Hey guys,
So my group found this spell called Bone armor (I have attached the spell below), and we are wondering how it works exactly; it seems quite strong for a 2nd level spell giving a +7 to AC!!!
Heres the questions:
Does the casters AC go up +7 and then if my guys hit, that is when the damage gets dealt to the armor; my issue with that is, if one player already has a 23AC and then casts Bone armor he will have a 30 AC! and then I have to wait to hit him at 30AC to do damage to the armor??? That would be forever in some cases.
OR
In the spell description is says "The effect is to provide the caster with a +7 natural armor bonus (AC 17) against all physical forms of attack."; so lets say the caster has an AC of 23, then bone armor gives him AC 30; if I roll an 18, I dont hit the caster, but I do hit the bone armor and do damage to it, per the "(AC 17)"???
If that is not the case, what does the "(AC 17)" mean in the spell???
Please let me know.
Bone Armor
Necromancy
Level: Clr 2, Nec 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Caster
Effect: Protect caster
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell creates a layer of bony ribs on the caster’s arms,
legs, and torso, as well as a skull-like helmet. The effect is to
provide the caster with a +7 natural armor bonus (AC 17)
against all physical forms of attack. The bone armor is
destroyed by the attacks it absorbs; when it has absorbed hp of
damage equal to twice the caster’s level, the armor falls into
useless brittle shards.
Material Component: A rib bone from a humanoid slain
within the last seven days.
It looks like it works like the armor (now mage armor) spell did in 1st and 2nd edition.... basically when you have taken a certain amount of damage while wearing it the spell ends (despite the wording in the spell it doesn't actually absorb any damage, it just adds to your AC while in effect).
So when you cast this spell you gain a +7 natural bonus to your AC (as an aside I would have made it an armor bonus for balance reasons had I designed the spell, or else made the natural bonus lower and perhaps had it scale with level)... this will stack with other bonuses to AC that are not natural bonuses, it would not stack with natural bonuses, if you have a natural bonus to your AC already you would just get the better of it or the one provided by this spell.
So once your AC is totaled up (lets use the example of a 4th level caster in chain mail, with a +1 large wood shield, no dex bonus, and a ring of protection +1. before casting the spell this dude is AC 20 (+6 armor, +3 shield, +1 deflection) after casting the spell his AC becomes 27 (+6 armor, +7 natural, +3 shield, +1 deflection)... now his AC stays 27 until the duration expires (40 minutes) or until he has taken 8 points of damage (2*caster level), which ever comes first, at which point his AC drops back down to 20.
That is how I read the spell, and how I would run it if I were to allow it in my game (which is actually unlikely as written).
I would rule that the armor itself has a 17 armor class and the wearer cannot take damage from a physical source (weapons, natural attacks, etc) until the armor is destroyed.
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Hey guys,
So my group found this spell called Bone armor (I have attached the spell below), and we are wondering how it works exactly; it seems quite strong for a 2nd level spell giving a +7 to AC!!!
This spell appears to be from Diablerie, which is the D20 adaptation of Diablo II, published in 2000. The mechanics are not standard game mechanics; the adaptation above might have had explanations to cover the variant mechanics.
This is basically a spell from a different, albeit closely related, game.
Hey guys,
So my group found this spell called Bone armor (I have attached the spell below), and we are wondering how it works exactly; it seems quite strong for a 2nd level spell giving a +7 to AC!!!This spell appears to be from Diablerie, which is the D20 adaptation of Diablo II, published in 2000. The mechanics are not standard game mechanics; the adaptation above might have had explanations to cover the variant mechanics.
This is basically a spell from a different, albeit closely related, game.
+1 agree. Sounds like a 2nd ed spell. Mage armor in 2nd ed worked that way and in fact provided +6 scale mail armor bonus back then.
...........................
If i was to change it over to pathfinder, i would keep the 2nd level cleric; (loss the Necromancer level 1 entry). Make the armor work just like Mage Armor except the Bone armor provide +5 AC, and keep the shorter duration of 10 minutes per level. Due to the fact that it is a cleric spell.
Oky, here is my attempt to rewrite the spell in a way that I would be okay including it in my games:
Bone Armor
Necromancy
Level: Clr 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M (rib bone)
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 minutes/level (D)
This spell creates a layer of bony ribs on the caster’s arms,
legs, and torso, as well as a skull-like helmet. The effect is to
provide the caster with a Armor bonus to armor class. This bonus is equal to 3 plus 1 per three caster levels (so +4 at 3rd level, +5 at 6th, and so forth) to a maximum of armor bonus of +8 at 15th level.
Some Notes... before 6th level it is inferior to mage armor for sorcerer/wizards (it provides the same armor bonus, but has a shorter duration), I increased its sor/wiz level because even with the shorter duration the spell would have been much better then mage armor at higher levels.
Despite the imagery of the spell it feels like it belongs in the Conjuration (Creation) school rather than the Necromancy school (although I did not change it above, I would probably make that change for my games).
removed the part about it going away after a certain amount of damage... IMO it wasn't a great mechanic in 1e/2e, and still would not be a great mechanic in 3e/3.5/pathfinder.
