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View Full Version : [Spell] "Enough time to undo a single mistake."



Icewalker
2008-09-24, 08:26 PM
Inspiration: Galaxy Quest. Couldn't find a clip, but it's a spoiler anyways.

Thirteen Seconds
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous

The casting of this spell rewinds the very fabric of existence, pushing everything back thirteen seconds. The caster retains the memory of this time, but no others do. Time is reset to it's exact moment as of two rounds prior to the casting of the spell.

Everybody takes identical actions with identical results as they did before except the caster, who retains their memory and can act differently (in turn affecting the actions of others, allowing them to act differently).

Material Component: A perfectly spherical sapphire worth at least 13000 gp.

[hr]
My third Galaxy Quest related creation...

:smallbiggrin:

Baalthazaq
2008-09-25, 12:17 AM
I once took a Braxat and modified him to take some abilities away, but then made his "Dimension Door" ability also send him 4 rounds into the past (but never beyond).
I.e.
DD to 4 rounds ago.
1 round progresses.
DD again cannot take him more than 1 round back.
The reasoning is in how I built the physics of the world, that present time is like the earth, with a sort of gravity, you fall towards it. Jumping back in time is you pushing on the present to send you into the past (like you jump vs gravity), then the progression of time is like you falling. You have nothing else solid to jump from.

I like your spell and have often wanted to be able to use Time Stop in a similar fashion, but bear in mind the meticulous planning required. For my Braxat I spent a good hour and a half working out the battle sequence in excel before unleashing it on the players.

In the scenario I had one of the players hearing his own screams in the distance (over a dune), as they run to investigate I had the Braxat Dimension Door open behind him and drag him into the past.

I then had to ensure he had 4 rounds of combat before the rest of the party arrived.

After that, I also included multiple instances of the same creature (3 total at one point) as his future selves went back in time to help his past self.

I gave the future selves free evasion due to being able to forsee the future, and applied all damage to the relevant incarnations, but had the final incarnation die first (obviously). Damage over time was dealt with by a small excel program I built.

ANYWAY, here's the point: How are you going to do that on the fly? Do you normally record every dice roll? What if I go back in time and give someone who just got shot Barkskin? Will you remember the old roll and adjust accordingly, or will you roll again?

What if I cast the spell twice, or keep casting it, effectively giving me 1 round per cast? What if I lengthen the duration?

Having said that, you've done some nice thinking around it. The 13'000GP cost acts as an incentive not to constantly use it. I don't think it's too overpowered but you need to take into consideration the people who will try to abuse it.

Icewalker
2008-09-25, 12:23 AM
First off, as you go back to yourself back in time, there are no worries about duplication of selves or problems in the time stream and all that. In fact, if you look at it overall, the final effect is giving the caster the knowledge of what happens over the next two rounds if they take a certain action, then allowing them to change it.

As to recording dice rolls, yeah, this spell would be hell on the DM a good bit. My old DM meticulously records everything that deals damage, all the effects in combat, etc, but giving bonuses to rolls and then checking could be concerning, as nobody records the actual rolls. Of course, one could argue that a bonus to a roll affects the person enough that they would act different in small enough ways to justify rolling it again instead of using the same result.

As to the repeated casting, I think having it be a 9th level spell stifles that pretty effectively, and the 13k gp price tag helps as well.

Gralamin
2008-09-25, 12:26 AM
Seems very similar to Time Regression (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeRegression.htm), and about balanced in that only you can edit your actions, with others only able to edit their actions once you do something to change the results.

Icewalker
2008-09-25, 12:42 AM
Daaaaamn, already been done.

Oh well, mine is a reference. And I don't think this warrants an xp cost necessarily.

Gralamin
2008-09-25, 01:16 AM
Daaaaamn, already been done.

Oh well, mine is a reference. And I don't think this warrants an xp cost necessarily.

Psionics just uses XP costs instead of GP Cost. 1000 XP is about 5000 GP in Component costs.

JackMage666
2008-09-25, 02:57 AM
Contradiction.

If you used the material component in the future, it'll be in your possession in the past. So, if you don't need to use it in the future, it stays in your possession.

Therefore, something physical being destroyed won't make sense for this spell. I'd go with XP or a Focus.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-09-25, 03:42 AM
Contradiction.

If you used the material component in the future, it'll be in your possession in the past. So, if you don't need to use it in the future, it stays in your possession.

Therefore, something physical being destroyed won't make sense for this spell. I'd go with XP or a Focus.What if it had a rule inserted, something to the effect of forcing you to spend the round that corresponds to the round you cast the spell casting again, or the timeline collapses. In game terms, you would be dazed for one round 2 rounds after casting this spell, at which point the material component is re-destroyed, and the slot is re-removed from your memory. Someone better than me with temporality needs to actually write it, but it could render both a 3rd cost on the spell and eliminate some causality issues.

