favorite obscure spells?

[Venger]

what are peoples' favorite obscure spells? either due to an esoteric source, a weirdly specific purpose, or something else. useful, useless, or just plain strange, I'm interested in plumbing the depths and finding all those weirdo spells I've somehow managed not to have heard of yet.

[Taveena]

Maw of Chaos isn't THAT obscure, but it's just. My favorite goddamn spell and it's not mentioned much. It's a blast that's actually worth using, from a school boosted by one of my favorite classes (Abjurant Champion), and it doubles as BFC and debuffs. <3

[Venger]

Maw of Chaos isn't THAT obscure, but it's just. My favorite goddamn spell and it's not mentioned much. It's a blast that's actually worth using, from a school boosted by one of my favorite classes (Abjurant Champion), and it doubles as BFC and debuffs. <3

I *love* maw of chaos. noteworthy for being uncapped >:]

[evangaline]

Prestidigitation, the one spell who I fail to pronounce or spell properly every time it is mentioned. Someone called it a ´least wish´ wich I wholeheartedly agree with.

A widened spike growth is also quite high up there for it´s pure awesomness. Everything moves at half speed and takes d4 dmng when it moves. Our ranger loves me for it every time I cast it.

[Venger]

related: drifts of the shalm is a fun one for low lvl BFC for the same reasons. plus, like a lot of great obscure spells, it has strange word salad for a name.

[Fax Celestis]

Improvisation is pretty frequently overlooked because people don't realize that in the update between CAdv and SpC, it moved from Bard 5 to Bard 1. I love it so much. I tend to put it on wands for even my noncasty characters just because it's so versatile.

[Curmudgeon]

I like Ray of Resurgence (Lost Empires of Faerûn) to remove fatigue (or shift exhaustion down to fatigue) as a level 1 Cleric spell. It'll also deal with Strength damage and penalties in the same casting. Getting rid of fatigue with 15 gp worth of Use Magic Device wand use lets a low-level Rogue also take on a night job for extra income (while the party spellcasters are doing their rest/preparation thing) and still accommodate adventuring with the group.

[Venger]

Improvisation is pretty frequently overlooked because people don't realize that in the update between CAdv and SpC, it moved from Bard 5 to Bard 1. I love it so much. I tend to put it on wands for even my noncasty characters just because it's so versatile.

wow, never actually looked at that one before! I think I'd always conflated it with a different bard spel (the one that lets you gift half your ranks in perform to a willing target)

ray of resurgence is neat too, I hadn't thought of using it that way.

[gorfnab]

Regal Procession (SC) - so many uses besides party transport. For battlefield control it functions as Wall of Horse.

[EisenKreutzer]

This is Pathfinder, but I'm a huge fan of Anthropomorphic Animal. It's not terribly useful, but it's very cool.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

Friendly Fire (EoE) is ridiculously powerful, even more hilarious if you persist it. It's not the most obscure, but it's sometimes overlooked since it's in a villain-centric book. There's no [Evil] tag on the spell, though...

If you've pumped your CL for whatever reason, Skin of the Steel Dragon (CoV) can be priceless against a regular caster.

Speaking of CL pumping, Suffer the Flesh (MoE) gets ridiculous when persisted. +5 CL for a rod of bodily restoration and some rubies? Yes, please.

Combine Aerial Alacrity (RotW) with the non-obscure Overland Flight (or some other magical flight source) to get good+ maneuverability flight as a swift action.

[KillianHawkeye]

One spell that I really like is bands of steel from Complete Arcane. It's a 3rd level conjuration spell that forces a Reflex save at Medium range to hold a single target immobile and completely helpless (or merely entangled if they make the save) for a round per level. It's a bit of a niche spell because it doesn't work at all against anything larger than Medium-size, but it works great against humanoid enemies. Particularly spellcasters, as they're not likely to have a high Reflex and the only ways to escape the bands are with a Strength check or Escape Artist, two things mages usually aren't good at. It's also nice for variety because not a lot of spells offer a Reflex save to avoid being completely shut down, and when I play a wizard I like to have spells that target all of the saves to cover my bases.

My most memorable use of the spell was in a battle against an enemy wizard with a bit of melee support who was the leader of some cultists we had been tussling with. He spent most of the battle casting spells at us from behind the safety of his globe of invulnerability, using his melee troops to stop our warriors from getting too close. As the party wizard, I considered it my responsibility to take this guy down. Especially because the DM was notorious for having guys flee from battle and we didn't have a great track record for stopping them. So I used a few low-level spells for support until we finally forced this spellcaster to leave the protected area, and BAM! I nailed him on his soft, unprotected Reflex save and took him out of the battle long enough for my meat shields to get there and issue the coup-de-grace. :smallbiggrin:



Another spell that I really like the idea of but have never gotten the chance to use is disobedience from Complete Scoundrel. It protects a person from being mind-controlled, but fools the enemy into thinking their control was successful. It also lets the person hear whatever mental commands the enemy tries to give them, so basically they can pretend to actually be controlled until the opportune moment arrives for them to strike and really ruin the bad guy's day. :smallamused:

[Fax Celestis]

Armor lock (CompScn) is Fort neg, SR yes, and can only target armored opponents, but it reduces all speeds to 10' on a failed save and the target loses Dex to AC. Bard/Hex/Sor/Wiz 1.

Rot of ages (DrMag) is Fort partial, SR no. Targeted creature is sickened and treats all other creatures as having concealment for 2 rounds. Passing the save negates the sickened condition but not the concealment. Totally shuts down any precision damage character. And if you hit them with it again, their sickened condition upgrades to nausea. Drd/Sor/Wiz 1. Quickened rot of ages + rot of ages (or arcane spellsurge: rot of ages + rot of ages) is basically nauseated for two rounds and treats all other creatures as having concealment.

And then there's always wall of smoke + smoke stairs.

[Thanatosia]

Benevolent Transposition - insanely useful with a flying familiar or with summon monster I at early levels.

Stand - Swift action to get back on your feet for Gishes if your dm loves throwing trippers at ya.

Ray of Dizziness - ranged touch for a no-save ultra-suck effect that has virtually no removal methods, but limited by [mind-affecting] at higher levels.

Close Wounds - has saved countless party member lives in my games in early-mid levels, but doesn't scale up well later on.

Earth Reaver - AOE nuke that requires neither hit roll, nor save (for the damage at least), does good damage, and knocks things prone.... and it's transmutation so a great nuke outside the normal evocation/conjuration options.

[KillianHawkeye]

Oh yeah, if you want some obscure spells for the DM's side of the screen, Exemplars of Evil has a couple of cool ones.

