PDA

View Full Version : Fun things to put in spell-storing arrows



Heliomance
2009-03-23, 07:40 AM
Note: I'm not sure how spell-storing works by RAW. For the purposes of this discussion, assume that it is permissible to create arrows which will discharge a spell on a successful touch attack, and that in some cases this may remove a save from the spell.

In one of the campaigns I'm in, we've had great fun with arrows imbued with Dimension Door. Shoot at an enemy, and the instantly teleport to right beside the archer. You then have the party beatstick 10 feet away and delaying until the opponent pops in, at which point they charge, or perhaps standing right next to you ready to full attack. Alternatively, get some sort of flight, fly up, shoot the enemy, and watch them plummet to their doom. Great for separating enemies and beginning fights on your own terms.

Greengiant
2009-03-23, 09:36 AM
Have some type of healing and slowing effect on the same arrow, it's what I did in ESIV Oblivion. People get REALLY slow, and don't take any damage! Hilarious.

Farlion
2009-03-23, 09:46 AM
Touch of Idiocy

Touch of Fatigue

All inflict spells

and my favourite: Bladebarrier (just shoot at the guy in the middle and laugh when everyone is torn do shreads!)

Cheers,
Farlion

Xenogears
2009-03-23, 10:14 AM
Try Create Water and you can pretend your playing Thief. Darkness or Entangle would be fun. How about for sheer insanity try to do something like Stonewall.

theMycon
2009-03-23, 10:38 AM
D20SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#spellStoring) has Spell-storing listed as "melee weapons which hit and do damage, casting time 1 standard action, level 3 or below." This is why it's only a +1 bonus. If you have someone with high speed & spring attack, and another person as the spellcaster, though, it's still useful as "ersatz arcane reach."



This brings up four good questions about non-core spellstoring:

Is there a way to get spell-storing on a ranged weapon?
Is there a way to get spells above level 3 stored?
Is there a way to get touch attacks to work (other than "shoot the ground, area affect")?
Is there a way to have spells with a casting time >1 standard action?

olelia
2009-03-23, 10:57 AM
Luckily the orginal poster set up a baseline rule system of assuming spells work on a touch attack with a ranged weapon regardless of how RAW works.

theMycon
2009-03-23, 11:50 AM
Luckily no-one could acknowledge that and still be curious how to make these things work, RAW. :smalltongue:

Triaxx
2009-03-23, 12:49 PM
Glitterdust is fun, especially with creatures that have just broken out of invisibility for an attack.

Web can be fun especially if you hit the center of a group in the right place.

Fireball is certainly enjoyable. So is Slow, especially against undead. Fog Cloud can be good.

Eventually I ended up adding an Improved Spell Storing and Greater Spell storing abilities so that we could fire up to level 7 effects. A melee character doesn't feel so bad when he can stop and start shooting feeblemind arrows at opposing casters.

ShadowFighter15
2009-03-23, 05:25 PM
Fireball is certainly enjoyable.

Wouldn't that turn the bow into a rocket launcher?

Plane Shift would be interesting. Particularly cruel if you set it up to send them to the Plane of Fire and the target happens to be pyrophobic. :smallamused:

Fizban
2009-03-23, 11:21 PM
If your DM won't let you use spell storing on your arrows, just take Smiting Spell from the PHBII to get the same effect on the spell itself. The thing about smiting spell/multiple stored arrows is that you get a spell effect as an attack action. So if you have 2 attacks, you get two spells. Standard combos include handing a few scorching ray arrows to the designated archer and telling him to not miss: while he's "casting" 2 or 3 scorching rays in one round and burning something to a crisp, you're spending your own action casting something else.

Alteran
2009-03-23, 11:27 PM
How about a prismatic wall? Or imprisonment, sunburst, dominate person...the list goes on. Just think of fun spells, they're usually more fun if you "cast" them through an arrow. :smalltongue:

Wyvern_55
2009-03-23, 11:54 PM
I have always been a fan of some sort of healing spell

Meet the crossbow of cure serious wounds.

(Word of warning, the damage would be applied BEFORE the healing, I found that out the hard way) though it IS quite good against undead.

Talic
2009-03-24, 12:43 AM
Note: I'm not sure how spell-storing works by RAW. For the purposes of this discussion, assume that it is permissible to create arrows which will discharge a spell on a successful touch attack, and that in some cases this may remove a save from the spell.
Begin with false assumption, check. (how spell-storing works is that the weapon generates an effect after it hits. Arrows are destroyed when they hit. Thus, the arrow would be destroyed prior to the effect activating, rendering it unable to generate an effect.)


In one of the campaigns I'm in, we've had great fun with arrows imbued with Dimension Door. Shoot at an enemy, and the instantly teleport to right beside the archer. You then have the party beatstick 10 feet away and delaying until the opponent pops in, at which point they charge, or perhaps standing right next to you ready to full attack. Alternatively, get some sort of flight, fly up, shoot the enemy, and watch them plummet to their doom. Great for separating enemies and beginning fights on your own terms.
Were this the case, I'd assume any "No save" spell would be nice. Enervation, for example.

