Alias
2011-12-23, 12:19 AM
Fair warning, this is long... Also keep in mind it was written about 10 years ago.
Spellcasting
In this section we’ll review the rules surrounding the casting of spells and introduce some new wrinkles and clarifications. New terms are given in bold the first time they occur.
The increased number of counterspells in this book along with the increased number of triggered effects also makes a revision and exploration of the spell initiative rules necessary.
A counterspell is either the mode of a spell that counters itself (see counterspells, below) or a spell that counters another spell as part of its effect.
A triggered effect is any effect of any spell that occurs in reaction to an outside event. For instance, the alarm of the alarm spell is a triggered event that occurs in reaction to an intruder entering the area of effect.
A mode is a variation of a spell that is accessible from one given preparation.
Stages of Spellcasting
Every spell goes through the following stages regardless of caster.
Choose the spell: First you choose the spell itself. At the time you choose the spell you must be able to pay all costs (XP, Material, etc.) associated with it and perform all actions (verbal, somatic, etc.) it requires. If you choose a spell you can’t cast nothing happens, though you can certainly bluff the casting of a spell.
Choose the mode: A spell with multiple versions available in one preparation is said to have multiple modes. At the time you choose the mode you also select the targets and any other factor of the spell that is variant. The mode and all targets must be legal for you to choose (you can’t target things you can’t see, and certain casters can’t use certain modes of spells).
Begin the spell: Now the spell begins. At this stage spells and characters can use ready actions set to trigger upon the casting of a spell. A trigger is the condition(s) under which a character can take a readied action or a spell with a trigger will act
Concentration: If circumstances require it, you make a concentration check.
Resolve the spell when its turn comes up (see below). All die rolls for the spell are cast, including the spell resistance rolls and saving throws of the targets. At this point the spell is successfully cast. All costs are assessed against you and certain spells that trigger when a spell is successfully cast go off.
Sequences
When only one caster is casting things are simple. The player’s turn arrives, they choose the spell, begin it and resolve it. However, ready actions, immediate actions and triggered spells complicate things.
If anyone chooses to use a ready action in response to step 3 of spellcasting a sequence is created: A sequence is a series of actions that occur on the same initiative and all of them follow these rules:
Sequence actions are resolved in the reverse order that they are declared in. Example: Teresa, Timmon and a hobgoblin are in combat. Timmon is guarding Teresa and has readied an action to attack anyone who attacks her. The hobgoblin has readied an action to attack any spellcaster. Teresa’s initiative comes up, and she casts magic missile at the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin takes its ready action and begins its attack on Teresa. Timmon takes his ready action to attack the hobgoblin. Now the actions are resolved: Timmon attacks and kills the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin, now dead, can’t act. Teresa loses her spell not because she was hurt but because the target is dead (she can’t change targets after the sequence has been set).
Spellcasters in a sequence can’t change their minds about targets as a result of other events in the sequence nor can they choose to abandon the spell. Example: Teresa casts fireball to hit some goblins surrounding Devon. She isn’t worried about hitting Devon because he has protection from elements (fire) in place. However, as she casts her spell an enemy caster uses sleight of mind to change her fireball into a cold spell. She can’t abandon her spell, and Devon is badly hurt.
If two characters try to react to the same trigger, the one with the lowest rolled initiative declares his action first. Example: Timmon and Teresa both have readied actions set to when some enemy begins a spell. Teresa has the better initiative, so she can decide what to do based on what Timmon does. She can’t wait to see the outcome of his action. Since she knows the enemy is casting a fireball at them she decides to counterspell. Her counterspell goes off before his attack, since the last declared action goes first.
Effect spreads (such as silence) and area emanations (such as cloudkill) can’t act while a sequence is being resolved and they can’t change their center points either – they must wait for the end of sequence to do so. Example: Teresa, Devon and a kobold sorcerer are in combat. The kobold begins a fireball, and both Teresa and Devon use a readied action set for when someone casts a spell. Teresa uses deflection, but fails her caster level check against the kobold. Devon casts silence on the kobold, but since that spell creates an emanation it waits until the sequence is over to act. The kobold gets off his fireball, hurting both our heroes. Now the silence takes hold, which means the creep won’t hit them again.
Once the last action of the sequence is declared, no more characters can perform ready actions until all the actions in the sequence are resolved. Spells however can continue to trigger as their conditions are met, and they are resolved as they trigger during the sequence. Example: Dranock has a contingency set to teleport him home if he goes to less than 20 hit points. He begins a chain lightning spell and Trishdare uses a ready action to hit him with a fireball. Teresa uses her ready action to cast deflection on his spell, changing the chain lightning target to Dranock himself. Teresa, who declared last, goes first, casting deflection. This triggers a lightning rift Dranock had put in place earlier. The spell lets Teresa deal 5d6 damage to Dranock. That is resolved, and Trishdare goes with his fireball. The Lightning Rift triggers again and Trishdare has it deal 3d6 damage to Dranock. Dranock at this point feels that casting lightning rift before the battle was a poor idea. Although he’s managed to make all his saves and concentration checks he’s down to 19 hit points. His contingency now triggers, teleporting him miles away. When he gets there he completes his deflected chain lightning, which roasts him quite succinctly.
