OFF THE CHARTS spells

[Adamaro]

Can some of you please tell me which high level spells are really "off the chart"? I only know Locate city bomb. Are there any similar?

Edit: NOT looking for known, basic Core spells but spell shennannigans like LCB.

[Gavinfoxx]

Just open the player's handbook and start looking at spells of 6th level and higher. It's not like it's hard. Most of the best stuff is there. Gate, Polymorph. Just look for treantmonk's god guide...

[nyarlathotep]

Broken Period
Time stop
Shapechange
Gate
The entire Polymorph line
The entire Celerity line
Venomfire
Shivering Touch
Streamers

You should note something HALF of these are from core.

Also as an aside locate city isn't broken or OFF THE CHARTS. It merely has a poorly worded area of effect making it good for metamagic combinations.

[JaronK]

Don't forget Genesis, due to the Flowing Time issue. Animate Dread Warrior probably also should be on the list due to the sheer potential. And of course Planar Binding for the Efreeti wish looping and similar.

Also, there's one spell in SpC, Opulent Gaze IIRC, that permanently gives you a gaze attack with one casting due to very poor wording of the spell.

JaronK

[Zaq]

Also, there's one spell in SpC, Opulent Gaze IIRC, that permanently gives you a gaze attack with one casting due to very poor wording of the spell.

JaronK

Technically, Psionic Lion's Charge does something similar, no? (Tattoos of it are only what, 300ish GP? Get 'em while they're hot!) Yes, it's a power and not a spell, but . . .

[Amnestic]

Don't forget Genesis, due to the Flowing Time issue. Animate Dread Warrior probably also should be on the list due to the sheer potential. And of course Planar Binding for the Efreeti wish looping and similar.

Also, there's one spell in SpC, Opulent Gaze IIRC, that permanently gives you a gaze attack with one casting due to very poor wording of the spell.

JaronK

Opalescent Gaze. Just be sure to turn it off around cities. :smalltongue:

[OracleofWuffing]

Opalescent Gaze. Just be sure to turn it off around cities. :smalltongue:
I don't know, it'd be kind of nice having all the low-HD commoners drop all of their few worldly possessions and run away from me as I turn around the block to the magic mart. Nobody to bug me to fetch the chicken that escaped their coop, nobody to ask me to deliver some stupid medicine that will spoil in half an hour...

Now, mirrors, on the other hand, I could see turning it off for. :smalltongue:

[Gavinfoxx]

The problem with your Edit is that MOST of the most broken stuff in the game IS IN THE PHB. Really! You just have to open your eyes and look. The freaking Planar Binding line is in there...

[Adamaro]

@Gavinfoxx
I doubt that Planar binding, Opalescent Gaze and Animate Dread Warrior, for an example can compare to LCB. Yeah, sure there are broken spells in core, but the only thing I know so far, similar to this is chain-gating solars. That's what I was asking about.

[Gavinfoxx]

.... Just read this. The ENTIRE thread.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191109

Yes, Planar Binding is Really That Good. Especially with Simulacrum.

[nyarlathotep]

@Gavinfoxx
I doubt that Planar binding, Opalescent Gaze and Animate Dread Warrior, for an example can compare to LCB. Yeah, sure there are broken spells in core, but the only thing I know so far, similar to this is chain-gating solars. That's what I was asking about.

Locate City is only abusable due to poor wording and the damaging version can easily be argued to not work at all, so all you're left with is the energy drain version as actually working. Thus locate city creates a crap ton of wights very quickly. This has a massive effect on the world and is very powerful, but pales in comparison to time stop and shapechange. By comparison you could just shapechange into a spawn creating undead yourself and do the same thing, except that the undead would be under your control with shapechange.

In short almost nothing comes close to the broken that is in core so if you aren't impressed by the core broken spells there is nothing that will do.

[JaronK]

@Gavinfoxx
I doubt that Planar binding, Opalescent Gaze and Animate Dread Warrior, for an example can compare to LCB. Yeah, sure there are broken spells in core, but the only thing I know so far, similar to this is chain-gating solars. That's what I was asking about.

Actually, Planar Binding is FAR stronger than LCB. LCB just kills a lot of things with a single spell. Planar Binding gives infinite wishes. For any problem that can't be solved by killing stuff, Planar Binding wins. Plus, LCB kills friendlies in the area too... it won't help you clear out a dungeon for the local town, because it'll blow away the local town too. It's like a nuclear weapon... effective at what it does, but too wide spread to be of general use. Meanwhile, what problem can't be solved with endless wishes?

