Smack the Orc: New spell

[kirinke]

Smack the Orc
Evocation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Components: V, S, M.
Casting time: one standard action
Range: Medium (100ft + 10ft/lvl)
Effect: 5 nail-studded two-by-fours spring into existence and starts attacking the wizard's nearest enemy (5+1 per level of the caster)
Duration: 5 minutes +1 min/lvl of caster
Saving throw: no saving throw
Spell resistence: no spell resistence.

It takes one standard action to cast this spell. The hand-jesture includes the caster pointing at his enemies and say "Smack the orc, Smack the humans etc). The material component is a small piece of wood and a nail, both of which can be reused.

The results of the spell can be quite funny. 5 nail-studded two-by-fours spring into existence and start attacking the caster's enemies.

Some say this spell was created by Namfaddle The Wierd, a Gnomish wizard of surprisingly bad taste in clothes. He eventually was killed by relatives of the orcs he first tested it on.

 

[the Jester]

Seems like you're missing some details, i.e. damage, attack rolls, etc.

It's hard to judge without that kind of info.

 

[kirinke]

lol

i'm kinda fuzzy on those things. this was just a burst of crazed inspiration. hmmmm... could use some help here.

 

[GuardianLurker]

Try this:

Namfaddle's Smackers
Evocation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 6
Components: V, S, F.
Casting time: one standard action
Range: Medium (100ft + 10ft/lvl)
Effect: Nail-studded two-by-fours spring into existence and starts attacking the wizard's nearest enemy (1 per 2 levels of the caster)
Duration: 5 rounds+1 round/lvl of caster
Saving throw: no saving throw
Spell resistence: no spell resistence.

It takes one standard action to cast this spell. The hand-jesture includes the caster pointing at his enemies and say "Smack the orc, Smack the humans etc). The foci are a small piece of wood and a nail, both of which can be reused.

The results of the spell can be quite funny. 5 nail-studded two-by-fours spring into existence and start attacking the caster's enemies. Each board attacks as a great club weilded by the caster (as if he were proficient with Great Club), and has a hardness of 3, HP equal to 2* the caster's level, and AC 15, and count as Tiny Creatures. The clubs will shift targets within the duration of the spell, as the nearest enemy changes. The clubs do not require any concentration or direction to maintain.

Some say this spell was created by Namfaddle The Wierd, a Gnomish wizard of surprisingly bad taste in clothes. He eventually was killed by relatives of the orcs he first tested it on.

It's the tiny that makes the spell - the 2x4's can all attack the same target, so some poor orc is going to get walloped by 5+ great clubs.

 

[rkanodia]

i'm kinda fuzzy on those things. this was just a burst of crazed inspiration. hmmmm... could use some help here.

Well, let's look at the spells I can think of which might be most similar: Evard's Black Tentacles, Acid Fog, and Mordenkainen's Sword.

First off, I'd say the duration needs to change. 5 minutes + 1 minute/level isn't only a nonstandard duration, it's also ridiculously long for a spell of this type. Tentacles, Fog, and Sword each go for 1 round/level, which seems much more appropriate; how many fights last for more than 11 rounds?

Range is fine.

Rather than a number of weapons, I think it would be better to give the spell a radius of effect (like Tentacles and Fog); if a creature can be targeted by multiple planks, then a single victim will be ripped to shreds instantly by this spell, but if each creature can only be hit by one plank at a time, you might as well just say each creature in the radius of effect is attacked once per round. Give it a 20-foot radius, like Tentacles and Fog.

None of the spells listed allow saving throws.

Tentacles and Fog don't allow spell resistance, but Sword does. Spiritual Weapon also allows SR, so I'd say Smack the Orc should allow it.

Sword gives attack roll equal to caster level+Int or Cha bonus (whichver applies) + 3; Smack the Orc should be weaker. I'd say remove the +3 enhancement bonus (heck, these are nailed two-by-fours of force, not finely crafted swords), and then you're looking at something still decent, but not overpowering.