Triggers
All readied actions and many spells have triggers. Since multiple spells can trigger on the same event there are rules to deal with what occurs when this happens. The event a spell creates when it triggers is called a triggered event.
Spells go last after any creatures or characters in the sequence (They have an effective rolled initiative of 0) unless it was an event in the sequence that triggered them, in which case they activate immediately.
When multiple spells trigger: If two or more different spells trigger against the same event, the higher level one goes first. If the spells are the same level, the spell with the highest caster level goes first. If there is still a tie, check to see which caster has the highest casting ability score. If there is still a tie, flip a coin.
When multiple instances of the same spell would trigger on the same event only the strongest spell triggers. This is critical to remember otherwise you could do obscene amounts of damage using multiple instances of spells like aether flash. The strongest spell is the one with the highest caster level, and if this is a tie use the casting ability modifier for all casters as a comparison, and if this still is a tie flip a coin.
Spells can trigger multiple times before discharging, even if they only actually discharge once. For instance, hesitation says, “Whenever the first spell or spell-like ability is being cast in the area of effect, counter it.” So if one character casts a spell, hesitation triggers, then if someone else casts counterspell targeting that spell hesitation triggers again, then someone aware of the hesitation casts stifle against hesitation which causes it to trigger again. Now that everyone has declared their intentions the action can be resolved. Hesitation counters stifle and discharges. Next the counterspell is cast and eliminates the first spell that began all of this business.
All spells that can trigger against an event are given the triggered descriptor.
Counterspells
Counterspells are the primary source of sequences. They are discussed in the Player’s Handbook, but the following facts about them need to be made clear:
Counterspell is a mode of all spells. All spells can be used to counter themselves. Some spells can counter a wide variety of spells based on circumstances, but these dedicated counterspells aren’t the same thing as the counterspell mode of a spell. They can have material components and other costs for example.
The counterspell mode of a spell has neither material component nor XP requirement.
A countered spell doesn’t consume material components or XP but the preparation of it or spell slot given to it is lost.
Spell slots paid as an extra cost to cast a spell are lost if it is countered (see Spell slots as costs below).
The counterspell mode of a spell has a duration of instantaneous and a casting time of one ready action.
Counterspells have no saving throw or spell resistance – the target is a spell.
For more information on counterspells, see their entry in the Player’s Handbook.
Modes
Spells can have multiple modes, but all the modes of a spell are available from one given preparation. Modes are chosen at the time the spell is cast. Note the following: Not all modes of a spell are available to all casters. Check the spell description.
Special Spell Effects
The spells in this book have additional special effects beyond the list given in the Player’s Handbook.
Spell Slot Costs
Some spells say that you must expend a spell slot or a preparation as an additional cost to cast them. These spells are balanced by this requirement – the higher the power level of the slot the more powerful the spell is (usually). There’s a big difference between casting twincast on magic missile and casting it on a meteor swarm.
The preparation contained in the slot (if any) is usually irrelevant, but if it is relevant the word “preparation” will be used instead of “slot.” Note that bards and sorcerers, who don’t prepare spells, can’t use the spells requiring specific preparations to be sacrificed.
Some spells require you to choose and expend a spell slot of equal or higher level than a target spell. You must succeed at a spellcraft check to learn the level of the spell. If you fail, you can guess, but if you guess low the spell will be wasted with no effect.
Unlike other costs, spell slots are lost if the spell is countered or interrupted somehow.
Loss of Life:
This is hit point damage that cannot be cured by magic or prevented by magic. Some spells inflict loss of life and some incur it as a cost.
Loss of life is difficult to prevent. If you are paying it as a cost it can’t be prevented by any means without countering the spell. Damage prevention doesn’t stop loss of life, nor does damage reduction. Only effects that block or mitigate level loss will affect loss of life. Loss of life counts as a negative energy attack, so death ward and similar spells stop it cold. Creatures immune to death attacks are likewise immune to loss of life effects, but they can’t cast spells requiring loss of life payments.
A loss of life effect that kills someone slays them as surely as a death spell – meaning that they can’t be raised by raise dead.
Loss of life is a form of vitality loss that is recovered very slowly. Each day after suffering a loss of life the creature regains 1 hit point only.
Loss of Spells
Some spells rip spells (or spell potential) away. Spell slots or preparations lost to an enemy caster’s spell are gone as if cast. The next time you can prepare spells the slots (and the spell) will be restored unless otherwise noted by the spell. If a spell specifies that it causes the loss of spell preparations then it will not affect bards or sorcerers – they don’t normally prepare spells.
