Agreed. It says a lot about a spell when it gets nerfed and is still one of the best 2nd lvl spells. Glitterdust is so BA that I have characters with wands of it. When in doubt glitterbomb the whole dang room. Blindness is just a side benefit.
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My vote for most overlooked low level spell,... Color Spray.
Even higher levels monsters with a low will save are still affected, even if it is only for one round.
NOTE- The effectiveness is almost OP awesome in the original NWN games, where a cone can stun an entire room of ogres into immobility, and you can react quickly enough to Coup De Grace them all. ;P
OK, it may not be effective at HIGHer levels in tabletop play. But From low to mid levels, I always have at least one memorized, or carry a wand of it for stunning mooks. :)
I never realized Liberating Command was an immediate action; it went from "meh, pass" to something I'd definitely consider taking at mid levels now.
Invigorate - Bard 1 - Fatigue/exhaustion does not penalize for 10 minutes. Great scroll.
Borrow skill - Bard 1 - Need the fighters climb ranks or the wizards K(arcana) ? It's yours (very temporarily)
My vote for most overlooked low level spell,... Color Spray.
Even higher levels monsters with a low will save are still affected, even if it is only for one round.
NOTE- The effectiveness is almost OP awesome in the original NWN games, where a cone can stun an entire room of ogres into immobility, and you can react quickly enough to Coup De Grace them all. ;P
OK, it may not be effective at HIGHer levels in tabletop play. But From low to mid levels, I always have at least one memorized, or carry a wand of it for stunning mooks. :)
That was my one of my favorite spells in 2nd ed., only to be beat by Chromatic Orb if I could use the Spells & Magic book to customize my wizard and get the "No components" ability (which allowed you to pick one spell per spell level and it would have no components needed). Chromatic orb was powerful as it went up in levels, but it had a hefty spell component cost.
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I'm a big fan of faerie fire, if you're a druid. It's not quite as good as glitterdust, but it's a great way to get around concealment effects until it shows up.
Remove fear gives a bonus to fear checks, but more importantly, it suppresses fear effects as long as this spell lasts. Did your fighter blow the Will save on dragon fear? Throw this on him and get him back in the fight!
Bless weapon is a much better choice than magic weapon, so much so I have no idea why it's on the paladin's spell list. Why cast something that gets you a +1 enhancement bonus on your weapon when you can cast something that does that and bypass DR */evil? Oh, and you automatically confirm all critical hits against evil targets? Where's the downside again?
Reduce person has some specialized use, mostly on Medium-sized rogues. Throw it on them, and watch them get better at dishing out sneak attack damage. If they've got Weapon Finesse, they actually get a +2 to hit from size bonuses. Damage is reduced by a point, and their weapon downgrades a step, but sneak attack more than makes up for that. Not the best spell, but it improves as you and your rogue level up.
And that's just the 1st level CRB spells!
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1st round Stone Call with a Quickened Grease. 2nd round Frost Fall with a Quickened Web. The area becomes difficult terrain were they can only make 5ft steps and will be taking damage every round. Toss in an Empowered Burning hands to light up the web for additional damage. As long as the targets dont have resist/immunities to fire and cold damage the targets will take a decent amount of damage and there movements will be greatly impaired.
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I once found myself arguing that prestidigitation would be the best tool for a serial killer. Especially if you get it through the trifler trait as an SLA 3 times a day, since you would then lack verbal or somatic components, allowing you to use it as a silent and still spell right in front of people with no one the wiser. Even if the spell itself is fairly well known, this SLA has a couple unique advantages, enough so that I might advise it even for those with their own magic. 3 hours a day would be more than enough most of the time.
The wide range of effects would be endlessly useful. You could change the flavor of poisoned food to prevent them from tasting less subtle poisons. You could clean blood from yourself and the crime scene in moments (the latter could make people think the murder happened elsewhere). You could soil someone else and their weapons with blood to make them appear to be the culprit. You could color your clothes so that it would be harder for witnesses to identify you. I'm a bit iffy on the heating/cooling rules about weight, but if you could change the body's temperature a bit at the time, you could make identifying the time of death difficult.
Making cheap little trinkets as part of your MO would just be icing on the cake. Other low level spells like silent image or ghost sound could help, but prestidigitation just covers so many effects it cannot be beat. And while high level spells might be better for the assured kill, stealth is in the subtle little details. A spell made to efficiently cover the little things in life (and death) is invaluable.
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Silent Image: level 1 spell with no save (sometimes) and the applications are wide openI use Silent Image all the time. It's one of the best spells in the game.
I applaud your creativity but figments (like all the image spells) cannot make something look like something else. So you can't make an open door look like a closed door or hallway with the group in it look empty. A lot of the applications you stated require a glamer instead.
If you put the illusion in front of the door, of another door?
Thats how I read it. The original nonagical door is still there. It's just behind the illusion. So it's not actually making the original door look different,
... What if you made a fake door 2 feet in front of the original door? Obviously encourages people to try to touch it (even if I knew I did not have I key, I do not think I could resist being all grabby), which will mean it will be rather short lived, but maybe a round or two of distraction?
