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I'm trying to figure out exactly how this spell works.
School evocation [darkness, light]; Level bard 3, magus 3, medium 3, mesmerist 3, occultist 3, psychic 3, shaman 3, sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 3
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, SEFFECT
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect Up to four motes, all within a 10-ft.-radius area
Duration 1 minute (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance noDESCRIPTION
When you cast this spell, you create up to four motes that shed light or darkness in a 20-foot-radius, increasing or decreasing the illumination level by up to two categories. You decide whether each individual mote sheds light or darkness when the spell is cast.
The motes of dusk and dawn must stay within a 10-foot-radius area of one another but otherwise move as you desire (no concentration required): forward or back, up or down, straight or turning corners, or the like. The motes can move up to 100 feet per round. A mote winks out if the distance between you and it exceeds the spell's range.
1) The description says that the Motes can increase or decrease the illumination level by up to two categories. Does that mean that you can choose to have them only change the illumination by one category if you want? So Normal Light would go to Dim Light instead of Darkness, for example?
2) The description says the motes must stay within a 10 foot radius of one another. Do all four motes need to be within 10 feet of every other mote?
3) What happens where they overlap? Say you have 1 mote that is lowering the illumination by 2 steps and 1 mote that is raising the illumination by 1 step. Is the illumination lowered by 1 step where they overlap?
For a specific situation, I'm trying to create as small of an area of dim light as possible (ideally a single square covering my character, but a 5 foot radius would be ok), and trying to figure out if that can be accomplished by overlapping these motes. I can't quite wrap my head around the placement, but depending on the answer to those questions, I think it's possible using 3D space if I have enough height in the room or am outside.
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For example, in a 5-foot wide hallway, if I placed three motes raising the light level 1 step 4 squares ahead of my character and 1 mote lowering the light level by 1 step 3 squares ahead of my character, would my space be dim light? Assuming Normal light for the ambient light.
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XOX
XLX
XDX
XOX
XOX
XAX
X = Wall
O = Open space
L = Space with Light Mote
D = Space with Dark Mote
A = My character
The spell is from a pretty obscure source, or at least not a hard cover book, and pretty poorly written too, in my opinion. But I'll try to answer them to the best of my understanding (which is, to be fair, quite limited).
1) The description says that the Motes can increase or decrease the illumination level by up to two categories. Does that mean that you can choose to have them only change the illumination by one category if you want? So Normal Light would go to Dim Light instead of Darkness, for example?
Yes, probably.
2) The description says the motes must stay within a 10 foot radius of one another. Do all four motes need to be within 10 feet of every other mote?
One 10 ft. radius must contain each mote. Which means one mote can be further than 10 ft. from another.
That's my understanding of how Dancing Lights work, and it's worded the same way.
3) What happens where they overlap? Say you have 1 mote that is lowering the illumination by 2 steps and 1 mote that is raising the illumination by 1 step. Is the illumination lowered by 1 step where they overlap
The GM promptly makes every dungeon contain magical bioluminescent fungi which gives normal light that can not be altered by anything less than mythic magic.
I think it would be an absolute mess and I don't want to think about it now. Maybe I'll figure something out later.