Since many of these spells cause a random spell to be lost, get in the habit of preparing a method of determining a random slot from your character before play to keep things moving smoothly. The best method is to use index cards with one spell written on each one. You then shuffle the cards and pull one at random from the stack to determine the lost spell.
Damage Prevention
Though not a new concept, damage prevention has special effects on certain spells in this book that wait to trigger when damage is dealt, or when damage would be dealt. There is a key difference.
Consider a spell that triggers whenever a creature receives 5 points of fire damage. If the spell uses the phrase “is dealt” then wait until the damage is actually subtracted from the character’s hit point total. Prevention stops the trigger, so if the character has evasion and rolls a successful reflex save or a protection from elements spell set to ward fire absorbs the damage, then it wasn’t actually dealt since the character’s hit point total hasn’t changed.
However, if the spell says “would be dealt” then it triggers. Consider a spell that says, “The next time any fire damage would be dealt to the target creature from a single source, prevent that damage.” If such a ward was in place then it will go off and prevent the damage before protection from elements can absorb it.
Speaking of damage absorption, what about it? When a spell absorbs damage it is preventing it. If damage prevention is blocked somehow then the spell won’t function. The two terms are used somewhat interchangeably depending on which is easier to read. In the end, just remember that the only time you’ve dealt damage to something is when its hit point total has been reduced.
Positive and Negative Energy Levels
Certain spells (such as enervation, energy drain or Matacha’s Edict) assign positive or negative energy levels to creatures. Negative energy levels are discussed in the DMG in the glossary under the heading “energy drain and negative levels”
Applied to undead creatures, a positive energy level has much the same effect as a negative energy level. If a living creature receives a positive energy level then the following effects occur:
+1 bonus to skill checks and ability checks
+1 bonus to all attack rolls and saving throws
+5 temporary hit points
+1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, increase it by one for each positive energy).
Keep in mind that spells that typically bestow positive energy levels only affect undead and spells (or abilities) that bestow negative energy levels only affect the living. When the reverse is true bonuses are received. A living creature can only benefit from 1 positive level at a time and an undead creature can only benefit from 1 negative level at a time.
When Spells “Can’t be Cast:”
Some spells simply state that other spells can’t be cast. When an opponent attempts to cast such a spell anyway, there is no effect from the attempt. Spell slots and XP costs aren’t consumed, and material components are usually unharmed, though the manner of some castings will cause them to be destroyed anyway (i.e. the grasshopper leg of the jump spell is swallowed by the caster). The attempt to cast does take a standard action and still provokes attacks of opportunities.
Spell Descriptions
Note all the following changes and new entries you will see in the spell descriptions given in the next chapter.
Level
This book adds an entry for the base level of a spell in parenthesis before the level for any class is given. The base level of a spell is the lowest level the spell can be normally received by any class. With the spells in the Player’s Handbook look for the lowest level given among the cleric, druid, sorcerer and wizard classes to find the base level. If none of these four can cast the spell use the lowest level given from those that remain. Base level is primarily a means to aid the DM in developing new spell lists, however a few spells want to know the base level of a spell rather than its actual casting level.
Components
In addition to affecting when you can cast a spell, the verbal and somatic components affect how easily you can conceal your spell casting and how it looks to others. New components also appear in this book.
Verbal (V): Spells with a verbal component have a base listen DC of 0 minus their level. However, spells of the illusion or enchantment schools have a DC half that other spells while evocations or conjurations have DC’s twice that of the base. Higher-level spells amplify the caster’s voice, and high level spells echo off nearby walls and are nearly impossible to conceal. Think of the scene where Gandalf raises his voice to Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for an example of this effect. The silent spell feat won’t snuff the noise the spell itself makes.
Somatic (S): Spells with a somatic component have a base spot DC of 0 minus their level. However, spells of the illusion or enchantment schools have a DC half that other spells while evocations or conjurations have DC’s twice that of the base. The higher the spell’s level the more exaggerated and fast the caster’s gestures become. Higher level spells also cause nearby lights to dim, arcs of electricity to appear, wind to kick up and so on. The still spell removes the caster’s need to make exacting motions, but the feat doesn’t affect the visual signatures the spell may produce.
Material (M) and Focus (F): These are physical props your character must possess in order to cast the spell. Material components are consumed by the act of casting, while foci survive to be used repeatedly. A spell with a tiny material component or focus grants observers a +2 circumstance bonus on their spot check to notice your casting. This bonus increases by +2 with each increase in the size of the component. The feats eschew materials and improved eschew materials let you dodge material component and focus requirements, depending on costs. You may choose to use exceptional material components with any spell (even those that don’t normally call for material components). As a general rule these exceptional material components append metamagic feats to the spell. Finding out exactly what the component is will require research and it will vary depending on both the spell and the metamagic feat you wish to apply.
