Transformational spells

[Angel Tarragon]

I have been thinking about designing some spells that would give a creature an inherited template. The stipulation is that the spell has to be cast on the unborn child while it is in its mothers womb. Themother would gain the template too - but just for the duration of the prenancy. This thought came about in wanting to create an army of half-fiend half-dragon soldiers.

Thoughts?

 

[med stud]

I had a concept about a dragon with a harem once. The idea would be for the dragon to impregnate a bunch of, for example, ogre or troll women and in time get an army of minions, or at least many enough to defeat most regular armies with the help of a bunch of auxiliaries.

 

[Syndrome]

I wouldn't allow the spell to grant more than one template, nor for the mother to be able to receive more than one template from such spells. Further, the granted template would override any that the mother might have herself.

Example: I want to create a Half-Dragon, and I have a Half-Fiend woman present that is pregnant. If I cast the Bestow Template (Half-Dragon) spell on her it would temporarily suppress her half-fiend template, and replace it with a half-dragon template for the remainder of her pregnancy.

If I would allow such at thing at all I'd suggest that it be at least a 7th level spell, and carry some significant penalties (Like an XP cost roughly equivalent to Limited Wish), or higher level 8th or 9th and have it use costly or difficult to acquire materials like the still warm heart of the template creature desired.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Okay then, what about an epic spell to grant multiple templates?

 

[Syndrome]

I honestly haven't delved much into Epic Level stuff, but in theory I'd put a spell like that beyond the realm of normal magic, and that sounds like a decent working definition of an Epic Spell.

I would still make the spell costly to cast, expensive and hard to acquire materials, the attendant risk of having such materials. Might make it really bad for you to botch the spell too, either in terms of the created offspring, or personally.

Just my thoughts. Multiple templates are a really potent thing to grant, in general you won't (and shouldn't in my opinion) encounter a creature with even /one/ template, let alone more than one. I think templates are meant to be solitary things in most cases.

Anyway, just my spin on things. I confess to tending towards lower power games for the most part, but I've been DMing since 1979, so I've seen most every iteration of D&D since -- well, pretty much all of them.

A multi-templated critter should be a Mythic Foe, not one of a horde.

 

[Soel]

Just my thoughts. Multiple templates are a really potent thing to grant, in general you won't (and shouldn't in my opinion) encounter a creature with even /one/ template, let alone more than one. I think templates are meant to be solitary things in most cases.
A multi-templated critter should be a Mythic Foe, not one of a horde.

I remeber a time not too long ago, when every issue of Dungeon had Fiendish, Feral, Half-Dragon Kobolds or something of the like...Turned me off of the templates for awhile, but I can appreciate them, with the same view as Syndrome's.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I believe that Frostburn and Sandstorm have high-level spells that permanently give the target either the fire or cold subtype permanently. Might be useful for comparison.