Infallible servant lasts hours per level and causes the target to dissolve into a puddle of sludge if they're killed or they get captured by non-evil creatures. Not only does this completely foil speak with dead, but they can't even be brought back to life by anything short of wish or miracle.

There is also alibi, a mind-effecting spell that causes the target to totally remember seeing you at that place last night. It even says that their mind fills in the details to cover up any logical inconsistencies.

Friendly fire lets you redirect any ranged attack (even a ranged touch attack) to another target within 30 feet. It is castable as an immediate action (to deflect a single attack) or with a 1 round casting time (allowing it to function continuously for a round per level).

And then there's willing sacrifice, a swift action spell that deals 1d10 damage to a nearby willing, evil creature and gives you a bonus equal to the damage dealt that you can use on any attack roll, damage roll, saving throw, ability check, or skill check (you can divide it up however you like). Although honestly, it doesn't seem very good for a 3rd-level spell. :smallsigh:

[Rebel7284]

Wings of Cover - Immediate action level 2 spell that can stop so many things.

Seconding Close Wounds and Friendly Fire.

I am a big fan of Channeled Divine Shield for DMM Clerics.

Blockade is a great use of a first level slot!

[jiriku]

I like spell fangs. In low-threat combats where you don't want to expend a lot of spells, it lets you drop mooks pretty reliably and lasts long enough that one casting can do you for the whole fight. While it's close range, the temporary hit points it grants let you take a more risky tack against low-threat enemies. It's also way cool since basically no one has ever heard of it.

I'm also partial to wall of chains, which is the lowest-level wall spell that actually creates a solid barrier. It's shapeable, too, so you can use it to entrap monsters, and it doesn't have the clause about automatically allowing a saving throw when used to entrap, like some of the higher-level wall spells do.

[Curmudgeon]

Wings of Cover ...
Is there anyone left who considers that an obscure spell? :smallconfused:

[Dalebert]

"Obscure" is relative, and on this forum, there's probably not much that is but...

Hoard Gullet

Body of Air/Water/Earth (not impressed with fire, not for the level anyway)

Sunstroke (great cheap wand spell)

Quick Potion (Was great on my Ultimate Magus who could use any leftover slots on it at the end of the day to save for the next day)

Unseen Servant -- not at all obscure, but has obscure uses that many fail to take advantage of

Burrow

Summon Totem Creature (http://www.pathfindersrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/summon-totem-creature) -- Summon that lasts an hour. Great for a spy/scout who's pretty stealthy and can fly. Can also be cast with Shadow Conjuration if you don't have the spell or (Maybe?) if you don't meet the other requirements.

Cackling Skull -- Skulls are common and free unlike Magic Mouth components, and this is more fun.

Sculpt Simulacrum -- As if simulacrums weren't useful enough already

Ray of Clumsiness

[Rebel7284]

Is there anyone left who considers that an obscure spell? :smallconfused:

I keep seeing sorcerer spell lists that don't have it. I consider it an auto-include. So yes. :)

[The Viscount]

Detect Fire is one of my favorites because it seems useless from the title, but as the text tells you detects any living creature other than (Cold) ones, so you can use it as crude detection as well as deathwatch of sorts.

Oath of Blood is an involved but ultimately cheaper alternative for temporary create undead. It costs only 40gp per HD of the target, instead of 50gp per HD of the undead to be made. As a result, you can target a 1HD commoner and get a 14HD mohrg, which you can then use to create zombies. When the mohrg dies from the geas ending you have a group of zombies for free. Or you can just use the spell for some mummy backup when things get tough. Either way works.

[SimonMoon6]

Obscuring Mist. :P

[Phelix-Mu]

Nurturing seeds, by far. In fact, all of the Athas.org spells are official, insofar as that word means anything, because WotC gave them the official license for Dark Sun stuff in 3e; previous discussion have substantiated that this makes them "official". Also noteworthy, if clearly 3.0 and in need of a bit of an update, swarm of anguish, I think it was. 9th druid, level hour/level swarm shape that deals a substantial amount of Con damage. Very flavorful mook control, and a set of somewhat sub-par immunities that druids might have more trouble coming by than wizards. Also, good if your DM was sensible and nerfed shapechange, lol.

[TheMooch]

Sakkratar's tripple strike (LEoF) I have this spell on every swiftblade build I make. Its super favorful and fun.

ferocity of sanguine rage (DM) is fun for when you want a raging caster gish.

edit: also streamers when you really want to annoy someone with AoO

[Ruethgar]

Not obscure in the least, but I love to use the lack of delineation of the state of water in Create Water for ice magi. I realize it heavily implies liquid form, but DMs thus far have pretty much applauded my creativity, though they unanimously instantly gimp the living hell out of it because 2gal/lvl of fog is a lot more than you get from the spell Fog and Create Ice Object just seems pointless in view of War Create Water. Thus far one DM split them into three spells and limited the fog to 5ft square/lvl, another made both the fog and ice 5ft/2 lvl and only able to make ice sheets similar to the Ice Slick or Grease spells. A third decided that I did the math so I get the goods, woot!

[Venger]

Regal Procession (SC) - so many uses besides party transport. For battlefield control it functions as Wall of Horse.

I prefer calling it a horse field.

[Know(Nothing)]

I don't know why it doesn't get more love, but Pronouncement of Fate from HoH is just downright mean. Look it up. It isn't even a save-or-suck, it's a save-and-you-will-still-suck.

[Yue Ryong]

If I am playing any sort of druid-based caster, I will be dropping Kelpstrand.

[A_S]

My absolute favorite: Fanfare (Song and Silence, p.90, never updated to a 3.5 version). Bard 6. Stuns for 1d4 rounds and deafens for twice that, no save, not mind-affecting. Also does 4d6 damage on a failed fort save, but who cares? No-save-just-lose AoE stunning.

Obligatory on any Sublime Chord in a game where it's allowed, in my opinion.

[Jsuelieta]

Not 'obscure' in the traditional sense as they're right there in the manual, but rarely used to be sure, and can really screw with the DM:

Make Whole: You lock a door behind you and bar it best you can. The enemy hacks (or punches) their way in! Repair the door and suddenly their arm or weapon is stuck. Can also screw with ritual circles or runes that have to be engraved on a surface.

Clean (or Prestidigitation, depending on system): The dark necromancer is using a huge ritual with blood painted in a spell? Clean that stuff up and watch him pee himself.

[Karnith]

I am a big fan of Favorable Sacrifice (Spell Compendium, with the original version in Miniatures Handbook) with some way to obviate material components, such as Tainted Sorcerer's Blood Component. DR and resistance to multiple energy types 1 hour/level is pretty nice for a third-level spell when you aren't paying 10,000 gold for the privilege.

