The playtest fireball says "A burst of fire explodes, dealing 6d6 fire damage; creatures in the area must attempt a Reflex save."
The playtest lightning bolt says "All creatures in the area must attempt a Reflex save to avoid taking 4d12 electricity damage."
Both spells then provide information on successes and failures and how to heighten the spells.
As written, I would rule that a fireball also damages objects in the burst area (and don't benefit from the possibility of a save). I would also rule that a lightning bolt does not damage objects in the line area.
I would prefer to rule that the lightning bolt damages objects, but the text ties "all creatures" to the "electricity damage" in a way that the fireball text does not. The fireball text makes it clear (to me) that the fire damage affects everything in the burst area, but creatures may benefit from a save.
How do you read these spells regarding this issue? Do you think that clarification is in order?
The damn thing can dissolve metal. All metal, no exceptions are made.
Maybe no one has ever tried sticking osmium or iridium in it to check yet. <grin>
Does it need to breathe? I wouldn't have guessed so. Either way, this is a fascinating development. (Maybe we've discovered another way to kill the stuff.)
asking thousands of people does not converge upon a scientific answer or a correct theory, just a commonly held belief.
True. But if there were a reference to this in official material somewhere, having thousands of eyes looking for it would likely get me my answer more quickly than just me trying to find it. And that's all I was after.
OT1H, green slime at the bottom of a puddle is a classic trap, so it shouldn't be too buoyant.
This is a good point. Either it is less dense than water, but sticky enough to resist being pulled loose by buoyancy, or it is more dense than water and it would stay under the water anyway. But the fact that it's sticky enough to cling to ceilings and so sticky that a concentrated effort has to be made to scrape it off suggests that it might just be a bit less dense than water and could float.
I can imagine someone scraping bits of the stuff off and onto a nearby pond and little patches of green goo are floating or bobbing on the surface.
I ask too many questions. :)
"It drops from walls and ceilings when it detects movement (and possible food) below." This makes me wonder about the extent of its ability to detect things (that is, is it rather like some plants in this regard?). That it can drop suggests that it can "choose" (or, whatever) to not stick.
"...reproducing as it consumes organic matter." This suggests that if a green slime were hanging out in a pond, it could reproduce if that pond had enough organic matter in it. But, the water itself in the pond isn't sufficient for it to reproduce.
"A single 5-foot square of green slime deals 1d6 points of Constitution damage per round while it devours flesh." This says nothing about volume. It would seem that being engulfed in a 125 cubic foot 5-foot cube of the stuff would be worse than just stepping on a patch. I mean, falling into a stone well that contains several feet of green slime at the bottom ought to be a death sentence.
"Anything that deals cold or fire damage, sunlight, or a remove disease spell destroys a patch of green slime." The fact that fire can damage or even destroy it suggests that even though it's described as wet, that wetness isn't enough to protect it from fire (which says something, though I'm not sure what, about its constitution). The fact that freezing it (or even doing enough cold damage to it) can destroy a patch also suggests something (again, but I'm not sure what) about its make up. And sunlight? I mean, I get the connection to disease and real-life plant-like things that are killed by sunlight, but what does this mean about what it is?
Anyway, I'm still dreaming of things to do with the stuff if it turns out that it floats. We'll see...
Anyone have a rules reference for this? I can't believe I haven't been able to find at least hints of official answers. I figure if I ask a hundred thousand people all at once, the answer will come faster than if I keep looking on my own.
I wonder if a blob of green slime poured from a stone container off the side of a boat would float or sink (and this could vary in fresh water or depending on the salinity of salt water).
I can assure you, all of his "riters" are working on this. On the one hand, we're all a bunch of creative gamers who really want to keep creating stuff that we like and that our customers like. On the other hand, we all feel strongly that we owe it to him to keep producing material that he would be proud of.
You are guaranteed 1 sale on each of them. I look forward to each new set of 101 spells.
:)
Thanks!
Sales of these products have been quite good. I was shocked at how many copies of 101 Swamp Spells sold and the others have kept pace. Hopefully we can keep customers happy.
Any idea when or even if your next set of spells will be released?
I do not know when. I do know that I'm at about 80 spells into the next 101, and I know who the editor will be. I am working with other Rite Publishing staff on other, bigger issues (like legal ones), and so can't say much more until those are all resolved.
