Once again, any thoughts on appropriate spell levels would be helpful. I was aiming for low levels with this batch.
A couple were designed for a raptoran druid PC in our current party.
Dissembling Draught
School transmutation Level sorcerer/wizard ?, bard ?, druid ?
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components S
Range Touch
Target One cubic foot per level of water or drinkable liquid
Duration see below
Saving Throw Fort negates Spell Resistance No
This spell causes any normal, drinkable liquid to become a potent alcohol. The transformation is not detectable by taste (although a spell such as detect poison will serve), but anyone drinking more than a small amount quickly becomes quite drunk.
A creature must make a Fort save each time it drinks the equivalent of a cup of affected liquid. Each failed save indicates increasing drunkenness, with the creature sickened after the first failed save, nauseated after the second, and unconscious after the third. If the creature drinks a large quantity of liquid in a single sitting (such as draining a waterskin), it may need to make all three saves simultaneously (and possibly fall instantly unconscious).
Affected liquids must be consumed within an hour of the spell’s casting to have an effect. Whatever condition affected creatures find themselves in, they return to normal after one hour.
Expeditious Vortices
School evocation (air) Level sorcerer/wizard ?, druid?
Casting Time 1 swift action
Components V
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless) Spell Resistance Yes (harmless)
A swirl of wind catches the caster’s wings, lifting him over the battlefield. This spell allows the caster to move 10’ as if it were a 5’ step and still make a full round action. This move is considered flying (but can only be taken horizontally), so the caster’s movement is unaffected by terrain (for example, allowing him to fly over an adjacent 5’ crevasse). Equally, conditions which impede flight (such as severe weather) negate the effect of this spell. This spell is only of use to creatures with wings; other creatures gain no benefit, even if they are able to fly.
Faithful Thermal
School conjuration (summoning-air) Level sorcerer/wizard ?, druid?
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range personal
Target you
Duration 2 hours/per level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless) Spell Resistance Yes (harmless)
A spell of the avariels which has become popular with other winged spellcasters (including dragons).
Casting this spell forms an invisible thermal of air that oscillates beneath the caster’s wings, providing lift and allowing the caster to fly for long periods without exertion. When using this spell for long-distance travel, the caster can hustle without taking nonlethal damage (a forced march still requires Constitution checks). Note that this spell is only of use to creatures with wings; other creatures gain no benefit, even if they are able to fly.
Feral Forewarning
School conjuration (summoning) Level sorcerer/wizard ?, druid ?
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range Long (400’ + 40’ per level)
Target One creature
Duration One day/per level
Saving Throw Will negates Spell Resistance Yes
Popular amongst druids, elves and halflings, this spell causes one creature to suffer a commotion made by small, harmless animals. These beasts follow the target, making loud alarm calls as they would if any predator invading their territory.
This effect hinders stealth checks made by the target. In an area full of wildlife, such as a forest or swamp, the target suffers a -4 penalty to stealth checks. In wild areas that support less wildlife, such as mountains or deserts, the penalty is -2. Usually cities and dungeons do not support enough wildlife for the target to incur a penalty (although exceptions might exist, the DM has the final say).
Furthermore, a character with ranks in knowledge (nature) adds those ranks as a bonus to any opposed perception check against a creature affected by this spell.
The animals flee if the target makes any attempt to attack his unwelcome coterie, freeing him from the spell’s effects, but after 1d4+1 rounds the animals return.
Windbag
School transmutation Level sorcerer/wizard ?, bard?
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range Close (25’ plus 5’ per 2 levels)
Target One humanoid
Duration 1 hour
Saving Throw Fort negates Spell Resistance Yes
This little spell is favoured by pranksters and bullies, and has become a regular nuisance in schools of wizardry across the Realms.
