Spell Durations

[Wildfire142]

This is a plea to go back to the 3.0 durations on the buff spells. It's the most common house rules I've encountered with the groups in my area and the one most liked by players as it extends the 15 min adventuring day and easies calacualtion and bookkeeping on both player and GM.

[Twowlves]

When I was running 3.0, the buff spells ate up the casters' entire 2nd level slots all day. The shorter durations keep these stat boosters where they belong IMO, as prerequisites for stat-boosting item creation and for wands/potions.

[Wildfire142]

Twowlves wrote:

When I was running 3.0, the buff spells ate up the casters' entire 2nd level slots all day. The shorter durations keep these stat boosters where they belong IMO, as prerequisites for stat-boosting item creation and for wands/potions.

We must game with different player types, players in our groups tended to fill their slots with the spell because they were useful plus the duration mant that they could buff at athe start and have ahope of surviving most of the day. Also the varible nature of the buff made it intersting to see how well they rolled.

With the switch to 3.5 they just got an item that did the buff all time time a lot more munchy. But different players different opinions.

[Twowlves]

You just admitted your players filled their 2nd level spell slots with these buff spells. That is the problem. They were too good with such long durations. So good in fact that almost all the other 2nd level spells went unused. That was a problem, and one they fixed.

Your group might have liked the random element of the 3.0 versions, but that also meant they could be maximized or empowered, as well as extended, which equates to a huge stat buff for nearly all day. Better than the magic items that grant the same bonus. Problem.

[Wildfire142]

We didn't find it a problem that all the 2nd level slots were filled/nearly filled with buff spells, we adjusted based on what we expected to encounter that day The general spell list most of the magic-using players choose if uncertain was high in buffs if only to help themselves and the rest of the party.

I think its a matter of opinion mainly we didn't find the spell durations/randomness a problem to be fixed and house ruled them back in when 3.5 came out.

[Bill Dunn]

If the durations in 3.0 were too long (leading to 2nd level spell slots all being filled to the gills with them), the durations in 3.5 are too short (leading to them not being used or not being useful for any practical application outside of combat). I like neither outcome.

For the mental buffs, in particular, the benefit should last longer. Want to get an extra bonus in some tight negotiations or when visiting the king in his court? Don't try to rely on Eagle's Splendor in 3.5, it won't last long enough.

We house-ruled the duration to 10 min/level and have been pretty happy with that.

Ultimately, I think the buffs needed either the duration or the die-roll variable to be fixed from 3.0 to make the spells not be such dominant strategies. A flat bonus for a long time might still be a strong strategy, but it's also a predictable one.

[David Jackson 60]

Hehe... I would like it if they did this, but I doubt they will (and probably shouldn't).

[Jason C Scott]

I liked the 3.0 durations on the buff spells. I find the utility of spells that last only a round per level to be severely reduced. I have not heard a good explanation as to why this change was made in 3.5. All I heard was second hand and the explanations were so irrational I assumed they were false.

I have tried several fixes for this in my games but have never came up with an ideal solution. Adding metamagic feats that increased the duration of spells by one category instead of simply doubling them proved helpful but it were not perfect. Casting spells as a ritual so that they took longer to cast but had longer durations proved to be cumbersome.

I would be interested in hearing about others attempts to deal with this issue in their games.