More situational would be spells such as "Heal" (allied target with enough HP to take a hit, but injured).

"Protection from X" would be a GREAT way to stop people who were charmed/dominated/etc. to fight the party.

"Banish" could have its uses.

"Anti Magic Field"... Obviously. Uses for this one are almost limitless (flying wizard being my favorite imagined scenario)

"Mind Fog"... For making that foe a bit more likely to love your party enchanter.

TheOOB
2009-03-24, 01:29 AM
Empowered Maximized Scorching Ray. Still only a 2nd level spell. 108 damage is pretty good.

A cure serious wounds(empowered and maximized to taste) is also good to give your fighter some emergency healing.

Perhaps my favorite, however, is Silence. When the rogue sneaks up and backstabs someone, not only does it prevent any sounds of conflict from getting out, but it also hampers most spellcasters, while letting your own casters cast spells at a distance. Our old group used to cast this spell on an arrow and shot it at enemy mages.

But Not Tonight
2009-03-24, 04:53 AM
Perhaps my favorite, however, is Silence. When the rogue sneaks up and backstabs someone, not only does it prevent any sounds of conflict from getting out, but it also hampers most spellcasters, while letting your own casters cast spells at a distance. Our old group used to cast this spell on an arrow and shot it at enemy mages.
This.
Hazzah for Metal gear Solid teaching me how to get through a dungeon!
Also good, if your DM allows it is Sleep.
A silenced, sleep arrow is wonderful. Anyone who doesn't sleep can't yell out for help and can be taken in melee.

Sucks when BBs learn about this trick and set up ropes for their minions to pull on as soon as they are silenced. Bells go off letting the base know where the invasion is.
This is especially bad if the whole party is in melee within the AoE and can't hear the bells...

Talic
2009-03-24, 05:16 AM
Stinking cloud - Hit em so hard they poo themselves.

Reduce Person - Fun for the party grappler

Levitation - Don't go anywhere.

Dominate Person - Take it and like it.

Bestow Curse - Try to slip an ad hoc past a DM (such as "cannot charge"). Failing that, chance to stand still and take more hits is nice.

Graymayre
2009-03-24, 05:38 AM
Create Water: When the arrow head buries under their skin all of the water comes out!

Heliomance
2009-03-24, 05:56 AM
Begin with false assumption, check.


It's not a false assumption if the DM lets it work. Ours does.

Jack_Simth
2009-03-24, 06:58 AM
If your DM won't let you use spell storing on your arrows, just take Smiting Spell from the PHBII to get the same effect on the spell itself. The thing about smiting spell/multiple stored arrows is that you get a spell effect as an attack action. So if you have 2 attacks, you get two spells. Standard combos include handing a few scorching ray arrows to the designated archer and telling him to not miss: while he's "casting" 2 or 3 scorching rays in one round and burning something to a crisp, you're spending your own action casting something else.And that's why it's overpowered to permit it - the same reason that poisons need to have low save DC's.

If you've got the Fighter spitting out three Save or Lose spells at range per round, your opponents are generally going to lose (until they start with the same tactic).

It's not quite so bad when it's a property of the bow - that limits you to one spell per combat without a recharge - but snagging ten or twenty Save or Lose effectss off of the party Wizard and spamming three+ every round of battle? That's quite unbalanced.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2009-03-24, 07:56 AM
And that's why it's overpowered to permit it - the same reason that poisons need to have low save DC's.

If you've got the Fighter spitting out three Save or Lose spells at range per round, your opponents are generally going to lose (until they start with the same tactic).

It's not quite so bad when it's a property of the bow - that limits you to one spell per combat without a recharge - but snagging ten or twenty Save or Lose effectss off of the party Wizard and spamming three+ every round of battle? That's quite unbalanced.

So an equipment-based character is spending 166 gold per shot to hit his opponents with 3rd level and lower spells every round. How is that different from a spellcaster throwing around Split Ray of Dizziness and Split Ray of Light, or a (Rod of) Chained Finger of Death or Destruction, or Quickened versions of the same low-level spells that are stored in those arrows?

If you stick to the limitations explicitly detailed in the Spell Storing property, you're left with a very narrow list of eligible spells in the first place, very few of which are capable of removing an opponent from the fight outright. As the characters increase in level and gain additional attacks/round, opponents' save bonuses will be increasing while those same 3rd level and lower spells will have the same DCs. Those low level save-or-lose effects will eventually become less optimal compared to storing a spell like (Maximized) Sound Lance.

Keep in mind, only spells with a Target entry are eligible to be placed in a Spell Storing weapon, so no Rays or area effects. When you consider what tricks spellcasters are capable of and compare it to what nonspellcasting classes will gain from Spell Storing Arrows, it only helps those underdog classes catch up a bit, rather than making them overpowered.

Talic
2009-03-24, 08:46 AM
Keep in mind, only spells with a Target entry are eligible to be placed in a Spell Storing weapon, so no Rays or area effects. When you consider what tricks spellcasters are capable of and compare it to what nonspellcasting classes will gain from Spell Storing Arrows, it only helps those underdog classes use all of the party mage's spell slots each day, rather than making them overpowered.

Edited for correctness.