[Bullet06320]

Vacate Bowels from Mongoose Publishing's Renegade Wizards Spellbook
Its oh so fun in combination with diplomacy or intimidate

[Cyanide]

Obscure is a fairly relative concept, but here's a try,

Shivering Touch and its lesser version, from Frostburn, I believe. granted, it's 1 round/lvl duration, but it's 3d6 damage to dexterity (which not a lot of monsters have terribly high, and it's an absolute killer on huge enemies. And yes, it's damage, so it -can- bring your dexterity to 0.

Necrotic Empowerment is just rich.

Lahm's Finger Darts I haven't heard this spell get the praise it would deserve as an anti-... well, everything. 5d4 dexterity damage, in medium range, with no save and no ranged attack roll, and it also hits through concealment. Then again, corrupt spell, so...

Heroics from Spell Compendium. If only there was a way to gain that fighter bonus feat I need right now. Or a dozen of them. Not a personal spell, and it -can- be persisted. If your fighter friend doesn't love you after this, I can only pray for his poor, withered soul.

Avasculate I'm surprised I don't see it used more, to be honest. Also, kudos to Avascular Mass for the coolest visuals on a web effect. Period.

[Jeff the Green]

Alibi makes someone believe they've met you some time in the previous day. Assassin 1, Bard 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1, Spellthief 1

Arcane Turmoil works like dispel magic, but it's a level lower, only does the targeted version, and if the target's a caster they lose a spell slot or prepared spell from their highest level. Hexblade 2, Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Spellthief 2

Dragoneye rune puts an arcane mark on a person that makes them always "familiar" for scrying and 3/day you can tell their distance and direction. Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Wu Jen 2, Initiate of Io 2

Cloak of Khyber makes your magical disguise undetectable, even by true seeing. Sorcerer/Wizard 3

Snake darts lets you fling two snakes at enemies. It works sort of like magic missile, except it's 3d6 damage and also poisons the target(s). Wu Jen 3

Shadow well works like maze except Will negates and it's a Will save to get out. It also makes the target shaken once they escape. Sorcerer/Wizard 4

Crushing grip takes a full round to cast, but immediately (and without a save) the target takes -2 to attacks, checks, saves, and AC. Then when you finish casting it it's Fortitude or paralyzed. It only lasts 3 rounds, but that's generally enough, and the penalty remains even if they succeed on the save. Sorcerer/Wizard 4

[Hamste]

I enjoy Fimbulwinter, not only is it fun to say but you can bring about a mini apocalypse with it. Using arcane Thesis, get a greater rod of maximize (or get enough metamagic reduction to be able to apply it to your spell normally), extend it, flash frost it and fell drain it. 16 cold and 5 negative level damage should be enough to kill most commoners and those do survive then have to deal with all the wights from all the dead first level commoners/characters and I think animals (it sounds like it but I may be missing something) in a freezing cold winter that lasts 96 weeks (6 weeks under two full years). If you cast it in a cold climate in winter you are guaranteed atleast an inch a day which adds up to 56 feet in 96 weeks and that assumes you roll the worst. On average you get 20.5 inches (skewed massively because of a 25% chance of getting 1d6+1 feet of snow) or 1148 feet of snow in two years.


All this in a 1 mile/level radius all around you at the time of the casting.

[Deox]

Extract Gift - Fiendish Codex I - If I'm binding something, might as well get a few extra goodies, like a free enhancement bonus to a stat or competence bonus to a skill.

[Ignis6669]

I've kind of always liked the Moon spells from the Spell Compendium. In particular I like Moon Path (Page 143). It's not the most awesome spell ever, but it sure has its uses. I especially like the flexibility of it having stairs (or not), and the ability to put sanctuary on people.

PS: I may be a little biased because I once used this to get a handful of important NPCs through a large Army without incident. Good times.

[Platinum Piece]

Black Sand from Sandstorm has to be one of my favorites.

One time our DM introduced us to a necropolitan village where all the buildings and roads were made of black sand bricks.

We will never forget the "Village of Darkness".

[Snowbluff]

Friendly Fire (EoE) is ridiculously powerful, even more hilarious if you persist it. It's not the most obscure, but it's sometimes overlooked since it's in a villain-centric book. There's no [Evil] tag on the spell, though...


Definitely one of my favorites. Flexible, immediate, persistable, absurdly broad, and even makes some builds backfire tremendously.

Seething Eyebane. Blindness that's permanent (instaneous) at level 1. BoVD.

Kauper's Quickblast. Swift Action blast. Good for Born of Three Thunders.

[jjcrpntr]

In 3.5 I was a big fan of spells like Hesitate and Stay the Hand. I loved immediate action spells. I had a mystic theurge that my dm liked (because he loves that class) but hated because he couldn't touch me. Was so much fun.

I also really like the spell Moon Lust. Not sure why I just think it conjures funny images in my head of people staring at the sky like morons. That and according to my DM that made them defenseless which made it even cooler.

[Venger]

Great responses all around. I'm learning so much from this thread.

Another extremely oddball spell:

Ghorus Toth's Magnetism

A 6th, you make a target into a powerful magnet with very involved physics (e.g., if there's a metal target twice as heavy as he is, he's instead pulled to that, etc)

from unapproachable east, which has a lot of spells like this.

[ILM]

Literally all my characters have an eternal wand of Primal Instinct from Dragon Magic. Level 3 (level 2 even, for Rangers), 24-hour duration, +5 competence bonus to Survival and Initiative. Oh, and if you're dragonblooded you get another +5 on any Knowledge of your choice. Oh, and if you've got another Primal X spell active you get uncanny dodge.

I also have a big crush on Elemental Body (Air) from SC. Kicks in late since it's level 7, but you get all elemental immunities without taking the elemental type, attune form, darkvision and fly speed (perfect). Hours/level make it a great all-in-one morning buff.

I love Amplify (SC, bard level 1) for bards since Inspire Courage basically has range: anyone who can hear you.

Buzzing Bee (SC, sorc/wiz level 1) ignores SR and offers no save, and forces casters to make a Concentration check to cast spells (min/CL duration!).

I'm not sure if it's obscure but I adore Dimension Jumper from CM. rd/CL move action teleport is awesome (I find it more useful that swift action teleport since you have so many better things to do with swift actions). Just wish it had a bit more range.

Drums of War is a level 4 bard spell in HoB. Enchantment and mind-affecting, but no save; -2 to attack and saves to all enemies within medium range.

Find the Gap (SC) is a great buff for your power-attacking fighter since it makes the first melee attack for 1 round/CL resolve as a touch attack.

Hesitate, from PHB2, level 3 sorc/wiz, is pretty cool since it forces a save every round to be able to take more than a move action (but mind-affecting :smallmad:). Also, immediate action.

