Detect Thoughts Variant - PEACH

[jjordan]

self-scrubbing for reasons

[quindraco]

Hyper-Focus needs to be resistible, either by requiring a melee spell attack against an unwilling target, or letting an unwilling target save against it. Also, the range would just be touch, not self/touch.

[Anymage]

The issue is that with hyper focus I can make an enemy the target, make them hyper focused against one of their allies. This means they target me and all my allies at disadvantage, while we all get advantage against them. Simply requiring the target to be willing seems like it would maintain your intent while avoiding that outcome.

[GalacticAxekick]

If the gap in divination spells is bugging you, I have just the thing (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/n4tDBxJT6)

[GalacticAxekick]

That's some very cool info and, as always, I enjoy the homebrewery presentation.

Yeah! Ages ago I wanted to make fortune-telling private investigator. He would be reasonably strong, but not strong, skilled or cunning enough to confront criminals on a regular basis (that is, not a Barbarian, Fighter or Rogue). To compensate, he would use his psychic powers to attack and dodge with implausible precision.

5e does not have the spells or class features to support this character. So I wrote them myself!

[sandmote]

"Self/Touch" is bothering me. You're always allowed to touch yourself when casting a spell or using Lay on Hands. Asking this question is often newbie's first accidental innuendo, so I don't see how that rule has been missed here.

Now that hyperfocus can't be used to debuff enemies I think its fine.

I like the detect thoughts fixing to clarify what happens if you attack/ do something else, but I think the listed buff is too strong to justify keeping the base spell at 2nd level.

The 5th level version of detect thoughts looks like you meant to amend a different spell entirely? The penalty from searching for thoughts doesn't make any sense. It didn't happen when using lower level spell slots and the spell doesn't do anything stronger (it just has a longer duration).

Honestly, you could probably just roll the 3rd and 5th level versions of the spell as follows:

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the spell has a range of touch. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the maximum duration of the spell is increased to 1 hour.

I don't like Foresight for personal reasons (it's never strong enough to justify retconning the effects but constantly makes combat less interesting) but dropping the spell to 7th level with a 1 hour duration makes sense. Maybe add a mention that it still works that same at higher levels?


If the gap in divination spells is bugging you, I have just the thing (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/n4tDBxJT6)
Is there a thread for this somewhere? I'm glad hunch isn't as abusable for casters, but its still abusable for creatures using two weapon fighting or which have a natural weapon that isn't their hand. Similarly, there's probably some wording for Lucidity that doesn't require changing the school of existing spells. These awkward spells are especially annoying because some of the other spells are really cool (notably Cold Reading, Spook, Forensics, and Recall).

[GalacticAxekick]

Is there a thread for this somewhere?Yup! Right here (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?622676-The-Complete-Arcane-Divination-PEACH).

[sandmote]

No, I was modifying the detect thoughts. The possible penalty was meant to reflect that the increased power of the spell comes with some potential downsides. I would then consider increasing the power of the spell. Unless I've missed something you've only increased the efficiency by extending the duration.

Perhaps instead the 5th level version of the spell allows you to read the minds of multiple creatures at a time. Then the save could be 10 + the number of creatures you're trying to probe.