Xarteros
2017-04-18, 11:14 PM
Just thinking about grafts as a way of replacing limbs lost in battle, and I stumbled onto the train of thought of grafting actual spells as replacement limbs (Living Spells are from Eberron, for those not familiar)
What if you could make some form of Living-Spell graft? How would you design & price it?
Living Spells are meant to only be made from Area spells, or spells that create a non-creature summoned effect (Basically no monster summons, and no targeted spells). Thematically, I think only Line spells suit the style of a Graft (Thinking along the lines of a Lightning Bolt arm seems fine, but something like a Cloudkill arm doesn't make much sense unless you just pretend it condenses). However, that narrows down Spell options quite a lot, possibly enough to not really be worth it. One option would be to allow Ray/Ranged Touch/Touch spells as potential spells, to replace non-Line effect area spells. You could even just remove the Line spells too, and make it Touch/Ranged Touch/Ray spells only. Or, yeah, re-fluff all area spells to make them thematically compliant (Cloudkill arm is like an arm of solid smoke?)
How I think it would function would be to grant the Host creature a slam attack via the arm, and engage the spells effect on a successful slam (as normal for a Living Spell). The Engulf ability, however, I'd say would change to apply to enemies in a grapple (with the spell effect applying to the enemy each round they remain grappled, instead of for each round Engulfed). Would the change from Engulf --> Grapple be too much?
Since Living Spells normally gain a (flight? land?) speed based on the spells range, I was thinking maybe the graft would gain a natural reach based on the spell's range (Short range spell would have 5ft reach, Medium range spell would have 10ft, Long-range spell would have 15ft?), to retain the theme of longer-reaching spells
Living Spells also gain size based on the CL of the spell (CL 1-6 is a medium sized Living Spell, CL 7-12 is large, CL 13+ is huge). Should the creature's size have any bearing on what CL Living Spell Graft it can have attached? Not necessarily following those same figures, but something along the theme (more powerful spells create larger Living Spell Grafts, only usable by larger creatures)?
To break down into something easier to discuss:
How would the grafts be priced?
What spells would be applicable as a Living Spell Graft (Line, any Area, Touch/Ranged Touch etc)?
What spells (if any) could break this system? How could you work around any such spells?
How to activate the spell's effect, and potential limitations?
Graft gets Reach or other bonuses based on Spell Range?
Should the CL-based size of a Living Spell limit what creature it can be attached to?
Super keen to hear some feedback, and see if this system could get ironed out
What if you could make some form of Living-Spell graft? How would you design & price it?
Living Spells are meant to only be made from Area spells, or spells that create a non-creature summoned effect (Basically no monster summons, and no targeted spells). Thematically, I think only Line spells suit the style of a Graft (Thinking along the lines of a Lightning Bolt arm seems fine, but something like a Cloudkill arm doesn't make much sense unless you just pretend it condenses). However, that narrows down Spell options quite a lot, possibly enough to not really be worth it. One option would be to allow Ray/Ranged Touch/Touch spells as potential spells, to replace non-Line effect area spells. You could even just remove the Line spells too, and make it Touch/Ranged Touch/Ray spells only. Or, yeah, re-fluff all area spells to make them thematically compliant (Cloudkill arm is like an arm of solid smoke?)
How I think it would function would be to grant the Host creature a slam attack via the arm, and engage the spells effect on a successful slam (as normal for a Living Spell). The Engulf ability, however, I'd say would change to apply to enemies in a grapple (with the spell effect applying to the enemy each round they remain grappled, instead of for each round Engulfed). Would the change from Engulf --> Grapple be too much?
Since Living Spells normally gain a (flight? land?) speed based on the spells range, I was thinking maybe the graft would gain a natural reach based on the spell's range (Short range spell would have 5ft reach, Medium range spell would have 10ft, Long-range spell would have 15ft?), to retain the theme of longer-reaching spells
Living Spells also gain size based on the CL of the spell (CL 1-6 is a medium sized Living Spell, CL 7-12 is large, CL 13+ is huge). Should the creature's size have any bearing on what CL Living Spell Graft it can have attached? Not necessarily following those same figures, but something along the theme (more powerful spells create larger Living Spell Grafts, only usable by larger creatures)?
To break down into something easier to discuss:
How would the grafts be priced?
What spells would be applicable as a Living Spell Graft (Line, any Area, Touch/Ranged Touch etc)?
What spells (if any) could break this system? How could you work around any such spells?
How to activate the spell's effect, and potential limitations?
Graft gets Reach or other bonuses based on Spell Range?
Should the CL-based size of a Living Spell limit what creature it can be attached to?
Super keen to hear some feedback, and see if this system could get ironed out