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View Full Version : Darkness beyond twilight [Spells]



MandibleBones
2008-02-20, 10:52 AM
Please, let me know what I can do to make these a little more D&D friendly; my spell-fu is rather weak. From the anime Slayers, if you couldn't tell.

Dragon Slave
Evocation [Darkness]
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: One round
Range: Long (400+40 ft per caster level)
Target: 10-ft-per-caster-level spread
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex for Half
Spell Resistance: Yes

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows; buried in the flow of time: In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness. Let those who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I posses: Dragon Slave!"

The Dragon Slave (originally Dragon Slayer) deals 10 points of damage per caster level to all creatures over 5 HD in the target range, as well as objects. This damage does not have an energy type.

Ra-Tilt
Evocation [Spirit]
Level: Clr 9
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: One round
Range: Long (400+40 ft per caster level)
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will
Spell Resistance: No

"Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the Infinite...RA-TILT!"

The Ra-Tilt is the most powerful offensive spell available to the armies of light, assaulting the target on both the material and astral planes. The target creature must make two will saves; if it fails either one, it is slain instantly. Passing both saves results in the creature taking 2d6 WIS damage instead.

Atticus Bleak
2008-02-20, 11:50 AM
I love it i love it i love it! *nodnods* Alright! Now that the fanboy is done...It's good work...altho i must say these spells have a uslessly long range...So, from Slayers, it seems both are rays...or better yet lines like a dragons firebreath, so it would seem anything caught in the blast needs to take damage (ala Lena destroying buildings with badly aimed Dragon Slaves) and as read it seems to be a single target anywhere within 760 feet when you first get the spell. Personally i would make it a line, and maybe shorten it.....then again it does have the anime-itus problem of "when you fire it blasts off into space."

Okay, I just re-read, so its a "spread"? Personally I would say make it (Dragon Slave) a line, maybe ten feet wide. I'm not sure about the length, the way it's listen seems a bit.....severe.....but from the anime it does seem to be the "Big DBZ-style deathray of destroybystanders," so i guess it works. Also, as for Ra-Tilt, i would say have it effect only evil creatures, and shrink the range. You have the range for it listed as "Long (400+40 ft per caster level)" asif it were a line or a cone, but it only targets one creature, so i would try and clear that up, and make the range smaller, because at that range you can kill people in the next town. There's not alot of use in huge range on a spell that targets one creature because you can't SEE a creature whos over a few hundred feet away.

Sorry i started babbling, let me be specific, for Ra-Tilt, i would say the target should have to be evil, or atleast neutral, and that you should shorten the range a bit...I barely remember Ra-Tilt......did it only target one creature?

MandibleBones
2008-02-20, 01:11 PM
I don't know about Ra-Tilt - I've only seen Zel use it on one creature at a time. The range should definitely be less, you're right - and maybe make it a ranged touch as well? Maybe add that a non-evil target need only make one will save out of the given two and only takes WIS damage from a failed save (Good or not, being hammered astrally is probably something that causes wisdom damage).

As for DS, the area of effect is much like a large fireball (judgeing by the uses of DS in the first season; I haven't seen Next or Try) - though like a fireball it centers on the target area and bursts from there. And yes, I meant the range to be that bad: Lina levels a town with it in the first episode because the dragon was there, though the townspeople survive it. Meanwhile, Zolf (who in D&D terms was probably not able to cast 9th level spells and was casting off a scroll that was way beyond his skill level) didn't do as much damage.

We can assume that Shabranigdo ignores damage from non-epic spells, since he ate the Ra-Tilt and the Dragon Slave equally, yes?

Rigon
2008-02-20, 01:15 PM
as for Doragon Sure-wu i say that it should be simply an overpowered version of fireball with composite damage (fire + energy + force + whattheheck).

and as for rah-tilt i would say that is a normal reflex for half area of effect spell with a special damage type. i mean that willwill or die is kinda... wrong.
according to the anime itself rah-tilt (and other "astral" spells) do no affect humans or normal creature just those who have an "astral body". it could be either explained by saying that the human astral body (which is part of the humans body as HP) is relatively small or by the saying that the human astral body is a projection of the physical body while for demons/mazoku(/outsiders or aligment plane) it's the other way around.
so i would say it does damage to creatures who are "embodiments of an alignment" or undead (who are moving cause of negative/alas evil/ energy).

MandibleBones
2008-02-20, 02:04 PM
So ra-tilt as a line of whatever energy that effects only creatures of the Outsider, Elemental or Undead type, or those with the (Evil) or (Extraplaner) subtypes?