I also am working on the next three in the series. So, there's no expectation that the series will stop, but I don't know how long the delay will be. Hopefully, if I can continue to work on the content on my own, then, as the other issues get solved, the interruption in releasing the content to customers will be relatively short lived.
Thanks for the review and the tips. Of my first 50 or so spells, about a dozen were devoted to things like fire danger and weather generally. I have been thinking also about flooding, and also weird morning/evening effects.
For one of your future spell books I would like to suggest a spell.
Prismatic Sword
Magus 6
School: Transmutation
Component: V, F (sword)
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 rnd/level
Savings Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spells function similar to Prismatic Spray except the target is the sword. The sword constantly shifts through the colors associated with Prismatic Spray. The enhancement bonus of the sword remain but all special abilities are suppressed for the duration of the spell. Additionally, Spellstrike is suppressed. With each successful attack, roll on Prismatic Spray chart to determine the additional effects.
Would have fit in with 101 Shadow and Darkness Spell but hopefully you can find a place for it.
Thanks for the suggestion! (See Steve's comment though.)
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What is your next offering?
The next scheduled release is 101 Hills and Mountains Spells and it's on the editor's desk right now.
After that, I have a couple more traditional terrains to cover and one more unusual one up my sleeve.
Illusion
Illusion spells deceive the senses or minds of others. They cause people to see things that are not there, not see things that are there, hear phantom noises, or remember things that never happened.
Figment: A figment spell creates a false sensation. Those who perceive the figment perceive the same thing, not their own slightly different versions of the figment. It is not a personalized mental impression. Figments cannot make something seem to be something else. A figment that includes audible effects cannot duplicate intelligible speech unless the spell description specifically says it can. If intelligible speech is possible, it must be in a language you can speak. If you try to duplicate a language you cannot speak, the figment produces gibberish. Likewise, you cannot make a visual copy of something unless you know what it looks like (or copy another sense exactly unless you have experienced it).
Because figments and glamers are unreal, they cannot produce real effects the way that other types of illusions can. Figments and glamers cannot cause damage to objects or creatures, support weight, provide nutrition, or provide protection from the elements. Consequently, these spells are useful for confounding foes, but useless for attacking them directly.
A figment's AC is equal to 10 + its size modifier.
Glamer: A glamer spell changes a subject's sensory qualities, making it look, feel, taste, smell, or sound like something else, or even seem to disappear.
Pattern: Like a figment, a pattern spell creates an image that others can see, but a pattern also affects the minds of those who see it or are caught in it. All patterns are mind-affecting spells.
Phantasm: A phantasm spell creates a mental image that usually only the caster and the subject (or subjects) of the spell can perceive. This impression is totally in the minds of the subjects. It is a personalized mental impression, all in their heads and not a fake picture or something that they actually see. Third parties viewing or studying the scene don't notice the phantasm. All phantasms are mind-affecting spells.
Shadow: A shadow spell creates something that is partially real from extradimensional energy. Such illusions can have real effects. Damage dealt by a shadow illusion is real.
Saving Throws and Illusions (Disbelief): Creatures encountering an illusion usually do not receive saving throws to recognize it as illusory until they study it carefully or interact with it in some fashion.
A successful saving throw against an illusion reveals it to be false, but a figment or phantasm remains as a translucent outline.
A failed saving throw indicates that a character fails to notice something is amiss. A character faced with proof that an illusion isn't real needs no saving throw. If any viewer successfully disbelieves an illusion and communicates this fact to others, each such viewer gains a saving throw with a +4 bonus.
Intelligent Object
According to the description, this spell works on "an item or object" but the spell does not give any limitations on this. There is a suggestion in the second paragraph, that the items or objects in question are items or objects that can be wielded, but there's no indication that this is a necessary condition for the target of the spell.
Real life has not permitted me the time to do a proper review. However, 101 Urban Spells is as excellent as others in the series. Of the typical terrain types, urban is my least favorite but I could see the value and use of almost all the spells. While I did not see any game changing ones like the Ken series of spells in 101 Swamp Spells I would recommend this to anyone whose characters spend most of their time in an urban setting.