The point is that as long as you 1) don't try to over lay the image onto an object and 2) make objects, rather than the lack there of (such as the empty hallway bit) I do not see why it couldn't be done. I would think that a silent image can at least count as cover for sight, right? So with the "stealth in an open field," I think you could make an image of a cow for example and use that as mobile cover.
50 feet still sounds like it could get the job done in a pinch. It might at least be enough to get to real cover. Obviously I'd want a spontaneous caster, since that would be a waste of a prepared spell otherwise. A sandman bard or a shadow bloodline sorcerer might enjoy it at least.
Quick question: would the shadow of a silent image count for the shadow bloodline Shadow well and the Shadow dancer's Hide in plain sight ability? You could theoretically use that to switch places with an ally on the other side of an empty field on a sunny day. Obviously this approach is a bit cheesy, but I do like a bit of theorycraft not and again.
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Unseen Servant.
The higher your level, the more tools you have: rods, scrolls, wands, staves... but you still only get 1 standard and 1 move action per turn! The best way to take advantage of all those wonderful magical tidbits is simple:
"Geeves, my staff of Necromancy!" *holds out hand as invisible servant spends its turn retrieving the staff and placing it in your waiting grasp.*
Other wonderful uses of the extra actions it can provide:
Picking up your fighter's disarmed weapon and bringing it back to him
Picking up the BOSS's disarmed weapon and shuffling it off a cliff
Opening door/pulling back curtain so you can cast your spell with line of sight... then closing it again for cover/concealment.
PULL THE LEVER!
Feed this potion to that dying druid!
and all of that for an HOUR per caster level. For most sorcerors and wizards I run games for these days, it's "I wake up, cast mage armor, false life, and unseen servant"
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If you put the illusion in front of the door, of another door?Thats how I read it. The original nonagical door is still there. It's just behind the illusion. So it's not actually making the original door look different.
Alright, how is that different from a glamer then if you can just put an image on top of something so you can't tell the difference? I don't want to get in an argument though. Illusions are not particularly well defined in Pathfinder. Depending on the interpretation of the GM they can be the strongest spells in the game or just plain useless.
Alright, how is that different from a glamer then if you can just put an image on top of something so you can't tell the difference? I don't want to get in an argument though. Illusions are not particularly well defined in Pathfinder. Depending on the interpretation of the GM they can be the strongest spells in the game or just plain useless.If you put the illusion in front of the door, of another door?Thats how I read it. The original nonagical door is still there. It's just behind the illusion. So it's not actually making the original door look different.
Illusions are hard.
Best under-utilized 2nd lvl spell (IMHO)
Alter Self. (3.0 & 3.5 versions)
Before it was nerfed for PFRPG (gained a stat bonus, but lost the long term duration) this was by far one of the best spells for RP encounters.
(In the older versions) You could make yourself look like any race that matched your basic type (for PC's, usually humanoid), and gained a great bonus for impersonating a specific individual. By far the best low-lvl spell for infiltration and impersonation. (Current version only allows you to assume the shape of a humanoid, period.)
And, a little used trick, since any spell you could target yourself with can also be used on your familiar, even though ordinarily the familiar would not normally be a valid target of the spell, you could affect both you and your familiar with it at the same time. Allowing your familiar to assume the shape of a different animal.
Since the familiar is now a 'magical beast' you could have a very large, potentially powerful, list of creatures that your familiar can now turn into. :)
EDIT- just looked, did not realize that they had also nerfed 'Share Spells' as well. You used to be able to cast a spell on yourself and it affected your familiar as well (a two for one spell) Now you have the option of casting the spell on your familiar instead of yourself, but again, only if the spell in question has a target of 'you'. Although they DID keep the 'even if it would not normally affect the familiars type (magical beast)' caveat.
Alter Self will also protect you from Baleful Polymorphs since you can only be under the effect of one polymorph effect at a time and YOU get to choose which one affects you.
Cultural Adaptation has become my new favorite first level spell for diplomancy. Combine it with tongues, or just a character who knows the spell, and you can turn the GM's annoying yokel accent back on him!
Once your wizard or sorcerer hits second level spells, Oppressive Boredom is also an excellent spell. Combine it with the persistent metamagic, and watch as your enemies aren't scared as your party slaughters them...just bored AND unable to act.
This is not a lesser known spell but I rarely see people use it this way.
Invisibility: Use it on an object.
Need to see through that door/wall/chest/floor? Need to hide an item from view? Make it invisible.
I have seen a player use it on a door and then watch as the bad guys saw use through the doorway, charged, and ran right into the actual door.
I have seen a player use it on a door and then watch as the bad guys saw use through the doorway, charged, and ran right into the actual door.
I have done that before. The GM gave the group a chance to pass Perception & INT Checks to realize the door was still there just somehow gone. The one with the INT Penalty and lowest Perception passed them both by rolling a Natural 20.
Highly situational, but if you're a necromancer, or just like having a number of minions available and have access to undead, command dead. It's a lvl2 spell, but the Will save DC scales with your relevant stat, it lasts 1 day/lvl, and has no HD limit.
