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drengnikrafe
2008-10-10, 08:13 PM
Many a time it has been that I have thought about magic if it were exist in real life. Then, one day, I had a thought: why restrict myself to random types of magic when I could make it more logical.

Thus, my question exists as follows: If magic were to exist in the real world, and you could use 3 spells as spell like abilites a number of times per day that was equal to 10 - the level of the spell (Magic Missle could be cast 9 times a day, Meteor Storm 1, Fireball 7, ect), which THREE spells would you choose.

Because it seems to be common courtasy, I'll start with my own choice.
Prestadigitation. (EDIT: Or maybe programmed amnesia...)
Eagle's Splendor (or whatever that INT boosting spell is)
Time Stop

Saph
2008-10-10, 08:16 PM
Shapechange, Greater Teleport, and . . . uh . . . honestly, those first two are so good that I can't think of anything else. Maybe you should put a restriction on the spell level. :P

- Saph

AstralFire
2008-10-10, 08:16 PM
Miracle. Glibness. Comprehend Languages.

I am now rich and I can smite/heal/whatever an unreasonable amount of people once a day if I need to.

Emperor Tippy
2008-10-10, 08:18 PM
Mindrape
Wish
Greater Teleport (or prestidigitation or Shapechange)

Wish as an SLA means no XP cost which means I can wish up magic items.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-10-10, 08:18 PM
Greater Teleport.
The spell that lets you read a book by touching it.
Mindrape.

Stupendous_Man
2008-10-10, 08:39 PM
Magnificent Mansion
Magic Missile
Secret Chest

chiasaur11
2008-10-10, 08:43 PM
Manipulate form and shapechange should do me nicely.
Nigh-omnipotence is fun.

Moff Chumley
2008-10-10, 08:48 PM
Shapechange
Mind Rape
Wish
I win.

Collin152
2008-10-10, 08:53 PM
Mindrape.


Hmm...

Mindrape, and...
Suggestion.

Mindrape, Suggestion, and...

Hmm...

Mindrape, Suggestion and Dimension Door.

Ascension
2008-10-10, 09:05 PM
Teleport, Greater Invisibility, Ray of Enfeeblement

Or maybe...

Greater Invisibility, Ray of Enfeeblement, Bull's Strength

The strong shall be made weak, the weak shall be made strong.

AstralFire
2008-10-10, 09:14 PM
...I'm satisfied with making ungodly amounts of money without harming anyone by being the world's best translator and computer programmer ever, personally. Y'all taking mindrape are scaring me.

Demons_eye
2008-10-10, 09:16 PM
The one druid spell that lets you turn berrys into gernades XD
fly
and.....
devine favor

chronoplasm
2008-10-10, 09:21 PM
Prestadigitation
Dimension Door
Invisibility

Pie Guy
2008-10-10, 09:21 PM
Greater teleport, mage hand and, honestly, fireball.:smallbiggrin:

Collin152
2008-10-10, 09:23 PM
...I'm satisfied with making ungodly amounts of money without harming anyone by being the world's best translator and computer programmer ever, personally. Y'all taking mindrape are scaring me.

Are you at all familiar with Death Note?

If so... that's me with a Mindrape ability.


If not... I pity your sad existance free of Xanatos Roulettes.

Emperor Tippy
2008-10-10, 09:23 PM
...I'm satisfied with making ungodly amounts of money without harming anyone by being the world's best translator and computer programmer ever, personally. Y'all taking mindrape are scaring me.

What spell does computer programming? As for Mindrape, think about all of the good uses. Therapy, rehabilitation, addiction, education, etc. You can teach someone a life's worth of school in 6 seconds. You can cure a drug addict of the need or desire to do drugs. Lot's of uses that are good for society.

Plus it's useful to get out of traffic tickets. :smalltongue:

Collin152
2008-10-10, 09:24 PM
Plus it's useful to get out of traffic tickets. :smalltongue:

That's why I took suggestion.
I can use it more often, and I don't have to hear every cop's life story just to get out of a fine.

AstralFire
2008-10-10, 09:26 PM
Are you at all familiar with Death Note?

If so... that's me with a Mindrape ability.


If not... I pity your sad existance free of Xanatos Roulettes.

I don't really care for that sort of thing, honestly. What I've heard and read about Death Note, between its focus on chessmastery and the amoral characters, sounds like it's totally not for me. I like planner characters better when they don't have entire series based around them.


What spell does computer programming? As for Mindrape, think about all of the good uses. Therapy, rehabilitation, addiction, education, etc. You can teach someone a life's worth of school in 6 seconds. You can cure a drug addict of the need or desire to do drugs. Lot's of uses that are good for society.

Plus it's useful to get out of traffic tickets. :smalltongue:

Depending on how you read it, Comprehend Languages.

And this is the CG in me, but I really don't like meddling in people's heads for any reason at all. Glibness does me fine for persuasive powers.

Stupendous_Man
2008-10-10, 09:26 PM
Are you at all familiar with Death Note?

If so... that's me with a Mindrape ability.


If not... I pity your sad existance free of Xanatos Roulettes.

I must amend my list to incorporate Mind Blank

Ascension
2008-10-10, 09:29 PM
What spell does computer programming?

That would be the Miracle, I assume.

What I'd do with Greater Invisibility, Ray of Enfeeblement, and Bull's Strength would be to sneak into schools, find the kids being bullied, Enfeeble the bully, give the victim a STR boost, and hope the kid beats the bully's face in.

Khosan
2008-10-10, 09:30 PM
Black tentacles (great for parties)

Create Food and Water (great for unemployment)

Lesser Geas (just so I can be a jerk from time to time)

snoopy13a
2008-10-10, 09:34 PM
Mass Heal- Might as well use the magic for good, right?

Overland Flight (I always choose flight as a theorectical superpower)

Locate Object- so I find stuff that I've lost :smallbiggrin:

Collin152
2008-10-10, 09:36 PM
That would be the Miracle, I assume.


I figured he referred to Comprehend Languages.

Carrion_Humanoid
2008-10-10, 09:39 PM
Time Stop
Charm Person, Mass
Fireball

FinalJustice
2008-10-10, 09:49 PM
Time Stop
Wish
....
.
.
.
Defenestrating Sphere

What? I can bend time, reality and throw people out of the window when I'm bored!

AstralFire
2008-10-10, 09:51 PM
Defenestrating Sphere would be fun to use, even if I'd feel guilty about it afterwards.

Telonius
2008-10-10, 09:56 PM
Heal - Never get sick again, and become a famous faith healer!
Regeneration - Fix my own half-functioning eardrums, and help other people with severed limbs and organ damage.
Polymorph Any Object - Be whatever I want to be, and also be one heck of a plastic surgeon.

Innis Cabal
2008-10-10, 10:06 PM
Avasculate
Transmute Flesh to Crystal-Great for Parties
Shatter-After Party Clean up

Enlong
2008-10-10, 10:21 PM
Overland Flight,
Locate Object,
Greater Blink

I get my favorite power ever, flight, for hours a day, I can find objects when I lose them (highly useful for mundane life) and I get the power to move through solid objects without fear of being shunted out unless I stop in one. Nice ways to make mundane life less mundane and more convenient.

Jack_Simth
2008-10-10, 11:03 PM
... as Spell-likes, so no XP cost?

Wish (any 8th level or lower Sor/Wiz spell, even 1/day, is very handy - Polymorph Any Object is 8th, so I can dupe that. 25,000 gp of gold, in D&D terms, is 500 pounds of gold... and gold generally goes for several hundred dollars... per OUNCE; likewise, any Cleric spell of 7th or lower - which includes Heal and Regenerate both).

Greater Teleport (7th level spell, so three times per day, to anywhere in the world... and it's really easy to get "seen once" in today's society...).

Miracle (any 8th level or lower Cleric spell, 1/day, is very handy - and it also includes any 7th level Sor/Wiz spell - which means I can do Permanency on effects)

Retire, see the world, and help people out while I'm at it ... without being parasitic on others.

Invisibility is also a good choice, but it's mostly useful for spying, theft and murder - parasite type stuff.

Zeful
2008-10-10, 11:09 PM
Well lets see. I'd want something not to flashy so as not to draw attention to myself, but I'd want a reasonable number of castings per day. I'd also want the ability to get away should my ability be uncovered. Some combat ability wouldn't be bad, but would be more enhancement of weaponry available rather than shapechange.
so without further ado my choices and the number of "Mana" they cost.

Invisibility (-3)
Modify Memory (-5)
Grease (-2) Or Magic weapon, Greater (assuming I could pull of a caster level of 10+ for the purpose of the spell if not then simply magic weapon) (-4/-2)

Talic
2008-10-11, 12:46 AM
Heal
Major Image
Wish

Heal and Major image are to wow the natives, and be all deific like.

Wish handles that one thing every day I could really use a do-over on... Or, well, gives me the big god-like show if I need it.

There. Prophet in a can.

Chronos
2008-10-11, 01:11 AM
I'll stay away from Wish and Miracle, because those just make everything too easy.

Give me Reverse Gravity, and I'm happy. I could spend a lifetime just playing with that... Specifically, in figuring out how it works. I study gravity as a profession already; a spell like that would let us learn incredible amounts about how the world works.

Once I know enough about Reverse Gravity to be certain that it's safe, I might just use Permanency on it a few times, and solve the world's energy needs for all time. That'd be a great boon to humanity, and probably also have the incidental side effect of making me filthy, stinking rich.

Having found a way to keep my intellect occupied, and a way to both serve the greater good and to secure my material needs, I might as well have some fun. So I'll make the third one Prestidigitation.

Cruiser1
2008-10-11, 01:38 AM
1: Wish
2: Miracle
3: Mindrape

Access to all 8th level Wizard spells + 8th level Cleric spells for the win. Mindrape is 9th level so needs to be included separately. SLA's indeed don't have XP costs, making Wish and Miracle even more powerful than normal: Wish for 25000 gp every day, use Wish to teleport (even between planes), and even resurrect the dead.

Mindrape, in spite of its icky name, is meant to be used for good. For example, use Wish and Miracle to simulate Greater Teleport. Teleport to Osama Bin Laden, Mindrape so he turns himself in to the nearest authorities, then teleport out of there. The day before use Wish and Miracle to give yourself Permanency Invisbility, so nobody notices you teleporting in.

Can I choose the same spell more than once? If so then I instead pick: Wish, Wish, Miracle. I'd prefer a 2nd Wish to Mindrape (can still charm and dominate for a secret behind the scenes crime fighting career).

Spells like Shapechange and Gate, which are normally very powerful, aren't that good choices here since they're limited by HD. How many levels do I have in RL? I have to assume I'm just a level 1 Expert. Shapechange isn't that good if the best thing I can turn into is a housecat.

