Cloudy Conjuration Feat not working at all?

[Almostdead]

Type: General
Source: Complete Mage

Your conjured creations and summoned beings appear in a puff of sickening black smoke, and you vanish in a cloud of the same when you teleport.
Prerequisite: Spell Focus (conjuration) or conjurer level 1st.
Benefit: When you cast a conjuration spell, you can choose to have a 5-foot-radius cloud of sickening smoke manifest. The cloud can appear in your space, adjacent to you, or in the space of or adjacent to your target (if any).
The cloud lasts for 1 round. Any living creature is sickened while inside it (but not after exiting). The cloud in all other ways acts like a small area of the fog cloud spell. Creatures immune to poison are immune to the sickening effect. The cloud appears in conjunction with the spell taking effect not before or after). Any creature you call or summon with the spell is immune to the sickening effect of the cloud.
Special: A conjurer can select this feat as a wizard bonus feat.

According to description, this feat provides extra effect for Summon Monster spells (and other conjuration spells too). However, the cloud appears "in your space, adjacent to you, or in the space of or adjacent to your target (if any)". And since Summon Monster spell doesn't even have a target, the cloud can only appear near the caster. But the caster is not immune to the sickening effect, and he has to step in the cloud to get the concealment. This makes the feat pointless for Summoner. So I'm not quite sure why the description focuses on Summon Monster that much?

Can anyone explain this to me?:smallsmile:

[The Viscount]

You're correct in your reading. The feat is not well written. I think it would certainly be sensible to houserule this to read "your square, adjacent to your square, or the center square of an effect you create with a conjuration spell" since the majority of conjuration spells don't have targets, and then also make you immune to the effects of your own cloudy conjuration. They clearly intended to boost summons with this, but as you say they tripped on the wording. By strict RAW, the feat is indeed pretty bad.
I feel like Complete Mage perhaps a bit more than some of the other books doesn't have the same level of writing as others. The advice in particular is all over the place for making characters focused on the various schools and roles.

[Mato]

Can anyone explain this to me?:smallsmile:Yeah.
1. First clear off your table.
2. Place a piece of paper on the table.
3. Now try to draw matching several squares on the paper using a pen.
4. Label one square "the wizard".
5. Pick a square at least two squares away from "the wizard" and label it "the monster".
6. Now find a square next to "the wizard" that is between "the wizard" and "the monster".
7. Label that one "fog cloud".
That's it, that's the explanation. The "fog obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet", giving the wizard total concealment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatModifiers.htm#totalConcealment) against the monster unless either one of them moves. They feat simply adds a line-of-sight breaking effect, and a -2 penalty to saves, to every conjuration spell you cast. With proper crowd control, it's very versatile and sometimes very effective. Through they can still choose to throw area-based effects through it.

[daremetoidareyo]

That's a 5 foot radius. That's 4 squares.

Further, can you name any popular conjuration spells that do damage to a target, perhaps with a ranged touch attack?

[Thurbane]

Buzzing Bee is a 1 level spell, with medium range, a target of one creature. Nice little rider effect to have on your cantrip!

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Thurbane
Buzzing Bee is a 0 level spell, with medium range, a target of one creature. Nice little rider effect to have on your cantrip!

Spell Compendium gives this as a first-level spell. Is there an older source that has a 0-level version?

[Thurbane]

Spell Compendium gives this as a first-level spell. Is there an older source that has a 0-level version?

My bad - it's level 1 spell; I think I was getting it mixed up with a different spell in my head.

There are a few Conjuration spells that target a creature:

Buzzing Bee
Choke
Cocoon
Deific Vengeance
Drown
Frostbite
Kelgore's Fire Bolt
Lava Missile
Maze
Swamp Lung

...I'm sure there's more out there.

[daremetoidareyo]

Orb spells.

[Bucky]

This looks like a fine enabler for immediate or readied action judo. You get to respond to an enemy ranged attack by laying smoke, while also having some other useful effect. Since they've already committed to the attack, there's a 50% chance you waste it, which is worth being sickened for.

[Asmotherion]

My bad - it's level 1 spell; I think I was getting it mixed up with a different spell in my head.

There are a few Conjuration spells that target a creature:

Buzzing Bee
Choke
Cocoon
Deific Vengeance
Drown
Frostbite
Kelgore's Fire Bolt
Lava Missile
Maze
Swamp Lung

...I'm sure there's more out there.
(Lesser) Orb of X
Acid Arrow
Even the Acid Splash Cantrip...

The list goes on.

Even in summons having an effect that provides you with concealment is great. Just manifest it in between you and enemies and not on your square.

Manifest it on your square when you teleport away from melee.

[Crake]

(Lesser) Orb of X
Acid Arrow
Even the Acid Splash Cantrip...

The list goes on.

Even in summons having an effect that provides you with concealment is great. Just manifest it in between you and enemies and not on your square.

Manifest it on your square when you teleport away from melee.


Orb spells.

Orb spells are effect spells, not target spells.

[The Viscount]

Orb spells.

The orb spells are a strange case. They make mention of a target in the description, and you certainly throw them at a creature within close range, but the spell description does not have a target, only an effect.