Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chris_Nightwing" data-source="post: 6076676" data-attributes="member: 882">To see if there was any patterns we might discern, here is a handy guide to the current spell list:Banishment - Cha - Your force of will overcomes theirsBlade Barrier - Dex - They avoid force bladesBurning Hands - Dex - They avoid fireCharm Person - Wis - You twist their mind to like youCause Fear - Wis - You frighten themChain Lightning - Dex - They avoid magical lightningCloudkill - Con - They resist toxic gasesColor Spray - Wis - You disorient them (slow/weaken or confuse or frighten)Command - Wis - You control themCone of Cold - Con - They resist coldDestruction - Con - You kill them with deathDisintegrate - Dex - They avoid your death rayDominate - Cha - You control themEarthquake - Con, Dex - They concentrate, they avoid falling over, falling rocks and/or falling into a holeFinger of Death - Wis - You kill them with deathFire Storm - Dex - They avoid fireFireball - Dex - They avoid fireFlame Strike - Dex - They avoid fireFlesh to Stone - Con - They avoid turning to stoneHarm - Con - You nearly kill them with deathHold - Wis - You paralyse themHoly Aura - Con - You blind themHoly Word - Cha - You banish, blind, deafen, stun or kill themIce Storm - Dex - They avoid hail stonesLightning Bolt - Dex - They avoid a lightning boltMeteor Swarm - Dex - They avoid fiery hail stonesIrresistable Dance - Wis - You make them dance, dance magic dancePhantasmal Force - Wis - They see through your illusionPlanar Shift - Dex, Cha - They avoid being touched, your force of will overcomes theirsPolymorph - Wis - They resist transformationPrismatic Spray - Dex, Con, Wis - They avoid your disco lights, turning to stone or blindnessSanctuary - Wis - You make them think twice about attackingSound Burst - Con - They resist thunderStinking Cloud - Con - They resist toxic gasesSuggestion - Wis - You control themSunbeam - Con - They resist your radiant beamSunburst - Con - They resist your radiant burstThunderwave - Dex - They avoid forceful thunderTrap the Soul - Wis - You trap their soulWall of Fire - Dex - They avoid fireWeb - Dex - They avoid your websZone of Truth - Cha - You make them tell no liesThere are some glaring inconsistencies. Sometimes you avoid beams/rays with a Dex save, other times it's just assumed to have hit and you make a different save (Destruction/Finger of Death). Damage/element type seem to have no bearing on the type of save made (sound burst vs. thunderwave). It's unclear what the separation of the mental abilities is (Int doesn't make an appearance, but Cha tends to be against outsiders, Wis against people). Almost all area effects are Dex saves, whether instantaneous or sustained (Fireball/Firestorm).To me, when figuring out what saving throw a spell ought to use I would ask the following questions:Does it affect the target's physical form, or their mind?If you're unsure (Hold Person), do you think Wolverine or Professor X ought to be more resistant?Physical:Can you evade the effect through dodging the worst of, or all of it? Try Dexterity.If there's no hope of dodging the effect, will it change/damage/destroy your physical form or make it difficult to perform certain actions? Try Constitution for the former, Strength for the latter.Mental:Would the effect only work on a concious target? Try Intelligence.Does the effect involve the target's soul, or just their mind? Try Charisma for the former, Wisdom for the latter.Hold Person, as an example, is unclear. You might say it's a physical force, and thus Strength, or a mental effect, and thus Wisdom.Various elemental spells could do with tidying up. Either decide whether these things are Dex/Con based on the spell form (long-lasting area vs. instant or ray), or damage type (thunder seems more Con, fire more Dex and to me cold more Con and lightning (which doesn't act like real lightning at all) more Dex).Illusions clearly require the target to be concious and should use Intelligence.Charm probably doesn't affect the soul, whereas Dominate probably does, since it can make someone do horrible things. Perhaps define what your soul means, or what Charisma is vs. Wisdom, something is needed here.Web is irritating, since it should just hit everyone and allow a strength save, but has a fiddly strength check if you fail your dex save.Color/Prismatic spray should just assume you're hit and make you save appropriately.</blockquote>

Verification