Wishin' is fo' suckahs...

[Jack Simth]

Jack - The D&D pantheon in the PHB don't deserve Solars to serve them

That doesn't mean they don't get them

 

[Caeleddin]

Does Lucifer ring a bell?

 

[Saeviomagy]

Depends on how one parses the phrase "Fighting for you in a single battle or taking any other actions that can be accomplished within 1 round per caster level counts as an immediate task"; is that "(Fighting for you in a single battle or taking any other actions) that can be accomplished within 1 round per caster level counts as an immediate task" or "(Fighting for you in a single battle) or (taking any other actions that can be accomplished within 1 round per caster level) counts as an immediate task". Could go either way; depends on your DM.

I can see your point of view on this one, but I don't think your first parsing of the sentence is legitimate. If we break it down, then "fighting for you in a single battle that can be accomplished within 1 round per caster level" doesn't make sense as a sentence in it's own right.

Likewise, it specifically states that with such a use, "The creature departs at the end of the spell." - which mostly implies a use of the non-instantaneous portion of the duration up, which limits the duration to "concentration (up to 1 round/level)" despite the 1 fight clause.

The concentration duration is pretty clearly there for the situation where you hold the gate open as a method of transport - that particular use of the spell specifies that you must concentrate to keep the gate open. The calling version is instantaneous.

 

[Jack Simth]

I can see your point of view on this one, but I don't think your first parsing of the sentence is legitimate. If we break it down, then "fighting for you in a single battle that can be accomplished within 1 round per caster level" doesn't make sense as a sentence in it's own right.

You can't usually cut ang paste clauses like that without destroying the grammer of a sentence anyway; consider that if you drop the fighting portion of the clauses, you end up with "taking any other actions that can be accomplished within 1 round per caster level" which is also nonsensical; the parenthesis were just to point out that the issue lies in figuring out how the compound sentence is put together - does the 1 round/level apply to both forms or just the one? DM ruling.

The concentration duration is pretty clearly there for the situation where you hold the gate open as a method of transport - that particular use of the spell specifies that you must concentrate to keep the gate open. The calling version is instantaneous.

Ah - so he is pulled through, and departs at the end of the spell - which, in instantaneous form, is immediately, like a fireball or a magic missle - an expensive effect for something that doesn't have time to actually do anything. Umm, no.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I disagree with all those who automatically look for a way to pervert every single suggestion. Bad DM! No biscuit!

Some of the suggestions for foiling an advancing army sound absolutely fine to me - well worth the resource expenditure of a wish spell to me. Any DM who isn't able to determine when a wish is reasonable and not worth messing up should remove wish from the game and replace it with a more limited spell that isn't open ended - at least in the case of wish spells, when the PC is paying a terrible xp cost for it. Wishes from demons and efreet are another thing entirely of course.

You may try to use a wish to produce greater effects than these (listed in spell description), but doing so is dangerous. (The wish may pervert your intent into a literal but undesirable fulfillment or only a partial fulfillment.)

 

[Plane Sailing]

Spell like wishes don't cost XP...

Regrettably untrue - wishes cost 5000xp no matter what you wish for, even if it is a 1st level spell. Yet another example where miracle is far, far better, sadly.

 

[dungeon blaster]

What do you do if the PC uses a wish and inserts the phrase "according to my intent"?

 

[boredgremlin]

uh, seriously --

For 3 9th level spells -- forget about Wish. Like, seriously. Instead --

I would GATE in 3 different "helpers" to, well, help destroy the enemy army.

Particularly effective would be some high level monster that can create shadows or something along those lines. It turns 10 enemy units into 10 shadows, which then (along with the gated in big baddie) turns another 10 enemy units into 10 shadows, which then... etc.

Or something that turns the enemy into zombies, or something like that. It's obviously much better to use the enemy army against itself instead of just, well, killing them.

If you have a week or so, a battle of attrition vs. 3 high CR enemies with lots of spell-like abilities should be able to a HUGE amount of damage to any army. The summoned creates can just retreat for a while when real danger appears, after all.

Pick a high-end devil, a high-end demon, and a high-end undead?

So, the question is (I'm terrible at knowing monster abilities):

What sorts of monsters can turn their victems instantaneously (or near-instantaneously) into allies?

*are there any?*

Okay for gated monsters against an army. I would go with.

Nightmare beast- MM2-15d10- DR (havent converted to 3.5), SR20, Nightmare* all creatures within 10 miles of the beast must make a will save 17 or suffer from the spell Nightmare. 2/day it can also cast/ chain lightning, cloudkill, incendiary cloud and monster summoning 5. This thing should take out any army pretty quick.

Megapede-MM2-32d8-DR very high(again MM2 is not converted), SR31, burrow 20ft, tremor sense. I envision this thing diving up and down through the ground and leaving huge swaths of destruction then dissapearing back under ground.

And a nightwalker or nightwing from MM1. Very usefull creatures with the undead they can summon each night.

So there is the 3 i would gate in.

 

[Eltern]

What do you do if the PC uses a wish and inserts the phrase "according to my intent"?

Give an example of such a wording in use, and I'm sure someone will find a way to destroy it.

 

[Caeleddin]

Plane Sailing - They are talking about the Ur Priest and his free 3 wishes/day.