Emperor Tippy
2008-10-11, 01:45 AM
The real nice thing about wish is that you can wish for magic items.

BobVosh
2008-10-11, 01:50 AM
Am I the only person in the world with these spells? If so...
Mindrape
Wish
Greater Teleport

If not...
Mindblank
Mindrape
Greater Teleport

Yahzi
2008-10-11, 02:45 AM
Assuming Wish and Miracle are cheating (since they really just duplicate many, many spells), I think the choices have to be:

Raise Dead
Remove Disease
Zone of Truth

With these three spells you could completely reshape society.

Emperor Tippy
2008-10-11, 04:28 AM
Assuming Wish and Miracle are cheating (since they really just duplicate many, many spells), I think the choices have to be:

Raise Dead
Remove Disease
Zone of Truth

With these three spells you could completely reshape society.

Why not True Resurrection, Heal/ Mass Heal, Mindrape?

Better in all 3 categories.

Or Reverse Gravity, Permanency, something else?
Or better yet, Teleportation Circle, Permanency, something else.

Both of those provide unlimited energy and TC allows one to truly dominate. With TC+Permanency I could end up ruling the world inside of a decade.

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-11, 04:34 AM
I'd pick Mass Heal. Regenerate and Mage's Magnificent Mansion (they would allow me to live comfortably while healing a lot of people).

Kurald Galain
2008-10-11, 04:38 AM
You didn't specify caster level...

I'd go for Greater Teleport 3/day, becuase regular teleport has too short a range.
Charm Person 9/day would also be very nice; I wouldn't do actual mind control, but a "I am your friend" effect is cool. Eagle's Splendour does the same but lasts too short.
And Alter Self 8/day, because it does all the important parts of Shapechange, but it lasts longer.

Mystral
2008-10-11, 04:48 AM
I think this boils down to:

If I could have three wishes, what would they be.

Of course, my first wish would be to live forever, as young as I want to. There are few spells that can accomplish that, but "Steal Life" would be feasible. Drain some drunkard once per year and you are good to go.

The second choice would have to be something that would give me power over people, enable me to get unlimited riches, sexual favors, steal life victims and whatnot. IMHO, Charm Person can do all that and much more.

For the last choice I would take something really versatile, for example polymorph or greater shadow conjuration.

Selrahc
2008-10-11, 05:05 AM
True Resurrection
Mass Heal
Greater Teleport

Think of all the things we could learn with true resurrection! Asking about the afterlife. Raising people from a hundred years ago to learn about their culture and society. Bringing back great scientists or writers who died before their time.

Mass Heal is because healing people would be very very handy. For a start, it would end a lot of suffering for a lot of people, I wouldn't be able to heal enough people, but if I had the chance I would certainly want to be able to cure large crowds of people who suffer from hideous diseases, and I'd be willing to sacrifice 1 round per day to do that, no problem. Alternatively I could charge rich people with incurable diseases money in order to cure them.

And greater teleport for ease of travel.

golentan
2008-10-11, 05:15 AM
I think mine are unique so far. I personally got to go with:
Awaken
Contingency
Magic Circle Against Evil

Awaken because I really like the idea, and the combination of Contingency and Magic Circle for my... Personal Needs.

Edit: By the way, mystral, I am deeply disturbed by the casual attitude towards the lives and free will of what are not merely your fellow sentients, but members of your own species. Shame, Shame I tell you!

Talic
2008-10-11, 05:23 AM
If Wish/Miracle are Cheating, then:

Greater Teleport
Control Weather
Plant Growth

This is my Philanthropy package.

Disease? Yeah, that'd be nice... but if you could make miles and miles of land fertile and bearing good harvest? You'd be rich, and world hunger? Well, you can control how much rain places get, how much sun. Break up hurricanes, calm tornados.

How many people starve in the world? Or fall prey to disease because they're on the brink of starvation?

Gorbash
2008-10-11, 05:32 AM
Which spell is Mindrape?

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-11, 05:38 AM
I don't know what level it is, but it's the one which allows you to read and alter someone's memories. Mystral, you may need a stronger spell then Charm Person for that purpose (victims can refuse to do things which go against their nature, but I think Dominate Person only allows another saving throw in that situation).

Mystral
2008-10-11, 05:43 AM
Tempest_Fennach: Yeah, but people tend to behave like mindless puppets if they are dominated. And when you think about the things people are willing to do without magical encouragement, I don't think that'll be to much of a problem. I'm not planning to do a "human lemmings" video for youtube anytime soon.

Golentan: ^^° You flatter me.

Zeful
2008-10-11, 05:44 AM
Which spell is Mindrape?

9th level Sor/wiz spell. A failed save allows the caster to erase, veiw or change a persons entire memory and personality.

Reinboom
2008-10-11, 05:50 AM
This is leaving out important details.

Caster level is important. Duration, and especially things like which forms you can shapechange in to are heavily influenced by it.
If the desired lists for spells are based on D&D or on our real world. You can't shapechange in to a efreeti, efreeti are not existing creatures. etc. You couldn't wish for a magic item, due to no discernible magic item existing. Though, wish still could make you ~6.8 million dollars per casting, simply due to how expensive gold is.

Mindrape
Wish

maybe limited wish? Covers both greater teleport and overland flight

Setra
2008-10-11, 05:55 AM
Mindrape
Time Stop
Overland flight

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-11, 05:58 AM
I thought anyone who was under a compulsion effect acted like a puppet? I suppose Mindrape would be the best spell if you wanted people to act naturally (to a degree).

Gorbash
2008-10-11, 06:04 AM
9th level Sor/wiz spell. A failed save allows the caster to erase, veiw or change a persons entire memory and personality.

You mean Programmed Amnesia?

BobVosh
2008-10-11, 06:08 AM
I thought anyone who was under a compulsion effect acted like a puppet? I suppose Mindrape would be the best spell if you wanted people to act naturally (to a degree).

Mindrape is always the best spell. No matter what. If you think it isn't, you aren't looking at the problem correctly.

If wish is "cheating"....instead I would want...

Am I the only person in the world with these spells? If so...
Mindrape
WishShapechange
Greater Teleport

If not...
Mindblank
Mindrape
Greater Teleport

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-11, 06:09 AM
The spell can only be used by Evil casters, though (to be fair, I don't think I'd ever really want to use it anyway, as you can gather from my list :smalltongue:).

Talic
2008-10-11, 06:11 AM
Alter Self
Delay Blast Fireball
Greater Teleport

This would be the Sneak Attack special. Alter up, walk in, and Blast everything with a few placed beads. When 3 of em blow up? Meh, that's the same round that you're disappearring. Alter again. Walk away. Repeat tomorrow.

mostlyharmful
2008-10-11, 06:12 AM
You mean Programmed Amnesia?

Nope, its a VileDeeds version. It only takes a standerd action instead of ten minutes and it's instantaneous rather than permenant. Evil descriptor though.

golentan
2008-10-11, 06:17 AM
I don't know, toying with the very essence of another being...

Because, honestly, you change everything about them, their hopes, dreams, desires, methods, madness, past, present, future. You're effectively killing them. And once you start looking at someone that way, as something to be molded and changed, even if you make them fanatically devoted to you and perfectly in tune with your desires for a companion, they'll never be your friend again. Just a plaything. It's a very short step from there to true loneliness.

I guess maybe if you just used the "view" function it could work out. But I'd rather avoid the temptation, and animate is *SO* much cooler. You make New friends without getting rid of the old!

hamishspence
2008-10-11, 07:32 AM
Archmage high arcana enables you to take spell-like abilities: but they still cost XP, and expensive components cost XP instead.

I still think that, for PCs, that should have been applied across the board, and the no-component rule should only apply to NPCs. Pazuzu gives you a wish, and you wish for Wish as at will SLA? Sure, but you will pay XP costs.

Yahzi
2008-10-11, 11:26 AM
Disease? Yeah, that'd be nice... but if you could make miles and miles of land fertile and bearing good harvest?
We already do. It's called fertilizer. And GM crops. And pesticides.

World hunger does not exist because there is not enough food. America alone probably produces enough food to feed everyone on the planet. For all of human history, famines have been about politics, not food production. (During the Irish potato famine, Ireland was exporting food.)

This is why Zone of Truth would do more to feed the world than any other spell.


Instead of Mindrape, I'd take Atonement. It seems a lot less evil.

Also, of course, Commune would be good, since you could eventually use it to uncover all other answers (like how to make all the other spells work!).

Jack_Simth
2008-10-11, 12:03 PM
I don't know, toying with the very essence of another being...

Because, honestly, you change everything about them, their hopes, dreams, desires, methods, madness, past, present, future. You're effectively killing them. And once you start looking at someone that way, as something to be molded and changed, even if you make them fanatically devoted to you and perfectly in tune with your desires for a companion, they'll never be your friend again. Just a plaything. It's a very short step from there to true loneliness.
There's a reason it's called mindRAPE, yes. But also, with such things, you're being parasitic on others - anything you gain this way is removed from someone else.

However, if Wish and Miracle aren't permitted....

True Creation (only limit is the XP cost, which goes away with Spell-likes - instant Mansion 1/day - or a cruise ship, or a very nice motor home, or gold jewelery to hawk, or a large amount of beef jerky, or....)
Greater Teleport (escape route if something goes wrong, and it'd be nice to travel easily).
Mind Blank (if I'm not the only one with this), or Overland Flight (if I am the only one).

TerrickTerran
2008-10-11, 12:40 PM
Simple enough
Polymorph Any Object
Tenser's Floating Disk
Unseen Servant

Poly Any for all sorts of fun
Disk for moving stuff around
Unseen Servant for all those mundane tasks that need doing.

Chronos
2008-10-11, 01:28 PM
Quoth golentan:
Awaken because I really like the idea, and the combination of Contingency and Magic Circle for my... Personal Needs.I don't get it. Magic Circle against Evil doesn't do much of anything in an otherwise nonmagical world... Here on Earth, we're not particularly worried about outsiders or evil spells, so it'd pretty much just amount to a +2 to AC. And Contingency doesn't do anything on its own; it just activates some other spell, and the only one you have to use it with is the above-mentioned limited-usefulness Magic Circle. About the only thing I can figure is that you're worried about all of those folks picking Mindrape, but for that, Mind Blank would be much better: It lasts 24 hours per casting, and gives you absolute unconditional immunity to mind-affecting spells.

