Dinosaur Stampede Revamp

[Barna13]

Introduction: D&D 3.5's dinosaur stampede is a pathetically bad spell. It does pitiful damage, and has nothing else interesting going on. Perhaps more insulting than that, it's not even a dinosaur stampede! It's a bunch of gooey force blobs that are vaguely shaped like dinosaurs. This is an insult to what should be an iconic druid spell, and I'm here to right that wrong. My usual homebrew philosophy doesn't involve fixing bad spells, but this is so much more than just another bad spell. This is an insult to all of druidkind.


Dinosaur Stampede
Conjuration [Summoning]
Level: Druid 6
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area:5 ft/level line, see text
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex Half, then fortitude partial, see text.
Spell Resistance: Yes
Holding up a reptile bone to complete the spell, you call upon potent natural forces and energies, and manifest them in the form of stampeding dinosaurs.
When you cast this spell, a line of dinosaurs appear in front of you in a 5ft/level line. The center of the line is adjacent to you, and extends in either direction. Immediately after appearing, and at the beginning of each of your turns thereafter, the dinosaurs charge in a straight line away from you, moving 60ft per turn. Creatures within the area traversed by the dinosaurs must make a reflex save or take 1d6/level bludgeoning damage. Creatures who fail this save must then make a fortitude saving throw. On a failed fortitude save, they are knocked prone and dragged along by the stampede, and are moved to where the stampede ends its turn. On a successful fortitude save, they are knocked prone, but are not moved. On a successful reflex save, a creature takes half damage and does not need to make a fortitude saving throw.

Creatures flying at least 10ft. Above the ground are not affected by dinosaur stampede.

Creatures who move through squares occupied by the dinosaur stampede must make saving throw(s) as if they were in the path of the dinosaur stampede.

Material Component: 1 bone from a reptile.

[Squire Doodad]

I, for one, am expressly fond of any spell involving summoning dinosaurs.

Is there any nuance in kinds of dinosaurs? Could an avian bone be used to summon raptors that instead deal slashing damage? What about upcasting it from what I presume are ceratopsians and stegosaurs into sauropods?

Would sauropods deal half damage against foes 10 feet in the air...?

I'm now thinking about an entire kit of dinosaur-and-prehistoric-reptile themed Druid spells :smallbiggrin:

[Metastachydium]

Introduction: D&D 3.5's dinosaur stampede is a pathetically bad spell. It does pitiful damage, and has nothing else interesting going on. Perhaps more insulting than that, it's not even a dinosaur stampede! It's a bunch of gooey force blobs that are vaguely shaped like dinosaurs. This is an insult to what should be an iconic druid spell, and I'm here to right that wrong. My usual homebrew philosophy doesn't involve fixing bad spells, but this is so much more than just another bad spell. This is an insult to all of druidkind.


Dinosaur Stampede
Conjuration [Summoning]
Level: Druid 6
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area:5 ft/level line, see text
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex Half, then fortitude partial, see text.
Spell Resistance: Yes
Holding up a reptile bone to complete the spell, you call upon potent natural forces and energies, and manifest them in the form of stampeding dinosaurs.
When you cast this spell, a line of dinosaurs appear in front of you in a 5ft/level line. The center of the line is adjacent to you, and extends in either direction. Immediately after appearing, and at the beginning of each of your turns thereafter, the dinosaurs charge in a straight line away from you, moving 60ft per turn. Creatures within the area traversed by the dinosaurs must make a reflex save or take 1d6/level bludgeoning damage. Creatures who fail this save must then make a fortitude saving throw. On a failed fortitude save, they are knocked prone and dragged along by the stampede, and are moved to where the stampede ends its turn. On a successful fortitude save, they are knocked prone, but are not moved. On a successful reflex save, a creature takes half damage and does not need to make a fortitude saving throw.

Creatures flying at least 10ft. Above the ground are not affected by dinosaur stampede.

Creatures who move through squares occupied by the dinosaur stampede must make saving throw(s) as if they were in the path of the dinosaur stampede.

Material Component: 1 bone from a reptile.

DINOSAURS! I like it.
That said, the specifications of the area affected are confusing and if I understand the description correctly, misleading. When referring to an area affected by a spell, the term line has a very specific meaning in 3.5: "[a] line-shaped spell shoots away from you in a line in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier that blocks line of effect. A line-shaped spell affects all creatures in squares that the line passes through. (http://dndsrd.net/magicOverview.html)"


What about upcasting it

I don't think that's a thing in 3.5.

[Barna13]

DINOSAURS! I like it.
That said, the specifications of the area affected are confusing and if I understand the description correctly, misleading. When referring to an area affected by a spell, the term line has a very specific meaning in 3.5:

Fair enough, I tried to cover that with the "See text" part, but thinking about it as as summoning-type spell I don't think it really needs an area, so I'll either change it to "Area: See text" or just not have an area entry.