Overwhelming Revelations in MoE, level 6 sorc/wiz, deals 2d6 penalty to Wis with a minor confusion effect for 1 round - but get this: duration is instantaneous, and a successful save only halves the Wis penalty. Oh, did I mention it affected a 20-ft radius AoE?

[Ignis6669]

Seething Eyebane. Blindness that's permanent (instaneous) at level 1. BoVD.



This is a brilliant (and evil) spell. I can't believe I've never seen it before. Thanks!

[Phelix-Mu]

Entice gift, I think reprinted in Spell Compendium; target that fails Will save approaches caster and hands over whatever they are holding in their hands. Not the best thing, but, as a DM, I've managed a couple times to use it on pcs, with perfectly delicious results. Mildly malicious, of course, but all in the spirit of for fun.

[Venger]

I discovered the profound oddness that is the halaster's fetch line. Like summon monster 1-6, except the monsters don't disappear at the end. bumped up 3 levels. what would you do with a monster that never disappeared? the catch (of course) is that after the normal SM duration, they become free-willed.

[Karnith]

I discovered the profound oddness that is the halaster's fetch line. Like summon monster 1-6, except the monsters don't disappear at the end. bumped up 3 levels. what would you do with a monster that never disappeared? the catch (of course) is that after the normal SM duration, they become free-willed.
You would presumably do what Halaster did, and make an enormous, maze-like dungeon filled with monsters.

[StreamOfTheSky]

If the spell features regularly in optimization threads and handbooks, I don't think it should count as Obscure. If you don't see it in play that much, it's probably because the DM banned it or the player opted not to use it out of good taste (Wings of Cover, I'm looking at you).

Some of my favorite *obscure* spells....

Amplify: Bard 1, and one of the only Bard spells w/o verbal components (intentionally). It auto-counters/dispels silence (the bane of all bards) and has all sorts of utility use besides that, since it boosts the volume of all within its area. Makes it a lot easier to actually inspire most of an army. And since those inside the area are unaware their sounds are being amplified to those outside the area, it's also nice for spying, publicly airing conversations those within thought were private, etc... For some reason Joyful Noise is much more often mentioned, despite being plainly worse and lacking the utility functions of Amplify. And they're even in the same book!

Mark of Doom: No save, just lose vs. any monster that relies on lots of weak attacks to fight. They take 1d6 untyped unresistable damage for each attack they make for the round/level duration, whether it hits or not. Tank it up w/ shields and defensive fighting while the foe kills himself, toss in a spiritual weapon to make the turtling all the more delicious. It's rare and wonderful when there's support in 3E for winning with defense and attrition.

Mindless Rage: Bar none the best "aggro" effect in D&D, it forces them to try to close with you and melee, and they can do nothing if unable to even try. No spells, no magic items, nothing. You get NOTHING! Muwahahahaha!

Lore of the Gods: +10 to all knowledge checks w/ a good duration. Staple to any clerical Knowledge Devotion user! Combines nicely w/ dwarf's Ancestral Knowledge feat to base knowledge off wisdom and use them untrained.

Listening Lorecall; Healing Lorecall: These provide amazing buffs if you invest the skill ranks. Former gives eventual 10 min/level blindsense for a 2nd level slot. Latter lets you for 10 min/level eventually remove a giant list of conditions with any healing spell (even cure minor or close wounds, to do it out of turn), including daze. Also 2nd level.

Shadow Well: It's like Maze, but 3 spell levels early in return for having a save.

Entice Gift: Situationally very handy to get an important item from an enemy. Also arguably will cause a monster grappling an ally to give him/her to you.

Fell the Greatest Foe: Potentially a massive damage boost over a few rounds to an ally. +1d6 melee damage every attack per size larger the foe you're attacking is than you. I make a lot of small swordsage / rogue types, and they all love this freaking spell.

Dire Hunger; Illusory Pit; Solipsism: These aren't standouts at their level for what they do, I just find them hilarious and love them.

[Dalebert]

You would presumably do what Halaster did, and make an enormous, maze-like dungeon filled with monsters.

I just watched that movie!

[Venger]

(stuff)

oh wow, what a list!

bard has always been one of my blind spots. sonorous hum is a favorite of mine, especially when combined with body harmonic. >:]

[ben-zayb]

Ghorus Toth's Magnetism: a L6 novelty magnet spell, with potentially hilarious visuals when used against usual heavy-armored enemies.

Necrotic Skull Bomb: a L5 20ft radius Enervation with a Fort save in exchange of a ranged touch

Animate Dread Warrior: aka "that broken Animate Dead substitute for humanoids"

Black Sand: another tool for necromancers to get free undead

Shadow Mask: Aside from Truesight or Dispels, this L2 spell will hide your face behind a visage with the same race as the observer

Coral Growth: almost like a wall of stone, except it's a dispellable Druid L3 / SW L4 transmutation spell.

Wall of Salt: a reliable L4 BFC spell that is also available to clerics.

Sandstorm: a better Control Winds for druids, that's a level earlier

Stormwalk: a L6 teleport...for druids. Sure, it takes 10 minutes, but that's because you're literally brewing a storm to take you to your destination.

Shuffle: a L6 sort of Improved Dimension Door...for druids, once again.


Unseen Crafter: a L2 spell that gives an entire Unseen Servant crew

[Venger]

Ghorus Toth's Magnetism: a L6 novelty magnet spell, with potentially hilarious visuals when used against usual heavy-armored enemies.

Necrotic Skull Bomb: a L5 20ft radius Enervation with a Fort save in exchange of a ranged touch

Animate Dread Warrior: aka "that broken Animate Dead substitute for humanoids"

Black Sand: another tool for necromancers to get free undead

Shadow Mask: Aside from Truesight or Dispels, this L2 spell will hide your face behind a visage with the same race as the observer

Coral Growth: almost like a wall of stone, except it's a dispellable Druid L3 / SW L4 transmutation spell.

Wall of Salt: a reliable L4 BFC spell that is also available to clerics.

Sandstorm: a better Control Winds for druids, that's a level earlier

Stormwalk: a L6 teleport...for druids. Sure, it takes 10 minutes, but that's because you're literally brewing a storm to take you to your destination.

Shuffle: a L6 sort of Improved Dimension Door...for druids, once again.


Unseen Crafter: a L2 spell that gives an entire Unseen Servant crew
oh man, you found my weakness for [teleportation] spells.

as soon as I can afford it, I try to get boots of big stepping with caster characters. teleport 60ft as greater teleport as a standard and all teleportation spells are at +2 CL.

never even heard of shuffle before. excellent find and proof once more that shining south is the best book for these kinds of spells.

speaking of which, brittleskin's definitely another canditate (with some cool art) deal bonus damage based on the target's natural armor bonus as his skin turns to crystal. a fascinating spell.

