We've all heard of Nystul, Mordenkainen, Bigby, Leomund, Tasha and Melf. Why, because they've all invented spells that became common enough to made it into the basic DND cannon. Many of us probably still use the name Nystul's Magic Aura even if Pathfinder isn't allowed to.
My question is, have any Clerics or Druids ever invented spells of their own and if not, why?
Also, I am currently playing a cleric by the name of Talbot. He's more of a dark priest type cleric who would almost certainly have fallen into a villainous role had he not inadvertantly stumbled upon and joined up with a group with more righteous goals. I'd like for him to invent some spells with his name tagged on the front to ensure that his legacy lives on after he's gone.
I'm looking for a niche that hasn't really been touched on much yet. I was thinking of something that would attack his targets muscles, nervous system or maybe even break their bones but I'm open to anything really. Anyone have any ideas for me to develop a line of spells that work off a common theme that won't just duplicate what's already available?
Thanks.
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We've all heard of Nystul, Mordenkainen, Bigby, Leomund, Tasha and Melf. Why, because they've all invented spells that became common enough to made it into the basic DND cannon. Many of us probably still use the name Nystul's Magic Aura even if Pathfinder isn't allowed to.
My question is, have any Clerics or Druids ever invented spells of their own and if not, why?
Also, I am currently playing a cleric by the name of Talbot. He's more of a dark priest type cleric who would almost certainly have fallen into a villainous role had he not inadvertantly stumbled upon and joined up with a group with more righteous goals. I'd like for him to invent some spells with his name tagged on the front to ensure that his legacy lives on after he's gone.
I'm looking for a niche that hasn't really been touched on much yet. I was thinking of something that would attack his targets muscles, nervous system or maybe even break their bones but I'm open to anything really. Anyone have any ideas for me to develop a line of spells that work off a common theme that won't just duplicate what's already available?
Thanks.
Maybe a pair of necromancy based hold person like spells, uses a fortitude save instead of will?
EDIT: "Talbot's Paralytic Shock"
I don't think you see a lot of "named" spells from clerics simply because of the way their magic works, vs. that of wizards. A clerics' power flows from their God; a religion might have specific spells for its priests which are unique to that faith (such as in the forgotten realms, where Mace of Odo is a unique spell to Helms' clerics, for example) but the understanding is always there that the spells represent the Gods' power, not the clerics own. Wizards naming their own spells are like artists, I suppose; they learn to shape and wield magic differently than clerics, as more an act of creation and their own will, and thus can justifiably create and name their own formulas.
But a spell, granted by the clerics God, which the cleric has named after himself? I honestly dont see why not, if it was roleplayed as the God illuminating your cleric with special spells which suited a particular mission or his own personality, and such spells could be passed down from you to other members of the faith, perhaps with your characters' name mentioned as the fortunate cleric for whom the diety revealed new secrets.
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I suspect it would take a special level of chutzpah to pray to your god for a spell that you've spent a month or so beseeching him to grant you, and then promptly named after yourself, so 'researched' Clerical spells probably aren't as obvious as spells named after Mordenkainen, Bigby, Otto, Otiluke, Rary, etc. :)
Back in 2nd edition, my elven cleric created a 'continual warmth' spell, which, along with continual light items, she handed out like candy on coins emblazoned with the symbol of her goddess.
Yes; all spellcasters (clerics and druids included) can invent spells. This topic is touched on very briefly in the Pathfinder RPG on page 221.
Yeah, I remember seeing this in each of the 3.x PHBs and assumed that it made it into Pathfinder as well. I just don't recall seeing many (if any) Cleric or Druid spells that have been named after someone. I kind of understand why. It was well described by a previous poster. You'd just think that someone in the DND world would've done it by now. Maybe Pathfinder will do something like this since spells pretty much went bye bye in 4th edition.
"Talbot's Paralytic Shock"
I like it! :)
I'm betting that many divine caster's wouldn't name a spell after themselves, but I can see that, if the faith noted who first did the research on the spell, and the spell went over, eventually someone calling the spell "Saint X's Retribution" or something like that.
calling the spell "Saint X's Retribution" or something like that.
