SangoProduction
2018-11-07, 09:09 PM
And it brought some really interesting talents for the Spheres. I am a relatively low OP player (maybe a little higher than baseline bard), and I definitely have yet to find a campaign that needs me to be any higher OP. So, I wanted to get other peoples' opinions on the most notable of the new sphere effects that I have found.
Mage Feint
As a trick you may aid another on any target within your illusion range with attack or defense.
As a trick you may force a target to make a Will save or lose their Dexterity bonus to armor class until their turn. This trick is treated as a feint for feats, talents, and effects that trigger off of a feint.
As a trick you may create a harmless sensory disruption around a target. The target must make a Will save or this triggers any readied actions the target may have regardless of their actual trigger.
You may spend a spell point to use any of these tricks as a swift action.
So, Mage Feint is a relatively...versatile. (Btw. Tricks basically mean "std action cantrips".) Readied actions...I've never had them be a thing except in ambushes, and similar thing with aid another. I've also literally not seen anyone try and use feint in years. Perhaps for reasons as presented here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?550048-Making-Feinting-work). So, a cool and flavorful ability, but it doesn't seem so useful. Would it be worth a spell point (equivalent to a spell slot) to do these things as a swift action?
Distracting Phantoms (figment)
As a trick you may designate a 5 ft. cube within your illusion range as a flanking partner for you and your allies. This partner remains for one round per caster level. You may only have one phantasmal flanking partner at a time. Creating a new cube causes the previous one to immediately dissipate.
As a trick you may use the aid another action on attack or defense within range of your illusions. Instead of an attack roll the target is allowed a Will save to ignore this effect. Your figments count as flanking partners with reach appropriate for their size against all creatures that have failed their Will save to disbelieve.
So, this is interesting. You can overtly make at least 1 illusory figment, which functions specifically as a flanking partner. You can also use aid another on attack/defense as a will save (which is probably preferable as a caster), but must be a standard action without other talents.
Then, and I think this is its own separate effect, not dependent upon the aid another action: other figments you have count as flanking partners with reach appropriate for their size. Holy butter balls. That seems really good, as it's improving the functionality of your existing figments, and they can get rather large. What happens when an enemy is in the area of your figment?
Illusionary Labyrinth (figment)
As a trick, you may choose to perform a reposition maneuver on any target within your illusion range using your (caster level + your casting modifier -5) in place of your CMB.
When creating a figment you may spend an additional spell point to require anyone that has failed to disbelieve the effect to pass an additional Will save when attempting to move from or through the area of your figment or immediately end their movement and remain in the first space occupied by the figment that they also occupied.
So, Illusionary Labyrinth gives a reposition maneuver at range. Cool, but really, who cares. It's reposition.
What's interesting though is the will-based Stand Still effect for a spell point, which does seem quite notable. Potentially, it requires up to 2 will saves to be successful, but "Fail to disbelieve" is not the same as "has failed a will save to disbelieve." They could simply have not noticed a reason to disbelieve the illusion.
Insistent Illusions (figment)
As a swift action, you may spend a spell point to force all creatures that currently disbelieve any of your figments to re-roll their Will saves to disbelieve. Failure indicates that they believe the illusion is real regardless of the results of previous Will saves.
Inspire Doubt (figment)
Anyone who successfully saves against your figments takes a -1 penalty to all saving throws and MSD against your other sphere effects and abilities for the next minute or until they attempt a save against one of your sphere effects. This penalty increases by an additional one per 5 caster levels you possess.
INsistent Illusions allows a reroll vs all of your figments if they disbelieve any. Seems pretty good, considering the effects you can stack on to figments.
Inspire Doubt gives mechanical enforcement of the idea that you convince them that your attacks are all bluffs, so they start to ignore your normal attacks, and fall for it. The penalty seems incredibly inconsequential, and because of the typo at the end of the sentence where it says "attempt a save against one of your sphere effects" rather than "one of your other sphere effects", it's probably not great.
Decoy (figment, glamer)
As a trick you may create an illusionary creature in the same square as the target. This illusionary creature follows and occupies the same square as the target. Anyone attempting to attack the target must make a Will save or suffer a 50% miss chance. On a miss caused by this effect, the attacker targets the illusionary creature instead. The illusionary creature has an AC of 5 and is unaffected by area attacks. Illusionary creatures created by this trick last 1 round per two caster levels (minimum 1) or until struck with a single target effect.