[dextercorvia]

Not obscure in the least, but I love to use the lack of delineation of the state of water in Create Water for ice magi. I realize it heavily implies liquid form, but DMs thus far have pretty much applauded my creativity, though they unanimously instantly gimp the living hell out of it because 2gal/lvl of fog is a lot more than you get from the spell Fog and Create Ice Object just seems pointless in view of War Create Water. Thus far one DM split them into three spells and limited the fog to 5ft square/lvl, another made both the fog and ice 5ft/2 lvl and only able to make ice sheets similar to the Ice Slick or Grease spells. A third decided that I did the math so I get the goods, woot!

A gallon is a measure of volume, so a 20th level caster creating fog with Create Water would only make 40 gallons of fog, which is roughly 5.3 cubic feat which make up ~1/25th of a 5' cube.

[ben-zayb]

oh man, you found my weakness for [teleportation] spells.

as soon as I can afford it, I try to get boots of big stepping with caster characters. teleport 60ft as greater teleport as a standard and all teleportation spells are at +2 CL.

never even heard of shuffle before. excellent find and proof once more that shining south is the best book for these kinds of spells.

speaking of which, brittleskin's definitely another canditate (with some cool art) deal bonus damage based on the target's natural armor bonus as his skin turns to crystal. a fascinating spell.
Oh, just watch out for another arguably obscure spell, Scintillating Scales, which converts the subject's natural armor to deflection armor.

As for teleportation, Druid has another hammy theatrical, Planeshift equivalent: the L9 Planar Navigation teleports a ship and all the crews inside to a body of water anywhere.

The Bard has City Stride, teleport a la Pokemon's Fly.

Scattering Trap can be terribly broken if someone wants to.

[StoneCipher]

Any spell from BoEF.

Is that book even good mechanically? I have it as a joke, but never actually used it in games. That crosses a line that a group of all guys should never cross.

[Venger]

Oh, just watch out for another arguably obscure spell, Scintillating Scales, which converts the subject's natural armor to deflection armor.

As for teleportation, Druid has another hammy theatrical, Planeshift equivalent: the L9 Planar Navigation teleports a ship and all the crews inside to a body of water anywhere.

The Bard has City Stride, teleport a la Pokemon's Fly.

Scattering Trap can be terribly broken if someone wants to.

scintillating scales! giving dragons some of their punch back. the old version's really weird and involved, so it definitely qualifies on its own.

planar navigation is undeniably hilarious, but it's not a druid spell, it's sor/wiz unless there's some way for druids to get it I don't know about

city stride's very amusing. who needs urban soul? :smalltongue:

scattering trap? broken? tell me more. that spell always seemed cute, but in my view it looked like it would sort of suck since it's so hard to "aim" (for lack of a better term) plus if you have time to set that spell as a trap and lure enemies into it, conventional methods of dispatch are probably a lot easier.


Any spell from BoEF.

Is that book even good mechanically? I have it as a joke, but never actually used it in games. That crosses a line that a group of all guys should never cross.

the only bits of it people ever really mention are metaphysical spellshaper and power word orgasm. the rest of the book's pretty aggressively meh.

[Fax Celestis]

Any spell from BoEF.

Is that book even good mechanically? I have it as a joke, but never actually used it in games. That crosses a line that a group of all guys should never cross.

There's some good stuff in there. Also some hilariously broken and/or gross stuff.

We include it in the available books at my table, but then again we have a mature group who doesn't mind not pretending that our characters have sex once in a while.

As far as other overlooked spells, I can't believe I forgot extract water elemental. 1d6 untyped/CL, Fort half, SR yes. If you kill the creature, you get an equally-sized water elemental (up to Huge) for one minute. Drd/Sor/Wiz 6. Big fan. Works hilariously with metamagic: Maximize/Empower are obvious (as they are with any direct damage spell), but Chain on a group of mooks means you get an army of water elemental peasants. Energy Substitution/Energy Admixture too, though you need some shenanigans to get an elemental damage descriptor on there to begin with (Snowcasting?). Or gish it up and mix it with Smiting Spell for a sword attack that literally rips the water from your opponent's flesh and makes it into a minion.

[Powerdork]

If anybody mentioned door to great evil, I missed it. Paladin spell from Ghostwalk. Target line "you or paladin touched", and immediately teleports the target to a level-appropriate encounter that they're allowed to solve by force.

[ellindsey]

Any spell from BoEF.

Is that book even good mechanically? I have it as a joke, but never actually used it in games. That crosses a line that a group of all guys should never cross.

Mechanically, no, but some of the spells have amusing fluff if your group is into that kind of thing. I find the Pillow Talk spell hilarious, although I don't expect to ever actually use it in a game, and I've also decided to import the various birth control and fertility spells into my campaign world as part of the background worldbuilding.

[A_S]

Ooh, forgot a favorite: Lightning Leap. Double duty as a 15d6 nuke and tactical teleportation that isn't [teleportation], so not blocked by Anticipate Teleportation etc.

[Deophaun]

Dragoneye rune puts an arcane mark on a person that makes them always "familiar" for scrying and 3/day you can tell their distance and direction. Sorcerer/Wizard 2, Wu Jen 2, Initiate of Io 2
Dragoneye rune really shines when you or a party member has a high Slight of Hand check, as you don't have to cast it on a person. Cast it on a coin or a swatch of cloth, and you have the fantasy equivalent of a GPS locator you can put on anything. Wrap it in lead and it can be undetectable to random detect magic searches as well. And, like explosive runes, you can crank them out during downtime and never need prepare it on an adventuring day.

[Jeff the Green]

Dragoneye rune really shines when you or a party member has a high Slight of Hand check, as you don't have to cast it on a person. Cast it on a coin or a swatch of cloth, and you have the fantasy equivalent of a GPS locator you can put on anything. Wrap it in lead and it can be undetectable to random detect magic searches as well. And, like explosive runes, you can crank them out during downtime and never need prepare it on an adventuring day.

Ooh, I missed (or forgot) that it could be put on an object. That means it's a really good thing to put on a spellbook.

[Sith_Happens]

Ice Slick (Frostburn) is Grease for Clerics, but even better.

Impeding Stones (Cityscape) is Grease for Druids and Rangers, but ridiculously better.

[Venger]

I love impeding stones, but the AoE is so large, it's often hard to avoid clipping friendlies.

related to grease and grease-derivatives is resinous tar. sort of an anti-grease that sticks targets to the floor.

[Jeff the Green]

related to grease and grease-derivatives is resinous tar. sort of an anti-grease that sticks targets to the floor.