Siegel
2008-10-11, 01:37 PM
Charm Person
Telekinesis
Silent image

golentan
2008-10-11, 02:17 PM
Please, don't say "we're not worried about things" or "we don't do that." While it may be true for you, it's very hard to speak for others, especially others you met on a forum no earlier than yesterday. For me the key to magic circle against evil is the alternate casting rule. It completely contains an evil outsider for 24 hours barring the intervention of some idiot outside the circle. (Honestly, how low does the character's wisdom have to be to say: "Oh look, a glabrezu is in there, and he looks *PISSED.* I have an idea, let's let him out, maybe he won't rend us in two." I mean, even if you're evil yourself, Demons aren't known for playing nice when it won't advance their own causes directly)

The goal is not the crappy bonus to AC and saves, the goal is that everyone outside a certain region is safe and has 24 hours to remain that way, plenty of time for the problem to go away or to themselves flee to a safe distance.

Inhuman Bot
2008-10-11, 02:52 PM
Epic anyspell. I can cast all spells :D

If not that:

Miracle- Loads of possiblities.

Shapechange- Being a dragon, or golem, could be cool.

Avatar (I think thats the name)- Massive stat bonuses are always good.

Swordguy
2008-10-11, 03:04 PM
Epic Spell: Slay Optimizers.

Major Creation.

Shapechange/PAO

golentan
2008-10-11, 03:09 PM
Epic anyspell. I can cast all spells :D

If not that:

Miracle- Loads of possiblities.

Shapechange- Being a dragon, or golem, could be cool.

Avatar (I think thats the name)- Massive stat bonuses are always good.

I thought epic spells would count as 10th level, which under the rules as listed would give you 10-10 uses per day. I somehow don't view that as helpful, unless you find a way to cast a nimber value of a spell. Though that in itself could be wery interestink.

Deepblue706
2008-10-11, 03:21 PM
Time Stop
Telekinetic Sphere
Shadow Conjuration

Collin152
2008-10-11, 03:24 PM
The spell can only be used by Evil casters, though (to be fair, I don't think I'd ever really want to use it anyway, as you can gather from my list :smalltongue:).

Untrue!
Only Clerics have alignment restrictions on their spells.
And maybe Druids.

Wizards and Sorceres may cast spells of oposing alignments freely.
Sure, it'd probably make you Evil, but that's not so much of a problem; you have Mindrape!


Yes, my children, join the cult of Mein Mindrape!

drengnikrafe
2008-10-11, 03:26 PM
After much (or some) thought, I came to this conclusion:

Wish
Miracle
Permenancy

Very cheese? Yes. However, I can emulate all sorts of spells to help me out (cat's grace and the like, circle of teleportation, tenser's floating disk) then prevent them from ever going away. Unless I really want them to go away, then I use wish to emulate dispel magic....
Of course, making spells permenant is mostly DM disgression, right? But, there is no DM, so theorhetically if you can think it up, it's valid.

3 weeks after I got these spells.... the world would be very well shaped to my liking.

Flickerdart
2008-10-11, 03:29 PM
Bah, so many to choose! Therefore...
Wish. Emulating any spell? Yes please. Only once per day sucks, but still.
Miracle. Covers my Greater Teleport needs, plus mostly every other spell, coupled with Wish for there-and-back trips. Still only once per day, unfortunately. Logically, the last spell would be...
Telekinesis. Five casts per day keeps this usable, and oh-so-versatile.

And yes, I know that Mindrape, Suggestion and Charm would go a lot further. But that's quite unscrupulous and I'll have none of it. Permanency doesn't affect most spells, anyways, which means it's pretty much useless. A shame Miracle/Wish can't duplicate Teleportation Circle.

vegetalss4
2008-10-11, 03:47 PM
wish, wish for a custom item that grants inifitive wishes, and permanent mindblank. the other two don't matter

now when thats out of the way, and we asume i can't wish for magic items as they already exist.

i choose
word of Genisis
polymorph any object.
miracle
im gonna make a new world for us

The Bushranger
2008-10-11, 03:57 PM
Hmmm.

True Resurrection
Greater Teleport
Evard's Black Tentacles

...I have my reasons.

Toliudar
2008-10-11, 04:12 PM
Going with a "help the world" combo, I'd also give a vote against the "mindrape to make other people better" contingent of this conversation, and suggest a line-up something like:

Miracle
Permanency
Clone (for when someone chooses to assassinate the miracle worker as some kind of political statement)

Flickerdart
2008-10-11, 04:15 PM
Hmmm.

True Resurrection
Greater Teleport
Evard's Black Tentacles

...I have my reasons.
No, makes sense. Greater Teleport to go where what you plan to do with Tentacles isn't illegal, and True Rez when things go horribly, horribly wrong.

Collin152
2008-10-11, 04:16 PM
Going with a "help the world" combo, I'd also give a vote against the "mindrape to make other people better" contingent of this conversation, and suggest a line-up something like:


Aww, come on!
It's not "Rape," it's "Surprise Reeducation you diddn't know you wanted!"

Drakefall
2008-10-11, 04:47 PM
Hmmm... I'm going to avoid wish and miracle here cause those feel a tad cheatish to me.

Regeneration - Because owies happen
The read a book in a couple seconds one - Instant knowledge = money!
Telekinesis - Because sometimes you just don't want to get up... also good to fight back against anything that tries to give you owies.

My choices follow the theory of "I don't want to be caught by the government and experimented on" and are as such not the flashiest choices.

Chronos
2008-10-11, 05:09 PM
Please, don't say "we're not worried about things" or "we don't do that." While it may be true for you, it's very hard to speak for others, especially others you met on a forum no earlier than yesterday. For me the key to magic circle against evil is the alternate casting rule. It completely contains an evil outsider for 24 hours barring the intervention of some idiot outside the circle.Re-read that: It lets you contain an outsider of the appropriate alignment that you've called, and you don't have any calling spells on your list. You can't just walk up to a random demon, tap it on the shoulder, and say "Tag, you're contained".

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-10-11, 05:13 PM
I'm really running into the problem of "a bunch of spells that I want to cast once, maybe twice, each month".
Mindrape
Wish(Contingency, Raise Dead, Persisted Owl's Wisdom, Persisted Fox's Cunning, Greater Teleport, Steal Life)
Limited Wish(Chained Fox's Cunning, Teleport, Overland Flight)

Use Wish to essentially live forever, and be immortal. Mindrape for access to scientists and Wish to try to improve the world. Mindrape for access to the president and Mindrape to try to improve the world.

sonofzeal
2008-10-11, 05:34 PM
Antimagic Field (for dealing with all you Polymorphers, Shapechangers, and Mindrapers)

Plant Growth (help end world hunger)

Heal (cure almost anything)


...of course, I'd make sure to get some profit out of my services.... :smallbiggrin:

Naihal
2008-10-11, 05:36 PM
Aww, come on!
It's not "Rape," it's "Surprise Reeducation you diddn't know you wanted!"

Can I sig that?

Also, on topic -

Shapechange
Charm Person
Telekinesis

Shapechange has great versatility, and has sneaking potential - the phrase "a fly on the wall" actually applies to you now.
Charm Person isn't as strong as mindrape, but it takes out the "evil" and replaces it with "moral ambiguity" in addition to more uses per day.
Telekinesis is just plain cool and has so many potential applications.

Anyone who says Wish or Miracle is cheating. Also, if other people have these powers, replace Telekinesis with Mind Blank.

golentan
2008-10-11, 05:39 PM
Well, crudpuppies. This changes my gameplan completely. I can't use atonement in this case, and given the individual in question banishment/dismissal are completely out of the question. What I need is a method of safely containing (physically) an evil outsider, temporarily.

And no, removing/destroying/mindraping are not the answers. Nor is petrifying/placing in stasis/otherwise halting the mind's activities.

I have to think on this and research the appropriate spell.

DarknessLord
2008-10-11, 06:07 PM
Well, mine is mind blank, and if there was a way I could keep the whole world safe from you mindrapists I'd do it it.

But considering that'd be a super epic spell, and even then there would be no way it couldn't be dispelled, my other two would be locate object, and Miracle. And yes, I consider locate object to be important enough to take it's own slot, not to just be emulated, plus miracle is nice beacuse not only does it give me access to almost any other spell I'd need, but it also has a built in anti-corruption feature, so even if I DO go mad with power, I'm not really going to harm people without finding a new patron.

Also, the ultimate weapon, Greater Teleport, And the locate city bomb.
Teleport in, or even close, bomb the place, get out. Now, all we need is a spell that makes you immune to all non-magical weapons (I seem to remember one, but I might not be thinking 3.5), and this dude is unstoppable in the real world, (presuming no other casters of course).

Kurald Galain
2008-10-11, 06:19 PM
And the locate city bomb.
You can't do that - it requires several feats to work, and you were only given three spells.

Flickerdart
2008-10-11, 06:28 PM
I'm not really going to harm people without finding a new patron.
You really think there aren't any powers that would be all too happy to have a Miracle-as-an-SLA minion? You'd get telemarketers asking you to switch the moment you fell.

Collin152
2008-10-11, 06:33 PM
Can I sig that?


But of course.



And why would anybody want corruption-prevention? You're powerful enough to be a god, what does human morality mean to you?

DarknessLord
2008-10-11, 09:02 PM
You really think there aren't any powers that would be all too happy to have a Miracle-as-an-SLA minion? You'd get telemarketers asking you to switch the moment you fell.

Psh. "after"?

"Yes, I am satisfied with my current divine power provider, stop calling."

Also, as to the main point, one it depends on your belief system, and what gods are coming along with these magical powers, if the world is monotheistic then you don't got much choice. Plus, I'd hope the Miracle failing would be a good enough indicator for me to re-evaluate, I have a day to dwell on it. Of course some evil being could grant me it anyways, hoping to help my fall.

It's still safer then wish, as most deities wouldn't wanna screw over their followers with the powerful SLA because they word what they want poorly.

AstralFire
2008-10-11, 09:04 PM
Plus, Miracle sounds cooler.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-10-11, 09:09 PM
Plus, Miracle sounds cooler."Oh PLEASE GOD, won't you help me reach Kansas by granting Teleport"

"I really WISH I was home right about now. A Greater Teleport would help with that."

I know which I'd think is cooler. Plus, Sorc/Wis has cooler 8th level spells.

DarknessLord
2008-10-11, 09:14 PM
"Oh PLEASE GOD, won't you help me reach Kansas by granting Teleport"

"I really WISH I was home right about now. A Greater Teleport would help with that."

I know which I'd think is cooler. Plus, Sorc/Wis has cooler 8th level spells.

Yeah, but you're just that much more of a special person if the almighty listens to you, then having magical powers.
That might just be me.

Shovah
2008-10-11, 09:16 PM
I think alot of people have already got it right;

Wish
Miracle
Mindrape

Can't cast alot per day, but what I do cast can change it all :amused:

Zeful
2008-10-11, 09:24 PM
I think alot of people have already got it right;

Wish
Miracle
Mindrape

Can't cast alot per day, but what I do cast can change it all :amused:

And once people figure out what your doing (after all number of people you can and have infected < number of people in the world.) there going to simply wait untill you've cest your three spells for the day then shoot you in the head, stopping your riegn of terror after a month (where you control at most 30 people).