The target is afflicted by a chronic bout of odious and audible flatulence for the duration of the spell. This is very difficult to conceal, forcing the target to take a -2 penalty on diplomacy and stealth checks. Around creatures with the scent ability, this penalty is increased to -4. Furthermore, such creatures gain +2 bonus to survival checks made to track a creature afflicted by the spell. The odours fade with the expiration of the spell, so this bonus only applies during the spell’s duration.
The first spell is tricky. I'd probably put it around a 3rd level spell.
I might be misunderstanding the timing rules, but I don't think the second spell works how you want it to. You get a swift action, along with either a full round action or a move + move/standard combination, right? So you spend the swift action on the spell, and a full round action afterwards... that doesn't leave you an opportunity for a five foot step.
The third spell I'd put squarely in the 4th level.
Regarding the second spell; the idea is the it doubles your 5' step to a flying 10' step - the idea being you use a swift action to cast a spell, then take a full round action but get to take a 10' step rather than a 5' step.
Thanks for your thoughts!
The first spell is tricky. I'd probably put it around a 3rd level spell.
I might be misunderstanding the timing rules, but I don't think the second spell works how you want it to. You get a swift action, along with either a full round action or a move + move/standard combination, right? So you spend the swift action on the spell, and a full round action afterwards... that doesn't leave you an opportunity for a five foot step.
The third spell I'd put squarely in the 4th level.
While you do only get 1 swift action per round, a 5' step (or with the spell in question, a 10' step) is not a swift action. Its not even a free action. Its just something you can do if you don't move.
Miscellaneous Actions
The following actions take a variable amount of time to accomplish or otherwise work differently than other actions.
Take 5-Foot Step
You can move 5 feet in any round when you don't perform any other kind of movement. Taking this 5-foot step never provokes an attack of opportunity. You can't take more than one 5-foot step in a round, and you can't take a 5-foot step in the same round that you move any distance.You can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after your other actions in the round.
You can only take a 5-foot-step if your movement isn't hampered by difficult terrain or darkness. Any creature with a speed of 5 feet or less can't take a 5-foot step, since moving even 5 feet requires a move action for such a slow creature.
You may not take a 5-foot step using a form of movement for which you do not have a listed speed.
1 - 1. Decent rebuff but requires trickery or beguiling gift. Compare to color spray. Id give a perception check to notice though.
2 - 1 to 2 too good for cantrip, but very situational. I believe a flying creature already takes flying 5ft steps so only speed increase is relevant.
3 - 2. Decent but circumstantial. Compare lesser restoration.
4 - 2 to 3. Love this spell, very flavorful curse, but not too powerful. Compare bestow curse.
5 - cantrip to 1. A little strong for a cantrip, a little weak for 1st level. Add some perk like only verbal component and its a fine 1st level spell.
1: Lvl 1.
2: lvl 1; doesn't add anything to explorative mobility.
3: No idea. Would never spend resources on this.
4: Lvl 2, and weak at that. Lvl 3 for a no-save version, add details about shaking the pests by teleporting.
5: Cantrip, would probably never take it.
My thanks to everybody for their comments.
Dissimilating Draught. Most people seem to be erring on the side of 1st level, so I’ll probably go with that. It’s powerful but extremely situational. I feel it should only be detectable by magic, so with that in mind I might bump it up to 2nd level and make it a short range rather than touch spell.
Expeditious Vortices. Basically only providing you with the ability to 10’ step instead of 5’ step for one round. I’ll probably place it at 1st level.
Loyal Thermal. This one still seems problematic. Is there a spell that allows you to hustle overland without nonlethal damage? This is basically the aerial equivalent. 4th level seems a little high, as the spell offers nothing more. 2nd level seems a safer bet.
Feral Forewarning. Glad you liked it stringburka; I think I’ll settle on 2nd level.
Windbag. Perhaps I’ll reduce the range to touch to put it firmly in cantrip territory.
Sorry... my bad. I thought a 5-foot step was a swift action.
