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MaxiDuRaritry
2017-04-10, 03:08 PM
Normally, you're stuck with the traits of whatever plane you're on, which generally remains pretty generically "Prime Material" stuff. You know, normal gravity, normal time, normal magic, and such.

However, there are numerous ways to change planar traits around you (or at least count as being somewhere else where planar traits are concerned).

I'm talking about the planar bubble spell, the planar shepherd's planar bubble ability (not to be confused with the aforementioned spell), and (potentially), the acorn of far travel.

The planar bubble spell is limited to your home plane, and it overrides the area around you, thereby "normalizing" it for your comfort and safety. For anyone from the Material Plane, this is pretty boring, but characters with more exotic origins can make things just a bit more interesting. This spell is fairly abusable, given that it can give you a lot of interesting effects that are difficult to come by otherwise (such as free metamagic and flowing time), which are potentially expanded upon in a massive way by metamagic and similar effects.

The planar shepherd's planar bubble ability is more limited than the spell in some ways and far more abusable in others. It requires that you take levels in planar shepherd (which is by no means a hardship, though you have to push it past the campaign's DM). You can't use metamagic on it, but you can set it to whatever plane you like. If you're in Eberron, that means Xoriat, with its x10 fast time trait, is totally at your disposal.

The acorn of far travel spell, at first glance, doesn't really seem to fit here. However, since you count as sitting under the branches of the acorn's tree, you could argue that you gain whatever planar traits exist where the tree is planted.

So, how do we abuse the above?

As an example, let's say that you're a wizard from the Outlands. Most of the time, magic acts normally, but near the Spire, all casting is 100% suppressed, including deific magic. Now, you find an extremely magical demiplane, with zero gravity (and you push yourself along via thought, like in the Astral plane), all spell effects are auto-Maximized, auto-Empowered, and auto-Quickened, and time effects with regards to magic are static, such that spell effects just don't run out. Just find or plant an oak tree there, harvest an acorn via acorn of far travel (preferably via a device, from Ravenloft: Legacy of the Blood), and when you cast Widened planar bubble, set it to retard magic on its highest setting. Now you've got a mobile AMF on steroids, and you're sitting in the middle of it, and not only are you completely unaffected, you've got all the free metamagic you like, to boot.

Anyone got any other combos to use and abuse this to its fullest potential? How can we use the planar shepherd's planar bubble with the spell? How about using polymorph any object, additional bodies, and body-swapping shenanigans to become natives of multiple planes at once?

shaikujin
2017-04-11, 07:02 AM
I used demiplane shenanigans a couple of times (also used it on a couple of TO builds on GITP like the old Monk against Elder Evil challenge).

Some notes for your consideration:

Timeless magic = Unlimited persist (the problem is that while this exists as a trait, none of the published planes have this, so it could easily get shutdown if custom demiplanes are not allowed)

Subjective gravity = Free action moment by falling (over 1,000 feet on second round onwards). Change direction once per round as a free action. Boots of Gravity from Planar Handbook which will give another free action to change direction.

Choose your opponent as the source of gravity so that you fall towards him. Use Battle Jump to fall towards opponent and trigger a charge. Combine with a way to blink 30" ft (say a psionic tattoo or spell trap) back repeatedly whenever you reach 0 ft away, and fall towards opponent again. Repeat for 33 full attacks using free actions.

If Acorn of far travel is not allowed, creatures born on a plane should be considered a native of that plane. Similarly Intelligent magic items crafted on a plane should be considered natives of that plane. This should work for Planar Bubble.

Use multiple intelligent items from different planes to mix and match traits from multiple planes. Wrap them in something to block line of effect if you do not want to activate the effects.

Increasing planar bubble size (Sphere). Useful for a mobile field that negates magic, SU, deitific powers.

Sculpted (10' emanation -> 120' line),
Recaster modified (120' Line -> 80' sphere),
Widened (80' sphere -> 160' sphere).


Increasing planar bubble size (Line). Cast on skip rock and mount on a pair of glasses. If you are using null magic traits, then you have an AMF beam where-ever you look. If you have a planar bubble to the elemental plane of fire, you become Cyclops from X-Men.

Sculpted (10' emanation -> 120' line),
Widened (120 ' line -> 240' line).


The Region of Dreams (MotP Pg201) is a plane that is highly morphic. It also has morphic gravity. These can be changed on the fly using the Lucid Dreaming skill, giving a lot of flexibility.

Greater Deities have much more control over their personal godly planes. Including being exempt to any limited magic traits.