Naihal
2008-10-11, 09:53 PM
Also, depending on how you read Plane Shift, it could potentially let you shift between planets (if you consider each planet as being a separate Material Plane, then it should work.) For planar travel, I would choose Plane Shift (obviously) and Planar Tolerance (necessary if you plan to survive in vacuum). For the third, I would probably go with Dimension Door, since short range teleports could be useful (in crossing canyons, craters, hazardous substances, etc.). Actually, upon browsing through my copy of SC Safety would probably be useful so that when casting Plane Shift you don't end up in an environment with hazards such as methane, lava, etc.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-10-11, 10:13 PM
And once people figure out what your doing (after all number of people you can and have infected < number of people in the world.) there going to simply wait untill you've cest your three spells for the day then shoot you in the head, stopping your riegn of terror after a month (where you control at most 30 people).Go to small town. Meet one person privately, make them a mental duplicate to me. They move away, begin again, but don't make a clone of themselves(there may only be 2). Meet someone else privately. Mindrape into my obedient slave. Have them introduce me into a friend of theirs. Mindrape that person. When I hit 5 people, move. Combine the slave's wealth to create a private compound. Have them stay there, doing consulting work online(they know all my skills). Go to a new city(50k people+). Get 15 more from the city. Lather rinse repeat. Get a few thousand people this way. Pay taxes, live normally(if opulent luxury surrounded by loyal slaves is normal)Every now and then, leave the compound to improve the world(get admission to various scientific labs that are close to a breakthrough, cast Fox's Cunning on the head scientist). If I'm discovered, Wish(Greater Teleport) my way away. If I die, Contingency(Raise Dead) activates, followed by teleportation. If I really die, my mental clone sees this in the news, and makes a clone of himself, who starts over. Should work for immortality.

Flickerdart
2008-10-11, 10:21 PM
Go to small town. Meet one person privately, make them a mental duplicate to me. They move away, begin again, but don't make a clone of themselves(there may only be 2). Meet someone else privately. Mindrape into my obedient slave. Have them introduce me into a friend of theirs. Mindrape that person. When I hit 5 people, move. Combine the slave's wealth to create a private compound. Have them stay there, doing consulting work online(they know all my skills). Go to a new city(50k people+). Get 15 more from the city. Lather rinse repeat. Get a few thousand people this way. Pay taxes, live normally(if opulent luxury surrounded by loyal slaves is normal)Every now and then, leave the compound to improve the world(get admission to various scientific labs that are close to a breakthrough, cast Fox's Cunning on the head scientist). If I'm discovered, Wish(Greater Teleport) my way away. If I die, Contingency(Raise Dead) activates, followed by teleportation. If I really die, my mental clone sees this in the news, and makes a clone of himself, who starts over. Should work for immortality.
A few holes in that plan. You're using too many spells, for one. Mindrape, Fox's Cunning, Contingency and Raise Dead. Not to mention your Mindrape is going to fail more than half the time because your caster level would be as a level 1 commoner, and your INT nowhere as high as a lvl 17 Wizard casting the same.
Besides, wouldn't Owl's Wisdom (for Profession: Scientist) checks be more applicable?

Chronos
2008-10-11, 10:26 PM
Quoth Sstoopidtallkid:
Mindrape for access to scientists...What makes you think this would be necessary? Demonstrate any sort of magical ability at all, and you'll have as many scientists swarming to get access to you as you could possibly want. Ray of Frost would be plenty.

If there's one thing scientists find even more exciting than the possibility that we might be right, it's the possibility that we might be completely, absolutely wrong. I didn't include anything on my spell list to try to avoid detection by scientists who'd want to experiment on me, because if I could cast spells, I'd be one of those scientists myself.

Zeful
2008-10-11, 10:27 PM
Go to small town. Meet one person privately, make them a mental duplicate to me. They move away, begin again, but don't make a clone of themselves(there may only be 2). Meet someone else privately. Mindrape into my obedient slave. Have them introduce me into a friend of theirs. Mindrape that person. When I hit 5 people, move. Combine the slave's wealth to create a private compound. Have them stay there, doing consulting work online(they know all my skills). Go to a new city(50k people+). Get 15 more from the city. Lather rinse repeat. Get a few thousand people this way. Pay taxes, live normally(if opulent luxury surrounded by loyal slaves is normal)Every now and then, leave the compound to improve the world(get admission to various scientific labs that are close to a breakthrough, cast Fox's Cunning on the head scientist). If I'm discovered, Wish(Greater Teleport) my way away. If I die, Contingency(Raise Dead) activates, followed by teleportation. If I really die, my mental clone sees this in the news, and makes a clone of himself, who starts over. Should work for immortality.

This hinges on Mindrape being able to bestow spell like abilities, which I'm sure it won't. Also this plan will take many many months because of the OP's limitation, creating hundreds of oppritunity for discovery. Even if you just targeted the homeless, the people in power are still going to notice. A caster level was never specified so it could be very easily resisted (SLA DC formula is 1/2HD+CHA (for the case of mindrape) I believe, meaning at best is 11-15). Eventually someone's not going to be affected, and then your in trouble.

Aeriander
2008-10-11, 10:34 PM
Shapechange
Overland Flight
Fireball~

Collin152
2008-10-11, 10:47 PM
And once people figure out what your doing (after all number of people you can and have infected < number of people in the world.) there going to simply wait untill you've cest your three spells for the day then shoot you in the head, stopping your riegn of terror after a month (where you control at most 30 people).

You don't understand the process of Mindrape-Domination, do you?

First, you're in a large city. Huge crowds of people going hither and thither.
Mindrape some random Joe off the street.

Leave his mind exactly the same, except that he's always had an urge to, oh say, blow up a police station. You implant memories of him making plans that you had already come up with to do so on some date you specify.
This takes you six seconds.

The next day you Mindrape somebody else to do this same plot on some other day.

The next day you Mindrape somebody to do it to some other place on the same day as the first guy.

And so on, the dates beign a month or so in the future.

For the three weeks preceding the attacks and the duration therof, Mindrape nobody.

A few weeks later, begin again.


After destroying all local forms of public security, the military will be moved in.
Mindrape a soldier on patrol, leave his mind exactly the same, except that he's always hated his position, and secretly hated the government, and that he wants nothing ore than to turn against his superior officer on some predefined day...

You get the picture?

TheOOB
2008-10-11, 10:52 PM
Telekinesis - Perhaps the most versatile spell in the game.
Invisibility - Incredibly useful
Then it's a toss up between greater teleport and heal.

DarknessLord
2008-10-11, 10:55 PM
If I really die, my mental clone sees this in the news, and makes a clone of himself, who starts over. Should work for immortality.

No, it doesn't, the original you, is still dead, these copies may act, think, exactly like you, and they may have all your memories, but, they are not the first you, and from your perspective, you are in the afterlife (or not if you don't believe in that), other then the knowledge that someone exactly like you will live on, the first you gains no benefit from these clones (well, unless you use them as slaves.)

Asbestos
2008-10-11, 10:59 PM
If I really die, my mental clone sees this in the news, and makes a clone of himself, who starts over. Should work for immortality.
Not really, you're still dead. Your clone stopped being 'you' the instant it was created. Original you is still wormfood.

The Bushranger
2008-10-11, 11:02 PM
No, makes sense. Greater Teleport to go where what you plan to do with Tentacles isn't illegal, and True Rez when things go horribly, horribly wrong.

...
:smalleek:

Actually, "something that rhymes with Pentacle Rex" was NOT what I was thinking, believe it or don't.

Collin152
2008-10-11, 11:04 PM
...
:smalleek:

Actually, "something that rhymes with Pentacle Rex" was NOT what I was thinking, believe it or don't.

Then do tell, and prove your innocence.

Also: Nobody accused you. Methinks the lad doth protest too much.:smallamused:

Feralgeist
2008-10-11, 11:27 PM
what is our caster level for the purposes of duration/effectiveness and whatnot/??

In my case,Either Create Undead Create Greater undead, Greater Teleport and If we're allowing psionics, True mind switch. If not, Magic jar (depending on the caster level )

Zeful
2008-10-11, 11:32 PM
You don't understand the process of Mindrape-Domination, do you?

First, you're in a large city. Huge crowds of people going hither and thither.
Mindrape some random Joe off the street.

Leave his mind exactly the same, except that he's always had an urge to, oh say, blow up a police station. You implant memories of him making plans that you had already come up with to do so on some date you specify.
This takes you six seconds.

The next day you Mindrape somebody else to do this same plot on some other day.

The next day you Mindrape somebody to do it to some other place on the same day as the first guy.

And so on, the dates beign a month or so in the future.

For the three weeks preceding the attacks and the duration therof, Mindrape nobody.

A few weeks later, begin again.


After destroying all local forms of public security, the military will be moved in.
Mindrape a soldier on patrol, leave his mind exactly the same, except that he's always hated his position, and secretly hated the government, and that he wants nothing ore than to turn against his superior officer on some predefined day...

You get the picture?

Three or four attacks on the same day? That's just asking for trouble. The military will institue curfews. If your outside to much BANG game over. They might not even send in the army. It could be CIA or FBI counter-terrorist squad. Good luck.

Collin152
2008-10-11, 11:38 PM
Three or four attacks on the same day? That's just asking for trouble. The military will institue curfews. If your outside to much BANG game over. They might not even send in the army. It could be CIA or FBI counter-terrorist squad. Good luck.

Psh.
I'm acting from a crowd, remember?

And if their precautions prevent me from working?
Great, now they get to leave.
Now I can start again.

Guerilla tactics with an untraceable leader, mon frer.

The Bushranger
2008-10-11, 11:55 PM
Then do tell, and prove your innocence.

Also: Nobody accused you. Methinks the lad doth protest too much.:smallamused:

:smalltongue:

Let's just say there's someone I'd like to visit and enact some poetic justice upon, and leave it at that.

Collin152
2008-10-11, 11:56 PM
:smalltongue:

Let's just say there's someone I'd like to visit and enact some poetic justice upon, and leave it at that.

I thought you said it wasn't tentacle rape.

Ascension
2008-10-12, 12:00 AM
And why would anybody want corruption-prevention? You're powerful enough to be a god, what does human morality mean to you?

Hopefully it means a lot to you, or else humanity is completely screwed.

Of course, considering that you were the first serial mindrapist, I'm sure humanity would be completely screwed if you got magical powers.

The Bushranger
2008-10-12, 12:01 AM
Ah, but he said teleporting to where it was legal, thus implying that Japanese schoolgirls would somehow be involved, as they always seem to be in such matters.

No Japanese schoolgirls are, or will, be involved in the enactment of this vendetta.
For great justice!