Dissimilating Draught. Part of me is a bit leery about it, though. I mean, you're implementing a Save-Or-Suck spell that can require them to do multiple saves and without it being obvious you actually did anything. It's more powerful than a poison effect, because the Save DC on this scales as you get more powerful. It's a curse that doesn't go away in CasterLevel x Rounds, and even if they only fail a single save, they get a decent debuff (if they get two, they're pretty much boned.) I know it's limited due to circumstance, but I think these effects are much more powerful than the level 1 spells? Ray of Enfeeblement is the golden Level 1 Debuff spell, and it only lasts CasterLevel x Round. I could see level 2 for a touch variety, but as a targeting spell, you're really giving a huge possibility of simply incapacitating someone with little hope of them getting out of it.
Put it this way. You go into a bar and find someone you want to question. You wait until they're about ready to gulp down a flagon, and hit their drink with this spell. They don't taste anything different and don't hesitate to drink 3-4 cups worth. They fail two of the saves and are Nauseated for *A Full Hour*. They can't cast spells, they can't run, they can't attack. They're basically at your mercy, and for a very long duration. The closest thing to this level of power with 2nd level spells is Blindness - and that doesn't limit their options nearly as much as being Nauseated does.
The thing that makes this spell so tricky is that it has an effect that's probably around a 5th level spell (long duration Save-Or-Suck debuff that likely requires multiple successful saves) but in a conditional package. If you make this a 5th level spell, it's too conditional. If you make it a 2nd level spell, it's too powerful.
Expeditious Vortices. Level one seems perfectly fine, though you might want to think about clarifying how it interacts with attacks of opportunity and the Step Up feat. If a PC/NPC is going an anti-ranged route and getting the Step Up feat, I don't think this spell should eliminate its usefulness. Likewise, I don't know if it makes flavor sense to have a 10' step that passes alongside an enemy without that enemy getting any attack of opportunity.
Can I make a suggestion for a tweak? Have the spell simply give you a second 5' step, but one that provokes an attack of opportunity. That way it plays nice with Step Up, still lets you skirt over crevices (the first 5' step is sort of like taking the leap of faith Indiana Jones style, and the second is the spell buffeting you onto the other side.) I think it might make things simpler and work better with the other aspects of the game.
Loyal Thermal. I think overland hustling is a lot more of an issue than a "1st level spell, 2nd level because its aerial". Few different ways of thinking about it:
"Healing the nonlethal damage as it happens." Eight hours of hustling in the span of a day would lead to 127 points of nonlethal damage (healing the damage doesn't lessen the damage taken in subsequent hours of hustling.) And even after accounting for that, you could make the case that the character would always be fatigued after a few hours (it's not like the character goes the hour without feeling any strain and then, suddenly, at the end of the hour, all the points of nonlethal damage are dealt at once - the damage would have to be continuously healed over all 8 hours to avoid the stat damage.
"Exploring the World". More of a DM concern, but spells that let you explore the world significantly faster or easier don't come until the 4th or 5th level. The closest thing to a low-level spell that lets you significantly explore the world faster is Phantom Steed at 3rd level. And that spell has a severe disadvantage: you have to use Ride Checks when relevant.
I don't know, the Loyal Thermal strikes me as a solid 4th level spell. I definitely don't think it belongs lower than 3rd level - it does at least as much for fliers as Phantom Steed does for ground dwellers (and Phantom Steed is one of the best 3rd level spells out there.)
If you don't want this as a straight level 4 spell, you could throw in some minor perks to make it more appealing as a player. Maybe it gives a bonus to perception checks equal to half your caster level? Or lessens your load by 2 lbs per caster level? Or increases your maneuverability grade by one rank? I think those would work better than lowering the spell level below 3 or 4, while still making it something you'd consider preparing. If you're really looking for a low-level travel spell for an air traveler, I'd suggest modelling it after Mount or Longstrider - have it add 5/10 ft to your speed or have it simply make the same travelling speed easier.
As for Windbag and Feral Forewarning, those seem solidly in the level 1 camp and look really cool. Have you thought about getting Feral Forewarning simplified down to a level 0 spell?
