Words of Magic - Maestro's Polyphony & Fouetté en Tournant

[Mark Chance]

Words of Magic - Maestro's Polyphony & Fouetté en Tournant

I think I'm going to use this thread for new spell ideas. The list below lists spells already posted.

Accelerando (bard 1)
Adagio (bard 0)
Dissonance (bard 2)
Requiem (bard 3)
Deceptive Cadence (bard 4)
Maestro's Polyphony (bard 5)
Fouetté en Tournant (bard 6; same link as directly above)

The bard waited, standing ready as her allies and the enemy began the battle. She was keeping her eye on that half-plate clad ogre. It was sure to be a formidable foe. Sure enough, once the orcs had advanced, trying to flank the party, the ogre roared and charged. The bard sung a bit of verse and flicked a drop of molasses at the ogre. Instantly, the giant's furious charge turned into something more resembling a half-speed stroll.

Adagio
School transmutation; Level bard 0
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a drop of molasses)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature of 4 HD or less
Duration 1 round
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes

An affected creature moves and attacks at a drastically slowed rate until the end of its next turn. An affected [-]creature affected by this spell is staggered and can take only a single move action or standard action, but not both (nor may it take full-round actions). Additionally, it[/-] takes a -1 penalty on attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves. A slowed creature moves at half its normal speed (round down to the next 5-foot increment), which affects the creature's jumping distance as normal for decreased speed.

Adagio does not stack with itself or with other slow effects don't stack. Adagio does not counter or dispel haste.

 

[Tovec]

Assuming you are looking for input - it looks a little strong for a 0 level spell.
How much does molasses cost? Is it beyond what eschew can do?

I like the idea but why just bards?

 

[Dingo333]

well, it is interesting

I think 0 level is ok, it only affects 1 of 4hd or less and lasts 1 round
Plus a will stops it (DC is likely to be at the very most 15 at low levels)

Would be nice to see a higher level version of it though...

 

[Systole]

Basically, this is a modification of Daze, which is a 0-level spell.

While Daze is more powerful, it has a limitation that it can't be used twice in succession. For a bard, it makes more sense to me personally that it could be used round after round, but I think being slowed AND staggered is a bit too much. I'd recommend losing the staggered condition.

@Tovac: The reason it's bard-only is that the name of the spell is "Adagio," which is a musical notation for "play this slowly." If you give it to sorc/wiz, you lose the flavor of the spell.

 

[Mojo_Rat]

this spell is obscenely strong. I could easily make a bard with dc 16 or 17 to save it. you can basically
y destroy challenge of any low level boss encounter with this spell. there is a reason you cannot daze things every round.

 

[Mark Chance]

How much does molasses cost? Is it beyond what eschew can do?

I like the idea but why just bards?

I wouldn't think molasses is that expensive. As to why only bards, Systole hit that one.

Would be nice to see a higher level version of it though...

The higher level version is slow.

Basically, this is a modification of Daze, which is a 0-level spell.

While Daze is more powerful, it has a limitation that it can't be used twice in succession. For a bard, it makes more sense to me personally that it could be used round after round, but I think being slowed AND staggered is a bit too much. I'd recommend losing the staggered condition.

Adagio isn't a modification of daze so much as it is a reduction of slow, which the spell's text pretty much duplicates. It could be a bit much for a 0-level spell. Without more testing, it'd be hard to tell for sure.

I cannot, however, seriously take the idea that the spell is "obscenely strong" and could "destroy challenge of any low level boss encounter".

Thanks for the input!

 

[Mark Chance]

Here's another idea for a bard spell I had:

Accelerando
School transmutation; Level bard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart
Duration 2 rounds + 1 round/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

Targets affected by accelerando enjoy a gradual increase in base land speed. On your turn each round the spell is in effect, affected creatures have their base land speed increased by 10 feet, to a maximum increase of 30 feet. This adjustment is treated as an enhancement bonus. There is no effect on other modes of movement, such as burrow, climb, fly, or swim. As with any effect that increases your base land speed, this spell affects your jumping distance (see the Acrobatics skill).

 

[Alzrius]

I'm wondering if this would be better served by making its duration 2 rounds plus concentration (maximum 1 round/level). That seems to indicate that the bard is playing a tempo that increases as he plays it, matching the corresponding increase in speed.

 

[Set]

Adaigo is a little too good, IMO, for a spell usable at will, and I'd prefer that it have a line like Daze at the end. It's not as good as Daze, so I'd make the increment smaller, just to prevent it being used every single round.

'Once a creature has been affected by this spell, it cannot be affected again on the next round.' would prevent it from 'locking down' a subject, but still allow the bard to deny someone a full attack, or a double move, every *other* round, causing them to move in fits and spurts.

Accelerando is neat. I kinda want it to be a long-distance travel spell, which it totally isn't, thanks to a misspent decade of EQ, DAoC, etc.

.

I kinda want a bardic music ability that allows a group to ignore fatigue penalties or 'hustle' without penalty for a long distance (like a marching song). It wouldn't actually increase speed, but would allow a group with a bard to run everywhere without being wiped out when they arrive (like the dwarves running all day to get to Helm's Deep and being good to fight when they arrived). 1 round of use would be enough to last for an hour of 'hustle,' so long as the group doesn't stop moving for more than a round consecutively during that time (just to allow for someone to trip or something and not end the effect, if he gets right back up and keeps running).

In combat, it would just allow an extra 5 ft. of movement for every 5 ranks of Perform, and either a +1 to attack rolls or a +1 to AC per 5 ranks (assigned by the recipient on a round by round basis), due to sudden unexpected movements, and cost a full round of bardic movement per round.

 

[Mark Chance]

I'm wondering if this would be better served by making its duration 2 rounds plus concentration (maximum 1 round/level). That seems to indicate that the bard is playing a tempo that increases as he plays it, matching the corresponding increase in speed.

Great minds thinking alike, I think. My first draft of accelerando had a concentration component to the duration.

Adaigo is a little too good, IMO, for a spell usable at will, and I'd prefer that it have a line like Daze at the end. It's not as good as Daze, so I'd make the increment smaller, just to prevent it being used every single round.

I'm leaning toward agreeing with this line of thinking. The never-ending nature of cantrips in PF does require a bit of retooling here and there.

I definitely like your idea about bards and long-term travel boosts. I still fondly remember my days of high-speed travel in EQ while my bard strummed away on his lute.