Collin152
2008-10-12, 12:10 AM
Hopefully it means a lot to you, or else humanity is completely screwed.

Of course, considering that you were the first serial mindrapist, I'm sure humanity would be completely screwed if you got magical powers.

Oh, as someday it may happen that a victim must be found, I've got a little list, I've got a little list, of society offenders who might well be underground, who never would be missed, who never would be missed...

Humanity will be screwed regardless of my possesion of supernatural powers.

Morandir Nailo
2008-10-12, 12:59 AM
My choices:

Greater Teleport (3/day) - FedEx, eat your heart out. Oil-rich Arab sheiks will pay me gazillions of dollars to take postcards to their friends instantaneously, just for the status.

Shapechange (1/day) - Because nothing says "Don't f--- with me!" like turning into a frickin' Dragon.

Mass Heal (1/day) - With great power comes great responsibility...

Mor

Fan
2008-10-12, 01:14 AM
Your ALL doing this wrong!
Epic Magic FTW!
I will make use of the following seeds.
Slay
Ward
Conjure

All of which allow me to do the following.
Summoun armies of angels that allow me to summoun moure armies of angels due to their forced obediance.
Ward can be used to basicly make me invulerable to modern weaponry. (Give me Dr 1000000/Epic.... Not even a Nuke could stop me, and with my armies of Solars I can make it Permanent..... With SLay the purpose is obvious... Kill people violently, and massively.))
Also since you ca Technicly make them lower spells levels with the anti metamagic stuff (Ie. Applying crap templates to your spells to make them -1, and takign arcane disciple with a 0 lvl meta magic thing.)

Talic
2008-10-12, 01:15 AM
A couple packages for the interested:
Iron Body
Haste
Divine Power

This is the, "Wall? Looks like a door to me!" package.

Ghostform
Disintigrate
Mind Blank

For the Terrify the natives feel.

I think my personal favorite list:

Silent image
Alter Self
Invisibility

Because I like it when people walk into elevator shafts on their own. Less legal complications.

Zeful
2008-10-12, 01:18 AM
Your ALL doing this wrong!
Epic Magic FTW!
I will make use of the following seeds.
Slay
Ward
Conjure

All of which allow me to do the following.
Summoun armies of angels that allow me to summoun moure armies of angels due to their forced obediance.
Ward can be used to basicly make me invulerable to modern weaponry. (Give me Dr 1000000/Epic.... Not even a Nuke could stop me, and with my armies of Solars I can make it Permanent..... With SLay the purpose is obvious... Kill people violently, and massively.))

And you get those spells a grand total of 0 times per day, as epic spells count as 10th level spells and the Op states you get number per day of spell level-10.

golentan
2008-10-12, 01:42 AM
And why would anybody want corruption-prevention? You're powerful enough to be a god, what does human morality mean to you?

First off, moral laws exist, and while they are a little faster and looser than most people think in some regards, in other ways they are far stricter. If anything, godlike power forces a being to examine itself with a more rigorous eye, for fear of long term consequences mortals never have to worry about. That doesn't mean necessarily classic "good," but it does definitely mean "not evil."

And don't give me some B.S. about wishing the consequences away. You've got once use per day and you're trying to undue impacts on your own mental health, relationships, position, and other traits too numerous to mention. You might succeed, but you'd be effectively committing suicide and replacing yourself.

Second, you still have a human mind: ergo still human and either a) remain bound by societal conventions or b) are quite appropriately categorized as evil.

Third, start throwing around too much power and you'll attract unwanted attention. There are beings (hell, even mindless forces) out there which, if annoyed even accidentaly, could squash you like a bug. Think on that.

Bear in mind these are simply friendly warnings as one sentient creature to another. I have no power or desire to change your path in life/the afterlife. If you get your kicks in the here and now altering reality or your companions, go right ahead and do what you think is best.

drengnikrafe
2008-10-12, 01:45 AM
And you get those spells a grand total of 0 times per day, as epic spells count as 10th level spells and the Op states you get number per day of spell level-10.

Indeed, that was the rule I had set up in order to create some sort of balance between lower and higher level spells. Not a good balance, but an existant one none the less. And, as you've so correctly pointed out, stopping Epic Spells.

DrizztFan24
2008-10-12, 01:58 AM
Permanacy
Wish.
Shapechange.

Now I should be able to wish myself a spell-like ability, permmy, and have fun. I could even alter my stats, no xp cost so no brutal DM retribution for munchkinry.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-10-12, 02:56 AM
Wait a second. We're doing this wrong.
Clone.
Mindrape.
Wish.

Clone yourself, just in case. Wish for a LE Candle of Invocation. Use the candle. Cast Mindrape, ordering the scaley to fail it's save. Proceed to get every spell, ever, as a SLA, 14,400 times per day. Among other things. Who needs a Familiar?

Edit:Golentan, you are straying dangerously close to real-world morality there. Avoid that, please.

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-12, 03:13 AM
I never knew alignment restrictions didn't apply to Arcanists. Regarding spells with Exp. costs and using Contingency Raise Dead: how would those work without levels? (Unless you somehow ggained levels, using Wish would kill you and being Eaised would result in irreversable Con damage, unless you use the 1st Edition version which just stopped you from doing anything too strainuous for a while after you were brought back).

EDIT: I just found out that SLAs don't have an Exp. cost, so I'd like to change my list to Mass Heal, Miracle and Wish.

golentan
2008-10-12, 03:48 AM
Sorry about that. I was pointing out what I viewed as practical problems. The results of some mentioned behaviors include mental degradation. Definite problem. Then you have limited wishes to correct said problem. Definite problem. Finally, you have some force that granted you these powers (I find it unlikely that any of us here, as at most lvl. 4 experts, granted ourselves these powers) be it god, devil, or merely a Cosmic DM, if you mess with too many of their plans they can and will destroy you and start from scratch. Problem. I applied real life moral reasoning because it was 1. applicable 2. convenient 3. had been on my mind the past 5 or 6 states of consciousness.

I will stop henceforth. As I stated, I do not have the ability nor the inclination to alter the path of a human being.

Wulfram
2008-10-12, 07:44 AM
Not including Wish and Miracle

Raise Dead
Divination
Control Weather

Lots of potential for doing good, getting worshipped as a god and making myself filthy rich.

Naihal
2008-10-12, 09:48 AM
Not including Wish and Miracle

Raise Dead
Divination
Control Weather

Lots of potential for doing good, getting worshipped as a god and making myself filthy rich.

Careful, godhood has its occupational hazards.


I will not set myself up as a god. That perilous position is reserved for my trusted lieutenant.

Shovah
2008-10-12, 10:13 AM
And once people figure out what your doing (after all number of people you can and have infected < number of people in the world.) there going to simply wait untill you've cest your three spells for the day then shoot you in the head, stopping your riegn of terror after a month (where you control at most 30 people).

That's assuming you're stupid enough to let yourself get caught =). Mindrape wont be used to make huge changes in anyone that could possibly be missed - just changing people enough to get them to do what is needed.

And Wish and Miracle would both be used later in the day, for exactly that reason. I considered taking other spells for protection (Mindblank? Invisibility? Shapechange?), but decided it wasn't necessary. I'll have lots of willing followers, and enough earthly wealth to protect myself.
If
Wish can be used to create magic items as per the spell (doesn't say it has to be possible within your reality) I'll have enough items (and auto-resetting traps) to stay safe and cast whatever I need, and pretty much become unstoppable.
If not? I'll just settle with being a bad-ass with some awesome powers :smallamused:.


General plan would probably be;
Use very first wish to cast clone. Just incase.
Stay in hiding while I use wish to get those nice inherent boosts to ability scores, starting with the mental stats. During this time, I'll be mind-raping one person a day, either following Colin's plan, or simply planting the idea that if someone with my kind of abilities showed up, they would follow me.
While my wishes are occupied, I'll save my Miracle for the end of the day. Greater Teleport etc if needed, and if I haven't used it by the end of the day I'll just cast a spell that'll provide me with some permanent advantage. Maybe revive a dead person to mindrape as soon as the next day starts? Add some solid defences to my base of operations? (where I will, of course, not always stay for safety reasons).

Once my stat boosts are up, I'll either start producing those lovely magic items to give me much more casting per day, while again using my Miracles either for fun, or for whatever lasting effect I would like.
Wish combined with Miracle(used to cast the permanency spell) can provide me, and areas of my choice, with some very nice defences/buffs.

Again, item/trap creation would really get things rolling, as would possibly summoning a creature with some useful casting more than 1/day. If those things aren't possible? I can still get alot of permanent bonuses from emulated permanency, and spells without a duration (So I can conjure/shape things etc).


Pretty much; stay low-key until I have alot of power.
And then still stay undetected, working through mindraped pawns. Wish and Miracle used when needed, or at the end of the day to further increase strength.


Or just go crazy and nuke something with a Tornado-strength Control Winds spell. I've always wanted to do that.

Jalor
2008-10-12, 10:29 AM
I'd have to say Overland Flight, Suggestion, and Fox's Cunning. I don't need Eagle's Splendor if I've got Suggestion, nor do I need Teleport if I have Overland Flight.

AmberVael
2008-10-12, 10:52 AM
Hmmm....

Expeditious Retreat
Telekinesis
Lightning Bolt


I would then proclaim myself a Sith and watch as hordes of Star Wars fanboys worshipped me. :smalltongue:

Shovah
2008-10-12, 10:52 AM
But Jalor, what about when you get caught flying, identified as a Russian military experiment, and shot out of the sky?

You can't hit a missile with suggestion =).

KIDS
2008-10-12, 10:53 AM
With so many people choosing Mindrape, I suppose I should get very worried. If it weren't called like that but was instead something like "Mind replacement" or whatever, I bet it wouldn't be nearly that popular...

Edit: I was about to list the Bigby's hand for the favorites but I realized that it would spark an endless chain of innuendos, so better not. I'd go with Lesser Vigor, Summon Nature's Ally IV and Chain Lightning.

Shovah
2008-10-12, 10:56 AM
That's because Mindrape is much easier to say, of course :smallsmile:.

Jack_Simth
2008-10-12, 11:53 AM
Wait a second. We're doing this wrong.
Clone.
Mindrape.
Wish.

You only need Clone once - which means you use Wish to make that one happen (as well as finding a magic item in a splatbook somewhere for keeping the clone from decaying ever).


Clone yourself, just in case. Wish for a LE Candle of Invocation. Use the candle. Cast Mindrape, ordering the scaley to fail it's save. Proceed to get every spell, ever, as a SLA, 14,400 times per day. Among other things. Who needs a Familiar?

You're not initially a scaled one of Torril....