That's great news, Steven! Dave Paul's Terrain spells series is by far and away my favorite thematic grouping of Pathfinder spells (and that includes Paizo's sourcebooks). In addition, the Terrain spell series is arguably my favorite Rite Publishing work ... and that's saying something.
I'll gladly buy 2 copies of the print compilation for myself and my group (even though I have all 4 of the PDFs).
I really hope there's more Dave Paul spell books coming out. I believe I saw elsewhere on the forums here that he's working on another?
I've completed 5 (Endzeitgiest just mentioned #5) and I have several more in the works. Thank you for the high praise!
I haven't completely delved into the PDF, but I really like what I see so far.
I have always been a huge fan of shadow magic, so this scratches that itch very nicely.
Frankly, I'd like to do more. I really, really like this stuff. I started on the Shadow book before I even completed 101 Swamp Spells; I've been working at this one for a long, long time. It took--by far--the longest to edit.
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The only thing missing is what spells could be taken by Non-Paizo character classes. For example, I am a big fan of Wolfgang Baur's Shadowsworn class and the School of Illumination (really big emphasis on shadow magic and big association with the Free City of Zobreck in the Midgard setting).
It is too easy to say everything is available for classes like the Shadowsworn from this wonderful book. Please consider if there is ever a second printing, to include spell list for classes like the Shadowsworn.
Perhaps I need to learn more systems so that I can produce more content. :)
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Otherwise. Simply outstanding! Thank you so much for doing this one. You have hit it out of the park, IMO.
Ooh, ooh! Is that an announcement for the upcoming 101 Fey Spells?!?
It wasn't an announcement. That said, I have already written a couple dozen spells (counting Swamp, Forest, Subterranean, Shadows and Darkness, and two upcoming books) that focus on fey in some way or another. Heck, by the time I've finished this rampage of new spells, I might have created 101 spells associated with fey.
I have all 4 of the related 101 Spells supplements (Swamp, Forest, Shadow/Darkness and Subterranean). I can't emphasize enough how much I love these Rite spell PDFs. They're my favorites! And that's saying a lot seeing as how I'm voraciously collecting as many Rite titles as my budget allows me.
I hope there's a whole bunch of additional thematic additions to this series.
If I might suggest, the thought of 101 Urban Spells (or 101 City Spells) would make me deliriously happy.
On my "To Do" list is making customers happy. We'll see what happens.
The other spell that grabbed my attention is Vampire Destroyer Weapon. My initial concern with the spell was that it is not cumulative with other weapon enhancing spells. Being very literal this means that the paladin weapon bond, magus arcane pool will not mesh with it. However once I understood how powerful the spell really is I decided the author found a good balancing point.
I spent a lot of time tinkering with this spell. I try to avoid putting too much power into any one spell and I was worried about this one for a while.
I have 101 Swamp Spells, 101 Forest Spells, and the underground one. What's next?
101 Shadow and Darkness spells has just recently been released.
I'm about 75 spells deep into my 5th book and about 35 spells deep into my 6th (I find it easier to work on several at once as the idea fairy sometimes won't cooperate and work on the same project that I want to work on).
Are you thinking of a "1001 MORE spells" compilation? :)
Indeed, this is something we're thinking about. The 4th book is transitioning from editor's desk to layout and the 5th and 6th books are in development.
Vrecknidj Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
I'm quite a few votes in, and I finally encountered an obvious intentional joke item. Here I was wondering if you were all joking about joke items (joking!).
Thanks for this Owen. It's always good to hear of others' experiences at GenCon and of the industry, especially ditties like this which keep things firmly grounded in the humble. GenCon, like much of life, is about making connections and having fun.
I found a couple of editing errors last night. The spell list have a reference to the spell, Wooden Dragon, which does not appear in the spell section. Also several spell reference greensight, which is not in the PDF.
Overall, I am pleased by the quality and balance of the spells. The concept introduced in 101 Swamp Spells of being able to define your allies and summon them to you has been artfully introduced to a forest setting.
I'll keep reading.
Thank you for the catch of the editing error. I'll flog my editor with the appropriate device.
Reviewed as promised. Now when to we get the next 100 spells of an environment?
Sorry for the late response. You can find 101 Forest Spells already, and there are two more books sitting on the editor's desk. Book 5 is in the works!