I also like using it on someone your friendly neighborhood druid is grappling. On opposed checks -5 is killer.

[sonofzeal]

Great Thunderclap.

3rd lvl Evocation Sor/Wiz spell. Good area debuff that targets a different effect at all three saves and stacks effects for each save failed.

[Karnith]

I have been diving through books looking for spells that work well with very high caster levels, and I found a few that I wasn't really aware of or had forgotten:
Deflect (PHBII) is an immediate action spell that gives you a shield bonus to AC against a single attack equal to half your caster level.
Fleshshiver (SpC) stuns a target creature for a round with no save if it has fewer HD than your caster level (it gets a save if it has more HD), and forces a save the next round to avoid taking damage and being nauseated for several rounds.
Owl's Insight (SpC) I knew about, but getting half your CL as a bonus to your casting stat is still silly.
Spiderskin (SpC) is a weird Barkskin variant that someone seems to have accidentally removed the cap on; they provide a sample progression but never provide a maximum value (though it had the limit in previous versions). It gives a bonus to natural armor, Hide checks, and saves against poison equal to +1 per 3 caster levels.
Targeting Ray (SpC) is a ray that boosts ranged to-hit against the target for anyone who can see the ray, at a rate of +1 per 3 CL, on a successful hit
Bristle (SpC), Dancing Blade (PHBII), Blackwater Tentacle (Stormwrack), Divine Retaliation (PHBII), Daltim's Black Tentacles (Shining South), Earthen Grasp (SpC), Ice Claw (SpC), Kyristan's Malevolent Tentacles (Shining South), Laeral's Silver Lance (Waterdeep), Phantasmal Thief (SpC), Spell Fangs (Anauroch), Steeldance (SpC), Stony Grasp (SpC), Sword of Deception (SpC), and Toothed Tentacle (LEoF) are all moderately obscure spells that grant attacks at your caster level.

[weckar]

Gemjump is a really fun little utility spell, especially since the rules on what happens to the gem after the trigger are a little ambiguous (I have used the same one over and over). Especially since the rules explicitly say that multiple casters can use the same gem at the same time, it is basically THE way to teleport in an instant army with a level 6 spell.

[...]

1. All of the cyst spells

2. Move earth when used for things other than utility

[StreamOfTheSky]

Gemjump is a really fun little utility spell, especially since the rules on what happens to the gem after the trigger are a little ambiguous (I have used the same one over and over). Especially since the rules explicitly say that multiple casters can use the same gem at the same time, it is basically THE way to teleport in an instant army with a level 6 spell.

Well, it's a focus, so it does remain reusable, there's no real doubt about that...

I love that spell, to me it's more useful as the ultimate villain escape spell than an army teleport, though. The teleportation is already "cast", and upon the gem (so arguably you are not under the effect of the spell for the purposes of say...dispel magic), so the action action is a command word. No Mage Slayer or readied action in the world will disrupt that (aside from those that silence you or outright deprive you of speaking/acting).

If you can covertly sneak the gem to where you want to go, I guess a team of mages teleporting the army right upon the enemy also works. :smallsmile:

[Sith_Happens]

Force Hammer (Sharn: City of Towers): Sorc/Wiz 2, ray dealing 1d4 nonlethal damage per caster level (max 10d4) with no save and dazing for one round on a failed Fortitude save.

Shockwave: As the above, but one level higher for a 20 foot burst instead of a ray (though with half damage if they save).

[emeraldstreak]

heal mount + amulet of retributive healing

[Sir Chuckles]

Bigby's Slapping Hand.

Just a nice, satisfying spell that can slap people from 100+ft away.
DC 20 Concentration negates, so the range of targets is narrows pretty quickly, but I guess if your DM really likes Elves that aren't spellcasters you anshow those pesky archers what for.

[Phelix-Mu]

Deadfall, I think it was. Druid spell that not only creates a crushing collapse of dead wood, but leaves behind a giant pile of dead wood! Who doesn't have a use for a giant pile of dead wood?

[Venger]

Deadfall, I think it was. Druid spell that not only creates a crushing collapse of dead wood, but leaves behind a giant pile of dead wood! Who doesn't have a use for a giant pile of dead wood?

it is indeed deadfall. that spell's hilarious. I especially enjoy that it's SR no and long range. very handy at that level.

[Phelix-Mu]

it is indeed deadfall. that spell's hilarious. I especially enjoy that it's SR no and long range. very handy at that level.

Especially considering the generally dreadful state of druid spells past 6th. While this is yet more direct damage, at least it has some potentially useful side-effects, which puts it in the same league as some of the less outrageous of the Frostburn spells.

EDIT: Combine with reverse gravity and firestorm for Shake 'n Bake Death.

[Venger]

Especially considering the generally dreadful state of druid spells past 6th. While this is yet more direct damage, at least it has some potentially useful side-effects, which puts it in the same league as some of the less outrageous of the Frostburn spells.

EDIT: Combine with reverse gravity and firestorm for Shake 'n Bake Death.

>dreadful
>druid spells

I dunno. in my experience it's not that their 7s-9s are really that bad (fimbulwinter, megalodon empowerment, undermaster, etc) it's that their 1-6s are just really good, so their higher ones seem more disappointing in comparison.


man that would be great. you want to make it really crazy:

sculpt spell.

[Phelix-Mu]

I guess I meant druid 7th-9th in comparison with wizard and cleric (not a prime example of game balance, to be sure, but the only really comparable lists out there). Pound-for-pound, druid spells do much less here, and are more restricted in scope (no wish, no lesser wish, no binding/ally, no gate). Shapechange fixes all of that, but mainly by grandfathering in SLAs from assumed forms (something any sane DM should probably put some limiters on...spells that grant tons of spells are bad). I'm just disappointed by some of the stuff, but there are exceptions (frostfell is literally my favorite spell ever, of all-time, bar none).

[Venger]

I guess I meant druid 7th-9th in comparison with wizard and cleric (not a prime example of game balance, to be sure, but the only really comparable lists out there). Pound-for-pound, druid spells do much less here, and are more restricted in scope (no wish, no lesser wish, no binding/ally, no gate). Shapechange fixes all of that, but mainly by grandfathering in SLAs from assumed forms (something any sane DM should probably put some limiters on...spells that grant tons of spells are bad). I'm just disappointed by some of the stuff, but there are exceptions (frostfell is literally my favorite spell ever, of all-time, bar none).

oh I see. I thought you meant comparing them to bang-for-buck for druid 1-6 spells, which I think is true also.

pretty much anything loses out to sor/wiz and cleric 9s tho. I dunno that I'd count shapechange, since wizards have it too (and animal domain clerics)

shapechange doesn't grant the assumed form's SLAs tho. just ex and su.

frostfell is pretty excellent. gotta love the late-game druid spells that change the whole landscape. stuff like tsunami

[MasterFu]

Any spell from BoEF.

