3.P - Best Spells For Large Scale Landscaping?

[unseenmage]

Am looking for spells that would allow one to change the terrain in some not so minor ways.

Illusions won't cut it either, nor will temporary changes. The terrain would need to persist long-term. Like historically long-term.

For example,
- Create a waterfall and a cavelike depression behind said falls, large enough to stash a Moving Tower (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cw/20070423a) behind comfortably.

- Transform a plain into rolling hills vast enough to hide a large-ish castle.

- Erase previously built roads and farms from several square miles of bumpkin country as though they weren't there to begin with.

That sort of thing.

[Palanan]

You may need to develop some epic spells for this, since I can’t think of too many lower-level spells that could even attempt what you’re asking.

For erasing roads and farms, the best I can think of is many, many castings of Phantom Plow. That would at least turn the earth and rip up roads. In the same vein, there’s another spell which sinks a shaft to create a well, but that would likewise take absurd numbers of castings to affect a landscape.

And Fimbulwinter (aka “Let It Go: The Spell”) could at least conceal a landscape under snow, but it wouldn’t last forever. Apart from tremendous repetition of Burrow and Stone Shape, I'm not sure what else could manage what you're trying for.

[Silva Stormrage]

D&D doesn't have that many large scale spells for the purposes you want. My suggestion would be trying to find a fiend/celestial which has a small scale spell (Stone shape, move earth, etc etc) at will and just have them spend a few weeks on adjusting the terrain as appropriate. Bind them under a contract or summon them, kill them and reanimate them as a bone create and rebuke them under your command to have them do so.

Some examples:
Yochlol: Stone Shape/Greater Teleport at will
Oread: Stone Shape, Move Earth, Soften Earth and Stone, Transmute Rock to Mud and Transmute Mud to Rock (These are all limited but great options)

If you can't find a spell you want at will try to find a spell that works on a small scale and ask your GM how much a custom item of it works. If the price is too expensive than you can see if you can reduce it in exchange for making it not really usable in combat (5 minute activation time for example) or similar restrictions.

Final option is the old fashioned way actual man power. My favorite item in the game is a scythe in Weapons of Legacy called Caput Mortem. Upon binding with the scythe you get one permanent unkillable (They reform) unseen servant per person you kill. They have shortish range (50ft or so) but look up what humans can do with that kind of man power. If you are an evil character with enough downtime you could easily have a swarm of a thousand untiring unseen servants to just dig trenches and maneuver around the environment as you wish.

Multiple Lyre of Buildings (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#lyreofBuilding) work too.

[DrMartin]

I would allow multiple casting of fabricate / greater fabricate to achieve such results, as an alternative, there is the kind of effects that Wish / Miracle are there for.

You could design a custom incantation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/incantations.htm), if you are comfortable with homebrewing some DC modifiers to affect such large areas.

[Nifft]

Even just from a pure 3.5e perspective, these seem possible.


For example,
- Create a waterfall and a cavelike depression behind said falls, large enough to stash a Moving Tower (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cw/20070423a) behind comfortably. Move Earth + Transmute Rock to Mud + Transmute Mud to Rock can do this.


- Transform a plain into rolling hills vast enough to hide a large-ish castle. Move Earth + Wall of Stone can do this, but doing this kinda defeats the purpose of building a castle. Generally the point of building a fortification is to claim the most defensible ground.


- Erase previously built roads and farms from several square miles of bumpkin country as though they weren't there to begin with. A sufficient quantity of Fireballs can do this.

If you want to be quick about erasing the past existence, use Plant Growth after you erase the farms via Fireballs.

Or add in one of my favorite BoVD gems... Evil Weather (plague of nettles). You can hide 3d6 square miles of burnt farmland per casting.

Apocalypse From the Sky (also BoVD) inflicts 10d6 damage of the chosen type (sonic, fire, or acid) on all creatures and objects within 10 miles / level, and the description notes that it "sends mountain ranges tumbling". Watch the Con damage though.

[Eldariel]

Shapechange can give you any number of Su-abilities enabling you to repeatedly e.g. Disintegrate all day. Limited Wish can reduce cast times to 1 round enabling rather significant reduction to cast times of spells like Move Earth. Polymorph Any Object spam can produce just about anything, but you do need a massive number to affect a massive area. Fabricate is solid but somewhat more restricted. Caster level buffing and (repeated) applications of Widen Spell are solid options.