Spot on.
Or, using a closer parallel with some of the real world post-middle-ages Catholic stuff, invoking the name of the spell-inventor would be a verbal component.
Something else for the character to think about, in-game, is paying for statues of his god to be installed in other temples of the faith, engraved with the spell. You could do the same thing with prayer books if the campaign has printing presses. This way more priests will be familiar with the incantation and the history of the author. Just make sure that "pride" is not listed as a sin according to church doctrine.
Great thread! I wish I had more to add!
Peace,
tfad
Or, using a closer parallel with some of the real world post-middle-ages Catholic stuff, invoking the name of the spell-inventor would be a verbal component.Something else for the character to think about, in-game, is paying for statues of his god to be installed in other temples of the faith, engraved with the spell. You could do the same thing with prayer books if the campaign has printing presses. This way more priests will be familiar with the incantation and the history of the author. Just make sure that "pride" is not listed as a sin according to church doctrine.
tfad, can you turn right around and expand on this idea in the Magic Terms thread? Thanks!
How does this spell sound? It needs a level and perhaps a little polish. A better name would rock too. Suggestions please.
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Talbot's Bone Break
School: necromancy
Level: ???
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components: V, S
Range: close
Target: any humanoid creature
Duration: instantaneous
Saving Throw: fort. negates
Spell Resistance: yes
You send coursing pain through the target as intense pressure is applied to all of the subjects bones. Necromantic energies seek out any weakness and snaps a clean break in one of the subjects bones on a failed fortitude save. The initial effect lasts for 1d4+1 hours and then secondary effect set in until healed naturally or a restoration spell is applied. The effect is randomly determined.
d100 | Broken | Initial | Secondary
01-50 | Leg | half speed | speed reduced to 5ft
51-95 | Arm | -3 Att./Damage | unable to effectively use arm
96-00 | Neck | subject dies | none
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Talbot's Bone Break
Initial thoughts;
A random chart for the effect, with a chance of an instant kill, and a much larger chance of it merely inconveniencing some targets? (leg break isn't going to be much of a deal for a flying foe, while arm break isn't going to stop a Monk from smacking you with every other part of her body) Seems like it would be very hard to put a solid level on this spell, given how it can be ineffectual, or utterly lethal, on a failed save.
Note that the ultimate game effect (barring the neck-snappage) is not terribly different than Bestow Curse; a lasting penalty of some sort that can only be removed by a specific spell.
Going along that route, I would make the effect target an arm or a leg, at the casters choice, and cripple that single limb, causing the appropriate penalties. The effect would last 1 minute, and have a secondary effect 1 minute later. If you fail the save a minute later, the effect lasts for 1d4 months or something, or until you get a restoration, heal or regenerate type effect.
The spell would *also* inflict damage, say 1d4 damage / caster level (maximum 10d4), with the initial Fort save halving damage and resulting in no penalty to usage of the limb (and no need for the secondary save to see if the effect is lasting). The secondary effect does not do damage, it merely confirms whether the effect turns out to be a 'sprain' and fades or represents a more severe and lasting crippling injury.
A name like X's Crippling Pox or X's Bone Rot or X's Osteomantic Sunderance (I love pretentious names for spells...) or something might be better than 'bone break' which is a bit of an all or nothing name.
The spell would need a write up for the effect of a crippled arm (no two-handed weapon use, drop weapon / shield / items carried in that arm), a crippled leg (greatly reduced movement), and perhaps a crippled wing (drop like a stone...). The neck would not be an option, and the effects of a crippled leg would be mitigated for a quadruped, or even more multi-legged creature.
