[Spell Compendium] Ray of Light

[Tetsubo]

This spell is Evoc., sixth level (Bard or Sorc/Wiz), Close range, Instantaneous, has no Saving Throw and a ranged touch attack. If it hits it Blinds the target for 1 - 4 rounds.

It's SIXTH level. And all it does is Blind a target for 1 - 4 rounds...

Who in their right mind would take this spell?

 

[satori01]

Arcane Trickster, so he or she could then Sneak Attack for 4 rounds. Ranged Touch Attack is very easy to hit with, and no save is gravy. Unless you have Spell Resistance, you are going to be hit. 1d4 rounds is kinda questionable, on the plus side you can use the Empower feat with this, I'm not sure an 8th level slot is worth this.

Being Blinded is one of the worst condittions in the game. You loss your Dex Modifier, everything gets a +2 to hit you, and everything has 100% concealment against you. Pretty much hoses you.

6th level spell may be to high for it, but not by much. 5th might be more reasonable, but again being Blinded is a killer, especially against, Sneak Attack/Sudden Attack.

 

[Stone Dog]

Yeah, that spell gives you 1-4 rounds of turning the fight onesided. Maybe 6th level is a little much to burn a slot on, but putting that spell in a scroll or magic item could mean that your party has up to four rounds to lay the beatdown on the BBG without getting much in the way of retaliation.

It may not be worth a spell slot, but I'd buy an item that practically guarentees me a few rounds worth of blinded adversary.

 

[shilsen]

If I was playing a smart spellcaster, I'd seriously consider taking that spell. Considering how much a single round of actions is worth at 11th lvl (the earliest you could get that spell) and above, being able to mostly shut down an enemy for 1-4 rds is a huge advantage. Spellcasters would be an especially ripe target with that spell, since it automatically makes their targeted spells unusable and their tough/effect/area spells very unreliable.

 

[Thanee]

Power Word: Blind is 7th level, and not necessarily better.

Bye
Thanee

 

[wayne62682]

how about Blindness/Deafness, which is PERMANANT and 2nd level? I agree that this Ray of Light spell sounds totally worthless. Or maybe B/D is just way overpowered (what my group thinks)

 

[Thanee]

Blindness has a save, big difference.

Bye
Thanee

 

[KarinsDad]

Ray of Light is pretty good.

However, it does have spell resistance and at that level, some BBEGs have things like Blur or Displacement or Invisibility or some other way to get a miss chance. They also tend to have Dispel Magic and/or Dimension Door, either themselves or a henchmen, so there are alternatives, even to being blind. This spell is probably best against monsters.

Also, at that level, the minimum range is 50 feet. At least in our game, 50 feet covers most of the battlefield most of the time considering that a spell caster could use a move action to move 30 (or 20) feet closer and then cast it.

Finally, a critical with the spell can double the duration and the spell can be Empowered as well. For a Sorcerer, this could turn out to be a bread and butter slow up the opposition type spell.

So, the spell is pretty good, but it is not in the must have category.


I also like Ray of Entropy against those nasty combatant type opponents.

And Ray Deflection is a must have for BBEGs. Be sure that the only thing you tell the PCs is that they miss, regardless of what they roll. They'll figure it out if they roll a 20, but even with a 19, they might just assume that the NPC has a huge touch AC. In fact, I could see a PC missing with a high roll like 18, and then next round using True Strike, and then with another Ray spell, missing again. Boy could that get a player upset.

 

[griff_goodbeard]

how about Blindness/Deafness, which is PERMANANT and 2nd level? I agree that this Ray of Light spell sounds totally worthless. Or maybe B/D is just way overpowered (what my group thinks)

Blindness/Deafness allows a save though

 

[shilsen]

Finally, a critical with the spell can double the duration and the spell can be Empowered as well. For a Sorcerer, this could turn out to be a bread and butter slow up the opposition type spell.

You can't critical with spells that don't deal damage. Complete Arcane, pg. 85-6.

And Ray Deflection is a must have for BBEGs. Be sure that the only thing you tell the PCs is that they miss, regardless of what they roll. They'll figure it out if they roll a 20, but even with a 19, they might just assume that the NPC has a huge touch AC. In fact, I could see a PC missing with a high roll like 18, and then next round using True Strike, and then with another Ray spell, missing again. Boy could that get a player upset.

As a DM, I think the bolded section is a lousy idea. I would instead describe it as the ray hitting the target perfectly and then being deflected away. I don't have the SC so I don't know if that fits the description there, but I prefer my combat descriptions to give players/PCs an idea of what's going on (without spelling it out exactly). Your approach is apparently different.