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View Full Version : D&D 5e bard spell - looking for help translating concept into mechanics



necromancybitch
2018-08-05, 10:49 AM
i need help translating my concept for a bard spell ‘Campbell’s Curious Tale’, into a balanced and mechanically sound spell. any criticism and aid is appreciated. This is my first time creating homebrew content so it’s likely to be a little rough around the edges.
as a prerequisite the target would have had to have done some heroic act great enough to be worthy of being told of in story, whether this be a local tale of a folk hero or a grand epic known the world over of a saviour of all existence. The spell would bind the target’s soul to the story of their heroics itself, allowing the soul of the target, if they are deceased, to return to the material plane and bond to any one person who knows their story, empowering them with all the abilities the target had within the bounds of the story. The target would then have to attempt to convince this person to further contribute to the cause they were pursuing before dying, or else override their will and possess them to do so. The possession/bonding should not be permanent, and should be shorter if the renown of the target is low (this may be left up to the DMs discretion.) I believe that this spell would be reasonable as a 4th level spell, given that raise dead becomes available to bards once they have access to 5th level spell slots and this is a preemptive spell, similar in some ways to clone, which offers a temporary resurrection during which time the corpse of the targeted party continues to decay unless preserved and given that once the bonding/possession breaks down the target must actually be revived again.

Crisis21
2018-08-05, 02:05 PM
Well, for one thing this definitely sounds like a Concentration spell, so if the bard stops the story, the possession ends. Think of a decent duration (such as 1-10 minutes).

I'd say components are Verbal, Somatic, and Material (an object owned by or representative of the person being called back).

Obviously you need to allow a saving throw if the possession target is unwilling (I'd go with Charisma personally).

Also, place a limit on the power of the person you bring back, because this sounds like it gives the bard a level of control over their actions like a summoning spell. Say, nothing with hit dice greater than (2 x the spell's level), allowing for upcasting.