Whenever all three hags of a particular coven are within 10 feet of one another, all three of them can work together to use any of the following spell-like abilities: animate dead, baleful polymorph (DC 18), blight (DC 17), bestow curse (DC 17), clairaudience/clairvoyance, charm monster (DC 17), commune, control weather, dream, forcecage, mind blank, mirage arcana (DC 18), reincarnate, speak with dead, veil (DC 19), vision.
All three hags must take a full-round action to take part in this form of cooperative magic.
Spell-like abilities are magical and work just like spells (though they are not spells and so have no verbal, somatic, focus, or material components). They go away in an antimagic field and are subject to spell resistance if the spell the ability is based on would be subject to spell resistance.
A spell-like ability usually has a limit on how often it can be used. A constant spell-like ability or one that can be used at will has no use limit; unless otherwise stated, a creature can only use a constant spell-like ability on itself. Reactivating a constant spell-like ability is a swift action. Using all other spell-like abilities is a standard action unless noted otherwise, and doing so provokes attacks of opportunity.
A single full round action is all that is needed.
/cevah
Sorry for animating this dead thread.. but I think this is wrong.
I believe you have to defer to the spell's casting time if it's longer.Picture this: I am a wizard and I want a loyal army. Instead of undead or golems. I use only Simulacrum (which has a 12hr casting time.)
Lets say I cast it only once a day.Day 1: create a Sea Hag
Day 2: another Sea Hag
Day 3: I make a Winter Hag...which adds Simulacrum to the coven's sell-like abilities.After spending 9,000gp of material and 3 ice statues, I now have a coven under my full control.
A coven that can cast Simulacrum with no component costs.If we follow your ruling of the shortened casting time, I'd have 14,400 Winter Hags in 24hrs. For free.
You said you wanted an army, so what's the problem? If this method gets your army TOO quickly, then choose a different army, a different method, or both. Don't come here just to cast shade on Covens doing it quickly.
It is a unique group of several magical being using unique magical rituals to combine their magical powers in unique ways... to say the least, it's rather special/powerful. Don't use it if it's TOO effective for your tastes.
PS. How do Wizards make Hags?
Plus, aren't Winter Hags like 10HD, and thus their clones would be 5HD...? Your army of 5HD snowmen doesn't scare anyone.
Few GM's are capable of running 5,000 separate Covens, so I think Coven casting is fine the way it is now... at the very worst, some GM is going to exploit this particular munchkin madness loophole(?), more like feedback loop... and you will have a campaign with a lot of enemies.
Coven casting is perfectly fine being a single full-round action.
So very, VERY few PC parties will EVER be able to exploit this sort of nonsense, and therefore it's a tool for GM's to play with. If, and it's very doubtful, it was to be FAQ'ed and officially changed, it's just another horrible FAQ/Errata I will have to ignore in order for the game to be better. I like Coven casting exactly as it is now.
Defaulting to the casting time of the spell kind of makes it as if they were just casting the spell... there's notbing special or mystic about that. Oh but Aid Another raised the CL... so what? Let it be unique, and wierd, and cool. Let each of them contribute a fraction casting time, or however you need to justify it to yourself. It's witches doing witch stuff, with HAGS... it's creepy and above all inexplicable.
The best part of it is that it need not actually be explained or justified. It's a fantasy game... the thought of a 13th level Wizard figuring out how to raise an army of 4,800 separate Covens is freaking amazing. That's high-fantasy fun.
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Sorry for animating this dead thread.. but I think this is wrong.
I believe you have to defer to the spell's casting time if it's longer.
I gave you clear rules to follow. If you can support your view for more time, I would love to see what rules you are using.
Picture this: I am a wizard and I want a loyal army. Instead of undead or golems. I use only Simulacrum (which has a 12hr casting time.)
Lets say I cast it only once a day.Day 1: create a Sea Hag
Day 2: another Sea Hag
Day 3: I make a Winter Hag...which adds Simulacrum to the coven's sell-like abilities.After spending 9,000gp of material and 3 ice statues, I now have a coven under my full control.
A coven that can cast Simulacrum with no component costs.If we follow your ruling of the shortened casting time, I'd have 14,400 Winter Hags in 24hrs. For free.
You are doing it too slow.
1. Be an Accursed Bloodline Sorcerer (or other that counts as a hag)2. Buy a Scroll of Simulacrum, 5 HD (4775 gp)
3. Make the check to cast the scroll to make a winter hag
4. Have a witch friend (or hire one for day at 3gp) with the coven hex
5. Form a coven and make a sim of yourself
6. Make more sims
7. Profit
You can skip the scroll if you choose the spell when you get a chance.
Hiring a witch is a lot cheaper than more scrolls.
You forgot that as soon as you have 6 effective hags, you can make 2 per round. At 9, you make 3. This means:
1 Hour: 1.43*10^75 sims
2 Hour: 1.31*10^150 sims
3 Hour: 1.20*10^225 sims
4 Hour: 1.11*10^300 sims
I also once priced a staff with the spell for several charges. Much less pain for the GM since you cannot make 'em so fast. The problem is not the power it brings you, but the headaches it gives the GM. If you avoid that, you're golden.
/cevah