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I love the visual the description of the Aqueous Orb spell brings to mind. Be it rolling down a corridor filled with a platoon of goblins or rescuing one of my fellow squishy pajama wearing casters from a mean giant while our meat shields (er... I mean loyal melee companions) are tied up in combat elsewhere. Say I rescue my fellow caster and have the beastie trapped in the orb. Could I or the caster I just saved then cast some sort of lightning/electricity spell into the orb, which being water, would then conduct to the creature inside? Shocking grasp, lightning bolt, call lightning spring to mind. Instead of waiting for the non-lethal damage caused by the orb to knock it/them unconscious...
And to all of you scientists out there, I understand that 'pure' water is a very poor conductor of electricity. The orb rolling over a dungeon floor or being contaminated by a dirty giant or god forbid a platoon of goblins is not going to be 'pure' in any sense of the word.
I've never actually seen the spell used, but as my next character is going to be a water elementalist (theme, no archtype or prestige classes), I figured I'd ask now:)
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There is nothing to keep you from making attacks on baddies in the orb (electrical or not), but there is no mechanic where you can affect multiple people with a single target spell just because water is conductive. A home GM might think you're clever, but it wouldn't be allowed in PFS because it isn't in the rules.
If you want a really mean use of aqueous orb, scoop up a number of enemies (four medium sized I think) and then cast a resilient sphere around it... even better, an extended aqueous orb. That just can't be a good feeling for the victims.
(Yes, I look for ways to make by fey sorceress get more darkly whimsical and cruel as she gains in level... it seems fitting, somehow.)
And to all of you scientists out there, I understand that 'pure' water is a very poor conductor of electricity. The orb rolling over a dungeon floor or being contaminated by a dirty giant or god forbid a platoon of goblins is not going to be 'pure' in any sense of the word.
It's salt that makes water really conduct well (as I found out in high school physics when we blew the breakers cracking water into hydrogen and oxygen), but just remember that most lightning based spells are already violating the laws of physics as to how electricity gets around or affects people; there's no reason water would suddenly make it obey standard physics.
Well, strictly speaking (RAW), the aqueous orb actually shields the occupants from the lightning bolt: it provides cover from outside attacks, so the victims in the orb will get a +2 to their reflex save versus the spell, which exactly counters the entangled condition (-4 to dex, so -2 to reflex saves) imposed by the orb.
There's no net penalty or benefit to the function of the spell insofar as attacking with reflex-avoidable spells (like lightning bolt) are concerned.
Of course, you might still have enemies "lined up" to some degree in the spell.
More effective things to do with an aqueous orb include:
- the aforementioned resilient sphere
- using it to move enemies into any number of conjured pits
- moving enemies into hazardous terrain (dropping them off cliffs, into volcanoes, and so on)
- gathering enemies into a location for targeting by other kinds of area spells (like slow)
The fact that the orb only provides cover suggests any number of attacks involving will or fortitude saves, attacks by any ranged attacks good at dealing with cover (ie. with Improved Precise Shot), but it's limited by the fact that the victims don't breathe (ie. no use rolling them into a cloudkill or mind fog)
Personally, I like the idea of a couple of powerful mages playing orb ball: you send your orb after your opponent's orb, trying to snatch the victim from his - whoever manages to drop he victim into a goal of some kind wins :)