Is there a use for the Compelling Rant spell?

[the David]

And if so, what is it?

Compelling Rant

[Matthew Morris]

the David wrote:

And if so, what is it?

Compelling Rant

Bad guy setting up a mob? Dirty way to break up a bad guy's mob? with the target being so poorly defined (Target any number of creatures) the caster can create an instant riot to anyone who can hear him to the spell's range. Like at a coronation...

[the David]

Oh right, I see it now. This is a GM only spell that only works for the GM. How clever.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Use it against an opposing army to soften them up and make it difficult for the leaders of the army to control their troops. Any member of the army within range takes 1d6 WIS damage. That means that all will saves, and wisdom-based checks are probably going to take a -1 or higher penalty. The targets also view you with a friendly attitude. This usually means they are not willing to oppose you. You don’t get a save unless you have 5 or more HD so chances are it will affect almost the entire army. The leader of the army will probably get a save and maybe a few others, but the bulk get no save. Even if they make the save, they take a -4 penalty on diplomacy or intimidate to order their troops around. If the leader tries to order his troops to act against you, their attitude shifts to one step worse. If the leader fails, his diplomacy or intimidate check (with the -4 penalty) it drops two levels. On a failed diplomacy roll the troops will have at most an indifferent attitude to their commander and may even be unfriendly.

The spell can also be used in non-military circumstances. Anytime you have a large number of people gathered for a specific reason it can be used to wreak havoc on them. For example, if a group is trying to decide what to do it can be used to make them do things that they might not normally do.

Not all spells are designed to be used in a dungeon.

[Pizza Lord]

Wow, what an atrocious spell. No target limit, a range of hundreds of feet. No [language] descriptor or indication that you even need to be speaking a language they understand or any language at all? No save for a majority of creatures in a crowd or group unless they're 5HD or more and can do up to 6 ability damage (which could take up to 6 days to heal naturally)?!

Obviously you need line of effect, but it doesn't mention being seen or heard or anything. It would require individual GM interpretation of what an 'audience' means. Similar to a bard's audience, but even a bardic performance typically has a stated range.

[Claxon]

Yeah, I definitely see PCs using this more to disrupt things NPCs might be doing, as the PCs (or at least my group's) rarely have large crowds of people they're working with. They're usually the little guy working against the big guy. Show up at the evil king's banquet and turn the people against him.

[Mightypion]

One of my characters is plotting to use it

wotr:

My character plots to spread the conspiracy theory that Baphomet was actually killed by Asmodeus, the entity pretening to be Baphomet is a transmogrified brain addled pit fiend, and that the Ivory Labyrinth is an infernal Meganuke rigged to blow up the Abyss should Baphomet ever ascend.
He plans to do so on whatever the Times Square equivalent of Alyushinyrra is.

[the David]

Pizza Lord wrote:

No save for a majority of creatures in a crowd or group unless they're 5HD or more and can do up to 6 ability damage (which could take up to 6 days to heal naturally)?!

That might be debatable. According to the spell:

"Each intelligent creature in the spell's area takes 1d6 points of Wisdom damage as their perceptions of reality realign with yours for the spell's duration."

Depending on how you interpret this, the targets could only suffer the wisdom damage for as long as the spell continues, or it could indeed last up to 6 days.

Your point about the range is not entirely wrong, I guess. It's... it's medium. Yeah, I know that's bad. It's also not really how spells are normally written. Normally, that would be an x radius sphere or something. Now it's everyone within at least 190 ft. of the caster. I'm just going to acknowledge that this spell is extremely badly written, needs the language decriptor and leave it at that.

[VoodistMonk]

Could temporarily sway public opinion in your favor before a court hearing or vote of some sort. You could become mayor of a town with one casting of the spell, and by the time it wore off, people wouldn't even know why their mayor just changed. Start a cult or a religion. Mess with the entire market just for $#!+$ and giggles. Cause an epic distraction. Lead a bunch of peasants out into the wilderness and leave them there or eat them or whatever. Abduct an orphanage of 9 year olds and pit them against hungry house cats, the survivors are pitted against each other, and the survivors of that are trained as assassins... Achaekek's Cat Children...

[Mysterious Stranger]

Ability Damage is a specific game term and normally heals at a rate of 1 per day. The long term care option of the skill heal can double this amount. If it only lasted as long as the spell it would say something like the target takes a 1d6 penalty to WIS. By using the term ability damage means it last until it is healed or cured with magic.

The other effects of the spell like the shift of attitude and penalties to diplomacy and intimidate what is limited to the duration of the spell.

The spell may be poorly written, and the designer of the spell may have intended the WIS damage to only last as long as the spell continues, but the way it is worded means that by RAW it last for the normal duration of ability damage. The GM is of course free to alter that, but at that point it is a house rule.