Spells that are annoying to DMs
- Thread starter Torment
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Shemeska
Adventurer
Evard's Black tentacles - has the tendency to turn spellcasters, even powerful ones, into helpless ragdolls
Planar Atunement/Avoid Planar Effects - too low level, and it has the tendency to make players a bit too quick to dismiss the natural hazards of even the most hostile planes. I've ended up houseruling that the spells only protect from the most obvious effects of a plane (average flames on the plane of fire, not the river of molten rock you might happen to have to cross; the typical draining of the Gray Waste but not the diseases swirling about the place; the immolating swell of positive energy on the positive energy plane, but not the lack of air and the risk of permenant blindness from the intensity of the light).
Miracle - if treated by a PC as a divine utility spell just kept memorized to function as a 'anything 8th level of lower when I need it'. I'm pretty hard on this one, only letting it be used as such if the eventual use of the spell falls in line with their deity's dogma, the direct benefit of their god, or used in the direct service of defending their followers. Aka treat the spell with respect and keep it in perspective.
Planar Atunement/Avoid Planar Effects - too low level, and it has the tendency to make players a bit too quick to dismiss the natural hazards of even the most hostile planes. I've ended up houseruling that the spells only protect from the most obvious effects of a plane (average flames on the plane of fire, not the river of molten rock you might happen to have to cross; the typical draining of the Gray Waste but not the diseases swirling about the place; the immolating swell of positive energy on the positive energy plane, but not the lack of air and the risk of permenant blindness from the intensity of the light).
Miracle - if treated by a PC as a divine utility spell just kept memorized to function as a 'anything 8th level of lower when I need it'. I'm pretty hard on this one, only letting it be used as such if the eventual use of the spell falls in line with their deity's dogma, the direct benefit of their god, or used in the direct service of defending their followers. Aka treat the spell with respect and keep it in perspective.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Have the other NPCs keep those NPCs in the dark as much as possible. Cell system!Deadguy said:A class of spells that seems to annoy DMs I've gamed with: the charm and dominate spells. Mostly because they are so effective at making NPCs spill the beans, revealing plots that were meant to be harder to uncover!
Lord Zardoz
Explorer
I have managed to have very few problems with spell casters, mostly as a result of having few players choose to play them, and having had the misfortune of having my games come to a crashing halt due to Real Life Crap.
At the moment, the most potentially vexing spell for me is Hold Person. When it manages to work, it pretty much results in the death of any opponent that has a sub par Will save. And at the lower levels I am running right now, thats most opponents.
I think that I can quantify what aspects of the listed spells annoy / vex those who have posted.
1) Detect / Divination: They tend to invalidate or make too easy information gathering. Most likely to derail games that is dependent on the players learning a Terrible Secret at a specific time. They also ruin the DM's sense of verisimilitude.
2) Stat Killers: Dm's and Players hate spells that force unexpected recalcuations. They also scale better than direct damage spells. 2d6 Str damage always sucks, while 2d6 HP damage is not such a big deal later on.
4) Unusual Rules: This covers Evards Black Tentacles, as well as illusion spells.
END COMMUNICATION
At the moment, the most potentially vexing spell for me is Hold Person. When it manages to work, it pretty much results in the death of any opponent that has a sub par Will save. And at the lower levels I am running right now, thats most opponents.
I think that I can quantify what aspects of the listed spells annoy / vex those who have posted.
1) Detect / Divination: They tend to invalidate or make too easy information gathering. Most likely to derail games that is dependent on the players learning a Terrible Secret at a specific time. They also ruin the DM's sense of verisimilitude.
2) Stat Killers: Dm's and Players hate spells that force unexpected recalcuations. They also scale better than direct damage spells. 2d6 Str damage always sucks, while 2d6 HP damage is not such a big deal later on.
4) Unusual Rules: This covers Evards Black Tentacles, as well as illusion spells.
END COMMUNICATION
Ltheb Silverfrond
Explorer
The spells I hate are the ones that invalidate other classes. I am sure the players hate them too, but eventually everyone wants to play a wizard or a cleric or a druid, because they find traps(Detect magic for magic traps, summon monster 1 for others)/sneak(Invisibility, silence, dimension door) better than the rogue, fight (via Transformation, divine power, righteous might, etc) better than the fighter, and can still teleport, fireball, and deathspell their foes.
Plus they become so powerful in mid-game that the party caters to their every whim. Out of fireballs? Lets leave the dungeon and rest. Granted, the DM can try to stop this, (wandering encounters, time limit, environmental hazards, etc) but the players will start complaining if you use one or more of those 3 in every dungeon/adventure.
Plus they become so powerful in mid-game that the party caters to their every whim. Out of fireballs? Lets leave the dungeon and rest. Granted, the DM can try to stop this, (wandering encounters, time limit, environmental hazards, etc) but the players will start complaining if you use one or more of those 3 in every dungeon/adventure.
Tessarael
Adventurer
True_Blue said:
I thought a number of monsters were balanced with the assumption that the party would buff with protection magics. For example, without the party buffing beforehand or having Mass Resist Energy / Protection from Energy spells, dragons are likely to be higher CR than that stated in their description. You almost have to have protection from the appropriate element to survive those encounters.Gundark said:
Hussar
Legend
About my only beef is polymorph which has been nicely addressed.
The battlefield control spells I love, mostly because I like the tactical aspects of the game.
It isn't all that difficult to get around knowledge gaining spells if you put a bit of effort into it. You want to do a murder mystery? Have the killer take the head of the victim. Now Speak with the Dead doesn't work. Most of the higher level divinations require pretty exact questions, so, they're pretty much useless.
Besides, high level murder mysteries will usually feature double blinds anyway. The killer charms some schmoe into doing the deed. Finding the killer takes 30 seconds of game time. Finding the real criminal takes the rest of the time. I look at it more like CSI at high levels. They pretty much know who did it in the first ten minutes usually. The rest of the show is about trying to figure out how the deed was done.
The battlefield control spells I love, mostly because I like the tactical aspects of the game.
It isn't all that difficult to get around knowledge gaining spells if you put a bit of effort into it. You want to do a murder mystery? Have the killer take the head of the victim. Now Speak with the Dead doesn't work. Most of the higher level divinations require pretty exact questions, so, they're pretty much useless.
Besides, high level murder mysteries will usually feature double blinds anyway. The killer charms some schmoe into doing the deed. Finding the killer takes 30 seconds of game time. Finding the real criminal takes the rest of the time. I look at it more like CSI at high levels. They pretty much know who did it in the first ten minutes usually. The rest of the show is about trying to figure out how the deed was done.
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