This one is a two parter:
1) can you choose to fail saves?
2) can you extend or reset spells with multiple castings?
If I posess a creature, per the spell, and they critically fail the save, can I extend or reset the duration by casting the spell again, targeting the host, and then choosing to critically fail the save in order to extend or reset the duration?
There's a character in our campaign that needs to be drowned, and I want to dismiss the spell in the last possible round from too deep a position for them to be able to save themselves.
1. AFAIK there are no rules that allow you to willingly fail a saving throw, there are also spells such as Eject Soul that explicitly say you can choose the degree of success instead of rolling, this implies that by default this is not the case.
2. I'm not sure what you mean by extend but under General Rules -> Duplicate Effects it says:
When you’re affected by the same thing multiple times, only one instance applies, using the higher level of the effects, or the newer effect if the two are the same level. For example, if you were using mage armor and then cast it again, you’d still benefit from only one casting of that spell. Casting a spell again on the same target might get you a better duration or effect if it were cast at a higher level the second time, but otherwise doing so gives you no advantage.
If you would recast a spell the newer one would apply, which would reset the duration effectivelly.
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You can not willingly fail a save, and just because you are Controlling an enemy doesn't mean you roll their saves for them. All Controlled does is allow the controller to decide which actions the affected character uses. They still are rolling everything.
And yes, if you re-cast the spell targeting the same creature and they continue to crit-fail it would reset the duration to the new casting's duration.
This leaves me wondering: Would it be possible to 'drink your enemy to death' by continuously drinking alcohol and voluntarily failing 7 saves?
It says their initial save, so you can only force them to be slightly buzzed.
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I didn't realize possession had their own rules.
The rules say you use the target's Fort and Reflex saves, but keep your Will. This means if you possessed someone, and then were in the area of a Fireball, you would use the target's Reflex rather than your own, since your body is unconscious and likely elsewhere. If you got hit with a Confusion spell on the other hand, that uses your own will save since it would target YOUR mind, not the mind of the creature, since you are currently suppressing their mind.
However, if your victim were the target of another Possession spell that you are casting, you would not be trying to overtake your own mind, but rather continue overpowering the target's mind. This means the target makes a will save, the same way it did the first time.
You need to think of it like this:
You are a creature with a mind and body, your victim is a creature with a mind and body. You are your mind, and your body is the vehicle with witch you interact with the world.
When you possess the victim, your mind is occupying their body, your body is left behind, and their mind is suppressed. Anything targeting the body targets YOU, not the victim, since you just jumped to a new vehicle.
If you want to continue the possession, you need to continue to target the original victim's mind, meaning they get to use their own will save, and make their own rolls.
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Even if that were true (which it isn't), as soon as you become sickened you wouldn't be able to consume more alcohol. Even if you find a way to bypass that, you then have to deal with being unconscious for 8 hours before even having the chance to drink once more to get to Stage 7. It's mechanically impossible to die from alcohol poisoning in this game.
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The problem of failing saves comes up again and again - every other months at least.
The issue with 2e is not can you opt to fail - the question would be - can you opt to fail and avoid crit fail or if you opt to fail - what fail condition would apply.
Somewhere else I did the Maths for damage spells. It showed there are circumstances where failing is superior to rolling a dice as it avoids crit failure.
This makes voluntary fail messy in 2e and that is the main reason in my opinion why you don't find it allowed unless it is specifically mentioned in the spell description (yes - some do allow failure).
This makes voluntary fail messy in 2e and that is the main reason in my opinion why you don't find it allowed unless it is specifically mentioned in the spell description (yes - some do allow failure).
Ooh. Which ones?
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Even if that were true (which it isn't), as soon as you become sickened you wouldn't be able to consume more alcohol. Even if you find a way to bypass that, you then have to deal with being unconscious for 8 hours before even having the chance to drink once more to get to Stage 7. It's mechanically impossible to die from alcohol poisoning in this game.
Alcohol has an onset of 10 minutes so if drink 7 bottles and fail them all before the onset time is done you should be able to get past those stages.
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Outside of cases that specifically allow for voluntary failure, the best practice is probably to follow the precedent that the sidebar on the Gliminal creature entry set and allow you to voluntarily worsen your result by one step instead of allowing you to select a degree of failure.
Outside of cases that specifically allow for voluntary failure, the best practice is probably to follow the precedent that the sidebar on the Gliminal creature entry set and allow you to voluntarily worsen your result by one step instead of allowing you to select a degree of failure.
Ooh. Nice find! Thanks!
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In general, allowing characters to voluntarily decide to fail a save can cause problems. I wouldn't allow it as a general rule.
There are some circumstances where it makes sense and can be adjudicated to work. In addition to the spells or effects that explicitly list that you can voluntarily fail (meaning that the game dev already adjudicated that it should work in this case).
Things like putting yourself into an Aqueous Orb that you cast.
I wouldn't have possession qualify for an exception to having to roll the save.