How do people deal with the Commune with Nature spell, especially in the context of exploring map hexes in Kingmaker?
The spell description is pretty vague - you gain knowledge of 'as many as three' facts about the area, such as plants, minerals, people, powerful unnatural creatures.
So, should the caster have any control over which bits of information they get? Or should it be decided randomly, or on the GM's whim?
And is a piece of knowledge 'there are minerals somewhere in this region' or 'there's a group of nine bandits hiding in a cave below the great oak tree on top of the hill two miles north of here and their leader is a powerful sorcerer'?
My groups druid asks for which 3 he wants to know and gets general information (there are a few humans in a given direction), but the spell is rather ambiguous and I could see how you could play it differently. It is a high level spell, so if you went with "GM Whim" and the GM started messing with it (like not having it tell us about a powerful unnatural threat) too often, I would call shennanigans on the GM. Kind of like the DMs who CONSTANTLY try to pervert Wishes. Don't be THAT DM.
Personally, I'd be pretty lenient about what info is given out. On the other hand, it should be *nature* related information. So, the spell could reveal the fact that humans have a settlement in the region (and even give the rough range and direction) but it would not tell you they are bandits (since the "elements of nature" could not make that distinction). The spell would likewise reveal any hidden encounter areas as if the PCs had successfully searched the hex.
This is a post about this from our private forum
COMMUNE WITH NATURE
You become one with nature, attaining KNOWLEDGE of the surrounding territory. ]
You instantly gain knowledge of as many as three facts from among the following subjects:
-the ground or terrain,
-plants,
-minerals,
-bodies of water,
-people,
-general animal population,
-presence of woodland creatures,
-presence of powerful unnatural creatures,
-the general state of the natural setting.
In outdoor settings, the spell operates in a radius of 1 mile per caster level. In natural underground settings—caves, caverns, and the like—the spell is less powerful, and its radius is limited to 100 feet per caster level. The spell does not function where nature has been replaced by construction or settlement, such as in dungeons and towns.
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Ok
so at 9th-11th level this will be 'the hex you are in and any close to that hex from the bordering six hexes'
at 12th this will be the 'hex you are in and all the 6 surrounding hexes'
at 15th this will be 'hex you are in and all the surrounding 6 hexes and any close to those hexes from the bordering 13 hexes'
Mechanically this could be like 'making a DC knowledge of 20 + WIS + caster level' about the area....it says knowledge not all knowledge
so at level 9 it is as though you got ~33? on a knowledge check
I cant quite remember the 3 questions xxxxxx asked each time but from now on he will cast this spell each time you enter a new hex
If you're standing in the middle of a hex, you need a circle with a radius of 18 miles to cover your hex plus all adjacent hexes so it looks like you'd need to be 18th level to get that much information.
If, on the other hand, you were standing at the intersection of three hexes, you only need a circle with radius of ~14 miles to cover the three hexes.
Either way, it seems a caster needs to be much higher level than you suggest to gain the desired information. I do like your interpretation of it though and may use the same myself if my players start making extensive use of the spell.
made it kinda loose to encourage its use
didnt want him casting it tiwce, saying meh, and then not doing it again
The party bard kept saying he would get legend lore, then never did, and i think it would have been very useful
need a thread to discuss in, out + problems of what we term
'Kingdom Spells'
so commune, scry, spells that last a day or more, etc
"Radius" of 1 mile per CL means just that. At 12th level, if one presumes being located at the very center of the map hex you are in, you get that hex and half of the adjacent hexes for the three morsels of information that one seeks to glean.
In other words, you have a 50% chance of being in the right spot at that caster level - if properly combined with what one is seeking from amongst the trio of categories - to 'pick up' on something spiffeh IF it is there to be found.
TLDR: don't let divination spells automatically reveal things. Or, if you are so inclined, go ahead and let them. Especially when these things are "out of their league". That is afterall one of the "memes" of Kingmaker.
You can just as easily encounter Something Not Meant for your APL as you could encounter something that you WTFPWN by GM fiat. And all the ground in between these extremes. Commune with Nature does not reveal "power level" after all ... :)
But who chooses which bits of info you get?
The caster?
The DM?
But who chooses which bits of info you get?
The caster?
The DM?
I run it that the caster asks for (bits of information a, b and c) - depending on what is asked for and what you know to be "out there" will determine what answers, if any, are received.