Enshrouding Gloom paradigm shift

[Xenocrat]

From Near Space in the Damai options.

Enshrouding Gloom paradigm shift wrote:

As a standard action, you can target a creature within 100 feet and plunge it into darkness. This creates an area of magical darkness that affects only the targeted creature and occupies its space. This darkness does not affect the creature’s visibility to other creatures, nor its ability to attempt Stealth checks to hide. The darkness overcomes all nonmagical light and is itself overcome by any magical light source.

At 8th level, each time the creature takes an action that lets it move while the darkness persists, it must succeed at a Reflex saving throw or the area of darkness moves with it. Once the creature has failed a saving throw and the darkness has moved with it, the darkness remains stationary for the remaining duration of this effect.

I don't understand the second paragraph. Do you have to save each time you take a move action, or does a single failure obsolete this? And what does "the darkness remains stationary" mean? It remains in your square and doesn't follow you anymore? It remains stationary with respect to the target forever, notwithstanding the "each time you move you save" language?

Something went wrong in editing here, enough that I can't really guess as to a plausible intent. Anyone have a suggestion?

[Garretmander]

Xenocrat wrote:

From Near Space in the Damai options.

Enshrouding Gloom paradigm shift wrote:

As a standard action, you can target a creature within 100 feet and plunge it into darkness. This creates an area of magical darkness that affects only the targeted creature and occupies its space. This darkness does not affect the creature’s visibility to other creatures, nor its ability to attempt Stealth checks to hide. The darkness overcomes all nonmagical light and is itself overcome by any magical light source.

At 8th level, each time the creature takes an action that lets it move while the darkness persists, it must succeed at a Reflex saving throw or the area of darkness moves with it. Once the creature has failed a saving throw and the darkness has moved with it, the darkness remains stationary for the remaining duration of this effect.

I don't understand the second paragraph. Do you have to save each time you take a move action, or does a single failure obsolete this? And what does "the darkness remains stationary" mean? It remains in your square and doesn't follow you anymore? It remains stationary with respect to the target forever, notwithstanding the "each time you move you save" language?

Something went wrong in editing here, enough that I can't really guess as to a plausible intent. Anyone have a suggestion?

At first guess, it hits a single creature, if they make their save, they can move out with no detriment. If they do not make a save while moving, the darkness follows them. If they succeed at the second save, the darkness follows, but they can move out with a second action without any further saves.

[Nyerkh]

It certainly is strangely worded.
My best guess is that it can only follow the target once. So first time you try to move out, on a fail it follows you to and will now be static wherever your movement ended, on success it stays where you were.
But that's assuming the second sentence has a higher priority than the first - I'd think it does, but there's no guarantee. One of those is unnecessary.

Also, I'm not sure I quite see the point of that sticky darkness just sitting there.
It can only ever affect the initial target, so I guess you've made that one specific square troublesome for that one specific guy ?
It gets better the bigger the foe and the more enclosed the space but still, short of elephants in corridors it doesn't seem like a huge deal. Not terrible, but not great.

On that point, how would a target stepping back into the darkness work?
Would a large, huge or bigger creature need to be fully in it to be affected or is it enough to have a single square of your own space overlapping with the area of darkness ?

[Pantshandshake]

Spell is cast on a creature.
Creature moves, it needs to make a reflex save.
Success means the darkness stays in place for the remainder of the spell duration.
Failure means the darkness moves with the creature, and we start from line #2, with making a save if the creature moves again.
This continues until the creature makes the saving throw.

As to Nyerkh’s questions:
It says the darkness takes up the creature’s space. So if it was large or huge, it would create a large or huge area of darkness.
If the creature moved back into it, you’d treat that creature however you would if part of it was standing in darkness. Which is to say, if a Large creature had only its leftmost 2 squares in the darkness, presumably it can’t see anything to the left?

It seems like it’s a so-so ability that maybe makes it harder for a single creature to see clearly? The effect it causes is weird, but the mechanics that define how the spell itself works seem easy enough to me.

[Xenocrat]

Pantshandshake wrote:

Spell is cast on a creature.

Creature moves, it needs to make a reflex save.
Success means the darkness stays in place for the remainder of the spell duration.
Failure means the darkness moves with the creature, and we start from line #2, with making a save if the creature moves again.
This continues until the creature makes the saving throw.

It seems like it’s a so-so ability that maybe makes it harder for a single creature to see clearly? The effect it causes is weird, but the mechanics that define how the spell itself works seem easy enough to me.

Your interpretation doesn't explain this line, though.

Quote:

Once the creature has failed a saving throw and the darkness has moved with it, the darkness remains stationary for the remaining duration of this effect.

A single failure results in the darkness being "stationary" for the rest of the duration. But a failure is supposed to result in it following you! And only on a round by round basis, not "for the remaining duration of the effect."