Could you use greater shadow evocation and give yourself a second contingency? I did some digging and couldn't find an answer. I would think you could since greater shadow evocation is just mimicking a spell, but you could only have one of each. Thanks in advance!
I haven't pulled up the rules, but my first impression would be that it mimics the whole spell, including the "one contingency at a time" rule. If you think there's a reason that that rule would not be duplicated, I'll reconsider that impression and go look it up.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
I'd say no, and here's why:
Range personal
Target you
Regardless of what spell you put INTO the contingency, the contingency itself is a non-damaging spell that targets the caster and only the caster.
Nondamaging effects have normal effects except against those who disbelieve them. Against disbelievers, they have no effect.
Against disbelievers, shadow evocations have no effect at all if they do not deal damage.
You, as the caster, know for a fact that your shadow evocation is not real. Ergo, it has no effect for you.
You, as the caster, know for a fact that your shadow evocation is not real. Ergo, it has no effect for you.
But you could, technically, use it to cast a second contingency on you familiar via share spell. The little bugger wouldn't necessarily know that you are affecting it by an illusion...
Another argument against the second contingency, however, is the casting time of shadow evocation. Since it is only a standard action to cast shadow evocation, you don't have the opportunity to cast the companion spell during the casting of contingency. While the text does state that they are cast at the same time, allowing two spells to be cast within one standard action seems a bit of a stretch.
I think it works, but it wouldn´t stack on the same person with a real Contingency.
´Against disbelievers, they have no effect´ doesn´t rule out Shadow Evo. Contingency IMHO.
For one, there´s nothing to say that your Caster doesn´t really believe his Shadow Evocations are real.
Secondly, assuming his belief conforms with full knowledge of spell mechanics,
it´s not really a case of DISbelieving, i.e. 100% not-real, but more of a grey-area of real/not-real.
The Caster certainly should know that their Shadow Evocations CAN have very real effects...
It is more of a case of quantum probabilities... so saying the caster is ´required´ to disbelieve, breaking down that quantum bubble into only one of it´s valid outcomes, doesn´t seem appropriate by my book. Shadow Evocation specialists would be ones to LIVE in this sort of quantum-indeterminacy, so I would certainly allow it. Of course, if somebody hit them with a compulsion { Disbelieve all your own Spells ], it would vanish.
In 3.5, the Sage made the ruling that the caster always disbelieves his own spells, whether he wants to or not.
Homebrew feat...
Self-Deceiver
As you have learned to generate magical effects, you have convinced yourself that your own illusions are real.
Prerequisites: Spell Focus (illusion), no more than five spell-casting levels when first taken
Effect: Whenever you cast an illusion with a Will save to disbelieve, you believe the spell to have a real, substantial effect as though you failed the Will save to disbelieve it. You automatically fail any saves to disbelieve your own illusions.
Normal: A caster automatically disbelieves his own illusions.
Contingency is a binary spell it either works or it does not
So a Greater Shadow Evocation Contingency has a 60% chance of actually working, per the spell description. Provided you could get around the disbelieving of course.
Then please be aware that this house rule makes the Shadow Evocation/Conjuration line of spells significantly more powerful.