Inscribe Rune + Offensive/Damage Dealing spells

[Yogibear41]

Is it possible to make runes that are used offensively like wands? Generally speaking it says that whoever activates the rune is the target so spells that target and deal damage seem out of the question for use in this regard, (aside from setting one up as a trap, for someone else to touch) but how would a rune of say Call Lighting be handled, since casting the spell doesn't automatically trigger the lightning, could one make a rune of call lightning, trigger it, then use the bolts to strike something else?

Are there any other spells that could work like this as well?

[Darrin]

Is it possible to make runes that are used offensively like wands?

I've been looking over Inscribe Rune and Attune Gem, and I'm not entirely sure how these work when the spell doesn't have a "Target:" specified. Attune Gem is a little more flexible, in that you can specify either the triggering creature or the gem itself as the target. Both feats specify that any spell you can cast can be inscribed/attuned, so presumably this includes spells that don't specify a target, such as call lightning. This is different from Craft Skull Talisman, which specifies that the spell must target one or more creatures.

So... presumably call lightning is allowed by the text, and without a target, we have to fall back on "you make any choices that you would normally make when casting the spell".

I dunno. This is starting to swirl down into "Ask the DM" territory.



Are there any other spells that could work like this as well?

I'm not sure what you mean... spells like call lightning that could be used with Inscribe Rune/Attune Gem?

Some other spitballing:

Focal stone (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20040225a) spell allows to you skip taking the Attune Gem feat.

Awaken from afar (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20011205a) allows you to trigger runes/gems remotely, although medium range isn't all that far off.

Wand modulation (Complete Scoundrel) could be used to cast a different spell than whatever was stored in the wand. Siphon (same book) sorta does the reverse, allowing you to expend charges from a wand to restore your spell slots.

Shallantha's delicate disk (Lost Empires of Faerun) can be used to store any spell up to 5th level in a ceramic plate, which you can break in a variety of different ways.

Earthbound Spell (PHBII) can be used to store spells in the ground for up to an hour... I've been trying to figure out something interesting to do with this feat for a very long time, but haven't had much luck.

[tiercel]

Earthbound Spell (PHBII) can be used to store spells in the ground for up to an hour... I've been trying to figure out something interesting to do with this feat for a very long time, but haven't had much luck.

Earthbound screams out to me “BBEG lair encounter,” most likely when a BBEG is using his layers of ablative minions to let him know when those pesky heroes are getting near, but also if clever heroes can clear/secure part of a lair, literally prepare the ground, draw some elite minions back to that ground with a feigned retreat, sort of thing.

It’s a pretty specialized technique and obviously works best in constrained spaces (e.g. dungeons) with opportunities for tactical control, but Earthbound gives either on-the-fly magic “traps” (especially if they wind up going off during a chase or encounter when no one is busy with Searching for traps), or power-up buff suites (e.g. opponents enter and you/your allies run across a whole bunch of buffing squares, all in one round).

In certain situations it could be pretty awesome, but unless this is a charcter’s/BBEG’s whole MO, it sounds more like metamagic rod material than a feat slot; YMMV.