Especially potent if you can find creatures that can create spawn and have a low will save (like my personal favorite, shadows and greater shadows). You can afford to cast it multiple times per day and at higher lvls even create mobs of undead that deal automatic dmg, in this case straight to an ability score! And even if the mob is defeated, 1/3 of the creatures are "relatively unscathed" and can still provide a good distraction and some nice flanking bonuses.
All from a 2nd lvl spell.
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Though the effects of bestow curse are obvious and well known, a little known use of the spell is to curse someone with AMNESIA or other debilitating mental ailment.
RAW states that you can take away ALL the target's class abilities FOREVER, leaving only a confused, empty shell that is easily manipulable. You can then make whatever lie you want to them and convince them that you are their ONLY friend in the world. *evil grin*
Worse, the amnesiac loses all class abilities, feats, and skill ranks for as long as his amnesia lasts. He retains his base attack bonus, base saving throw bonuses, combat maneuver bonus, combat maneuver defense, total experience points, and hit dice (and hit points), but everything else is gone until the amnesia is cured. If a character gains a class level while suffering from amnesia, he may use any abilities gained by that class level normally. If the class level he gained was of a class he already possess levels in, he gains the abilities of a 1st-level character of that class, even though he is technically of a higher level in that class. If his amnesia is later cured, he regains all the full abilities of this class, including those gained from any levels taken while he was suffering from amnesia.
Additionally, an amnesiac suffers a -4 penalty to Will saving throws and all skill checks.
Click here to see the Insanity and Madness rules for yourself.
You can use multiple curses, or the insanity spell, to inflict agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces), eosophobia (fear of daylight), lygophobia (fear of darkness), sociophobia (fear of people/society) all at once!
Said victim will be wholly unable to function anywhere at any time without being perpetually frightened.
I also like inflicting someone with psychosis, which immediately turns them chaotic evil, filling them with a secret desire to bring harm to EVERYONE while also granting them a +10 bonus to bluff checks made to hide the insanity.
Though the effects of bestow curse are obvious and well known, a little known use of the spell is to curse someone with AMNESIA or other debilitating mental ailment.
RAW states that you can take away ALL the target's class abilities FOREVER, leaving only a confused, empty shell that is easily manipulable. You can then make whatever lie you want to them and convince them that you are their ONLY friend in the world. *evil grin*
** spoiler omitted **
Click here to see the Insanity and Madness rules for yourself.
You can use multiple curses, or the insanity spell, to inflict agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces), eosophobia (fear of daylight), lygophobia (fear of darkness), sociophobia (fear of people/society) all at once!
Said victim will be...
That's beautiful, but I don't think it'll work.
You place a curse on the subject. Choose one of the following.
–6 decrease to an ability score (minimum 1).
–4 penalty on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks.
Each turn, the target has a 50% chance to act normally; otherwise, it takes no action.You may also invent your own curse, but it should be no more powerful than those described above.
Amnesia if far too powerful for that spell, so I don't think it'll work.
Isn't there an insanity spell that's like level 8 or something? By no stretch of the imagination is that low level. Unless you're in one of those WotC settings where you can't walk down the street without bumping into a half dozen epic level wizards.
Yeah, it's a level 7 spell. It causes the target to suffer from a continuous confusion effect.
Amnesia if far too powerful for that spell, so I don't think it'll work.
I agree with you, but if you take a look at the link RD posted with it, there's this line:
"Insanity can also be inflicted via magic. Consider allowing the spell insanity to merely inflict 1 randomly determined insanity per 5 caster levels on its victim rather than causing permanent confusion. Bestow curse can also inflict a single insanity on a foe, although in this case the insanity is also a curse."
So it's RAW, but I'm curious if the Sanity/Madness rules are Core or more an optional set (like traits or hero points) because I've never noticed them before or ever saw them used.
Amnesia if far too powerful for that spell, so I don't think it'll work.I agree with you, but if you take a look at the link RD posted with it, there's this line:
"Insanity can also be inflicted via magic. Consider allowing the spell insanity to merely inflict 1 randomly determined insanity per 5 caster levels on its victim rather than causing permanent confusion. Bestow curse can also inflict a single insanity on a foe, although in this case the insanity is also a curse."
So it's RAW, but I'm curious if the Sanity/Madness rules are Core or more an optional set (like traits or hero points) because I've never noticed them before or ever saw them used.
Nice catch.
No, they are not core. They are part of the GMG, which lists several options for GMs to incorporate into their game (such as chase scene rules, drugs & addiction, insanity & madness, etc...). From what I've seen, the GMG is one of the least used books in the game. None of the rules there pertain to character creation, so most people have no reason to open it. Even among GMs, the majority of the book is stuff about player personalities and how to run a game with different people; very useful stuff for a new GM, but not as useful to the more experienced ones (I will note that none of that stuff is shown on the PRD).
That said, I have seen several GMG rules used in PFS games, including chase scenes and haunts. Even addiction to Pesh is a part of PFS. I've even used the chase scene rules before (they are quite useful and fun, both as a GM and a player).
Basically, for this to work, the GM (and players) would all have to agree to allow madness rules into the game. They look fun, and I certainly would bring them in.