Evil DM Mark3
2008-09-25, 04:19 AM
Contradiction.

If you used the material component in the future, it'll be in your possession in the past. So, if you don't need to use it in the future, it stays in your possession.

Therefore, something physical being destroyed won't make sense for this spell. I'd go with XP or a Focus.

http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/366_singer.gif (http://www.clipartof.com)Here he comes to patch with fluff!http://www.clipartof.com/images/emoticons/xsmall2/366_singer.gif (http://www.clipartof.com)

The Saphire is needed to absorb and contain the flow of temporal energy and to transfer the memories back in time, effectivey it is not the caster, but the memories bound up in the saphire that time travel. When they arrive back 13 seconds in the past the energy disintigrates the saphire into worthless powder, discharging the memories of the 13 rewound seconds into the mind of its owner. The memories overwrite the spell itself in your mind so even though you have not acctual cast the spell anymore, you still loose the slot.

Anyway, nice spell, I can see many a high level wizard keeping this in reserve for emergancies, ditto villains for last (13) second escapes.

Infact...

Yoink!

DracoDei
2008-09-25, 08:53 AM
In a similar vein, and both harder and easier, has anyone tried to work out rules for "Wheel of Time" style Balefire? Where if you overkill something it is destroyed retroactively (thus causing insanity, and other problems in those around due to paradox)?

Icewalker
2008-09-25, 06:06 PM
Thank you EvilDM. I hadn't thought of that loophole, but yeah, that was what I was thinking. You're already different anyways, so it wouldn't be paradoxical.

SilentNight
2008-09-25, 06:17 PM
Great spell, great fluff and great revised fluff. What else can I say?

Heliomance
2008-09-26, 04:18 AM
Probably broken in the right hands. I've seen a build using the psionic verson to save your game, so if everything goes belly up, you go back to the beginning of the day and try again.

AstralFire
2008-09-26, 05:54 AM
TG's very clever dirty trick is so good because it's so cost-inexpensive and is reliant on a poorly thought-out splat power that's very augmentable (this one isn't) combined with a poorly worded splat power.

This spell, by virtue of costing so much, has already circumvented a large part of the benefit and there really isn't a spell version of Synchronicity. (Which isn't actually that bad a power, cheese-wise, they just needed to think for ten minutes about it.)

Icewalker
2008-09-26, 09:59 AM
And honestly, if you are gaining 13 seconds per cast, the amount of ninth level spells you would have to get off to do something like go back a day would be so high that you couldn't abuse it easily unless you are phenomenally broken already.

Evil DM Mark3
2008-09-26, 10:31 AM
And honestly, if you are gaining 13 seconds per cast, the amount of ninth level spells you would have to get off to do something like go back a day would be so high that you couldn't abuse it easily unless you are phenomenally broken already.

6647 or 7200 if we use 12 second because DnD rounds DO NOT WORK THAT WAY! GOODNIGHT!

Triaxx
2008-09-26, 12:54 PM
It thought it was a six second TURN. And one round was a minute?

Balefire? That's not so hard. It works better with MP/SP. The more points spent, the more powerful the further back it destroys the creature. Thus to save a caster killed in 8 turns by poison, you simply have to spend enough power to kill the creature nine rounds ago, before the poison was inflicted. This then rolls back all damage done to anything else the creature attacked.

With enough points it's theoretically possible to kill the BBEG before your adventure started.

Prometheus
2008-09-26, 03:56 PM
Turns happen simultaneously, one round is sex seconds, one minute is 10 rounds.

Neither the homebrew spell nor the linked psionic power make it clear whether the D&D world is a determinant or indeterminate universe. Should rolls that haven't yet been affected by the glimpse of the future be rerolled or should they keep the same result? How does one determine the Butterfly effect at which different events in a determinant universe effect other events?

Siosilvar
2008-09-26, 04:04 PM
It thought it was a six second TURN. And one round was a minute?

Serving only to further confuse you, in AD&D (1st edition at least) a segment was 6 seconds, a round was a minute, and a turn was 10 rounds.

Triaxx
2008-09-27, 01:33 PM
Ah. I understand. Too much Baldur's gate.

And the six-second round is six-second turns. But it's the same six seconds for everyone.

Evil DM Mark3
2008-09-27, 02:02 PM
Turns happen simultaneously, one round is sex seconds, one minute is 10 rounds.

I pity anone for whom sex takes one round.

hehehe.

On a more serious note
Neither the homebrew spell nor the linked psionic power make it clear whether the D&D world is a determinant or indeterminate universe. Should rolls that haven't yet been affected by the glimpse of the future be rerolled or should they keep the same result? How does one determine the Butterfly effect at which different events in a determinant universe effect other events?please see
Everybody takes identical actions with identical results (I have no idea why people say this but) Emphasis mine.