Is that book even good mechanically? I have it as a joke, but never actually used it in games. That crosses a line that a group of all guys should never cross.

BoEF has a long duration (and low-level) polymorph spell called "Reverse Gender" that swaps your gender for the duration. Since it's a polymorph, it would allow the use of a warshaper's class abilities.

My favorite obscure spell would be "Spider Hand" from BoVD. Cleric/druid 1, non-evil, no ability damage incurred for casting. Your hand detaches and becomes a small monstrous spider. Lasts as long as you concentrate and is useful for scouting because you can see thru its eyes.

Honorable mentions would be Silver Dragonmail and Golden Dragonmail (both create physical, magical armor for 1 hr/lvl) and "Create Fetch" (creates a perfect replica of yourself that obeys your mental commands).

[The Viscount]

Though the last has the obvious downside of attracting scorn for trying to make fetch a thing.

[Snowbluff]

So, I've always wanted to put together a Suigintou build... maybe this obscure list would help out. Streamers and Cloud of Knives are where I'll start. Kyristan's Malevolent Tentacles would be a nice addition.

[Fax Celestis]

So, I've always wanted to put together a Suigintou build... maybe this obscure list would help out. Streamers and Cloud of Knives are where I'll start. Kyristan's Malevolent Tentacles would be a nice addition.

Ring of blades is subpar but thematic. Also possibly relevant (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?367913-Shrapnel-Master-Byakuya-Kuchiki-build).

[Snowbluff]

Ring of blades is subpar but thematic. Also possibly relevant (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?367913-Shrapnel-Master-Byakuya-Kuchiki-build).

Urg, it's not a sorcerer spell. :l

Thanks for the link. :smallsmile:

[sonofzeal]

Any spell from BoEF.
Personally, I use as standard....

Analyze Fertility, Detect Pregnancy, Block the Seed, Analyze Ancestry - all good for adding verisimilitude. One of my previous characters was a midwife among other things, and these sorts of spells just make sense.

Find Soulmate (a highly limited "Locate Creature" as a lvl 1 spell)
Pleasant Dreams (nothing dirty, just protects against dream-based attacks)
Share Sensation (see "Mind to Mind", just more limited)
Detect Disease (why is this not core?!?)
Magic Probe (reveals spells active on target; why is this not core?!?)
Mantle of Love (name aside, is just a +4 on saves if target stays in line of sight of the caster)
Resist Temptation (+4 will vs charms/compulsions/etc)
Touch Me Not (+2 deflection to AC, mild damage to attacker on touch/grapple)
Healing Sphere (ranged healing, sadly lacking Core pre Mass CLW)
Succor (a bit like Restoration, but more focused on negative levels)
Magic Status (like "Status" plus "Magic Probe"; why is this not core?!?)
Mind to Mind (see and hear through target; why is this not core?!?)
Sanctuary, Mass (why is this not core?!?)
Kiss of Life (like "Raise Dead", but must be used within CL rounds of death)
Peace Aura (40' emanation, anyone making an attack roll takes damage)
Shadow Life (a temporary "Raise Dead" that only lasts CL days)



Is that book even good mechanically? I have it as a joke, but never actually used it in games. That crosses a line that a group of all guys should never cross.

See above, especially how many "why is this not core" spells there are.

The Magic Item section, yeah, I'd stay away from that. The base classes are decent if you use "Appearance" as a 7th stat, as are some of the PrCs, but I'd take them case-by-case. The demographic sections in the earlier chapters though, talking about how fertility and pregnancy work through various cultures, and how those cultures view family, marriage, and sexuality, all of that is profoundly useful in a more detailed, RP-oriented game if the players are mature enough to be dealing with issues like that. You don't need an X-rated game to want to know how a Dwarven society is going to view homosexuality, or what the Elven attitude towards infidelity is, and while you could make such things up on the fly... well, same goes for anything in the game. The whole reason to buy sourcebooks is to offload some of that creativity so the DM can focus on the actual plot and game, and to give a common point of consensus and authority in the game. If my DM's using BoEF demographic information, I know what to expect and can work that into my backstory and RP whenever appropriate.

[Fax Celestis]

See above, especially how many "why is this not core" spells there are.

The Magic Item section, yeah, I'd stay away from that. The base classes are decent if you use "Appearance" as a 7th stat, as are some of the PrCs, but I'd take them case-by-case. The demographic sections in the earlier chapters though, talking about how fertility and pregnancy work through various cultures, and how those cultures view family, marriage, and sexuality, all of that is profoundly useful in a more detailed, RP-oriented game if the players are mature enough to be dealing with issues like that. You don't need an X-rated game to want to know how a Dwarven society is going to view homosexuality, or what the Elven attitude towards infidelity is, and while you could make such things up on the fly... well, same goes for anything in the game. The whole reason to buy sourcebooks is to offload some of that creativity so the DM can focus on the actual plot and game, and to give a common point of consensus and authority in the game. If my DM's using BoEF demographic information, I know what to expect and can work that into my backstory and RP whenever appropriate.

Or, hell, the attitude of a low-procreation-rate, high-longevity race (like elves) towards infertility. Definitely a thing that could be relevant, RP-wise, for a bunch of characters.

[Chronos]

Shared Perception (or maybe it's Linked Perception?), from PHB2. It gives everyone in your party an untyped bonus to Listen and Spot, that scales with the number in your party, with no cap. Once you include familiars, animal companions, mundane mounts, and the like, this can be huge.

And about as obscure as it's possible for a core spell to get, Summon Instrument on the bard list. It really should be called Summon Object, because there are so many other things an instrument can be. I've used didgeridoos as ten-foot-poles, propped open doors with trombones, tested the depth of a pit by throwing in tubas, and broken a fall by making a cushion of bagpipes at the bottom. Oh, and I guess you can make music with them, too.

[Phelix-Mu]

Thanks for the link. :smallsmile:

That was a good thread.

Ditto of BoEF having some quality stuff (and a handful of pretty terrible stuff). But the rp resources like pregnancy rules, cultural views on sexuality and norms...all stuff that is glossed over or ignored totally in the official materials, but BoEF does a pretty sound job of dealing with it (if occasionally in a somewhat unserious manner). If a group is mature enough, it can prove a very useful basis for involving elements of non-murderhobo life in a campaign (which can add hugely to the realism of a setting).

