Inverse Rain's page

A lot of D&D spells were apparently based on things that the wizards in the 1963 horror film "The Raven" did. Most of the on-screen magic happens in this scene.

So there you have it, folks. The original somatic components. Want to fly? Just flap your hands like little wings...

(Should watch a clip I'm linking to the end. The original link doesn't have the full duel... Updated with a better one. See how many D&D spells you can recognize!)

@Kaisoku
A question have I!

First of all, I really like what you've done here. I was trying to come up with something similar myself, but you beat me to it.

Now, on to the question.

I have been working on a class based in large part on the Summoner. This class is meant to represent a character who can transform himself into a "monster" of one sort or another. Kinda like a werewolf, only not a race, and can be used to represent any number of other things as well (such as a "wizard" who's only learned one spell -- to transform himself into a hideous abomination -- or a "half-devil" who can take on the form of her devil parent.

So my question, then, is if you'd be willing to allow me to take your work here and integrate it into my own. I plan on posting the class up on the homebrew forum when I'm done with it (which may take a bit, it's been more work than I thought when I started.)

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

#7 Inverse Rain

Full BAB Arcane caster focused on Evocation. Medium to heavy armor with reduced to no Spell Failure.

Another fix that would conserve the "penalty vs. opponents other than the target" flavor without allowing auto-sneak-attacks by rogues would be to simply say that the Cavalier's AC is reduced by 2 versus characters other than the target. It has the same effect as a flank (-2 AC vs. +2 to hit) minus the allowing of sneak attacks and other similar effects.

Yep.

But it would be rather anti-climactic to battle through to fight some big bad venomous critter just to have it be weak as dish water. :)

hehe

-S

Oh, I have no doubt you can make a giant scorpion (to continue the example) that's a strong combatant without making its venom be the scariest thing ever. (I mean, just look at those claws! Definitely room for them to do nasty things with those...) But there's certainly also room for large creatures with nasty venom too.

I guess what I'm saying is this: Enlarging a venomous creature should not necessarily automatically make its venom worse as well, although it could. There can also be creatures that didn't gain more impressive venom, but something else instead. Imagine a scorpion with one of its claws replaced with a bludgeoning instrument or a spear, like the appendages of a mantis shrimp. Or one with the ability to vibrate its claws to produce nauseating sounds.

Random note: In real life (yeah, not necessarily a good yardstick to hold up against fantasy monsters, I know) larger animals often have weaker venom than smaller ones. If you have a choice of being stung by two scorpions, a tiny Arizona bark scorpion (I live in Arizona) or an Emperor Scorpion, pick the Emperor Scorpion every time. ...Although avoiding getting into a situation where you have to be stung by a scorpion in the first place is probably the best idea in either case. Anyway, food for thought.