Edit:Golentan, you are straying dangerously close to real-world morality there. Avoid that, please.
You might want to re-read the forum rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/announcement.php?a=1).

jcsw
2008-10-12, 12:04 PM
I'd rather have Ice Assassin than Mindrape. There's no save involved.

Yahzi
2008-10-12, 12:09 PM
Second, you still have a human mind: ergo still human and
Indeed, and still has human needs. Like... companionship. Most criminals get caught when they get turned in by their mates. No reason to think a teleporting mind-raper would be any different.



Overland flight. Fireball. Lightening.
Helicopter. Handgrenade. Machine gun.

Why would you want spells that duplicate things that can already be done?

Thrawn183
2008-10-12, 12:35 PM
Take 1: Help people, but don't let anyone mess with me.

Heal: This spell alone will make you so much money it isn't even funny.
Control Winds: When you really really need to make an 1600 ft. diameter tornado. That would kill 19 out of 20 people in its radius every round. Think of it as a reset button.
Blinding Spittle: For the people who try and do something nasty to you to get at the money you make from using Heal.

Take 2: Destroying the world.
Wall of Fire.
Permanency.
With enough time, you could cover the world in fire. Who needs global warming when you can have global scorching?

Take 3: Being bad.
Love's Pain
Forbidden Speach
Addiction
....yeah, this one isn't very nice.

AmberVael
2008-10-12, 01:16 PM
Helicopter. Handgrenade. Machine gun.

Why would you want spells that duplicate things that can already be done?

Forgive me, but somehow I think Overland Flight, Fireball, and Lightning bolt are a bit different from the aforementioned mundane items. Also, few people have ready access to such things anyways.

Ascension
2008-10-12, 01:41 PM
I'm actually a little surprised by how many people are tailoring their spell lists towards world domination and/or being rich and famous and how few people are aiming for simply enjoying life or for carrying out some personal mission/vendetta. Most people are thinking big with their magic.

Me, I just want to humiliate random schoolyard bullies and hopefully contribute to the improved mental health of the next generation of nerds and outcasts. I'm currently studying Middle Grades Education so I can learn how to do it without magical powers, so I can make sure future generations of middle schoolers don't suffer like I did.

DarknessLord
2008-10-12, 01:51 PM
Indeed, and still has human needs. Like... companionship. Most criminals get caught when they get turned in by their mates. No reason to think a teleporting mind-raper would be any different.


Unless they mind-rape their companion not to...:smallsigh:


You only need Clone once - which means you use Wish to make that one happen (as well as finding a magic item in a splatbook somewhere for keeping the clone from decaying ever).


I can just see that now:
Mindraped Love-slave: "Oh Master, why are you in your infinite and boundless wisdom looking through those D&D books?"
Rapist: "Quiet! I need to find a magic tiem in here to keep my clone from disappearing!"

JaxGaret
2008-10-12, 02:19 PM
Wish
Miracle
Shapechange


Who needs anything else?

Drakefall
2008-10-12, 03:46 PM
Me, I just want to humiliate random schoolyard bullies and hopefully contribute to the improved mental health of the next generation of nerds and outcasts. I'm currently studying Middle Grades Education so I can learn how to do it without magical powers, so I can make sure future generations of middle schoolers don't suffer like I did.

And I sir salute you.

Revising my list I'm coming up with the following combinations:

For enjoyment of Life:
Overland Flight
Heal
Suggestion

For Power:
Magic Missile
Shapechange
Miracle

For "realistic" use where I'd have to be wary of the government/evil organisations:
Telekinesis
Regeneration
Greater Invisibility

Kami2awa
2008-10-12, 04:32 PM
Most of these posts make me glad that magic isn't real.

I'd like:

Cure Disease
Comprehend Languages
Make Whole
Prestidigitation
Awaken
Greater Teleport
Knock
Mordenkainen's Magnificient Mansion

And for self-defence

Hold Person/Wall of Force/Sleep or similar non-lethal, non-permanent incapacitating spell

Flickerdart
2008-10-12, 04:55 PM
Most of these posts make me glad that magic isn't real.

I'd like:

Cure Disease
Comprehend Languages
Make Whole
Prestidigitation
Awaken
Greater Teleport
Knock
Mordenkainen's Magnificient Mansion

And for self-defence

Hold Person/Wall of Force/Sleep or similar non-lethal, non-permanent incapacitating spell
You only get three. Not thirteen, not thirty, three.

snowbard55
2008-10-12, 04:57 PM
Prismatic Spray- Because its fun to roll the dice with other people's lives on the line.

Wish- This one is obvious:smalltongue:

Polymorph Any Object- Because I want to turn my cat into a horse...just to say I have.

Fiery Diamond
2008-10-12, 05:33 PM
I'd go for:

Dimension Door (getting to classes/moving small distances)
Greater Teleport (I have a 12 hr drive between home and school)
-I'm gonna not use Wish on account of it being cheating-ish, so
Prestidigitation (or maybe Fly)

-Fiery Diamond

Dr Bwaa
2008-10-12, 05:39 PM
Polymorph Any Object (to make a very good living as a surgeon)
Eagle's Splendor (because I lack CHA much more than anything else)
Cure Light Wounds (how many of you have more than 8 HP? What on earth are you going to use Heal on that CLW can't fix? :p)

Zeful
2008-10-12, 05:47 PM
Polymorph Any Object (to make a very good living as a surgeon)
Eagle's Splendor (because I lack CHA much more than anything else)
Cure Light Wounds (how many of you have more than 8 HP? What on earth are you going to use Heal on that CLW can't fix? :p)

Heal also cures diseases. Though it would be fun to sneak into a hospital (under invisibility preferably) and kill the power. Then casting a Widened Mass Heal in the surgery theatre. Imagine the confusion.

Though if you want a low level healing spell, mass lesser vigour is probably better than cure light wounds

Kurald Galain
2008-10-12, 06:14 PM
You only get three. Not thirteen, not thirty, three.

Neither shalt thou get two, unless thou proceedest straight to three. Five is right out.

drengnikrafe
2008-10-12, 06:21 PM
Neither shalt thou get two, unless thou proceedest straight to three. Five is right out.

Very nice, but slightly wrong.

If you only want 2 spells, you can always just not bother picking a third one, and that is no problem. But, five is right out.

DarknessLord
2008-10-12, 06:23 PM
Very nice, but slightly wrong.

If you only want 2 spells, you can always just not bother picking a third one, and that is no problem. But, five is right out.

Could you pick the same spell twice x2 the castings?

Not that it would change my picks, just wondering...

phoenixcire
2008-10-12, 06:25 PM
Is it me or did someone completely let a Monty Python reference go over their head?

drengnikrafe
2008-10-12, 06:30 PM
@phoenix: I got the reference, I just didn't add to it. I get tired of Monty Python references when they are used too much. Plus, I didn't want 8 people to suddenly pick the spell "Summon Killer Rabbit IX" as one of their spells. You know somebody would do that, if given the chance.

@darkness: I don't think so. Usually things like that don't seem to stack. It's not like you have a wand that casts x times per day, you get the special ability to cast things x times per day, and if you took one twice, expecting to be getting twice as many spells, that would technically break the rules of the thread.

Zeful
2008-10-12, 06:35 PM
Could you pick the same spell twice x2 the castings?

Not that it would change my picks, just wondering...

No the best thing to do is to pick two spells that are functionally identical and use them.

EDIT: I as well as other are curious, what level are we considered for caster level dependent variables.

Collin152
2008-10-12, 06:54 PM
First off, moral laws exist, and while they are a little faster and looser than most people think in some regards, in other ways they are far stricter. If anything, godlike power forces a being to examine itself with a more rigorous eye, for fear of long term consequences mortals never have to worry about. That doesn't mean necessarily classic "good," but it does definitely mean "not evil."

And don't give me some B.S. about wishing the consequences away. You've got once use per day and you're trying to undue impacts on your own mental health, relationships, position, and other traits too numerous to mention. You might succeed, but you'd be effectively committing suicide and replacing yourself.

Second, you still have a human mind: ergo still human and either a) remain bound by societal conventions or b) are quite appropriately categorized as evil.

Third, start throwing around too much power and you'll attract unwanted attention. There are beings (hell, even mindless forces) out there which, if annoyed even accidentaly, could squash you like a bug. Think on that.

Bear in mind these are simply friendly warnings as one sentient creature to another. I have no power or desire to change your path in life/the afterlife. If you get your kicks in the here and now altering reality or your companions, go right ahead and do what you think is best.

Sure, but again, Godlike power. What's it matter if you're Evil?
I don't know what kind of long-term consequences you could possibly be thinking of, but I reiterate, Godlike power. And there are a surprising number of days in a lifetime.
And who wants to be sane anyways?


As for unwanted attention... Godlike power. If I'm stupid enough to let anybody know I'm doing anything, I deserve to die.

Jack_Simth
2008-10-12, 07:10 PM
Polymorph Any Object (to make a very good living as a surgeon)

As a plastic surgeon, yes - you can make just about anyone look like just about anyone else, Permanently.

As an exotic animal trainer, yes (you train something that trains relatively easily, such as a large-breed dog or horse, then turn it into something that would be difficult to train, such as a leopard).

Can also do some very interesting things as a neurologist - see, Polymorph Any Object updates the Intelligence score. So if you turn someone who's got a notably below-average intelligence (due to Down Syndrome, say), into a human without down syndrome, you've brought their Int back up to 10 - they're effectively cured.

Other than that it's somewhat cheating, though, I'm fond of Wish for this purpose - you can get by on once per day rather than twice per day just fine for most things.


Eagle's Splendor (because I lack CHA much more than anything else)
Cure Light Wounds (how many of you have more than 8 HP? What on earth are you going to use Heal on that CLW can't fix? :p)
Cure Light Wounds just gets rid of HP damage. Heal "immediately ends any and all of the following adverse conditions affecting the Target: ability damage, blinded, confused, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased, exhausted, fatigued, feebleminded, insanity, nauseated, sickened, stunned, and poisoned"
With Heal, you give sight to the blind, cure disease, and let the deaf hear. Plus you can even deal with brain injuries (that's ability damage or ability drain, right?).

