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Your favorite contingencies

Ormraxes

First Post
What kind of contingency circumstances do you you people use/allow? The spell description seems pretty vague. Can you use it to activate a teleport as a fireball detonates or a disintegrate ray is about to hit you? Do you have to know something is about to happen? For instance, could you state something like "when I am targeted by a death effect I will teleport to the dungeon entrance", even if you didn't know you were being targeted with the spell?
 

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All of the effects you mentioned are possible. You do not have t know something is about to happen (at least not according to the spell description). Specific DMs may rule differently of course.

My personal favorite is teleport to safe location X when dropped beow 20% of hit points.
 

If you have a Cleric with the Magic domain, a scroll of Contingency and a Heal can be a life saver. :)

Or Contingency+Protection from Element (Insert Energy type) whenever I come into contact with x energy type.

Contingency+Negative Energy Protection; whenever something may drain a level. Or, better 'Undead Shroud' or 'Kiss of the Vampire'.
 


So does contingency actually interrupt the spell or action that triggered it? We've been playing that way, although I could never find any exact timing rules for the spell.

Since I'm currently running a game with a lot of high-level wizards, Contingency is definately popular. Stoneskin at the first wound is a common type, as is a dispel targetting an incoming area evocation spell, or a teleport effect when your hit points are low.

For healing, our cleric makes a lot of use of Fortunate Fate (I believe that was the name) from one of the FR supplements. It basically gives you a heal when you would otherwise die. I'm not entirely sure on the timing of that, either, but it's only come up once so far. The spell seems a little powerful, even for a 7th level one, I'm starting to have second thoughts about letting it in. But I guess it's no different than any of the other dozen or so protective spells they throw on themselves before going into combat....
 

Unless you're 21st level, you can't Contingency a 7th level spell.

Contingency's spell description states it caps at 6th level.
 

From reading the post (I haven't seen the spell) I think he was referring to the spell itself's effect. That is, it seems as if Fortunate Fate works like contingency but can only be used to cast Heal.

On another note: Contingency + Raise Dead is nice, but requires that you be either a dragon, or a 15th level Wizard / 9th level cleric. I suppose a high level cleric of the magic domain (or with Time domain from one of the FR books) could also do it.

I liked someone's idea on another thread, which I think I'll be using for a dragon at some point: Chain contingency + Raise Dead + Heal. I'll have to think of another spell to combine with it though, and it'll have to wait until another campaign. In our current campaign, Raise Dead leaves you at 1 hit point and you can't heal up magically, only via rest.
 

James McMurray said:
I liked someone's idea on another thread, which I think I'll be using for a dragon at some point: Chain contingency + Raise Dead + Heal. I'll have to think of another spell to combine with it though, and it'll have to wait until another campaign. In our current campaign, Raise Dead leaves you at 1 hit point and you can't heal up magically, only via rest.

In that case, what about Chain Contingency: Raise Dead, Teleport, Earthquake. The dragon is alive, long gone, and the cave that the fight took place in is about to collapse.

-- Nifft
 


I'm thinking about a contingency anti-magic field to stop nasty magicks (especially mordenkainen's disjunction).

BTW, a rogue can also make a contingency heal or raise dead, via use magic device.

Or a pure cleric with the spell or time domain.

Or a pure sorcerer/wizard using limited wish.

Since I'm currently running a game with a lot of high-level wizards, Contingency is definately popular. Stoneskin at the first wound is a common type, as is a dispel targetting an incoming area evocation spell, or a teleport effect when your hit points are low.

I think the dispel is not possible, as the spell has to affect you to work with contingency! And a dispel affecting yourself doesn't make sense most of the time.

Bye
Thanee
 

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