Maybe 10-per-CL damage, like DS? Reflex for half, ignores SR?

Rigon
2008-02-20, 02:06 PM
We can assume that Shabranigdo ignores damage from non-epic spells, since he ate the Ra-Tilt and the Dragon Slave equally, yes?

wrong.
Dragon Slave wasn't working because the source of "black" magic is Shabranigdo thus killing Ruby-eyes with that would literally be an act of suicide.
As for the Ra-Tilt i would say he has a nice big will saving throw. being a near god entity of ancient times kinda comes with that (he had a big and hard astral body).

"So ra-tilt as a line of whatever energy that effects only creatures of the Outsider, Elemental or Undead type, or those with the (Evil) or (Extraplaner) subtypes?

Maybe 10-per-CL damage, like DS? Reflex for half, ignores SR?"
affects those with a solid astral body. outsiders of "any alignment plane" (devils, demons, angels, archons ...) + undead/ghosts.
and for the second question i would say will negates. and that is why Ruby-eyes is unaffected by Rah-tilt.

Ceiling009
2008-02-20, 03:40 PM
Oddly enough, I actually own the d20 slayers book... and DS I think was more like a fireball, and did 2d6 per caster level with no maximum damage or type.

MandibleBones
2008-02-20, 04:12 PM
Ceiling - I did't know there WAS a d20 slayers book :)


Dragon Slave wasn't working because the source of "black" magic is Shabranigdo thus killing Ruby-eyes with that would literally be an act of suicide. As for the Ra-Tilt i would say he has a nice big will saving throw. being a near god entity of ancient times kinda comes with that (he had a big and hard astral body).

Dragon Slave didn't work because of the Shabranigdo thing, yes, but Zel tried other spells - Gaav Flare, for instance, originates from Gaav, not Shabranigdo, and it was equally useless, as were all of his other spells he tried.

Bear in mind that we're translating this to D&D, and it's a rough translation, too - "nice big will save" is fine for what is essentially a being with divine rank, but immune to non-epic spells works just as well - since Giga Slave, which is essentially an epic spell, worked just fine.

Rigon
2008-02-20, 04:21 PM
Gaav is "Garv". Garv is one of Shabranigdo's children. He is the demon dragon king who is cursed to be reborn as a human over and over again. thus he is a lesser entity than Ruby-eyes.

MandibleBones
2008-02-20, 05:29 PM
Gaav is "Garv". Garv is one of Shabranigdo's children. He is the demon dragon king who is cursed to be reborn as a human over and over again. thus he is a lesser entity than Ruby-eyes.

Fair enough - but as far as translation to D&D goes? It seems more simple just to assume Big S has immunity to non-epic magic.

Rigon
2008-02-20, 06:17 PM
Fair enough - but as far as translation to D&D goes? It seems more simple just to assume Big S has immunity to non-epic magic.

Elmekia lance - which is also an "astral" kind of spell - did make him "move a hand" after it was released from the sword of light (Galunova, which again was created by Shabranigdo's brother Dugradigdo/Darkstar). and i also think that Giga Slave isn't epic. It's like wish you know. Broken like hell but non-epic (summoning the "creator&destructor" of the world into your own body is kinda broken). i myself wouldn't allow giga slave at all... it's just that you can't allow players to cast a spell which might even destroy the world, and without that "possible hit-back" it's just brokenly overpowered.
BUT uhm if we remove this nerfing of mine i say your "epic does hurt" method works for me on system level.

may i ask why you are creating these spells? if you wanna make a slayers campaign settings then i would suggest that you develop the lowlowlow spells first... which will be a hard piece of work as lina did throw around dragon slaves each and every corner but i don't need all five fingers of a hand to count how many times she casted light (which also cancelled out that shadow-prison spell of Zel). and detailing all those mazoku... ouch.

Ceiling009
2008-02-20, 07:49 PM
I mean, not to rain on your guys parade or anything, there is a d20 slayers book for the show, which for once... didn't actually suck. Normally books for anime games tend to be a lot of fluff and almost no mechanics, but this books seriously rewrote parts of the basic 3.5 system to fit in better with the show. It also has every spell more or less used in the show, and actually has reworked classes for the setting..... If anything you guys should start there and then rework their material. There's also some topics like this on the WOTC boards too...

Xuincherguixe
2008-02-20, 07:59 PM
There are NEVER enough Doom spells.

Speaking of which, I need to make a Thermonuclear Blast spell.

MandibleBones
2008-02-20, 11:18 PM
See, I didn't know. I'll check that out.