RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Summon Swarm, Insect Plague and Creeping Doom all fit the bill. Cloudkill causes continuous damage if I remember correctly.
All of those sound like the would fit the archetype that I'm working towards, but I need to start being careful about making the class TOO good. Also, Cloudkill deals Con damage, but not continuous hit point damage.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Well, specifically, what level is greater fireburst? Same damage, same area, plus a heal, so it should be one level up, or expensive component.
Good reasoning though
I'm pretty sure Greater Fireburst is 5th... possibly even 6th. But I'm willing to bet it does more than 1d8 damage to everything in its radius. Note that it's not 1d8/caster level in my spell (that would be INSANE). It's a flat 1d8.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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It's not damage over time, but melee fighters beware!
Baleful Bond
Illusion (Phantasm)
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell creates a harmful psychic bond between the caster and the target. Any time the target deals damage to the caster with a melee attack, he must make a Will save against the DC of this spell or suffer the same amount of damage himself. A successful save negates the damage and ends the duration of this spell.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Does this spell cause true HP damage that can cause death or just "phantom" damage that causes unconsciousness? I know that many illusion/phantasms only cause phantom damage.
Did some research. It looks like Illusion(Phantasm) spells deal REAL damage while Illusion(Shadow) tends to deal only partial damage if the illusion is pierced. I can't find any specific examples of spells that can only reduce a creature to unconsciousness. Do you have any specific spells in mind that do this?
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Hmm, good point. I hadn't really thought about it. The way it was written, I meant it to do true HP damage, but your idea seems to make more sense (and could certainly serve to balance the spell if it seems overpowered). I might change the type to Necromancy to make the damage type more clear. What does everyone else think?
Please, post all finished material after you are finished with this wicked class idea, it would fit an NPC I have much better than the class he is now (used only with your express, written permission of course)!!
As far as "true hp damage", it seems to fit most of the spells you have written but, for others, subdual damage seems more appropriate. Subdual would also lend itself more to the flavor, a caster that wants to cause pain overtime, infuriating the PCs. I was thinking mostly of the lower levels spells listed above, like Shadow Chill and Dragonmann's Bone Grind. Cold damage from exposure is nonlethal in the DMG and seems more appropriate than lethal damage from, say, a ray of frost. This seems to fit internal wracking of joints as well.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I had this particularly evil idea for a high-level spell just now as well. I can't think of any long-range death effects, so I thought I would make one (it IS a 9th level spell, after all). I even made flavor text for this one! I haven't decided if it's a little TOO nasty for 9th level yet. I may need to consider making it a Corrupt spell (BoVD). Again, not a damage over time, but still something really cool for the bad guys:
Obliteration
Evocation/Necromancy (Fire, Evil)
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Target: One creature plus area, see text
Area: 40 ft. radius burst centered on target
Duration: Special
Saving Throw: Yes, see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
A roiling greenish-black fireball streaks forth from your fingers, burning into the very soul of your target and threatening to explode from within.
This spell targets a single creature initially, scouring their very soul with hellish fire. The target receives a Fortitude save against the initial effect. If this saving throw fails, the target dies instantly as his body explodes in a massive ball of black flame. The ensuing explosion deals 1d6 damage/level (max 25d6) to everything within a 40 ft. radius of the initial target (Reflex half). Half of the damage dealt by this secondary effect is fire damage, the other half is negative energy damage. This spell destroys the body of the victim entirely (as a disintegrate spell) if the initial save fails.
Material Component: A trapped soul (see BoVD).
Try this one on for size...
Hellish Link
(Evocation)
Lvl: 9
Cast Time: Standard Action
Duration: 1 round/lvl
Target: Any # of targets within 60 ft. of each other
Range: Long, 250ft. +10ft./lvl
Verbal, somatic, & material components (big spell)
Save: Fort partial
Spell resistance: Yes
The targets seem to pull just a little towards each other as you finish this spell, and they start taking on little details of the other ones it was cast upon.