Divine (D): You must channel positive or negative energy as part of the casting of this spell. This will expend one of your turn undead or rebuke undead attempts for the day.
Song (Sg): You must use your bardic music as part of the casting of this spell. This will expend one or more of your bardic music uses for the day. All spells with the song component will also carry a verbal (V) component and have the [sonic] descriptor.
Casting Time
This book introduces the following casting times to the list you’ll see in the Player’s Handbook.
Charging: You can choose the amount of time to spend on the spell. The more time you spend, the more powerful the end result. You have to spend at least 1 round on a charging spell. On each subsequent round you may release the spell or charge it another round. As a rule, charge spells are great for ambushes but weak elsewhere because of the danger of continuous casting.
Immediate Action: An immediate spell can be cast at any time as a swift action even when it isn’t your turn as long as you aren’t flat footed. You can only cast one immediate or swift action spell a turn.
Ready Action: The spell requires a ready action to use (usually because it targets a spell). Most of the time these spells also outline the trigger circumstances you have to wait for in order to cast them.
Swift Action: A swift action spell can be cast as a swift action – a swift action is like a free action except you can only take one per turn whereas the rules do not place a limit on the number of free actions a spell allows. A quickened spell has a casting time of one swift action.
Area, Effect and Target
Spells either have a listed area, effect or target as determined by their nature.
Targeting Spells: A spell with a target line “targets” the subject. Certain spells will trigger when a creature is targeted, and some spells will block spells that target. Targets are affected immediately when the spell is cast unless they are the center point of an area emanation or effect spread (see below).
Effect: With the exception of spreads, Effects are generated immediately. Spreads begin at the end of whatever sequence generated them (which is usually immediately, but if several ready actions need to be resolved then those are taken care of before the spread is taken into account). If the center point of an effect spread is moved then the effect only changes at the end of the sequence it was moved in.
Area: Bursts and spreads occur immediately. Area emanations, like Effect spreads, must wait until any in progress sequence resolves to begin. If their center point changes during a sequence, they must also wait for the sequence to end before reasserting themselves.
Spells: Spells can be targeted while they are cast or afterward. Note that only a spell that is in the process of being cast can be “countered.” Otherwise, the term “dispel” will be used. As a rule it’s easier to counter spells than to dispel them once they are in place.
Duration
A spell’s duration tells you how long the spell will last
Continuous Effects: Any effect that isn’t instantaneous is known as a “continuous effect.” These effects check to see how long they’ve been in effect at the beginning of their caster’s turn and end at that time when the elapsed duration is equal to the maximum (In other words, the round the spell was cast on counts towards it’s duration – there is no 0 round).
If their caster changes initiative through holding an action, readying an action or other means, the spell gains it’s own initiative on the same count it was cast on – it doesn’t move with it’s caster to a new initiative count.
Continuous effects that do something each round do it at the end of their caster’s turn, but you may need to roll the damage earlier: for instance if the damaged target is a caster wanting to cast a spell, roll to see what the damage for the round will be to find the DC of the concentration check. However, the damage by the spell isn’t actually subtracted from the character’s hit point total until the end of its caster’s turn. This difference will only matter when continuous effects are used with readied actions Example: Teresa is readying her action to cast a spell at anyone or thing that attacks Timmon, who’s working on a trap. An orc barbarian comes screaming around a corner and charges Timmon. She uses her readied action to hit it with Melf’s acid arrow. The damage will apply at the end of her turn, but since she interrupted the orc it gets to act before the damage is actually applied. The orc uses its rage ability and attacks Timmon anyway. Then the acid burns in it’s damage – the orc is still up since it’s rage gave it the hit points needed to stay up. Teresa chides herself for not using a faster acting spell like magic missile.
Fading: A fading spell gets weaker the longer it lasts. These spells grant a +1 bonus to something for each round remaining in the spell. Whatever that something is gets a “fading” bonus. Hence, a +5 fading bonus will be a +5 on the first round of the spell, +4 on the second, and so on until the spell expires. Often a maximum bonus is given for these spells, and the bonus cannot exceed the maximum even if the remaining duration does.
While Sung: Seen on many bard spells with the song component, these spells require the bard to sing continuously round after round (a move equivalent action that doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity). Maintaining a song when struck in combat requires a concentration check DC 10 + spell level + damage dealt. Targets of a spell with a duration of “while sung” are freed from the spell if the bard moves out of range or they are somehow rendered unable to hear the spell. If the spell has a duration after the singing stops this duration continues normally for the subject.
Cumulative: A cumulative spell has a bonus gets stronger the longer it lasts, up to a prescribed maximum for the spell. Multiply the bonus by the number of rounds that has passed since the spell began. This is the reverse of fading.
