So Wish wasn't abolished, after all...

[Hjorimir]

It's all the damn paperwork.

Classic.

Well, that would be actually okay, if the "Wish ritual" was rather a phone-call to the deific being Asmodeus.

We don't really know what a wish ritual is. Is it a spell? Or is it, in fact, calling a higher power? It can be anything you want it to be really. But I do think it can be used for many plot hooks and I call that a good thing.

Honestly, I 'd take anything Asmodeous saids about a devil's ability to grant wishes with a grain of salt. After all, if people knew that devils had an unlimited supply of wishes they could dish out, the entire multiverse would be filled with pun puns.

Well, not unlimited with a 99 year governor.

Its actually not a bad thing for the devils to convince people of. They want out of the Hells, right? So... get conjured up, eat the idiot mortal, roam free.

A perfect example of a good plot around the wish ritual; nice, Voss.

 

[bgaesop]

Here's hoping it's just flavour and/or the only way for PCs to get wishes is from monsters like this or some other suitably difficult ritual. If no one can get Wish as a 30th level once per day ability or whatever I'll be happy.

 

[Voss]

Yeah, that's pretty tough. More like fail to break free from the magic circle/d-anchor, lose the Charisma check against the mortal, then follow him around like a murderous puppy for a week. On the off-chance you are able to get free, the mortal and his friends kill you for real.

Well, plenty of idiots ignore the old axiom:
'Do not call up, what you cannot put down'

Note that the text says wish, not Wish. Which leads me to believe it's just flavor/plot device, not a written spell.

I mentioned this scenario in the other thread. The wish as 'grant my desire', not automagic effect:

But I like the idea of non-mechanical wishes. With fun little side effects, rather than just snap your fingers, wish is fulfilled kinda thing. For example, you find the ritual, say the words, and conjure up the pit fiend to grant you a wish.
"Build me a castle", you say.
"Yes, master", it replies, and promptly enslaves the nearby dwarven village and works them to death building your lovely summer home. Which is good, because you are going to need it after he goes home and leaves all these angry dwarves sitting around.

 

[Thundershield]

But I like the idea of non-mechanical wishes. With fun little side effects, rather than just snap your fingers, wish is fulfilled kinda thing. For example, you find the ritual, say the words, and conjure up the pit fiend to grant you a wish.
"Build me a castle", you say.
"Yes, master", it replies, and promptly enslaves the nearby dwarven village and works them to death building your lovely summer home. Which is good, because you are going to need it after he goes home and leaves all these angry dwarves sitting around.

Whoa, wait a sec. Who said anything about going home?

And on the same note, the entry also mentions that they bestow this wish upon powerful and promising mortals as temptation.

"Oh, I'll grant your wish alright. Just sign here, here, and here." - And we all know what that means...

 

[Relique du Madde]

And on the same note, the entry also mentions that they bestow this wish upon powerful and promising mortals as temptation.
..

Heheh...

"I wish to be immortal!"

The Pit Fiend smiles evilly as he crosses his arms. "Go to the next town. There you will find a cleanly shaven man dressed in the cloths that suggest he's a pauper which seem odd since they appear new and fashioned out material worthy of a king. That man is carrying a sack. Follow him around the town and wait till he meets up with another individual, his twin. If you kill them both and empty out that sack in the middle of the town square, you shall be granted immorality.."

 

[FireLance]

"I wish to be immortal!"

The Pit Fiend smiles evilly as he crosses his arms. "Go to the next town. There you will find a cleanly shaven man dressed in the cloths that suggest he's a pauper which seem odd since they appear new and fashioned out material worthy of a king. That man is carrying a sack. Follow him around the town and wait till he meets up with another individual, his twin. If you kill them both and empty out that sack in the middle of the town square, you shall be granted immorality.."

That man had better check the spelling on the contract before he signs.

 

[Demigonis]

So yeah, Wish is still in the game, unfortunately. And here I thought they would do away with stupid things like that. Doesn't matter that Wish isn't a spell anymore, but a ritual, Wish is still Wish, and brings with it the same faults as it has before.

Uhm, except that it didn't tell us ANY of the mechanics of wish or if it actually impacts gameplay. Way to make assumptions. It could be something entirely different mechanically and may not even be given to players. For all we know a spell called "wish" could grant party hats to all characters within 10 squares. Think it through before trying to jump down their throats.

 

[Nymrohd]

Nor was it spelled wish or Wish. it is a mortal's wish. It seems to me that wish in 4E may well be a plot device, always at the hands of those who can best subvert it (pit fiends and maybe efreet?). Better there as a villain's Mc Guffin or as the only way for the players to reverse a condition.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

The Pit Fiend entry has it there that he can grant a Wish to a mortal once every 99 years, by performing a dark ritual. So yeah, Wish is still in the game, unfortunately. And here I thought they would do away with stupid things like that. Doesn't matter that Wish isn't a spell anymore, but a ritual, Wish is still Wish, and brings with it the same faults as it has before. I rather have it that a being who 'grants' a "wish" has to do it with his own phenomenal powers, and not some awkward special magical outside-thingy which strangely enough only works for mortals, and which the "Wish-Givers" never seem to use for themselves. After all, Genies in the most famous fiction of Wish-Granting fairy-tales, that of Aladdin and his magical lamp, were rather all-powerful spirits who could and would do anything.

How do you feel about this? What are your opinions? Is it a yay or nay? Am I (hopefully) wrong?

This does not sound anything like an ability that a human spell caster can use once per day. this sounds entirely like something that only comes into play if the Pit Fiend (the DM) wants it to.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[MerricB]

How do you feel about this? What are your opinions? Is it a yay or nay? Am I (hopefully) wrong?

It was stated some months ago that Wish was being removed as a spell castable by PCs and becoming purely a plot hook; that is, completely under the DM's control.

Cheers!