Let's give Smack the Orc 3d6 of force damage, attacking once per round against each creature matching the noun specified by the caster at the time of casting. The noun could specify targets by race ('smack the orcs'), a quality ('smack the villains'), or just about anything else; 'smack the creatures' is a perfectly valid casting. The whirling two-by-fours attack (or don't attack) based on the perceptions of the caster; an orc in disguise as a human will be hit by 'smack the humans' but not 'smack the orcs' if the caster is unaware of the ruse. The caster cannot voluntarily choose to perceive something differently than he really believes it to be; if he wants to protect his allies, he should choose a word carefully. The first time a particular creature is successfully hit, check spell resistance; if it succeeds, it is unaffected by that casting of Smack the Orc.

So let's see how it stacks up.

Acid Fog deals 2d6 points of acid damage per round to every creature in the area of effect, with no roll to hit and no spell resistance allowed. It also seriously hampers movement (no moving more than 5'/round), and blocks all vision beyond 5'. However, it can be dispelled by a strong wind. Acid damage is already a relatively strong damage type, so I'd say the upgrade to Force damage is not terribly significant; combine that with allowing SR _and_ requiring a to-hit roll and I think the damage per round just about evens out. Acid Fog's vulnerability to wind is not really a big deal, since the only spell effect which could stop it (and is easier than just using a dispel) is Gust of Wind, which I don't think large numbers of casters memorize just to deal with Acid Fog. I think trading the hindering/concealing portions of Acid Fog for the (relatively) party-friendly damage of Smack the Orc is another fair trade. What does everyone else think?

 

[rkanodia]

GuardianLurker, I don't know if this was intentional on your part or not, but it seems like your version of the spell will do ridiculous amounts of damage to targets with low AC, and pitiful damage to anyone else.

A PC will first have access to this spell at level 11. At that level, each two-by-four will have +5 BAB, and with the attack bonus for being Tiny, it will attack at +7. A quick look through the monster manual shows some ACs for CR 11 and 10 monsters:
Elder Fire Elemental: 25
Twelve-headed hydra: 22
Nightmare, Cauchemar: 26
Hezrou demon: 23
Bebilith demon: 22
Fire Giant: 23
Gray Render: 19

Against an AC 22 opponent, these things hit on a 15 or better, which means each board has a 6/20 chance of hitting. 6/20 * 5 = 30/20, meaning that you'll average 1.5 hits per round, for 8.25 total damage. Not exactly top-flight for a 6th-level spell. Moreover, it seems like a Summon Monster VI could put this spell to shame. For instance, a pair of celestial lions (the minimum you'd get from Summon Monster VI, since the lions are on the fourth-level list) would get (between the two of them) four attacks at +7 for 1d4+5, and two attacks at +2 for 1d8+2. 6/20 * 4 (average number of claw hits) * 7.5 (average damage per claw hit) + 1/20 * 2 (average number of bit hits) * 6.5 (average damage of bite hit) = 9 + .65 = 9.65 damage per round. I didn't include the rake attacks, since they require a successful bite (unlikely) to start, but the celestial lion does get those attacks (+7/1d4+2) on the opening round of combat if it pounces. And remember, that's for only two lions. The average casting will get you 3.5 lions, for 16.88 damage per round.

If you'd prefer to go for a single, large monster (I thought the celestial lion example would be more directly comparable to Smack the Orc), then celestial polar bear might work. Its full-round attack action is two attacks at +13 for 1d8+8, and one attack at +8 for 2d6+4. That works out to 12/20 * 2 * 12.5 + 7/20 * 1 * 11.5 = 15 + 4.025 = 19.025 damage/round.

 

[rkanodia]

GuardianLurker, I don't know if this was intentional on your part or not, but it seems like your version of the spell will do ridiculous amounts of damage to targets with low AC, and pitiful damage to anyone else.

