Building like the Forerunners

[CIDE]

Yeah, you read the title of the thread accurately. To build like the Forerunners. Which as many of you more versed with the lore of the Halo-verse Forerunners build many of their constructs, ships, buildings, etc out of what is only referred to as "hard light".

Aside from the creation line of spells (though that is a last resort) are there any spells, materials, whatever that would allow similar building methods from "nothing"? For example, ectoplasm from the astral plane can make solid constructs and at least as far as third party sources go can be permanent.

No homebrew. Third party sources allowed but discouraged. Anything WotC preferred.

[nedz]

Shadow Conjuration, Shadow Evocation, et al.
Add in some Killer Gnome and you're done.

[CIDE]

Shadow Conjuration, Shadow Evocation, et al.
Add in some Killer Gnome and you're done.

Which spell being the best? I'm only aware of the SRD spells so if the optimum choice lays elsewhere i'm...pretty much unaware of it.

[AttilaTheGeek]

I'd house rule it somewhere in between. What about a 5th-level spell called Shadow Wall, like a Wall of Stone but selectively permeable?

[CIDE]

I'd house rule it somewhere in between. What about a 5th-level spell called Shadow Wall, like a Wall of Stone but selectively permeable?

Wasn't looking for permeable. I was looking for a very close if not exact emulation of the Forerunner method. To piece buildings and possibly even vehicles or ships (some games would include futuristic elements) together. So i'm looking for pretty much the opposite here; something more solid. But the usual wall of ____ usually don't work well enough. Even wall of force could really only make outter hulls that would need to be filled with stuff later.

[Coidzor]

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of focus on characters building things out of magic beyond the handwavium of the crafting mechanics. Probably just going to have to homebrew some stuff up in order to make things out of light aside from the Shadowcraft Gnome trick.

Magicking up material and then Fabricating it is probably the closest thing, and there's a variety of ways to get raw materials between Wall of Stone + that spell from Underdark what changes the type of stone it is + that spell that increases the hardness(Harden, was it?), Wall of Iron, and the creation-line of spells that you mentioned as well as Planar Binding to get something with a supernatural ability that does it better than the spell.

A Genie + Wood Shape + Ironwood might be another way, I suppose?

[CIDE]

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of focus on characters building things out of magic beyond the handwavium of the crafting mechanics. Probably just going to have to homebrew some stuff up in order to make things out of light aside from the Shadowcraft Gnome trick.

Magicking up material and then Fabricating it is probably the closest thing, and there's a variety of ways to get raw materials between Wall of Stone + that spell from Underdark what changes the type of stone it is + that spell that increases the hardness(Harden, was it?), Wall of Iron, and the creation-line of spells that you mentioned as well as Planar Binding to get something with a supernatural ability that does it better than the spell.

A Genie + Wood Shape + Ironwood might be another way, I suppose?

I may have to...

Damn, I was really hoping for the whole "grow/dissolve a ship out of a comparatively small device."

[russdm]

I don't think there is anything gnomish related here. Maybe Elvish, but seriously, killer gnome? Aren't you joking?

Just blow wishes. D&D doesn't have any real spells that duplicate anything besides walls of stone/force, stoneshape, teleportation circles, and stuff already mentioned.

D&D is really not designed to emulate making anything like out of the halo stuff. You would just have to handwave it already existing if you want to use it.

[Coidzor]

I may have to...

Damn, I was really hoping for the whole "grow/dissolve a ship out of a comparatively small device."

All I can think of is the folding boat.