I'm working on a Cleric, and he recently got his level 3 spells. Among them is Symbol of Healing. I have an idea for a neat trick I'd like to do with it, and I want to know if/how it'd work. Here goes:
1- buy a large tarp or cloth
2- scribe said Symbol on said cloth
3-Fold/roll up cloth and put in bag
4- when needed, unfold/unroll the cloth and activate the Symbol
If the triggering mechanism is similar to Symbol of Death, then I can make it something like "trigger when I put both hands on the symbol and say the magic words" when I initially scribe it right?
Is this fair game, and what kind of actions would it take to deploy the emergency symbol from a mechanical standpoint while in combat, and while out of it?
Any tips from fellow Clerics on how to have an emergency Symbol to deploy, if possible would be appreciated as well. (I'm assuming just scribing it on my weapon or something is no good, since it must be clearly visible from 60 feet away.)
The only time your plan would be combat useful is when your opponents are all undead.
The symbol heals ALL living creatures and deals damage to all creatures harmed by positive energy in it's 60ft burst. Also it lasts for minimum 50 minutes...
If you really want to go that route scribe it on your shield/armour/clothes with a trigger of you touching it. I would say as a swift action. At harshest a move action.
Out of combat wands and potions are much cheaper way to heal. Each symbol will cost you 500gp to scribe.
Actually, I'm almost certain the next dungeon we're going to is going to be chock full of undead, and I figured the symbol would be a good "oh crap button" if we get into trouble. I know most of the time, these symbols are only effective when used as traps or with a lot of setup, but with the high concentration of undead my group's been running into lately, a little insurance seemed necessary :P
So just scribe it onto my cloak/robes and give myself a pat on the back if we get overrun by zombies?
well don't scratch your back by mistake when you are looking at you cloak/robe. A better way might be to have it placed on your shield and covered by a flap of leather, set to trigger when touched - pull up flap and touch symbol to activate. As long as it is covered then it cannot activate so no need for a complicated activation sequence.
"To be effective, a symbol of death must always be placed in plain sight and in a prominent location."
I'm not sure a piece of cloth qualifies as a "prominent location".
Upon one's tabard or as a heraldic device upon one's shield is generally considered pretty prominent.
Healing and Mirroring Symbols really should have had text saying you could use attunement to make them ONLY affect those attuned. Or otherwise specify classes of creatures not affected.
Going off how an offensive symbol works is detrimental to the positive ones.
cnetarian wrote: well don't scratch your back by mistake when you are looking at you cloak/robe. A better way might be to have it placed on your shield and covered by a flap of leather, set to trigger when touched - pull up flap and touch symbol to activate. As long as it is covered then it cannot activate so no need for a complicated activation sequence. Well if I read Symbol of Death right, and the trigger works the same, I can add a command word with the touch to activate it. And as for "prominent location", that's why I was going to get a really big piece of cloth, like the size of a big rug/carpet, since I figured the symbol would be visually similar to a complex runic circle/design, so I'd need a lot of room (at least a 5ftx5ft square when unrolled). I would check with my GM, but this is one of those maneuvers that I kinda want to surprise him with ;)
My GM, given a "pat self on back" trigger, would have me develop an itch on my back and great need to scratch it, telling me that it might set off the symbol. It is a good idea, not overpowered but I think it better to cover rather than risk a GM ruling on a trigger since it is not an established 'trick'. I don't know about using a big banner or anything, your GM might rule that properly unfurling a 5'x5' square of cloth takes more than one round, a shield (or tabard) should be prominent enough, perhaps you can get a ruling from your GM without giving the trick away by asking about holy symbols.
cnetarian wrote: My GM, given a "pat self on back" trigger, would have me develop an itch on my back and great need to scratch it, telling me that it might set off the symbol. It is a good idea, not overpowered but I think it better to cover rather than risk a GM ruling on a trigger since it is not an established 'trick'. I don't know about using a big banner or anything, your GM might rule that properly unfurling a 5'x5' square of cloth takes more than one round, a shield (or tabard) should be prominent enough, perhaps you can get a ruling from your GM without giving the trick away by asking about holy symbols. My GM's not THAT sadistic to give me crippling itchy-back...I don't think.... Maybe I'll tell him I'm brewing up a game for some other friends and I'm making the first boss use one of the less powerful offensive ones in a similar manner, and see what he says about that. I've come to him with GM questions before, so it shouldn't give me away too badly.
I had my undead hunting cleric trying to fill a book with them
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