Hmm...
General, assuming Wish and Miracle are permitted:
Wish (any of the spells I'll only want to cast occasionally, such as Clone and Polymorph Any Object, plus wealth, limited to 500 pounds of gold's value at a time - and with 14.583 Troy ounces per standard pound, and a troy ounce of gold marketing at $849.90, that's over six million us dollars per day where we spend this on wealth, and magic items with no cap - yes, I'll take a +6 Belt of Magnificence; a Ring of Invisibility; all six of the +5 Tomes and Manuals; a Ring of Sustenance; a Necklace of Adaptation; Boots of the Winterlands; +5 Glammered, Greater Silent Moves, Greater Slick, Greater Shadow, Greater Fire Resistance, Greater Sonic Resistance, Greater Electricity Resistance, Greater Acid Resistance, Greater Cold Resistance, Ghost Touch, Etherealness, Invulnerability, Mithral Chain Shirt; a +5 Ring of Deflection; a Third Eye Conceal; a +5 Vest of Resistance; a +5 Heavy Fortification Mithral Buckler, Wings of Flying, a Skin of Proteous, a Skin of Fiery Response, Skin of the Troll, a Portable Hole, two Gloves of Storing, a Helm of Comprehend Languages and Read Magic, an Instant Fortress, and whatever else I think I might need... which includes getting a few Oils of Gentle Repose at as high a caster level as I can manage, then using Wish to duplicate Clone on myself the next day, and using the Oil on the Clone ... repeat a few times in a few different places ... then I'll go visit the Mars lander, and maybe put up a sign for it...).
Miracle (as a backup for if I suddenly find I need a specialty task, after having used Wish for the day - alternately, on days I'm just exploring and don't plan to use Wish, I Heal someone; but then, I'll also make sure to pick up a few strands of prayer beads for the Beads of Healing.... on regular days...).
Greater Teleport (7th level spell, so 3 per day - escape anywhere, plus a little general travel).

Wish is about the ultimate spell for this, due to the safe list including magic items (which technically includes Epic items, but I'm not wanting to go down that road...).

drengnikrafe
2008-10-12, 07:14 PM
No the best thing to do is to pick two spells that are functionally identical and use them.

EDIT: I as well as other are curious, what level are we considered for caster level dependent variables.

You know, that is a very good question...
Let's say... I'd say whatever level you want, but I feel a lot of danger coming from that... No, yeah, I'm more interested in spells then formalities.

Your caster level dependent variables are whatever the heck you want them to be. I'll only limit it in that you can't be considered higher then a 20th level caster.

Chronos
2008-10-12, 09:32 PM
Sure, but again, Godlike power. What's it matter if you're Evil?Logically, wouldn't having godlike power make it matter a heck of a lot more if you're evil?

Collin152
2008-10-12, 09:37 PM
Logically, wouldn't having godlike power make it matter a heck of a lot more if you're evil?

To everybody else in the world, maybe.

Project_Mayhem
2008-10-13, 06:46 AM
I think I'm firmly in the Colin camp here. Godlike Power and freedom from morality would be good stuff.

And if Wish and Miracle are banned ... then I need a Copy of the BoVD

Kami2awa
2008-10-13, 07:36 AM
Heal also cures diseases. Though it would be fun to sneak into a hospital (under invisibility preferably) and kill the power. Then casting a Widened Mass Heal in the surgery theatre. Imagine the confusion.

Though if you want a low level healing spell, mass lesser vigour is probably better than cure light wounds

Wouldn't that leave a lot of surgical instruments stuck inside people?

Ellisthion
2008-10-13, 07:53 AM
Hmm. Are there any spells which grant immortality?

Er. Are there any spells which grant immortality without annoying side effects?

Assuming no Wish/Miracle:
* Greater Teleport: Travelling is dull
* True Resurrection: Because there's a few people I don't want to die
* Regeneration or Greater Restoration: same as above

PaladinBoy
2008-10-13, 10:39 AM
Let's see, I'd go with:

Invisibility
Dimension Door
Greater Teleport

Traveling around would never be an inconvenience ever again!

hewhosaysfish
2008-10-13, 10:43 AM
Just for myself?
1) Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion (food, luxury and service)
2) Moment of Prescience (assuming minimun CL, thats +13 to any skill check I fancy, including Craft)
3) Fabricate (put those Craft checks to work!)



If I have a sudden attack of conscience?
1) Greater Teleport (Get to famine/drought-stricken country)
2) Control Weather (Make the desert fertile)
3) Plant Growth (See above)



If I feel whimisical and fancy changing the world?
1) Nightmare (Send Jacob Marley visions to political leaders I dislike and spiritual leaders the listen too)
2) Greater Teleport (to the appropriate political capital, when change fails to materialise)
3) Giant Vermin/Storm of Vengeance/Earthquake (wrath of God descends)

Dreyden
2008-10-13, 01:52 PM
Wish 1/day
Divination 6/day
Teleport 5/day

Flickerdart
2008-10-13, 01:54 PM
Wish 1/day
Divination 6/day
Teleport 5/day
Except a mishap Teleport is likely to kill you. 1d10 damage, 50% chance of 1d10 damage again, then 50% of 1d10 after that....seeing as we're all, at best, a handful of Humanoid HD, Greater Teleport is a much safer option.

tonberrian
2008-10-13, 02:18 PM
Heroes' Feast 4/day
Greater Teleport 3/day
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion 3/day

I'd go travel around the world. Getting around is easy with Greater Teleport, and Magnificent Mansion provides food and shelter. I could also become wealthy by catering with Heroes' Feast and not needing to pay for a lot of things, like food and water.

Zenos
2008-10-13, 02:29 PM
Let me see... Wish for general fun. True creation so I can walk around making stuff i want or need, and Overwhelm to smite my enemies.

AKA_Bait
2008-10-13, 02:37 PM
Wish(Level 9, I get it once if I need it)

For obvious reasons, not the least of which is I can create minor magical items.

Prestidigitation (Level 0, so I get it as often as I like?)

So that I can eat healthy and have it still taste like steak. Also for never having to do laundry again.

Um... I'm not sure what else I could really need...

JaxGaret
2008-10-13, 03:01 PM
Since my reply from last night seems to have gotten gobbled up by data vampires, here it is again:

Wish
Miracle
Shapechange

How can you go wrong? Flexibility at its best. The only catch is you get three spells per day. It would be tempting to trade Shapechange for Limited Wish, to get a few more flexible daily slots, but Shapechange is versatile enough (and impossible to duplicate via Wish or Miracle) so that it would be my choice.


Wish(Level 9, I get it once if I need it)

For obvious reasons, not the least of which is I can create minor magical items.

Prestidigitation (Level 0, so I get it as often as I like?)

So that I can eat healthy and have it still taste like steak. Also for never having to do laundry again.

Um... I'm not sure what else I could really need...

You could go with Wish, Limited Wish, and Really Limited Wish (Prestidigitation) :smallsmile:

Zeful
2008-10-13, 03:05 PM
Wish(Level 9, I get it once if I need it)

For obvious reasons, not the least of which is I can create minor magical items.

Prestidigitation (Level 0, so I get it as often as I like?)

So that I can eat healthy and have it still taste like steak. Also for never having to do laundry again.

Um... I'm not sure what else I could really need...

Level 0 spells are 10 times a day.

AKA_Bait
2008-10-13, 03:11 PM
You could go with Wish, Limited Wish, and Really Limited Wish (Prestidigitation) :smallsmile:

I thought about it, but I only get 10 spell levels a day right? So, on any given day I could Wish or Limited Wish but not both... seems to defeat the point of limited wish then.

I'd go with Shapechange but... I just don't see myself turning into other things.

Maybe Gate...

Collin152
2008-10-13, 05:28 PM
I thought about it, but I only get 10 spell levels a day right? So, on any given day I could Wish or Limited Wish but not both... seems to defeat the point of limited wish then.

I'd go with Shapechange but... I just don't see myself turning into other things.

Maybe Gate...

Nah, see, each one gets 10-level uses.

So, Wish once, Limited Wish 4 times, Prestidigitation 10 times...

Knaight
2008-10-13, 05:54 PM
Fly
Comprehend Languages
Predestigation

Draz74
2008-10-13, 08:02 PM
OK, I'm going to assume that these SLA's still have XP costs. Keeps some balance preserved.

And I'm going to ban Miracle and Polymorph Any Object for myself, because they're just too obvious. With either of these 1/day, there's no need for anything else.

I'm also going to assume I live in an otherwise-normal world (e.g., no one else has 3/day SLA's. If they did, I would certainly pick Mindblank in a heartbeat). This makes Shapechange pretty worthless, since it would be restricted to real-life plants and animals and humans. I have no intention of world domination or even of drastically changing my lifestyle -- I want spells that will make everyday life more convenient (but not so much that they have unbalancing long-term consequences), and will let me do more good in the world than I currently can (but not so much that it turns me into a celebrity and takes over my life).

With all these guidelines, I will still have a hard time narrowing my list down to three. Here's some brainstorming, I might have to come back and do the narrowing down later.

Prestidigitation -- actually very hard to pass up. What girl won't want to marry me if I can scrub bathrooms/vacuum floors/dust surfaces/clean up after children this efficiently? Or make her cooking taste even better when we have company? Or smell any way I want? And that's just the beginning of this spell's flexibility. 10 times/day!

Scholar's Touch (i.e. read a book instantly). Wow. Definitely life-changing. Now if only I could Imbue other people with this spell, too. The best way to change the world, although slow, would be to give the underpriveleged classes of the world the education they can't afford. But as it's a personal only spell, it's still tempting. Reading 9 books/day in under a minute would be a major time-saver, as well as a source of how I could better affect the world in good ways.

Eagle's Splendor -- the only "manipulate other people" ability I would feel OK with using. Which makes it quite appealing.

Fox's Cunning -- Oooo, tempting. Would it become a drug-addict situation, though? Would I feel stupid except when I used it? Still ... being able to pop one of these once in a while, when I'm working on a tough physics problem or something, is hard to pass up. Oh, and then you get into issues of using performance-enhancers on standardized tests and so on ...

Owl's Wisdom -- I don't think many other people will agree, but I'd find this very handy. Higher Wisdom would probably make me better at, for example, going to sleep when I should, instead of playing video games late into the night. Or not making an idiot of myself when I ask a girl out. Not to mention the handy +2 bonus to Spot, Listen, Sense Motive -- especially when playing Nighttime Capture the Flag or something. Fun.

Heroism -- Doesn't actually increase Int/Wis/Cha, but still increases saves and skill checks based on those abilities. And with a better duration. And boosts attack rolls, too, which isn't too handy in everyday life but is nice if I do get into a dangerous situation -- or in certain sports. (+10% accuracy in basketball? Nice!)

Telepathic Bond -- Pretty good even when confronted with the competition of cell phones. Telepathy is much better than words. Especially when you need to tell someone across the room something, and you're in some kind of class or meeting and can't just give them a call. Still, probably not wide enough in application to make the final list.

Magnificent Mansion -- Hard to pass up. But what's the caster level? And if you don't own a Bag of Holding, it wouldn't actually be a very convenient dwelling-place. All your material possessions would get spat out onto the street every other day or so. :smallfrown:

Fire Shield -- ok, I'm not really basing my choices around self-defense, but this would get bullies off your back pretty easily. Unless they had guns. Huh. But the real point would be the utility of hiking through the desert without getting hot, or lying in the snow without getting cold. On the other hand, this one is a little obvious visually. Would attract too much attention.