There is no save for the spell. Whenever one of the opponents takes a damage, the others must make a fortitude save or take that damage also. If a spell was to hit more then one of them at the same time(such as a fireball), the damage does not affect the hit ones more then once, but the damage does hurt the ones not hit by it if they fail their Fort saves. They also take the highest damage done(incase some of them manage to dodge the fireball). To exit the area of the link, it requires a fortitude save.
Now there are probably balance issues in there, and those could be easily fixed. Infact that could probably be made into an epic spell, but it seems to be a great spell for a caster of your types. It probably wouldn't hurt to bring the area to withink 30ft. of eachother, or if you didn't do that, change the casting time into a full round action. But that spell could be a huge help to you.
Sir Smashes Alot
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Please, post all finished material after you are finished with this wicked class idea, it would fit an NPC I have much better than the class he is now (used only with your express, written permission of course)!!
I intend to post it once I get everything finished on it. My wife will be out of town this weekend and I won't have much else to do, so I'll try to finish everything up and see if I can talk a friend of mine into playtesting the class against a few sample encounters to judge the game balance. I hope to have it done by Memorial Day. Stay tuned!
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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MORE SPELLS!!!!!!
Shiver
Evocation (Cold)
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Ray
Duration: 1 round/3 levels
Saving Throw: No
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell fires a ray of biting cold at your target, causing 2d6 subdual cold damage in the first round it strikes. Thereafter, it deals an additional 2d6 subdual cold damage each round for the duration of the spell.
Mind Drought
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell causes the target's brain to dehydrate slightly, causing pain when performing a mentally taxing action. Any time a character under the effects of this spell attempts to cast a spell or use any Wisdom-, Intelligence-, or Charisma-based skill (except Spot and Listen), he immediately suffers 2d8 subdual damage. Due to this damage, a Concentration check will be necessary to complete the task. Treat damage from this spell as continuous damage for the purposes of determining the DC of this check.
Material Component: A pinch of salt.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Here's a feat to think about (though it has nothing to do directly with the class I'm working on, it would certainly be a significant boon to said class):
Sympathetic Spellcasting (Tactical)
Prerequisites: Caster level 9th, any Spell Focus feat.
Taking this feat gives a spellcaster access to several different tactical options listed below. All of these tactical options require that the school of magic referenced is one that the caster has a Spell Focus feat in and that the spells used allow the target to make a saving throw:
Sympathetic Quickening: If a single target fails to save against two spells of the same school you cast in successive rounds, you may immediately cast another spell from that school as though it were affected by the Quicken Spell feat without increasing the spell's casting time or expending a higher level spell slot. A spell cast in this fashion must be of a spell level at least 3 levels lower than the highest level spell you are able to cast. This ability cannot be used with Sympathetic Heightening below.
Sympathetic Heightening: If a single target fails to save against two spells of the same school you cast in successive rounds, you may cast another spell from that school as though it were affected by the Heighten Spell feat in the next round without increasing the spell's casting time or expending a higher level spell slot. You may Heighten the spell to any spell level that you can cast. This ability cannot be used in conjunction with Sympathetic Quickening above.
Imagine the nastiness of this combination:
Round One - Bestow Curse (penalize saves)
Round Two - Blackrot
Round Two - Quickened Fear (from the feat above)
Round Three - Heightened Ray of Exhaustion
Successive Rounds - Pelt target with more damage spells until the fear ends.
The siphoning aura strikes me as being very similar to the Divine feat Profane Lifeleech in Libris Mortis- burn a turn attempt to damage all living creatures in 60 ft. with 1d6 damage, all of which in turn goes back to the cleric.