As a trick you may create a coaxing decoy in an adjacent square. The coaxing decoy may immediately move up to the speed of your figments in any direction unimpeded. The coaxing decoy is immune to damage and vanishes at the end of your turn. If the movement of the coaxing decoy would provoke an attack of opportunity from a creature, that creature must use it on the coaxing decoy. Creatures may make a Will save for each attack the decoy provokes from them to ignore this effect.
As a glamer you may surround a target with a number of illusionary creatures equal to 2 +1 per 3 caster levels each granting a separate miss chance to be struck instead of the target. These decoys function exactly like the illusionary copies described in the illusionary creature trick except they possess AC equal to the touch AC of the target and have the normal duration for your illusions. Multiple castings of this glamer stack but a target cannot have more illusionary creatures attached to them than half their Hit Dice if targeted multiple times.
If you possess the Complex Illusions talent one or more of the illusionary creatures granted by the glamer may act as as the coaxing decoy trick. As a free action once per round each illusionary creature may move 5 ft. per 2 caster levels independently of the original target. Illusionary creatures moving independently instantly vanish if they are beyond 15 ft. of the original target. While moving independently illusionary creatures provoke attacks of opportunity as the coaxing decoy trick. Unless adjacent to the original target illusionary creatures are treated in all ways as figments and if disbelieved do not grant their miss chance or provoke attacks of opportunity. If disbelieved as figments, copies acting independently reset the status of their disbelief by returning to the same square as the original.
So, this one seems really quite powerful, defensively. First off, you can give someone an ablative 50% miss chance (so long as the attacker fails a will save). It can also be used to draw AoOs, letting your casters cast, and flankers flank without trouble. Then as a glamour, it improves to having 2 illusory creatures (minimum) with their own 50% miss chances and will saves. OK. 75% miss chance is quite...notable. But then with Complex Illusions, you can use the glamours as figments, when can then un-disbelieve themselves by moving back to the original creature.
The duration is really low, so I'd probably spec in to Extend Spell, and Stable Illusion. Especially for the Glamour part, since that does cost a spell point.
Mage Feint
As a trick you may aid another on any target within your illusion range with attack or defense.
As a trick you may force a target to make a Will save or lose their Dexterity bonus to armor class until their turn. This trick is treated as a feint for feats, talents, and effects that trigger off of a feint.
As a trick you may create a harmless sensory disruption around a target. The target must make a Will save or this triggers any readied actions the target may have regardless of their actual trigger.
You may spend a spell point to use any of these tricks as a swift action.
So, Mage Feint is a relatively...versatile. (Btw. Tricks basically mean "std action cantrips".) Readied actions...I've never had them be a thing except in ambushes, and similar thing with aid another. I've also literally not seen anyone try and use feint in years. Perhaps for reasons as presented here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?550048-Making-Feinting-work). So, a cool and flavorful ability, but it doesn't seem so useful. Would it be worth a spell point (equivalent to a spell slot) to do these things as a swift action?
Distracting Phantoms (figment)
As a trick you may designate a 5 ft. cube within your illusion range as a flanking partner for you and your allies. This partner remains for one round per caster level. You may only have one phantasmal flanking partner at a time. Creating a new cube causes the previous one to immediately dissipate.
As a trick you may use the aid another action on attack or defense within range of your illusions. Instead of an attack roll the target is allowed a Will save to ignore this effect. Your figments count as flanking partners with reach appropriate for their size against all creatures that have failed their Will save to disbelieve.
So, this is interesting. You can overtly make at least 1 illusory figment, which functions specifically as a flanking partner. You can also use aid another on attack/defense as a will save (which is probably preferable as a caster), but must be a standard action without other talents.
Then, and I think this is its own separate effect, not dependent upon the aid another action: other figments you have count as flanking partners with reach appropriate for their size. Holy butter balls. That seems really good, as it's improving the functionality of your existing figments, and they can get rather large. What happens when an enemy is in the area of your figment?
