Help! Has anyone seen this spell?

[Dark Kerman]

Hey, i'm trying to find a spell I keep hearing refered to for wizards and sorcerors, refered to as "Locate City" (with the word "nuke" swiftly behind it. :smalleek:) My curiousity makes me want to have a look at this, does anyone know where to find it? Or have I gotten the wrong end of the stick?

Thanks.

[Sir Homeslice]

It's in Races of Destiny.

[Dark Kerman]

Thank you kindly! :smallsmile:

[Greenish]

Note that the only thing Locate City does on it's own is to locate cities (and smaller settlements, I seem to recall).

[Luckmann]

Note that the only thing Locate City does on it's own is to locate cities (and smaller settlements, I seem to recall).

Then what's the full story? I saw it referenced in another thread too.

[Seerow]

Then what's the full story? I saw it referenced in another thread too.

1: Take Locate City, a spell with a range of ten miles per level
2: Apply Snowcasting (Frostburn) to it, making it a [Cold] spell
3: Apply Flash Frost (PHBII) to it, making it deal 2 cold damage to everything in the area
4:Apply Energy Substitution (CArc) to it, making it an electric spell
5: Apply Born of the Three Thunders to it, allowing a reflex save to avoid the damage and changing the damage type
6: Apply Explosive Spell to it, forcing a second Reflex save to avoid being blasted to the edge of the area and 1d6 per ten feet traveled

[Luckmann]

Oh. God.

words

[Seerow]

Oh. God.

words

What, it's only 528d6 per caster level. Nothing -that- special...

[The-Mage-King]

Toss Fell Drain on there. Only 528d6 per caster level, plus a negative level.

[AmberVael]

It's 5280d6, actually. You deal a d6 per 10ft, but it's 10 miles per caster level.

Not that it really matters beyond making it even more absurd in terms of overkill.

[SuperFerret]

Wow, that's a pretty obscene usage of the rules. I gather this was just a mental exercise and hasn't actually been used, right?

[Sir Homeslice]

Wow, that's a pretty obscene usage of the rules. I gather this was just a mental exercise and hasn't actually been used, right?

I was once in a campaign where The Locate City Nuke In A Scroll (it's a big scroll) was used as a plot device.

It's all fun and games until a PC uses it to threaten an extremely large city.

And then it's hilarious.

[Uncertainty]

If I remember correctly, there was some contention about certain parts of the original combo really working by RAW...

I think that Fell Drain does work, though, making Locate City a wonderful way to turn every level 1 commoner/artisan/warrior/aristrocrat/cat/etc. in a large city into a wight.

[SuperFerret]

I was once in a campaign where The Locate City Nuke In A Scroll (it's a big scroll) was used as a plot device.

It's all fun and games until a PC uses it to threaten an extremely large city.

And then it's hilarious.

Surprises me that the DM let it happen, but it's his/her/its game so who am I to say anything.

Locate City just seems like such a benign spell that applying all these additions to it seems illogical (regardless of RAW). Of course, then an enterprising PC (or NPC) could just research a spell with all that built in. That wouldn't be so bad in retrospect.

[NNescio]

If I remember correctly, there was some contention about certain parts of the original combo really working by RAW...

I think that Fell Drain does work, though, making Locate City a wonderful way to turn every level 1 commoner/artisan/warrior/aristrocrat/cat/etc. in a large city into a wight.

Well, the Locate City spell has a rather odd area, since it's a circle instead of a sphere, so Explosive spell would just... push its targets upwards above the ecliptic plane. It probably is intended to be spherical though, since it otherwise raises questions on how it's supposed to detect cities that are just a bit higher or lower than you are at. Then again, the Locate City nuke is definitely not its intended use.

Fell drain works perfectly fine though.

[SuperFerret]

Okay, so Locate City is in Races of Destiny. Where does Fell Drain come from?

[NNescio]

Okay, so Locate City is in Races of Destiny. Where does Fell Drain come from?

Libris Mortis, page 27.

[SuperFerret]

Libris Mortis, page 27.