As the proud player of an end-game warlock in WoW, I am extremely happy with this thread. However, I would simply make a wizard, specialized in conjuration, necromancy, or evocation. Take Augment Summoning and Spell Focus in necromancy and evocation, and you've got the basics right there. Additionally, I might look into the Fell metamagic feats, also in Libris Mortis. Spells would include ray of enfeeblement (serves as Curse of Weakness), all the summon monsters and planar allies, vampiric touch, negative energy ray (took this from the first NWN- 1st level ray, 1d6 negative energy damage/level, max 5d6), shadowbolt could just be magic missile, arcane eye stands in for the Eye of Kilrogg, banishment is good, and whatever the one that lets you grab another person's summoned monster is also great.
Oh, and the Fiendbinder PrC from Tome of Magic is a must. It doesn't even eat into your feat selection! You can have a freaking marilith companion with this nasty little class.
The advantage to doing it this way is saving time by not having to design the class, and also not having to worry about balance (you're just building a perfectly valid character by the RAW), except on some of these delightfully wicked spells! >:)
However, I really like what you've done here, too, and plan on swiping some of these spells for my game, or asking a DM to use them and trying to make a warlock in D&D, too!
Just for the hell of it, I'd also like to see a spell like Inferno: deals a little damage and stuns (or knocks prone) people in the area, then summons a massive demon/construct (a hellfire golem from the 3.x Fiend Folio, mayhaps?) for 1 round/level, after which time the thing goes berserk and tries to kill his master.
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Inebria
Conjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Short
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Almost inperceptible, a thin stream of distortion drifts towards your target, settling into their mind.
This spell rapidly inerbriates the target. Each round for the duration of the spell they take 2d6 non-lethal damage per round.
Material Component: Flask of grain alcohol
I think I'm going to work on this class tonight in my spare time. I really like the idea of it...The class will use the wizard's BAB and weapon/armor proficiencies but will cast spells very similar to a Beguiler and will periodically gain special abilities and bonus feats to augment his functionality. It'll be a d4 Hit Die class with good Will and Fort saves (and poor Reflex) and will require an evil alignment. The bonus feats it gains will probably be from the BoVD (or at least some of them will be). Things like Corrupt Spell and Violate Spell in particular. Vile continuous damage... ouch!
Sounds good, Of course you realize if you want to submit this to Paizo, BoVD isn't part of the open license.
Here is an ability you might like (off the top of my head)
'Acane Accumulation'
At 3rd level and higher, the DC of any spell of the Evocation school cast by this class increases by +1 but only if the target is currently affected by at least one other spell of the same school cast by the same caster.
At 7th level this ability applies to to Necromancy spells as well. At 11th level the bonus increases to +2 for Evocation spells, and at 15th level it increases to +2 for Necromancy spells.
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This is basically like getting Spell Focus and Improved Spell Focus but with limitations, I am not sure how many 'lingering' evocations there are, so it may not be that useful there, but there are enough lasting Necromancy spells to make it very nasty for that one. (Particularly if the caster actually takes the Spell Focus feat on top of it)
So it may be too powerful with the Necromancy effect.
Really depends on how many other abilities you would give the class.
There are a very few others. Most are actually area effect like Wall of Fire and Acid Fog. Depending on interruption some of the Cloud spells can be thrown in there, same with the hand spells.
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Single. The DC would be equal to 10 + all damage occurred during the action. The longer the action to more chance of more damage.
Are you sure about this, I seem to recall that if a caster were to be hit by different sources of damage, he would check Concentration for each seperately.
EG. 3 archers with readied actions would require 3 seperate Concentration checks (one for each arrow - assuming they hit).Contrarywise, if the caster were struck with 3 magic missiles from a single spell, then it would be one concentration check because all the damage was from a single source (the spell).
It really ground my gears when I heard that as it seemed unfair to the archers. So I want to make sure you are correct before I tell my players differently.
Maybe its different for continuous damage.
BoVD has cloud of the achaierai, clutch of Orcus, crushing fist of spite, damning darkness, song of festering death, wall of deadly chains, and whirlwind of teeth.
PHB II has bleakness, blood creepers, bright worms, inevitable defeat, Kelgore's grave mist, prismatic mist, pulse of hate, and thunder field.