Illusionary Labyrinth (figment)
As a trick, you may choose to perform a reposition maneuver on any target within your illusion range using your (caster level + your casting modifier -5) in place of your CMB.
When creating a figment you may spend an additional spell point to require anyone that has failed to disbelieve the effect to pass an additional Will save when attempting to move from or through the area of your figment or immediately end their movement and remain in the first space occupied by the figment that they also occupied.
So, Illusionary Labyrinth gives a reposition maneuver at range. Cool, but really, who cares. It's reposition.
What's interesting though is the will-based Stand Still effect for a spell point, which does seem quite notable. Potentially, it requires up to 2 will saves to be successful, but "Fail to disbelieve" is not the same as "has failed a will save to disbelieve." They could simply have not noticed a reason to disbelieve the illusion.
Insistent Illusions (figment)
As a swift action, you may spend a spell point to force all creatures that currently disbelieve any of your figments to re-roll their Will saves to disbelieve. Failure indicates that they believe the illusion is real regardless of the results of previous Will saves.
Inspire Doubt (figment)
Anyone who successfully saves against your figments takes a -1 penalty to all saving throws and MSD against your other sphere effects and abilities for the next minute or until they attempt a save against one of your sphere effects. This penalty increases by an additional one per 5 caster levels you possess.
INsistent Illusions allows a reroll vs all of your figments if they disbelieve any. Seems pretty good, considering the effects you can stack on to figments.
Inspire Doubt gives mechanical enforcement of the idea that you convince them that your attacks are all bluffs, so they start to ignore your normal attacks, and fall for it. The penalty seems incredibly inconsequential, and because of the typo at the end of the sentence where it says "attempt a save against one of your sphere effects" rather than "one of your other sphere effects", it's probably not great.
Decoy (figment, glamer)
As a trick you may create an illusionary creature in the same square as the target. This illusionary creature follows and occupies the same square as the target. Anyone attempting to attack the target must make a Will save or suffer a 50% miss chance. On a miss caused by this effect, the attacker targets the illusionary creature instead. The illusionary creature has an AC of 5 and is unaffected by area attacks. Illusionary creatures created by this trick last 1 round per two caster levels (minimum 1) or until struck with a single target effect.
As a trick you may create a coaxing decoy in an adjacent square. The coaxing decoy may immediately move up to the speed of your figments in any direction unimpeded. The coaxing decoy is immune to damage and vanishes at the end of your turn. If the movement of the coaxing decoy would provoke an attack of opportunity from a creature, that creature must use it on the coaxing decoy. Creatures may make a Will save for each attack the decoy provokes from them to ignore this effect.
As a glamer you may surround a target with a number of illusionary creatures equal to 2 +1 per 3 caster levels each granting a separate miss chance to be struck instead of the target. These decoys function exactly like the illusionary copies described in the illusionary creature trick except they possess AC equal to the touch AC of the target and have the normal duration for your illusions. Multiple castings of this glamer stack but a target cannot have more illusionary creatures attached to them than half their Hit Dice if targeted multiple times.
If you possess the Complex Illusions talent one or more of the illusionary creatures granted by the glamer may act as as the coaxing decoy trick. As a free action once per round each illusionary creature may move 5 ft. per 2 caster levels independently of the original target. Illusionary creatures moving independently instantly vanish if they are beyond 15 ft. of the original target. While moving independently illusionary creatures provoke attacks of opportunity as the coaxing decoy trick. Unless adjacent to the original target illusionary creatures are treated in all ways as figments and if disbelieved do not grant their miss chance or provoke attacks of opportunity. If disbelieved as figments, copies acting independently reset the status of their disbelief by returning to the same square as the original.
So, this one seems really quite powerful, defensively. First off, you can give someone an ablative 50% miss chance (so long as the attacker fails a will save). It can also be used to draw AoOs, letting your casters cast, and flankers flank without trouble. Then as a glamour, it improves to having 2 illusory creatures (minimum) with their own 50% miss chances and will saves. OK. 75% miss chance is quite...notable. But then with Complex Illusions, you can use the glamours as figments, when can then un-disbelieve themselves by moving back to the original creature.
The duration is really low, so I'd probably spec in to Extend Spell, and Stable Illusion. Especially for the Glamour part, since that does cost a spell point.