I really disagree about Feral Forewarning needing to be that high of a level. Bestow Curse isn't a good comparison at all. Feral Forewarning gives a -2 or -4 to one specific skill check with a long duration; Bestow Curse gives -4 to not only that skill check, but all skill checks, and all ability checks, and all attack rolls, and all saving throws. And it's permanent.
Easiest spell to compare it to would be Blindness/Deafness. Blindness has a duration of permanent, can't be temporarily lifted for 1d4+1 rounds, and is far more debilitating than getting -2/-4 to one particular skill check.
Plus, well, it's a very difficult spell to abuse (but I might be missing something.)
KBrewer - thanks for your in-depth thoughts. With your comments in mind I think I'll do some tinkering.
Dissembling Draught - I'll reduce its range to touch to try and better suit its low-level. The duration might remain an issue, I'll see what happens at the gaming table. Jezai also has a good point about dilution, I figure it would negate the spell or offer the affected creature a bonus on their save.
Expeditious Vortices - double 5' step, good tweak duly noted!
Loyal Thermal - Some interesting points here. The important limiting factor is the caster does not gain the ability to fly, the spell is only of use if he already knows how to fly, so we're simply augmenting that ability. Phantom Steed provides new modes of transport (assuming the caster cannot fly). However, perhaps a 2 hours/per level duration is a little strong - I will halve that.
Feral Forewarning - I see what you mean, I'll reduce it to 1st level.
Thanks again
Anyone care to give these spells a level. I am thinking of researching them.
I plan on keeping this on to myself
Kent's archive Creation
School Divination (not sure which school?); Level sorcerer/wizard ?, summoner ?; witch ? bard ?
CASTING
Casting Time 1 minute
Components V, S,F a gem worth the bonus of the library squared *150
EFFECT
Range variable [see text];
Target the gem used as a focus : see text
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw no save(harmless); Spell Resistance no
In order to cast this spell you must walk though a library getting with 5 feet of every book in it. Then place the gem in the exact center of the library and cast this on it. When this spell is cast the entirely of the knowledge stored in the library will become copied into the gem with will become known as the archive for the purposes of contact archive. When a wizard is holding the archive she gets a bonus to all knowledge skills as if she was researching in the library that the archive was created in.
I plan on making this one open source
Contact archive
School Divination; Level sorcerer/wizard ?, summoner ?; witch ? bard ?
CASTING
Casting Time a full round action
Components V, S,F paper:(see text) M 50gp
EFFECT
Range one hundred miles per level;
Target a wizards carrying the focus known as the archive: see text
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will save; Spell Resistance no
DESCRIPTION
When you cast this spell you may send a 100 word or less question to a wizard carrying the focus known as the archive (if one is in range if not the spell fails, if 2 or more are in range than the closest one). You do this by writing the question on a piece of paper and casting this spell on it. This wizard will using his/her boundless lore (augmented by the archive) will answer your question at the end of the day. The answer will come in the form of a 200 word response that will a appear on the paper you you wrote the question on. If the wizard is unable to answer your question your 50 gp will appear on the paper instead
(note when ever this spell is cast the wizard holding the archive gets the 50 gp of the material cost and the question appears on the archive the wizard to under the compulsion to answer the question before he goes to sleep that night (he has to make a will save to go to sleep in witch case she forfeits the money). I plan on making the archive be a magic item that seriously boosts knowledge skills)
The Kent signal
School illusion; Level sorcerer/wizard ?, summoner ? witch ? bard ?;
CASTING
Casting Time a full round action
Components V, S
EFFECT
Range a mile per level;
Target no target
Duration 1 hour per caster level
Saving Throw no save; Spell Resistance no
DESCRIPTION
When you cast this spell flaming words one hundred feet high appear in the sky and can be seen for a mile per caster level around. You may put up to 25 words in to the message. This is very good for getting a message out there.