Discharge: All discharge spells have the triggered descriptor and follow the rules for triggered spells given earlier in the chapter.
Spellcasting
In this section we’ll review the rules surrounding the casting of spells and introduce some new wrinkles and clarifications. New terms are given in bold the first time they occur.
The increased number of counterspells in this book along with the increased number of triggered effects also makes a revision and exploration of the spell initiative rules necessary.
A counterspell is either the mode of a spell that counters itself (see counterspells, below) or a spell that counters another spell as part of its effect.
A triggered effect is any effect of any spell that occurs in reaction to an outside event. For instance, the alarm of the alarm spell is a triggered event that occurs in reaction to an intruder entering the area of effect.
A mode is a variation of a spell that is accessible from one given preparation.
Stages of Spellcasting
Every spell goes through the following stages regardless of caster.
Choose the spell: First you choose the spell itself. At the time you choose the spell you must be able to pay all costs (XP, Material, etc.) associated with it and perform all actions (verbal, somatic, etc.) it requires. If you choose a spell you can’t cast nothing happens, though you can certainly bluff the casting of a spell.
Choose the mode: A spell with multiple versions available in one preparation is said to have multiple modes. At the time you choose the mode you also select the targets and any other factor of the spell that is variant. The mode and all targets must be legal for you to choose (you can’t target things you can’t see, and certain casters can’t use certain modes of spells).
Begin the spell: Now the spell begins. At this stage spells and characters can use ready actions set to trigger upon the casting of a spell. A trigger is the condition(s) under which a character can take a readied action or a spell with a trigger will act
Concentration: If circumstances require it, you make a concentration check.
Resolve the spell when its turn comes up (see below). All die rolls for the spell are cast, including the spell resistance rolls and saving throws of the targets. At this point the spell is successfully cast. All costs are assessed against you and certain spells that trigger when a spell is successfully cast go off.
Sequences
When only one caster is casting things are simple. The player’s turn arrives, they choose the spell, begin it and resolve it. However, ready actions, immediate actions and triggered spells complicate things.
If anyone chooses to use a ready action in response to step 3 of spellcasting a sequence is created: A sequence is a series of actions that occur on the same initiative and all of them follow these rules:
Sequence actions are resolved in the reverse order that they are declared in. Example: Teresa, Timmon and a hobgoblin are in combat. Timmon is guarding Teresa and has readied an action to attack anyone who attacks her. The hobgoblin has readied an action to attack any spellcaster. Teresa’s initiative comes up, and she casts magic missile at the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin takes its ready action and begins its attack on Teresa. Timmon takes his ready action to attack the hobgoblin. Now the actions are resolved: Timmon attacks and kills the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin, now dead, can’t act. Teresa loses her spell not because she was hurt but because the target is dead (she can’t change targets after the sequence has been set).
Spellcasters in a sequence can’t change their minds about targets as a result of other events in the sequence nor can they choose to abandon the spell. Example: Teresa casts fireball to hit some goblins surrounding Devon. She isn’t worried about hitting Devon because he has protection from elements (fire) in place. However, as she casts her spell an enemy caster uses sleight of mind to change her fireball into a cold spell. She can’t abandon her spell, and Devon is badly hurt.
If two characters try to react to the same trigger, the one with the lowest rolled initiative declares his action first. Example: Timmon and Teresa both have readied actions set to when some enemy begins a spell. Teresa has the better initiative, so she can decide what to do based on what Timmon does. She can’t wait to see the outcome of his action. Since she knows the enemy is casting a fireball at them she decides to counterspell. Her counterspell goes off before his attack, since the last declared action goes first.
Effect spreads (such as silence) and area emanations (such as cloudkill) can’t act while a sequence is being resolved and they can’t change their center points either – they must wait for the end of sequence to do so. Example: Teresa, Devon and a kobold sorcerer are in combat. The kobold begins a fireball, and both Teresa and Devon use a readied action set for when someone casts a spell. Teresa uses deflection, but fails her caster level check against the kobold. Devon casts silence on the kobold, but since that spell creates an emanation it waits until the sequence is over to act. The kobold gets off his fireball, hurting both our heroes. Now the silence takes hold, which means the creep won’t hit them again.
Once the last action of the sequence is declared, no more characters can perform ready actions until all the actions in the sequence are resolved. Spells however can continue to trigger as their conditions are met, and they are resolved as they trigger during the sequence. Example: Dranock has a contingency set to teleport him home if he goes to less than 20 hit points. He begins a chain lightning spell and Trishdare uses a ready action to hit him with a fireball. Teresa uses her ready action to cast deflection on his spell, changing the chain lightning target to Dranock himself. Teresa, who declared last, goes first, casting deflection. This triggers a lightning rift Dranock had put in place earlier. The spell lets Teresa deal 5d6 damage to Dranock. That is resolved, and Trishdare goes with his fireball. The Lightning Rift triggers again and Trishdare has it deal 3d6 damage to Dranock. Dranock at this point feels that casting lightning rift before the battle was a poor idea. Although he’s managed to make all his saves and concentration checks he’s down to 19 hit points. His contingency now triggers, teleporting him miles away. When he gets there he completes his deflected chain lightning, which roasts him quite succinctly.
