permanent Image (6th level) and Persistent Image (5th level). Both include visual, auditory, olfactory, and thermal elements, but neither include tactile elements, which your version would need.

This spell does not seem to be powerful as written, but there are a couple of factors that make this powerful indeed. First, your spell requires tactile components. Second, your spell needs to have all of the items you normally carry act as if they are separate objects if removed from your corpse, which greatly increases the complexity of the illusion. Finally, you want objects you pick up or manipulate to be covered by the illusion as well.

The 6th level spell above is permanent. The duration of your spell is unclear. Most Illusion spells are not Instantaneous -- they have specific time durations. If you put a duration on it, it would weaken the spell quite a bit, allowing you to boost the spell in other ways. This would easily buy you the tactile component you need, and probably some other important things as well.

There are some other factors that should be nailed down here: What types of spells can punch through the illusion? What happens to you while the spell is in effect? Are you effectively invisible because of the illusion? What happens if someone tries to interact with your body or possessions in a complex way? For interest, if someone stabs your body with a knife, would the knife appear bloody? If a fireball were cast on your body, would things appear burned? And for the ultimate one: if a victim takes a wooden plank off your body, lays it across a pit and walks on it, does it function as real? If the answer to the last one is yes, the spell is much more powerful.

I propose this, more general purpose spell:

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Apparent Death
(aka Galascient’s Felo-de-se)
Illusion (Glamer)

Level: Sor / Wiz 7
Components: Verbal / Somatic / Material
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft + 10 ft / level)
Duration: 1 hour / level (D)
Saving Throw: Will (disbelieve)
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Component: A specially prepared miniature doll that looks like you (as a corpse). Creating the doll uses raw materials costing 50 gp per level of the caster.

This spell causes your opponents to see you die or appear to already be dead by a means of your choosing. For instance, you can appear to miscast a powerful spell and slay yourself. At the DM's discretion, the method of "suicide" could grant a bonus or penalty on the victim's saving throws if it is particularly believeable or not. (For instance, if the victim is a creature defending a dungeon and "sees" you killed by a trap he knows is there, it could grant a penalty of up to -4 to the save. )

Thereafter, the spell alters the perceptions of your victims so that they cannot see you, but instead see the doll as your corpse. Typically, the caster either places the doll on the ground and casts the spell before the intended victims arrive, or the caster conceals the doll in his cloak and tosses the doll onto the ground as he "dies". Victims can interact with your "corpse" as if it were real, and see illusory copies of all items that you personally carried at the time of casting (regardless of how the doll is depicted).

The spell provides visual, auditory, olfactory, thermal, and tactile components. Any unattended objects you pick up and carry are also concealed by the illusion and do not appear to move until you put them down again (which will cause victims who notice to see the object move suddenly -- this may cause suspicion).

Spells that reveal invisible creatures such as See Invisible or Invisibility Purge will not reveal you, but True Seeing or a Gem or Seeing will pierce the illusion. A successful Dispel Magic can end this spell, but anyone who believes the illusion automatically fails her dispel check.

If you choose to attack, cast a spell on, or interact in any way with any target of this spell, the spell is broken for all. It is possible to cast spells on yourself or on allies without breaking the spell.

It may be possible for someone clever to expose the illusion to help victims of the spell, because, as a glamer, neither your corpse nor the "items" found on it can cause damage to objects or creatures, support weight, provide nutrition, illuminate darkness, or provide protection from the elements.

For instance:

* A flaming sword could appear to hurt creatures and a torch could appear to set combustibles on fire, but neither would not actually burn or harm anything, and would not illuminate dark areas.

* A bag of holding will appear to be empty because there is no actual connection to a pocket dimension.

* A victim who puts on a helmet or cloak obtained from your body that steps out into the rain would not protect the character from getting wet.

*If a victim of the spell takes a length of rope from your body, it would stand up to any amount of touching or visual examination as real. Burning the rope would produce a realistic looking effect. However, if she attempted to use the rope to swing across a pit, she would will fall through because the rope would not support her weight.

If a victim is faced with proof of this nature that the illusion is false, the spell is broken for that character, and allows other victims another saving throw with a +4 bonus. Success allows the victim to find a flaw in the illusion and break the spell.

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I know this isn't exactly what you intended, but it does tie up the loose ends a lot better and prevents some abuses.

P.S. To learn how illusions work, check out the d20 SRD on Schools of Magic at:

http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/srdschoolsofmagic.rtf


What do you think of these changes?