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Oky, here is my attempt to rewrite the spell in a way that I would be okay including it in my games:
Bone Armor
Necromancy
Level: Clr 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M (rib bone)
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 minutes/level (D)This spell creates a layer of bony ribs on the caster’s arms,
legs, and torso, as well as a skull-like helmet. The effect is to
provide the caster with a Armor bonus to armor class. This bonus is equal to 3 plus 1 per three caster levels (so +4 at 3rd level, +5 at 6th, and so forth) to a maximum of armor bonus of +8 at 15th level.Some Notes... before 6th level it is inferior to mage armor for sorcerer/wizards (it provides the same armor bonus, but has a shorter duration), I increased its sor/wiz level because even with the shorter duration the spell would have been much better then mage armor at higher levels.
Despite the imagery of the spell it feels like it belongs in the Conjuration (Creation) school rather than the Necromancy school (although I did not change it above, I would probably make that change for my games).
removed the part about it going away after a certain amount of damage... IMO it wasn't a great mechanic in 1e/2e, and still would not be a great mechanic in 3e/3.5/pathfinder.
If it's giving an armor bonus, you should make clear whether or not the bone armor;
A) has any weight
B) counts as an armor type (light, medium or heavy armor) and thus requires some sort of proficiency, or has other limitations of armor type (reduced move, can't sleep in it, etc.)
C) has an Armor Check Penalty
D) conveys any chance of Arcane Spell Failure
E) affects touch AC (i.e. counts as a force effect)
If it doesn't count as armor, and just gives an armor bonus, like the mage armor spell, that should be stated.
Yeah, it's even more of a conjuration effect than even mage armor (which, as a force effect, would be best placed in Evocation, with Abjuration a distant second), necromancy is a catch-all dumping ground for scary or icky spells of other schools like scare or fear (which should be enchantment), or ray of enfeeblement (transmutation), or chill touch (evocation), or contagion (conjuration). Shrug and accept that spells that 'conjure' gross stuff count as necromancy just as spells that 'conjure' shadow stuff count as illusion.
The way you've got it written up, I'd be okay with bumping it right back down to 1st level for sorcerer/wizards. It's somewhere between shield and mage armor in utility, IMO. For clerics, who don't have as much in the way of cool protective magic at low level, 2nd level would make sense, since it's better than shield of faith by a fair amount.
Variations;
Higher level versions that either act kinda/sorta like exoskeletons, providing a minor strength boost while 'worn,' or allow the use of the skeleton's claws, while worn, or offset the weight of other items carried, as they are supported by the skeletal armor itself (say an extra +2 or +4 Str, only for the purposes of calculating encumbrance), could be neat.
Alternately, or perhaps additionally, a version that had a 'dead-man's switch' built into it and animates as an actual undead Skeleton (of HD equal to your CL?) if you ever fell down, peeling off of your body and guarding it, could be funky. A more fatalistic version of this might only animate when the caster actually dies, not just when he falls unconscious, drawing malign power from his death and rising as a Bloody Skeleton to avenge it's fallen wearer.
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I would keep it as simple as possible. For example....
The sorcerer has 15 AC before casting this spell on himself. So now his AC is 22 with 15-21 being from bone armor (15-21 because you succeed against ac by meeting/beating it).
Any attack that is 22 or above hits readily, bypassing all armor and damaging the sorcerer. Any attack between 1-14 is dodged by the sorcerer or just misses. Any attack between 15-21 doesn't damage the sorcerer because it hits the bone armor instead. Damage is applied to the bone armor.
I might even have any damage from an attack that destroyed the bone armor, but was in excess of that needed to destroy it, carry over to the sorcerer.
Tam
Hey guys,
So my group found this spell called Bone armor (I have attached the spell below), and we are wondering how it works exactly; it seems quite strong for a 2nd level spell giving a +7 to AC!!!Heres the questions:
Does the casters AC go up +7 and then if my guys hit, that is when the damage gets dealt to the armor; my issue with that is, if one player already has a 23AC and then casts Bone armor he will have a 30 AC! and then I have to wait to hit him at 30AC to do damage to the armor??? That would be forever in some cases.
OR
In the spell description is says "The effect is to provide the caster with a +7 natural armor bonus (AC 17) against all physical forms of attack."; so lets say the caster has an AC of 23, then bone armor gives him AC 30; if I roll an 18, I dont hit the caster, but I do hit the bone armor and do damage to it, per the "(AC 17)"???
If that is not the case, what does the "(AC 17)" mean in the spell???Please let me know.
Bone Armor
Necromancy
Level: Clr 2, Nec 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Caster
Effect: Protect caster
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell creates a layer of bony ribs on the caster’s arms,
legs, and torso, as well as a skull-like helmet. The effect is to
provide the caster with a +7 natural armor bonus (AC 17)
against all physical forms of attack. The bone armor is
destroyed by the attacks it absorbs; when it has absorbed hp of
damage equal to twice the caster’s level, the armor falls into
useless brittle shards.
Material Component: A rib bone from a humanoid slain
within the last seven days.
This really doesn't make any sense. So you get a +7 natural armor bonus but the "armor" absorbs CL*2 HP worth of damage? Is that damage that HITS your new total armor class? Damage that hits your armor class BEFORE the +7? This is just a bad spell. It sounds like it just gives CL*2 temporary HP but adds some crunchy fluff on there simply to make it pointlessly confusing.
A more fatalistic version of this might only animate when the caster actually dies, not just when he falls unconscious, drawing malign power from his death and rising as a Bloody Skeleton to avenge it's fallen wearer.
That is an absolutely awesome concept and I am so stealing it.
thanks for the feedback Set :)
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