Triggers
All readied actions and many spells have triggers. Since multiple spells can trigger on the same event there are rules to deal with what occurs when this happens. The event a spell creates when it triggers is called a triggered event.
Spells go last after any creatures or characters in the sequence (They have an effective rolled initiative of 0) unless it was an event in the sequence that triggered them, in which case they activate immediately.
When multiple spells trigger: If two or more different spells trigger against the same event, the higher level one goes first. If the spells are the same level, the spell with the highest caster level goes first. If there is still a tie, check to see which caster has the highest casting ability score. If there is still a tie, flip a coin.
When multiple instances of the same spell would trigger on the same event only the strongest spell triggers. This is critical to remember otherwise you could do obscene amounts of damage using multiple instances of spells like aether flash. The strongest spell is the one with the highest caster level, and if this is a tie use the casting ability modifier for all casters as a comparison, and if this still is a tie flip a coin.
Spells can trigger multiple times before discharging, even if they only actually discharge once. For instance, hesitation says, “Whenever the first spell or spell-like ability is being cast in the area of effect, counter it.” So if one character casts a spell, hesitation triggers, then if someone else casts counterspell targeting that spell hesitation triggers again, then someone aware of the hesitation casts stifle against hesitation which causes it to trigger again. Now that everyone has declared their intentions the action can be resolved. Hesitation counters stifle and discharges. Next the counterspell is cast and eliminates the first spell that began all of this business.
All spells that can trigger against an event are given the triggered descriptor.
Counterspells
Counterspells are the primary source of sequences. They are discussed in the Player’s Handbook, but the following facts about them need to be made clear:
Counterspell is a mode of all spells. All spells can be used to counter themselves. Some spells can counter a wide variety of spells based on circumstances, but these dedicated counterspells aren’t the same thing as the counterspell mode of a spell. They can have material components and other costs for example.
The counterspell mode of a spell has neither material component nor XP requirement.
A countered spell doesn’t consume material components or XP but the preparation of it or spell slot given to it is lost.
Spell slots paid as an extra cost to cast a spell are lost if it is countered (see Spell slots as costs below).
The counterspell mode of a spell has a duration of instantaneous and a casting time of one ready action.
Counterspells have no saving throw or spell resistance – the target is a spell.
For more information on counterspells, see their entry in the Player’s Handbook.
Modes
Spells can have multiple modes, but all the modes of a spell are available from one given preparation. Modes are chosen at the time the spell is cast. Note the following: Not all modes of a spell are available to all casters. Check the spell description.
Special Spell Effects
The spells in this book have additional special effects beyond the list given in the Player’s Handbook.
Spell Slot Costs
Some spells say that you must expend a spell slot or a preparation as an additional cost to cast them. These spells are balanced by this requirement – the higher the power level of the slot the more powerful the spell is (usually). There’s a big difference between casting twincast on magic missile and casting it on a meteor swarm.
The preparation contained in the slot (if any) is usually irrelevant, but if it is relevant the word “preparation” will be used instead of “slot.” Note that bards and sorcerers, who don’t prepare spells, can’t use the spells requiring specific preparations to be sacrificed.
Some spells require you to choose and expend a spell slot of equal or higher level than a target spell. You must succeed at a spellcraft check to learn the level of the spell. If you fail, you can guess, but if you guess low the spell will be wasted with no effect.
Unlike other costs, spell slots are lost if the spell is countered or interrupted somehow.
Loss of Life:
This is hit point damage that cannot be cured by magic or prevented by magic. Some spells inflict loss of life and some incur it as a cost.
Loss of life is difficult to prevent. If you are paying it as a cost it can’t be prevented by any means without countering the spell. Damage prevention doesn’t stop loss of life, nor does damage reduction. Only effects that block or mitigate level loss will affect loss of life. Loss of life counts as a negative energy attack, so death ward and similar spells stop it cold. Creatures immune to death attacks are likewise immune to loss of life effects, but they can’t cast spells requiring loss of life payments.
A loss of life effect that kills someone slays them as surely as a death spell – meaning that they can’t be raised by raise dead.
Loss of life is a form of vitality loss that is recovered very slowly. Each day after suffering a loss of life the creature regains 1 hit point only.
Loss of Spells
Some spells rip spells (or spell potential) away. Spell slots or preparations lost to an enemy caster’s spell are gone as if cast. The next time you can prepare spells the slots (and the spell) will be restored unless otherwise noted by the spell. If a spell specifies that it causes the loss of spell preparations then it will not affect bards or sorcerers – they don’t normally prepare spells.