A PC will first have access to this spell at level 11. At that level, each two-by-four will have +5 BAB, and with the attack bonus for being Tiny, it will attack at +7. A quick look through the monster manual shows some ACs for CR 11 and 10 monsters:
Elder Fire Elemental: 25
Twelve-headed hydra: 22
Nightmare, Cauchemar: 26
Hezrou demon: 23
Bebilith demon: 22
Fire Giant: 23
Gray Render: 19

Against an AC 22 opponent, these things hit on a 15 or better, which means each board has a 6/20 chance of hitting. 6/20 * 5 = 30/20, meaning that you'll average 1.5 hits per round, for 8.25 total damage. Not exactly top-flight for a 6th-level spell. Moreover, it seems like a Summon Monster VI could put this spell to shame. For instance, a pair of celestial lions (the minimum you'd get from Summon Monster VI, since the lions are on the fourth-level list) would get (between the two of them) four attacks at +7 for 1d4+5, and two attacks at +2 for 1d8+2. 6/20 * 4 (average number of claw hits) * 7.5 (average damage per claw hit) + 1/20 * 2 (average number of bit hits) * 6.5 (average damage of bite hit) = 9 + .65 = 9.65 damage per round. I didn't include the rake attacks, since they require a successful bite (unlikely) to start, but the celestial lion does get those attacks (+7/1d4+2) on the opening round of combat if it pounces. And remember, that's for only two lions. The average casting will get you 3.5 lions, for 16.88 damage per round.

If you'd prefer to go for a single, large monster (I thought the celestial lion example would be more directly comparable to Smack the Orc), then celestial polar bear might work. Its full-round attack action is two attacks at +13 for 1d8+8, and one attack at +8 for 2d6+4. That works out to 12/20 * 2 * 12.5 + 7/20 * 1 * 11.5 = 15 + 4.025 = 19.025 damage/round.

 

[kirinke]

the revision with corrections. ^_^

for the most part, the spell was designed as a nuisance spell, something to distract the enemy while the spell-caster and friends readied something more dangerous or ran like blazes. so, Smack the orc with GuardianLurker's mods would work (especially if the character is fairly low-level and is against something he or she doesn't want to mess with.) I intenionally didn't make it too high-level....

Smack the Orc
Evocation
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 3
Components: V, S, F.
Casting time: one standard action
Range: Medium (100ft + 10ft/lvl)
Effect: Nail-studded two-by-fours spring into existence and starts attacking the wizard's nearest enemy (1 per 2 levels of the caster)
Duration: 1 rounds+1 round/lvl of caster
Saving throw: no saving throw
Spell resistence: no spell resistence.

It takes one standard action to cast this spell. The hand-jesture includes the caster pointing at his enemies and say "Smack the orc, Smack the humans etc). The foci are a small piece of wood and a nail, both of which can be reused.

The results of the spell can be quite funny. 5 nail-studded two-by-fours spring into existence and start attacking the caster's enemies. Each board attacks as a great club weilded by the caster (as if he were proficient with Great Club), and has a hardness of 2, HP equal to 2* the caster's level, and AC 15, and count as Tiny Creatures. The clubs will shift targets within the duration of the spell, as the nearest enemy changes. The clubs do not require any concentration or direction to maintain.

Note:
Spellcasters that fall victim to this spell must make a Concentration check to cast spells. The DC is 15+caster_level+damage."

Some say this spell was created by Namfaddle The Wierd, a Gnomish wizard of surprisingly bad taste in clothes. He eventually was killed by relatives of the orcs he first tested it on.

 

[GuardianLurker]

GuardianLurker, I don't know if this was intentional on your part or not, but it seems like your version of the spell will do ridiculous amounts of damage to targets with low AC, and pitiful damage to anyone else.

Semi-intentional. Kirinke seemed to be shooting for a nuisance/distraction spell, and the spell most strongly reminded me of Mord's Sword, which uses Fighter BAB. Tone it down, and you get either Cleric or Wizard BAB, and since this is an arcane spell, I went with Wizard.

I didn't run the numbers, however, so I missed how *big* a drop in power it was. Given that, the 3rd level version is probably still a little weak (it will only start with a 3 1d10 +3(maybe +5) attacks). I'd suggest adding:

"Spellcasters that fall victim to this spell must make a Concentration check to cast spells. The DC is 15+caster_level+damage."

 

[kirinke]

oh....

if anyone uses this spell, post me the results in gory detail