If the spell has a material component, it could be a voodoo doll, whose limbs are wrenched out of position, or a thin, dry bone from a humanoid creature (such as a finger bone) that is snapped between the casters fingers during the casting.
stuff
Good stuff. I like your suggestions. I tried to keep it simple and to simulate the effects of a broken bone. Normally when a bone breaks, you're still mostly functional and might not even realize that it's broken. After a few hours is when you realize your screwed. My version of the spell would be of little use in everyday combat but would certainly make an impression on the typical sorcerer/wizard BBEG especially with the (albeit small) chance for an instant kill.
But I do like your suggestions and will come up with something more on those guidelines. It does make the spell more everyday useful and could open it up for use on more than just humanoids. I like the idea of being able to take a prisoner by just breaking their leg instead of killing them.
Thanks for your input.
We've all heard of Nystul, Mordenkainen, Bigby, Leomund, Tasha and Melf. Why, because they've all invented spells that became common enough to made it into the basic DND cannon. Many of us probably still use the name Nystul's Magic Aura even if Pathfinder isn't allowed to.
My question is, have any Clerics or Druids ever invented spells of their own and if not, why?
Ever heard of the spell "Chariot of Sustarre"?
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Ever heard of the spell "Chariot of Sustarre"?
I always wondered if there was a 'Sustarre' living somewhere, since the background fluff went into all sorts of detail about Mordenkainen, Tenser, Otiluke, etc. (and we even learned about tertiary characters, like Bigby's brother...), and yet there's no mention of a druid named Sustarre...
Gygax liked to coin terms and use them regularly (dweomercraft, frex), so it's possible that 'sustarre' was never meant as a proper name. Then again, a David Sustare is mentioned in the PHB credits, so perhaps it was an homage to a friend.
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Gygax liked to coin terms and use them regularly (dweomercraft, frex), so it's possible that 'sustarre' was never meant as a proper name. Then again, a David Sustare is mentioned in the PHB credits, so perhaps it was an homage to a friend.
I seem to remember it was definitely the case, as I read about it a long time ago.
Also, in S4 the lost caverns of Tsojcanth, you have a 7th level cleric spell : Henley's digit of Destruction
IMO, clerics and druids don't really cast formulaic spells anyway (archivists, of course, screw this concept up). In other words, they pray to their god to smite their foes with a fiery wrath and the deity (or whichever of his servants is tasked with handling magic) sends a flame strike down.
That's over-simplified, for the record, but gets at the gist of it.
Under that model, what clerics and druids would do is, instead of "researching" a spell, spend that time and money in prayer instead, communing with their deity and working on a new ritualized prayer. The resulting spell would thus not be "Soandso's improved flame strike", because they're only the one that codified the ritual for it. The power and the spell are still the god's.
Gygax liked to coin terms and use them regularly (dweomercraft, frex), so it's possible that 'sustarre' was never meant as a proper name. Then again, a David Sustare is mentioned in the PHB credits, so perhaps it was an homage to a friend.
Yes, he originally came up with the druid class. See here for details:
http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/06/interview-dennis-sustare.html
Do note that clerics creating new spells have occasionally had their names attached to them. The previously mentioned Mace of Odo is named after the Helmite cleric it's known for. But generally, the divine casters just make the effort to create the spell and create it. I mean, their deity will be granting it, and if God doesn't like your name, what do you do?
My character is in an unique position. He doesn't have a diety...sort of. I should say, he doesn't follow a diety and for all he knows, his power comes from his hatred for towards his life (and now life in general). I gave my DM the option to pick my second domain and to also choose where my power comes from. Likely this will be some super evil god, devil, demon or whatever. At least, that would probably be the most interesting way to take it.
By the way, he picked Madness as my second domain (which fits pretty well since he's kind of suicidal to begin with.
Anyway, I doubt my character would have a problem naming a spell after himself.
Once in a game I ran, a cleric tried to "research" a spell. The rules I devised stipulated that a cleric or druid needed to come up with a written explanation for why his character should have the spell. Then the deity would decide whether or not to grant it.
The player came up with a rather cool spell, a lot like Lesser Planar Ally. But it was rejected because the deity felt the cleric was relying too much on supernatural allies and not enough on his own efforts.