Likewise, Animate Dread Warrior gives you class abilities... all of them. Simply animate someone of that class and there you go, now you have someone who will loyally use those abilities for you forever. That's more likely to be useful than the LCB.

And the gaze? Again, any situation where it's not appropriate to kill everything within 200 miles will be better served with that gaze (though you might have to wear something that protects friendlies from your gaze when you're not fighting).

JaronK

[Slipperychicken]

(though you might have to wear something that protects friendlies from your gaze when you're not fighting).

JaronK


SRD, Gaze Attacks

Unless specified otherwise, a creature with a gaze attack can control its gaze attack and “turn it off ” when so desired.


characterminimum

[Crow]

For a pretty straightforward ruination that doesn't require interpritive wording, Control Weather (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/controlWeather.htm) will bring just about any kingdom to it's knees.

[Psyren]

Can some of you please tell me which high level spells are really "off the chart"? I only know Locate city bomb. Are there any similar?

Just FYI, Locate City is a 1st-level spell. It's metamagic abuse that puts it over the top.

[FMArthur]

I'm AFB right now; which spell was it that brings down a huge quantity of snow measure in feet? I think it was 1 foot per round for CL rounds or something, but I might be wrong.

[Douglas]

I'm AFB right now; which spell was it that brings down a huge quantity of snow measure in feet? I think it was 1 foot per round for CL rounds or something, but I might be wrong.
It's in Frostburn and it's named something like Blizzard, I think. And yeah, 2 inches of snow per second is pretty insane.

For probably the closest match to the Locate City Bomb as a simple unmodified spell rather than the abomination of weirdly combined metamagics that is the LCB, try Apocalypse From The Sky in the Book of Vile Darkness.

[Psyren]

I'm AFB right now; which spell was it that brings down a huge quantity of snow measure in feet? I think it was 1 foot per round for CL rounds or something, but I might be wrong.

Blizzard - 1 foot of snow falls per round, 5th-level Druid spell (in Winter domain too.)

From It's Cold Outside of course

[dextercorvia]

Don't forget Genesis, due to the Flowing Time issue. Animate Dread Warrior probably also should be on the list due to the sheer potential. And of course Planar Binding for the Efreeti wish looping and similar.

Also, there's one spell in SpC, Opulent Gaze IIRC, that permanently gives you a gaze attack with one casting due to very poor wording of the spell.

JaronK


Technically, Psionic Lion's Charge does something similar, no? (Tattoos of it are only what, 300ish GP? Get 'em while they're hot!) Yes, it's a power and not a spell, but . . .

You can add Stunning Breath (SpC; Sor/Wiz 5) to that list. It requires a breath weapon, but instantaneously changes the breath weapon, so that creatures who fail an additional fort save with the same DC as your BW are stunned for 1 round.

Dragonfire Adepts should invest in UMD, if for no other reason than to buy a scroll of this.

[Xtomjames]

I think again we're not being imaginative enough. Some of the lowest level spells are far more damaging. Create Water for example as an orison (meaning no limits in use) can be devastating. And since most DMs I know disallow or severely weaken the potency of the wish and miracle spells planar binding is iffy.

In fact at higher levels the lowest level spells tend to be the most devastating if used properly with metamagic feats.

Just use your imagination a bit more. Here's a great setup for a trap if you want one (just as an example) Magic Rope Trick + Acid orb or Acid splash+ suspendable rat trap.

Cast magic rope trick, climb up into the magic rope trick extra dimension hang a caged rat in the space and then cast acid orb or acid splash several times into the space while hanging out on the rope. The acid remains in the extra-dimensional plane and the the ED will remain open for 24 hours. Casting the spell several times fills the space with the acid and the rat keeps the space open to a large enough size. When the 24 hours is up someone gets splashed with a lot of acid. Create Water again works in the same sense. Doing it several times all over a town without them knowing it could be done to potentially flood an entire town.

[Flickerdart]

I think again we're not being imaginative enough. Some of the lowest level spells are far more damaging. Create Water for example as an orison (meaning no limits in use) can be devastating.
That is not true in 3.5.

[dextercorvia]

You can add Stunning Breath (SpC; Sor/Wiz 5) to that list. It requires a breath weapon, but instantaneously changes the breath weapon, so that creatures who fail an additional fort save with the same DC as your BW are stunned for 1 round.

Dragonfire Adepts should invest in UMD, if for no other reason than to buy a scroll of this.

I just double checked Draconomicon. They actually removed the line that placed the one time restriction on the stun, and increased it from 4th to 5th level when they ported it to the Spell Compendium.