I'll have to check that out. I'm not that keen on things like this, but I must admit the City of Wights thing just sounds so delicious that I must check it out.

[FMArthur]

If I remember correctly, it's the Energy Substitution part that makes it fall apart, because your effects that only work on cold magic stop working when you change the energy type. I believe Energy Admixture solves it.

[Cog]

There's a problem well before the Explosive/Fell Drain point. The Flash Frost feat requires that the spell affect an area, when everything previous in the recipe is merely a divination and so only directly affects the caster by giving them knowledge, and the feat deals extra damage, with no base damage to have extra on top of.

[Greenish]

Surprises me that the DM let it happen, but it's his/her/its game so who am I to say anything.Since it was a plot point, I should think the DM made it happen.


Locate City just seems like such a benign spell that applying all these additions to it seems illogical (regardless of RAW).It's not the first time enterprising wizards have found unexpected use for a spell. Helpful Hand finding invisible enemies, say.

It makes quite a bit of sense, too, that an university (or whatever the mage college is called) filled with hugely intelligent people would come up with interesting effects.

Still, yeah, it's not something you'd just try in a campaign without discussing with the DM.


Well, the Locate City spell has a rather odd area, since it's a circle instead of a sphere, so Explosive spell would just... push its targets upwards above the ecliptic plane. It probably is intended to be spherical though, since it otherwise raises questions on how it's supposed to detect cities that are just a bit higher or lower than you are at.Especially given that it says it can find even underground cities, as long as there's a path it can follow that lies within the range of the spell.

[FMArthur]

There's a problem well before the Explosive/Fell Drain point. The Flash Frost feat requires that the spell affect an area, when everything previous in the recipe is merely a divination and so only directly affects the caster by giving them knowledge, and the feat deals extra damage, with no base damage to have extra on top of.

So do abilities which provide immunity to divinations do... nothing, then?

[Cog]

To argue from analogy: vision is a passive ability, but you can still hide from vision. That you can hide from divinations needn't make them active abilities, either.

[ericgrau]

You could say that locate city only affects cities in which case it'd merely be a more tightly localized, druid friendly nuke.

[Luckmann]

[...]

It makes quite a bit of sense, too, that an university (or whatever the mage college is called) filled with hugely intelligent people would come up with interesting effects.

[...]I'm not sure I'd compare GitPF to a University of Mages.

Possibly a Sanatorium of Ferrets.

[Greenish]

You could say that locate city only affects cities in which case it'd merely be a more tightly localized, druid friendly nuke.Ashbound just got serious.


I'm not sure I'd compare GitPF to a University of Mages.

Possibly a Sanatorium of Ferrets.I was talking about in-game justifications. I'm not even sure the combo originated here.

[Luckmann]

I was talking about in-game justifications.I like my interpretation better. :smallbiggrin:

[Narren]

Where is Born of the Three Thunders located?

[Tvtyrant]

Where is Born of the Three Thunders located?

Complete Arcane.

[SuperFerret]

I'm not sure I'd compare GitPF to a University of Mages.

Possibly a Sanatorium of Ferrets.

Hey! I'm not insane. I don't even play Call of Cthulhu!

[Aquillion]

Note that (even if you assume it works as written) the Locate City Bomb has a lot of limitations that aren't obvious at first glance.

First, you have to fail two saves (both of them) in order to take the real damage. And it only has the save DC of a level 1 spell, so while it will murder a lot of commoners, it's not going to kill anyone at all tough, nor anyone immune to lightning or cold damage, nor anyone immune to stunning or being knocked prone. Even many commoners are likely to make their saves.

Second, damage taken depends on the distance traveled. Only those at the exact middle will take the full damage.

Third, it only affects living creatures (objects and inanimate plants can't be stunned and therefore won't trigger the all-important second save.) It does no damage to the landscape at all -- it's a neutron bomb, essentially.

[FMArthur]

Even with those considerations it's a catastrophe of unmatched magnitude outside of epic spellcasting and fiat plot events.