Since many of these spells cause a random spell to be lost, get in the habit of preparing a method of determining a random slot from your character before play to keep things moving smoothly. The best method is to use index cards with one spell written on each one. You then shuffle the cards and pull one at random from the stack to determine the lost spell.
Damage Prevention
Though not a new concept, damage prevention has special effects on certain spells in this book that wait to trigger when damage is dealt, or when damage would be dealt. There is a key difference.
Consider a spell that triggers whenever a creature receives 5 points of fire damage. If the spell uses the phrase “is dealt” then wait until the damage is actually subtracted from the character’s hit point total. Prevention stops the trigger, so if the character has evasion and rolls a successful reflex save or a protection from elements spell set to ward fire absorbs the damage, then it wasn’t actually dealt since the character’s hit point total hasn’t changed.
However, if the spell says “would be dealt” then it triggers. Consider a spell that says, “The next time any fire damage would be dealt to the target creature from a single source, prevent that damage.” If such a ward was in place then it will go off and prevent the damage before protection from elements can absorb it.
Speaking of damage absorption, what about it? When a spell absorbs damage it is preventing it. If damage prevention is blocked somehow then the spell won’t function. The two terms are used somewhat interchangeably depending on which is easier to read. In the end, just remember that the only time you’ve dealt damage to something is when its hit point total has been reduced.
Positive and Negative Energy Levels
Certain spells (such as enervation, energy drain or Matacha’s Edict) assign positive or negative energy levels to creatures. Negative energy levels are discussed in the DMG in the glossary under the heading “energy drain and negative levels”
Applied to undead creatures, a positive energy level has much the same effect as a negative energy level. If a living creature receives a positive energy level then the following effects occur:
+1 bonus to skill checks and ability checks
+1 bonus to all attack rolls and saving throws
+5 temporary hit points
+1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, increase it by one for each positive energy).
Keep in mind that spells that typically bestow positive energy levels only affect undead and spells (or abilities) that bestow negative energy levels only affect the living. When the reverse is true bonuses are received. A living creature can only benefit from 1 positive level at a time and an undead creature can only benefit from 1 negative level at a time.
When Spells “Can’t be Cast:”
Some spells simply state that other spells can’t be cast. When an opponent attempts to cast such a spell anyway, there is no effect from the attempt. Spell slots and XP costs aren’t consumed, and material components are usually unharmed, though the manner of some castings will cause them to be destroyed anyway (i.e. the grasshopper leg of the jump spell is swallowed by the caster). The attempt to cast does take a standard action and still provokes attacks of opportunities.
Spell Descriptions
Note all the following changes and new entries you will see in the spell descriptions given in the next chapter.
Level
This book adds an entry for the base level of a spell in parenthesis before the level for any class is given. The base level of a spell is the lowest level the spell can be normally received by any class. With the spells in the Player’s Handbook look for the lowest level given among the cleric, druid, sorcerer and wizard classes to find the base level. If none of these four can cast the spell use the lowest level given from those that remain. Base level is primarily a means to aid the DM in developing new spell lists, however a few spells want to know the base level of a spell rather than its actual casting level.
Components
In addition to affecting when you can cast a spell, the verbal and somatic components affect how easily you can conceal your spell casting and how it looks to others. New components also appear in this book.
Verbal (V): Spells with a verbal component have a base listen DC of 0 minus their level. However, spells of the illusion or enchantment schools have a DC half that other spells while evocations or conjurations have DC’s twice that of the base. Higher-level spells amplify the caster’s voice, and high level spells echo off nearby walls and are nearly impossible to conceal. Think of the scene where Gandalf raises his voice to Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for an example of this effect. The silent spell feat won’t snuff the noise the spell itself makes.
Somatic (S): Spells with a somatic component have a base spot DC of 0 minus their level. However, spells of the illusion or enchantment schools have a DC half that other spells while evocations or conjurations have DC’s twice that of the base. The higher the spell’s level the more exaggerated and fast the caster’s gestures become. Higher level spells also cause nearby lights to dim, arcs of electricity to appear, wind to kick up and so on. The still spell removes the caster’s need to make exacting motions, but the feat doesn’t affect the visual signatures the spell may produce.
Material (M) and Focus (F): These are physical props your character must possess in order to cast the spell. Material components are consumed by the act of casting, while foci survive to be used repeatedly. A spell with a tiny material component or focus grants observers a +2 circumstance bonus on their spot check to notice your casting. This bonus increases by +2 with each increase in the size of the component. The feats eschew materials and improved eschew materials let you dodge material component and focus requirements, depending on costs. You may choose to use exceptional material components with any spell (even those that don’t normally call for material components). As a general rule these exceptional material components append metamagic feats to the spell. Finding out exactly what the component is will require research and it will vary depending on both the spell and the metamagic feat you wish to apply.
