Ethereal Spellcasting: Can You Do It?

[Sikening]

My friend and I were talking today about being ethereal, and casting spells while ethereal. We know of a feat, Transdimensional Spell, that allows things on the material plane to affect other planes, but it seems like it's a one-way street. So we're looking, and I thought I'd ask you guys, for any ways that beings on the ethereal plane can cast spells to affect objects/people on the Material plane.

[Malachei]

IMO, there's nothing. Transdimensional Spell has been discussed and found to be material --> coexistent planes, but not vice versa.

[Flickerdart]

It looks like the Etheralness condition has been written precisely to disallow this exact thing. The exceptions are all given to Material creatures affecting Ethereal ones, and I think it was a conscious design choice that they stuck to. An invisible, insubstantial something shooting spells at you from nowhere is a headache and a half to fight.

[Jack_Simth]

My friend and I were talking today about being ethereal, and casting spells while ethereal. We know of a feat, Transdimensional Spell, that allows things on the material plane to affect other planes, but it seems like it's a one-way street. So we're looking, and I thought I'd ask you guys, for any ways that beings on the ethereal plane can cast spells to affect objects/people on the Material plane.
Well, Make Manifest (and by extension, the Make Manifest, Mass, which inherits from Make Manifest - both Spell Compendium page 137) just requires that the target be on a "coexistant plane", and includes the example "the make manifest spell allows you to cause a target on the Ethereal Plane to appear on the Material Plane, and vice versa."

Of course, all the spell does is pull a subject (or everyone in an area for the Mass version) to your plane.

Wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wish.htm) has, on the safe list, "Transport travelers. A wish can lift one creature per caster level from anywhere on any plane and place those creatures anywhere else on any plane regardless of local conditions. An unwilling target gets a Will save to negate the effect, and spell resistance (if any) applies." - so you can, while standing on the Ethereal Plane, use a Wish to move someone from the Material Plane to somewhere less hospitable.

Gate (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/gate.htm) includes the phrase "anyone or anything that moves through is shunted instantly to the other side" - so potentially if you add, say, Sonorous Hum (Spell Compendium) to get rid of the Concentration clause, you could potentially treat a spell you cast as a "thing" and zap someone by opening a Gate and casting at the person through the Gate.

The Ninja (in Complete Adventurer), gets Ghost Strike at level 8, which could theoretically be used to deliver a touch spell to a foe on the material plane from the Ethereal.

[Darrin]

Hmm. Maybe take the Ethereal Reaver from Complete Psionic and make it a spell-storing weapon?

[limejuicepowder]

Can ghosts cast spells? They would have to find some way around components (not hard), but what's blocking them after that?

[W3bDragon]

Not exactly ethereal casting, but...

You could use Improved Blink to spend most of your time in the ethereal plane and, by quickening your spells, you can still cast. Swift action cast, standard action ready to blink away from anything, rinse, repeat. So when it matters, you're ethereal. When you need to cast, you're material.

As for actually casting to affect stuff in the material plane, the closest I can find is ghosts that can become manifest as incorporeal creatures on the material plane while still on the ethereal. However, incorporeal creatures are much more vulnerable than ethereal ones, so that might not be too wise.

[Psyren]

Can ghosts cast spells? They would have to find some way around components (not hard), but what's blocking them after that?

The Ghost entry (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ghost.htm) answers your question itself:

"When a spellcasting ghost is not manifested and is on the Ethereal Plane, its spells cannot affect targets on the Material Plane, but they work normally against ethereal targets. When a spellcasting ghost manifests, its spells continue to affect ethereal targets and can affect targets on the Material Plane normally unless the spells rely on touch. A manifested ghost’s touch spells don’t work on nonethereal targets. "

So it has to manifest first to be able to affect anything on the material with its spells, and it cannot use touch spells on material targets no matter what.

[Malachei]

Not exactly ethereal casting, but...

You could use Improved Blink to spend most of your time in the ethereal plane and, by quickening your spells, you can still cast. Swift action cast, standard action ready to blink away from anything, rinse, repeat. So when it matters, you're ethereal. When you need to cast, you're material.


This in combination with Arcane Spellsurge can be good fun.

[Sikening]

Thanks for the tips, guys.

[Malachei]

You're welcome.


However, incorporeal creatures are much more vulnerable than ethereal ones

Yes, but at least the incorporeal creatures can fight back. If you're on the ethereal and somebody force-bombs you, all you can do is to shift to the prime or run away.

[Claudius Maximus]

Nilshai from Unapproachable East can do something close to this, by shifting to the material as a free action, casting, and shifting back as a move action. Shapeshift into one and you get that ability. Too bad you wouldn't get their extra actions though.

[Malachei]

Phase Spiders can do this, too :smallbiggrin:

[hushblade]

The real answer is, It can if you want it to and the DM is okay with it.

[Aharon]

There's also an item in the MIC. It's a relic, I believe of Nerull.

*Checking*

Yep, Tabard of the disembodied, works for 10 rounds per day and you need to either be a cleric and sacrifice spell slots, or have the true believer feat.