That's how I'm understanding it as well, Kayerloth. I'm presuming tremorsense works in three dimensions and that the range of the tremorsense is a line traced between the two. But things brings me to a new, third question.
3) A stone room has stone pillars. The pillars are, at their closest point, 30 feet apart, the ceiling, walls, and floor are all the same stone as the pillars. Each pillar is 20 feet high. The room is completely dark. A creature with tremorsense (range 60 feet) is atop one pillar. A wolf is pacing at the top of the other pillar. Tracing a line from the creature, through the floor, to the wolf, goes through 80 feet of rock, but the tremorsense is 60 ft. However, tracing a line through the air, the distance between them is 30 ft. Does the creature sense the wolf?
From what I understand in the Universal Monster Rules, the creature does not detect the wolf with tremorsense (but certainly might hear or smell it, if it has those senses, and could see it with darkvision, if it has that sense).
But, since the pillars are 30 feet apart, the wolf's motion is probably causing vibrations even in the base of that pillar, which is within range of the creature. So, maybe the creature is aware that there is something, somewhere on the pillar, but doesn't know enough to pinpoint the wolf's location (or even that it's a wolf).
I have a new question about tremorsense that I haven't spotted in the other threads. I picked this thread because it's newer than some of the others and because it seems to be the one closest to what I want to know.
Let's say a creature has a 90 ft. range on its tremorsense and is in a cave complex. It is in a room with no other creatures. There is a room that, on a map, would be described as "one level below." The floor of that room below is 60 feet away, and there are some wolves walking around on that floor.
1) If any particular wolf's distance, measured geometrically from its center to the center of the creature above, were less than 90 feet, would the creature detect it? (Assume that in between the two rooms there is solid rock, and that a creature with burrow could move from one creature to the other moving only through solid rock, and that at least one such path is less than 90 feet total distance.)
2) If any particular wolf's distance, measured as above, were less than 90 feet from the creature, but no path measured only through rock were less than 90 feet, could the creature detect the wolf?
I've always imagined these sorts of spells as using a giant "dipper" into the shadow plane. Fire still exists there, so some of it is real. If a person disbelieves a Shadow Fireball, then they're ignoring the 80% shadow. The 20% that's real still affects them.
The energy is quasi-real. By making the save, you make the energy less real, is how to view it.
So, if you fail the save, it hits your defenses full force. Apply Prot/Res from there.
if you make the save, you weaken the spell and avoid it, so it does much less damage, apply prots from there.
==Aelryinth
Is your idea here that the belief of the person exposed to the shadow material alters the reality of that material?
I guess I'm kinda getting at the metaphysical and maybe even phenomenology of the shadow matter here. If I'm understanding you, the shadow evocation fireball is quasi-fire. And, for a human target, saving against it makes the fire part of the quasi-fire less fire-ish.
What about using a shadow evocation fireball to set extremely dry brush ablaze? Presumably, the bugs and birds in the field get saves, but the water-starved grasses and weeds do not. And, I would guess you're suggesting that regardless of what happens to the animals, the grass itself treats the fire as real. Or, at least, real enough to start a fire, and then actual Prime Plane fire takes over from there.
(And, by the way, I'm inclined to agree with this.)
But, this leaves open for me the reality of what this shadowy fire stuff is.
I could just say "It's magic, forget about it," but I kinda want to explore what this stuff is, and make sure my rulings cohere with official rulings.
I think that a shadow evocation lightning bolt cast at a dried out tree stump should probably set it on fire too, but I'm not 100% sure the rules as written require this.
You have a lengthy post, but I missed what part you're stuck on.
Shadow Fireball is cast, dealing (let's say) 40 damage (Reflex for half).
Those that disbelieve would instead take 8 (Reflex for half).
Apply Resistance and Protection from there.
This is one of the answers I came to as well, but I wasn't sure I had good arguments for alternative possibilities.
For example, if the fireball were a real one, Rod and Jamal would take no damage even if they failed their saves. But, if it were made of energy from the Shadow Plane, would that energy really be fire? If it weren't, would the protective spells "know" that?
If the fireball is made from shadow energy, is it still really fire?
My rule, at home, would be "yes." And, in that case, the protections and resistances would still work.
