What are some fun spells to use as a DM?
I personally like to use Hideous Laughter to remind players not to dump Wisdom if they have a "Bad" progression for their will save.
The next time I gm I want to use murderous command from ultimate magic.
I still love Wrack from the Book of Vile Darkness. It didn't kill players outright, but it definately scared the crap out of them when they instantly drop to -7hp, and they are bleeding out.
I still love Wrack from the Book of Vile Darkness. It didn't kill players outright, but it definately scared the crap out of them when they instantly drop to -7hp, and they are bleeding out.
I like the spell compendium version which leaves them convulsing on the floor in pain and helpless, but does not take their hp away.
I also like Murderous Command and Black tentacles.
Going back to 3.5 I like the "Cyst" spells. I have yet to use them, but since I am running Carrion Crown..... :)
Stone shape.
Some favorites:
Fireball: A classic player spell, yet rarely prepared for by my players. Screws up a party AMAZINGLY well.
Entangle: Similarly to fireball, players rarely see it coming and it changes a whole encounter.
Teleport: SO very important for the bad guys to have.
Dimension Door: see teleport.
Fog cloud: Both effective with many monsters especially with blindsight, AND it makes things dramatic and scary for the players.
-Moox
Confusion. Nothing like sowing mayhem and chaos into the rank and file of the PCs.
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Orb of the Void: Because it's virtually certain one of two things will happen. A) the players will think the big bad evil guy has a Sphere of Annihilation that he uses as a weapon, and wet themselves, or B) stand there and declare, pleased with themselves, that they're going to "disbelieve the illusion"
Love this.
I've personally had a lot of fun with entangle and sleep at lower levels. They really make encounters more challenging without being overwhelming.
Had fun using mad monkeys from Ultimate Magic as a player. I'd love to see how it plays out from the other side of the screen. Especially as a spell trap.
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project image...because you can't attack what's not really there
summon monster especially if you can get them out faster than 1 full round (druid animal shaman, etc)...lantern archon gun batteries are my favorite
xyz image again, when the party has to interact with it, they've already entered my desired kill zone
disintegrate...mostly for those annoying "Save or Lose" spellcasters who think they're all hot, buffing up their offense at the expense of survivability. And lots of d6's to roll is fun!
I've been using my own version of Create Pit for several years. Actually, the NPCs have had access to it as a flask... Such a simple way to drop a player out of melee for a round or two.
Confusion. Nothing like sowing mayhem and chaos into the rank and file of the PCs.
Oh god yes, this.
I love to use blindness/deafness and bestow curse; really anything that will cripple a PC for more than one encounter. HP damage is so easily reversed and doesn't provide the sense of actually being in danger.
And this. My party evoker being blinded still gives me nightmares. "Okay, point me at the bad guys!"
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I have this little trick that I like to call the Meat Grinder: quickened create pit + stone shape.
you dig a pit, hopefully drop half the party in, then make the ceiling come after them into the pit for a little bit of crushing damage.
The PC's that manage to remain on top can "hear muffled screams and crunches from below as the once-beautiful mosaic of the ceiling embeds itself in [character]'s ribs"
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tl;dr: I counter-countered Murderous Command (cast as a counter to Charm Monster) with Hypnotic Pattern.
Sounds like a fun game, but doesn't the fascinated condition end when there are obvious threats about, such as bare weapons, clerics stomping on druids, spells being cast, and his demon and non-demon buddies fighting each other?
My favorites are probably:
Confusion: When the low will types suddenly stop following the plan and hitting anyone or standing doing nothing, I can't help but laugh.
The whole Fear type series: Again the low will damage machines stand frozen or suddenly run off screaming like a 12 year old girl.
Also, an old module had a custome spell called 'baneful blink' or something close to that. The victim would blink in random directions for the duration. That was hilarious.
Silent Image its low level and has unlimited possibilities.
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I love to magic missile the crap out of my party.
The other game the party was in a fight with some goblins, including a sorcerer with shield and magic missile. He blasted the sorcerer into unconsciousness, then started screaming about how he defeated him in an honorable duel.
Also, Magic Missile on a high level Magus is something I always describe about like a rapid fire attack on DBZ.
magic missile + toppling spell, spell perfection, preferred spell, spell specialization (evocation), quicken spell. Blast the heck out of everyone, knock them down, then do it all over again.