[Jeff the Green]

Ditto of BoEF having some quality stuff (and a handful of pretty terrible stuff). But the rp resources like pregnancy rules, cultural views on sexuality and norms...all stuff that is glossed over or ignored totally in the official materials, but BoEF does a pretty sound job of dealing with it (if occasionally in a somewhat unserious manner). If a group is mature enough, it can prove a very useful basis for involving elements of non-murderhobo life in a campaign (which can add hugely to the realism of a setting).

I wouldn't know; BoEF is the only source I ban completely. It's not that I don't trust my players to be mature about it or that i think it's overpowered; I just don't want to subject my eyes to that godawful soft-core porn more than once in my life. :smallsigh:

[sonofzeal]

I wouldn't know; BoEF is the only source I ban completely. It's not that I don't trust my players to be mature about it or that i think it's overpowered; I just don't want to subject my eyes to that godawful soft-core porn more than once in my life. :smallsigh:

Fair point.

Balance isn't that bad. Fluff isn't that bad (actually pretty solid!). Art.... IS that bad.

I can tune it out, but when a black sharpie would improve your book, you've got some problems.

[Sith_Happens]

Though the last has the obvious downside of attracting scorn for trying to make fetch a thing.

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120820003454/smuff/images/c/cd/Bless_this_post.gif

[Shalist]

Detect Fire is one of my favorites because it seems useless from the title, but as the text tells you detects any living creature other than (Cold) ones, so you can use it as crude detection as well as deathwatch of sorts.It should be renamed to detect nondetection, since there's only a handful of (generally easily determined) reasons why someone wouldn't ping positive to this.

Dampen magic (CC, cleric 4) is useful for dragon NPCs (many of whom can naturally cast clerical spells as arcane spells). Among other things, it reduces the enchantment of incoming weapons by 1 - 3 (depending on CL), effectively turning /useless DR into /+2, /+3, or /+4

[Jeff the Green]

I've been dumpster diving for an upcoming character and found a couple new onesI like. First is feline distraction (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030303a), which is basically a lower level, single-target confusion with better fluff: a 40% chance of following something interesting away from the scene, a 40% chance of gazing in fascination at a spot on the wall, a 10% chance of seeking out something on a surface and knocking it off, and a 10% chance of acting normally.

The other is sudden stalagmite (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20021025a), which is a single target damage spell, Reflex half. If you fail the Reflex save you're impaled on it and have to make a DC 15 Escape Artist check to escape. You can use a Strength check instead, but you deal more damage to yourself that way. The spell is also instantaneous, so the stalagmite sticks around.

[Blackhawk748]

Ironthunder Horn, 1st level for bards 2nd for Sorc/Wiz, 30ft cone that is Ref or fall prone. Had a lot of fun with this particular spell when i first found it, my Sorc had a tendency to go first and i was trying to not be a walking nuke (my standard Sorc) so i got a lot of use out of this thing.

[Alent]

I'm fond of researching an Arcane version of "Insignia of Warding" whenever I play a class with Abjurant Champion levels. +6 divine bonus to AC for the whole party? It's nice even if the DM has you change the bonus type from divine to something else.

All the insignia spells are kind of neat, I think they should have done more with that, or at the very least made it a metamagic feat or something.

Edit: I should note that this did take a ruling on Abjurant Armor that not all DMs will make.

[A_S]

Edit: I should note that this did take a ruling on Abjurant Armor that not all DMs will make.
Uh...Abjurant Armor specifically only works for Shield and Armor bonuses. Other than saying "that's stupid" and houseruling it, is there a ruling a DM might make that would make this work?

[Venger]

I've been dumpster diving for an upcoming character and found a couple new onesI like. First is feline distraction (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20030303a), which is basically a lower level, single-target confusion with better fluff: a 40% chance of following something interesting away from the scene, a 40% chance of gazing in fascination at a spot on the wall, a 10% chance of seeking out something on a surface and knocking it off, and a 10% chance of acting normally.

The other is sudden stalagmite (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20021025a), which is a single target damage spell, Reflex half. If you fail the Reflex save you're impaled on it and have to make a DC 15 Escape Artist check to escape. You can use a Strength check instead, but you deal more damage to yourself that way. The spell is also instantaneous, so the stalagmite sticks around.

I noticed. thanks for giving this thread a shoutout there.

sudden stalagmite is amazing. I've never seen that link before. definitely gonna remember that one.

I must nominate "steal size" as one of my all-time favorites for overall weirdness. does basically what the name implies.

[Sith_Happens]

Dimension Leap (MoE): Bard 2, Sor/Wiz 2, teleport up to 10 feet/level with the catch that you have to choose a multiple of 10 feet. Oh, and here's something I just noticed rereading it for this thread: You can take along touched objects as usual for self-teleports, except with no save. Improved Disarm, eat your heart out.:smallamused:

[Alent]

Uh...Abjurant Armor specifically only works for Shield and Armor bonuses. Other than saying "that's stupid" and houseruling it, is there a ruling a DM might make that would make this work?

It was ruled in under "and similar spells instead of actual armor." So yeah, closer to houserule than to ruling. The exact words of the DM were less "that's stupid" and more "Yeah, everyone else is squishier than the wizard and that's making it hard to plan, yeah, let's do that."

Edit: If I'd remembered the ruling before I posted in the first place, I would have just mentioned Insignia of Healing instead. Played with the houserule just long enough to forget it wasn't right, but the Insignia line is still fun.

[Uncle Pine]

Dimension Leap (MoE): Bard 2, Sor/Wiz 2, teleport up to 10 feet/level with the catch that you have to choose a multiple of 10 feet. Oh, and here's something I just noticed rereading it for this thread: You can take along touched objects as usual for self-teleports, except with no save. Improved Disarm, eat your heart out.:smallamused:

Question: since you can bring along any touched object (up to your maximum load) without save, can you bring along a foe's weapon and armor? If so, how? I'd rule that you could do two touch attacks, but if you want to attack and cast Dimension Leap you'll have to quicken it.

[Curmudgeon]

Question: since you can bring along any touched object (up to your maximum load) without save, can you bring along a foe's weapon and armor? If so, how? I'd rule that you could do two touch attacks, but if you want to attack and cast Dimension Leap you'll have to quicken it.
No, that doesn't work under the rules.

You can bring along any objects you are touching as the spell is cast, so long as their weight doesn’t exceed your maximum load. Touch attacks make contact and then are done; they don't let you keep touching things, and casting a spell is a separate action. You'd have to successfully disarm an opponent's weapon first.

[Uncle Pine]

No, that doesn't work under the rules.
Touch attacks make contact and then are done; they don't let you keep touching things, and casting a spell is a separate action. You'd have to successfully disarm an opponent's weapon first.

Sounds legit. This confines disarming (and disarmoring) someone a feasible tactic only for a caster in a grapple. Even though grappling or being grappled by someone isn't what you'd usually call a feasible tactic.