I tried the FAQ and tried searching, and I didn't find my answers. So, please accept my apology if this has been answered, but, if it has, please direct me to that answer.
Short version: how does shadow evocation work when, for instance, a fireball is mimicked and some of the targets have resist energy (fire) or protection from energy (fire) and would it matter if such protected targets had reason to believe the caster were an illusionist?
Here's the long version:
Ilyana the illusionist casts a shadow evocation fireball at a group of folks.
Among the group of folks are...
Bob, who doesn't know Ilyana, and who has no reason to believe the fireball isn't entirely a fireball, and is unprotected,
Carol, who doesn't know Ilyana, and who has no reason to believe the fireball isn't entirely a fireball, and who has resist energy (fire),
Rod, who doesn't know Ilyana, and who has no reason to believe the fireball isn't entirely a fireball, and who has protection from energy (fire) at full strength
Cindy, who does know Ilyana, and who has been fooled before, and who has resist energy (fire),
Marta, who does know Ilyana, and who has been fooled before, and isn't resistant to fire,
Jamal, who does know Ilyana, and who has been fooled before, and who has protection from energy (fire) at full strength
Suppose Bob, Carol and Rod all fail their Reflex saves (assume no one has evasion, etc.). What happens to each target? Does Carol take 10 fewer points of fire damage than Bob? Does Carol's resist energy "know" that it's fire damage? Does it "know" that it's not? If Carol misses her save, and takes full fire damage, but knows that she has resist fire 10, does she now have a reason to disbelieve? Does Rod's protection absorb the whole thing? None of it?
What happens for Cindy, Marta and Jamal? Since Cindy is pretty sure Ilyana is using an illusion, does her resistance work regardless of how much she gets burned? What about Jamal? Does Jamal's protection absorb the entire thing? None of it?
After this blast, if there are weird, unexpected differences between them, would that satisfy getting
For reference... (I have made an important phrase bold.)
Shadow Evocation
You tap energy from the Plane of Shadow to cast a quasi-real, illusory version of a sorcerer or wizard evocation spell of 4th level or lower. Spells that deal damage have normal effects unless an affected creature succeeds on a Will save. Each disbelieving creature takes only one-fifth damage from the attack. If the disbelieved attack has a special effect other than damage, that effect is one-fifth as strong (if applicable) or only 20% likely to occur. If recognized as a shadow evocation, a damaging spell deals only one-fifth (20%) damage. Regardless of the result of the save to disbelieve, an affected creature is also allowed any save (or spell resistance) that the spell being simulated allows, but the save DC is set according to shadow evocation's level (5th) rather than the spell's normal level.
Protection from Energy Protection from energy grants temporary immunity to the type of energy you specify when you cast it (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic). When the spell absorbs 12 points per caster level of energy damage (to a maximum of 120 points at 10th level), it is discharged.
Resist Energy
This abjuration grants a creature limited protection from damage of whichever one of five energy types you select: acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic. The subject gains resist energy 10 against the energy type chosen, meaning that each time the creature is subjected to such damage (whether from a natural or magical source), that damage is reduced by 10 points before being applied to the creature's hit points. The value of the energy resistance granted increases to 20 points at 7th level and to a maximum of 30 points at 11th level. The spell protects the recipient's equipment as well.
Would you be willing to have that character give up a feat? This is a way to get around a low skill modifier for a couple of skills. There are a few feats that grant a +2 on two different skills. You might be able to talk your GM into allowing you to customize a feat that grants a +2 in two skills of your choosing for this character. If you wrap it up in a convincing story explaining why this character is good at those things (despite being relatively dull intellectually speaking), you might get a good response from the GM.
Vrecknidj Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
Finally, after many hundreds of votes, I saw an auto-kill item. So many others have griped about seeing it/them. Finally! Is there some RPG Superstar equivalent of the Snoopy Dance?
Vrecknidj Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Thanks to the technology (and some other) items, I've spent some time digging around in the PRD and learning new stuff about the game. I'm not sure that I'll ever use that stuff, but, it's nice to see the work that was put into these ideas. I've tried not to let such things bias me against voting for an item. I'm not sure I've been successful, but, I've tried to remain aware of my biases as I vote.