For bonus points, be a Diviner, and go first, so you get 3 rounds of shooting in before anyone can do anything. Nothing says loving like "Auto-Hit" with trip attempts.
I like spells that (legally) edit the dungeon, and of these my favorite has to be unhallow - not only does it justify a number of creepy flavor-text effects, it inhibits good-aligned characters and isn't exactly fun even for the neutrals. Plus you can attach another effect to it: for example, dispel magic can hit each non-believer that enters the unhallowed zone every time they enter it with a little dispel check (usually at +10 given unhallow's casting level). Or flip it over and grant invisibility purge to anybody who enters. They're not as effective as forbiddance, I suppose, but a lot more fun because the PCs are gimped rather than simply unable to enter.
Don't forget you can put dimensional anchor on unhallow. "What do you mean my teleport/dimension door/blink fails?!?!?!?"
I still love Wrack from the Book of Vile Darkness. It didn't kill players outright, but it definately scared the crap out of them when they instantly drop to -7hp, and they are bleeding out.I like the spell compendium version which leaves them convulsing on the floor in pain and helpless, but does not take their hp away.
I also like Murderous Command and Black tentacles.
Going back to 3.5 I like the "Cyst" spells. I have yet to use them, but since I am running Carrion Crown..... :)
Sorry, I got the wrong spell. Wrack is a great spell too. I was thinking of Stop Heart. You cause them to have a heart attack, they drop to -8 hp, and are bleeding. It really rachets up the tension on an encounter when a BBEG throws that out first round, and now the players are down a member and racing against the clock.
The BoVD is an excellent source for spells that cause players to have reactions of surprise/horror.
Personal favorite has to be Grim Revenge. "The hand of the subject tears itself away from one of his arms, leaving a bloody stump. This trauma deals 6d6 points of damage. Then the hand, animated and floating in the air, begins to attack the subject. The hand attacks as if it were a wight in terms of statistics, special attacks, and special qualities, except that it is tiny and gets a +4 bonus to AC and a +4 bonus on attack rolls. The hand can be turned or rebuked as a wight. If the hand is defeated, only a regenerate spell can restore the victim to normal."
Awesome. Has a very Army of Darkness feel to it. It is a two-weapon fighter's worst nightmare.
It's more of a feat ... Fell Drain. Nothing like a bunch of fell drain magic missiles to ruin someone's day.
And when they get smart and cast death ward, it's time to drop the thanatopic fell drain magic missile. And then, when they wise up even more and grab a brooch of shielding, it's time for force missiles.
Explosive Runes for the shock value^^
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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I personally love using Bestow Curse. Both because it lasts a while, and because you can use it to produce all sorts of fun effects!
I tend to go with weaker curses than the ones in the spell, because it makes for good RP and makes it less likely the PCs will get it removed soon. It doesn't really hinder combat that much if the PC finds that all his campfires get up and walk away as soon as he tries to cook dinner, but it's hillarious!
I'm officially removing this thread. My DM reads the forums sometimes and his encounters are scary enough without you guys giving him ideas!
*Rolls to disbelieve thread*
Magic Jar. The possibilities of messing with the PCs with it are virtually endless.
What are some fun spells to use as a DM?
I personally like to use Hideous Laughter to remind players not to dump Wisdom if they have a "Bad" progression for their will save.
I used Cloudkill to great effect my last game. In an Underdark tunnel while they were in melee with the Morlock minions - who are immune to poison.
Surprisingly effective against a party of optimized 10th level characters.
Explosive Runes for the shock value^^
I totally agree.
Explosive Runes.
Feeblemind
Had that thrown on my halfling shadow mage the other day. Major suckage. Still, fun spell to throw at PCs, especially if the only one with limited wish or heal prepared is the one you just granted with the IQ and personality of a lizard.
Explosive Runes for the shock value^^
I totally agree.
** spoiler omitted **
A few years back I was running Iron Kingdoms (Steampunk/3.5 mashup). I had a wizard as a villain who had kidnapped an NPC and was fleeing through some sewers. He drops a metallic ball that is a Minor Image projector which covers a doorway with the illusion of a wall. The characters eventually figure it out and find the ball behind the illusion. One of them picks it up and sees writing on the ball. He reads it, "Oops". Explosive runes! Hehe, that's when the players figured out that the wizard was a formidable opponent for his intelligence and preparation more than his spells.