Divine (D): You must channel positive or negative energy as part of the casting of this spell. This will expend one of your turn undead or rebuke undead attempts for the day.
Song (Sg): You must use your bardic music as part of the casting of this spell. This will expend one or more of your bardic music uses for the day. All spells with the song component will also carry a verbal (V) component and have the [sonic] descriptor.
Casting Time
This book introduces the following casting times to the list you’ll see in the Player’s Handbook.
Charging: You can choose the amount of time to spend on the spell. The more time you spend, the more powerful the end result. You have to spend at least 1 round on a charging spell. On each subsequent round you may release the spell or charge it another round. As a rule, charge spells are great for ambushes but weak elsewhere because of the danger of continuous casting.
Immediate Action: An immediate spell can be cast at any time as a swift action even when it isn’t your turn as long as you aren’t flat footed. You can only cast one immediate or swift action spell a turn.
Ready Action: The spell requires a ready action to use (usually because it targets a spell). Most of the time these spells also outline the trigger circumstances you have to wait for in order to cast them.
Swift Action: A swift action spell can be cast as a swift action – a swift action is like a free action except you can only take one per turn whereas the rules do not place a limit on the number of free actions a spell allows. A quickened spell has a casting time of one swift action.
Area, Effect and Target
Spells either have a listed area, effect or target as determined by their nature.
Targeting Spells: A spell with a target line “targets” the subject. Certain spells will trigger when a creature is targeted, and some spells will block spells that target. Targets are affected immediately when the spell is cast unless they are the center point of an area emanation or effect spread (see below).
Effect: With the exception of spreads, Effects are generated immediately. Spreads begin at the end of whatever sequence generated them (which is usually immediately, but if several ready actions need to be resolved then those are taken care of before the spread is taken into account). If the center point of an effect spread is moved then the effect only changes at the end of the sequence it was moved in.
Area: Bursts and spreads occur immediately. Area emanations, like Effect spreads, must wait until any in progress sequence resolves to begin. If their center point changes during a sequence, they must also wait for the sequence to end before reasserting themselves.
Spells: Spells can be targeted while they are cast or afterward. Note that only a spell that is in the process of being cast can be “countered.” Otherwise, the term “dispel” will be used. As a rule it’s easier to counter spells than to dispel them once they are in place.
Duration
A spell’s duration tells you how long the spell will last
Continuous Effects: Any effect that isn’t instantaneous is known as a “continuous effect.” These effects check to see how long they’ve been in effect at the beginning of their caster’s turn and end at that time when the elapsed duration is equal to the maximum (In other words, the round the spell was cast on counts towards it’s duration – there is no 0 round).
If their caster changes initiative through holding an action, readying an action or other means, the spell gains it’s own initiative on the same count it was cast on – it doesn’t move with it’s caster to a new initiative count.
Continuous effects that do something each round do it at the end of their caster’s turn, but you may need to roll the damage earlier: for instance if the damaged target is a caster wanting to cast a spell, roll to see what the damage for the round will be to find the DC of the concentration check. However, the damage by the spell isn’t actually subtracted from the character’s hit point total until the end of its caster’s turn. This difference will only matter when continuous effects are used with readied actions Example: Teresa is readying her action to cast a spell at anyone or thing that attacks Timmon, who’s working on a trap. An orc barbarian comes screaming around a corner and charges Timmon. She uses her readied action to hit it with Melf’s acid arrow. The damage will apply at the end of her turn, but since she interrupted the orc it gets to act before the damage is actually applied. The orc uses its rage ability and attacks Timmon anyway. Then the acid burns in it’s damage – the orc is still up since it’s rage gave it the hit points needed to stay up. Teresa chides herself for not using a faster acting spell like magic missile.
Fading: A fading spell gets weaker the longer it lasts. These spells grant a +1 bonus to something for each round remaining in the spell. Whatever that something is gets a “fading” bonus. Hence, a +5 fading bonus will be a +5 on the first round of the spell, +4 on the second, and so on until the spell expires. Often a maximum bonus is given for these spells, and the bonus cannot exceed the maximum even if the remaining duration does.
While Sung: Seen on many bard spells with the song component, these spells require the bard to sing continuously round after round (a move equivalent action that doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity). Maintaining a song when struck in combat requires a concentration check DC 10 + spell level + damage dealt. Targets of a spell with a duration of “while sung” are freed from the spell if the bard moves out of range or they are somehow rendered unable to hear the spell. If the spell has a duration after the singing stops this duration continues normally for the subject.
Cumulative: A cumulative spell has a bonus gets stronger the longer it lasts, up to a prescribed maximum for the spell. Multiply the bonus by the number of rounds that has passed since the spell began. This is the reverse of fading.
Discharge: All discharge spells have the triggered descriptor and follow the rules for triggered spells given earlier in the chapter.