Persistent Image -- Duration is unfortunate; maybe Major Image would be better. Still, either way -- this would make you the awesomest DM ever. Or player. Suddenly you can show everyone a perfect movie of what's in your imagination! Easy to get a high-paying job in the cinema industry? Check. Easy to wow everyone in your class when the professor assigns a presentation? Check. Good for tricking people into doing what you want them to? Check.

Greater Teleport -- Very, very hard to pass up, for obvious reasons. The main down side is that you'd suddenly be in very high demand as soon as people found out about your ability. You're trying to tell me the military wouldn't draft you into their special ops for having this ability?

Mass Cure Light Wounds -- handy on the rare occasions when you run into multiple injured people, e.g. after a car crash or fire or really bad football game. But wouldn't get used every day.

Regenerate/Heal -- like Greater Teleport, these might put me in too-high demand and give me more responsibility than I wanted. But still tempting. Save friends from diseases? Cure chronic disabilities? In the long run, these really might lead to an unbalancing population explosion. If I'm curing 4 people of cancer every day (for exorbitant prices?), the national life expectancy will jump in a couple years. That's not all bad, but it's definitely something to consider. Regenerate might be safer than Heal.

Divination -- Dang. Even with ~$25 material components, ... wow. "Should I go to this grad school?" "Should I vote for this person?" Being able to ask God a question for $25 anytime you want, and get a true and useful answer, is pretty hard to beat. Similar consideration goes to Commune, even with the XP cost (and my non-adventurer scarcity of XP).

Message, Alarm, Comprehend Languages, Arcane Lock, Phantom Steed, Tongues, Water Breathing, Sending -- Nice, but duplicable enough with technology to skip.

Bear's Endurance, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Overland Flight, Haste, Dimension Door, Telekinesis, Moment of Prescience -- Fun, but not really important.

Charm Person, Invisibility, Glibness, Suggestion -- Tempting, but that's the problem. Abusing them is a temptation that I don't want to have to deal with. Actually, I can't see the use of Suggestion being very moral in any everyday situation, let alone Mindrape.

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-14, 01:59 AM
Could you combine MMM with Secure Shelter so that you wouldn't have your possessions thrown out like that? I'm having more doubts about my spell list: I'd definitly want Mass Heal and Regenerate, but I'm not sure about really wanting Wish or Miracle.

Khanderas
2008-10-14, 02:36 AM
Teleport, flight and Cha-boost (Eagle's splendor I think it is).

Teleport lets me cut down traveltime to nothing, if the weather is bad, I just port myself to Thailand and bask in the sun. If I need money, Ill teleport into a bankvault, grab whatever gold I can carry and port out. No more moneyproblems. If I am getting into a fight, run around a corner and teleport away, letting my assailants look for me in vain OR teleport them away (fataility optional).

Flight, well who does not want to fly for the sheer thrill of it. Some may think it is redundant when I can teleport, but they fill different needs really.

Eagle's Splendor. Smart people may be smart. Strong people may be able to lift heavy stuff, but charming people are happy; (edit: and can make other people do the heavy lifting. Besides, I am already rich from a certain teleport trick.)

Invisibility would problebly be very good though, I can, if need be, trade out flight for invisibility (don't wanna explain my sudden appearance when I port). Flight would be fun, but invisibility could be essential for the rest.

Finwe
2008-10-14, 02:50 AM
Well, assuming wish and miracle are banned:


Limited Wish
Greater Teleport
Control weather

Weiser_Cain
2008-10-14, 03:20 AM
Wish
Greater Teleport
Shapechange

I'd spends a year or so enhancing my personal powers and extending my life once I was sure I wouldn't foul it up.

Barring wish which feels like a cheat,

Dominate Person
Polymorph
*insert some way to steal life*

Smittaugh
2008-10-14, 06:04 AM
This is easy...eternal life with the option of checking out when I want to, with the bonus of excellent travel.

Spell the first: Clone

Make a copy or three of my nice young self. I just have to remember to drink some poison or something every year or so to return myself to a nice young me. Gotta beat that natural life span clause. But now I have to keep my new selves fresh...

Spell the second: Gentle Repose

Hermetically sealed in magic ZipLoc. It's nice to have a good, clean place to return to, don't you think?

Spell the third: Gate

And now, later on, I can visit my friends and family. After they're dead. Also, heaven has its perks other than my people. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0492.html) And if I need money, just rob a place, then gate somewhere else. Tomorrow, gate back to my fortress of solitude.

Chrono22
2008-10-14, 06:27 AM
Gate
Greater Teleport
True Ressurection

I'd probably use greater teleport to steal large quantities of diamonds, and then use them as the material component for true ressurection. (Welcome back, Gary!)
And I'd probably use a combination of Gate/Greater Teleport to allow humanity to populate other planets.

Talic
2008-10-14, 06:28 AM
Trap The Soul
Gate
Wish

Step 1: Wish for a valuable gem (5000gp value). Repeat Daily.
Step 2: Commission a jeweller. give him a gem worth 5000 gp (assuming 100 coins = 1 pound of gold, then that's 50 pounds of gold. Calculate the value of what you're paying, I'm sure that'll be sufficient. His Task: Scribe different, specific names into tiny script, similar to what they do as a security feature in jewelry, onto the other gems (say, 10 or so).
Step 3: Trap the Soul on those gems.
Step 4: Give your Mother in Law a near priceless gem for christmas. Repeat with 9 other people that could use removing.

If someone pressures you, just drop a soul bomb on them directly, chances are, they'll fail the save. And very few ppl are above level 5.

Step 5: Gate in some planar devil. Barter souls for services.


Yes, this is one of the few things more evil than mindrape.

OverdrivePrime
2008-10-14, 09:29 AM
Genesis
Gate
Polymorph Any Object

Fun everlasting. :smallsmile:

Return of Lanky
2008-10-14, 07:26 PM
True Resurrection. I'd only want it usable once per day. Heck, I'd probably do my best to keep this one a secret as much as possible. Bringing back the dead would no doubt be hugely problematic, not to mention the millions of people who'd be begging for the return of loved ones. I'd do my best to use it for good and kind deeds, but anonymously.

Suggestion for obvious reasons.

Fabricate for the ability to turn raw materials into finished goods with a wave of my hands. Hundreds of creative uses, and the items are permanently crafted.

Yahzi
2008-10-14, 08:18 PM
Fabricate for the ability to turn raw materials into finished goods with a wave of my hands. Hundreds of creative uses, and the items are permanently crafted.
Here's a better idea: take Remove Disease, cure 1,000 people of terminal disease for a fraction of what their doctors would charge to try, and use the money to buy yourself as many factories as you like.

Again, the only sensible spell choices are things we can't already do. Raise Dead, Remove Disease, and Zone of Truth. Although Commune, Regeneration, and Mage Hand would be pretty cool, too.

Jack_Simth
2008-10-14, 08:28 PM
Hmm.... do Psionic powers count?

Ignoring Wish and Miracle (which seem to make the top three for around 50%, if we don't)....
True Resurrection (for other people)
True Mind Switch (you bring back someone who died young, and give them a second chance... but they get the slightly older body you've been using for the past few years, you get to be young, and throw off the scent)
Greater Teleport (I'd rather not get caught, thanks)

Skaven
2008-10-15, 05:47 AM
Assuming a caster level of 20.

Alter Self (empowered). 6/day (you never said no metamagic spell level changes..! ;) )
Shapechange 1/day
Greater Teleport 3/day

Chronos
2008-10-15, 11:25 AM
Alter Self (empowered). 6/day (you never said no metamagic spell level changes..! ;) )Alter Self doesn't have any variable numeric effects. What are you trying to accomplish with this?

JaxGaret
2008-10-15, 12:28 PM
OK, I'm going to assume that these SLA's still have XP costs. Keeps some balance preserved.

If we go by these standards, and also ban all 9th level spells, it is a more interesting question IMO.

I'll come back later with my answer, using those restrictions.

Dausuul
2008-10-15, 12:41 PM
Heal, Teleport Without Error, and Overland Flight. (The first two are for the obvious utility, the last is because I wanna be able to fly.)

Shapechange and Polymorph are also tempting, although I would be inclined to rule that you're limited to creatures that exist in the real world.

Ricky S
2008-10-17, 11:22 PM
My three spells would be:
Ray of Frost just to piss people off and for killing flies
Power Word Kill for all those annoying people plus its just so cool!
Heal so i dont ever die from wounds

Flickerdart
2008-10-17, 11:27 PM
My three spells would be:
Ray of Frost just to piss people off and for killing flies
Power Word Kill for all those annoying people plus its just so cool!
Heal so i dont ever die from wounds
You'd make a great barman. Beer is warm? Ray of Frost that sucker. Rowdy crowd? Power Word Kill. Hangover? Heal up.

sleepy
2008-10-18, 06:07 AM
Fabricate (yay, free money), Protection from Law (yay, not going to jail for making free money) and Heal (just seems like a good idea)

all without becoming a media spectacle

Kobold-Bard
2008-10-18, 06:54 AM
Since being told that I could have three spells would most likely turn me into a power hungry maniac I would obviously go with:
1. Wish
2. Miracle
3. Polymorph any object

Or the slightly more obscene:
1. Wish
2. Wish
3. Wish (Did OP say the three spells had to be different)

However myself, if I could have three spells, and I'm not planning of becoming a maniacal overlord of men, I would go for:
1. Overland Flight (because I want to fly, pure and simple)
2. Prestidigitation (Hello savings from no longer having to by shampoo)
3. Magic Missile (What can I say, I'm a sucker for the classics)

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-18, 06:58 AM
I was just thinking: 1 problem with only getting 3 spells like this is that a lot of them would only need to be used once/day due to their duration (Mage's Magnificent Mansion being a good example). It's a shame that you can't pick other spells of that level as well (if I could I'd go with Miracle 1/day, Mass Heal 1/day, MMM 1/day and Regenerate 2/day).

OverdrivePrime
2008-10-18, 09:29 AM
Fabricate (yay, free money), Protection from Law (yay, not going to jail for making free money) and Heal (just seems like a good idea)

Your interpretation of Protection from Law intrigues me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. :smallbiggrin:

Destro_Yersul
2008-10-18, 09:31 AM
I can see Body of War being fun, but it's not something I'd pick, and I'd only take Prestidigitation if I could get unlimited cantrips...

I think I'd take Heal, Wish and Animate Dead. Then I would abuse Wish to build the Death Star.

Vexxation
2008-10-18, 11:08 AM
For cheating at life:
Miracle (1/day)
Wish (1/day)
Uh.... Greater Teleport (3/day). Really, who needs a third one?

For making the world a better place, MY way:
Mindrape (1/day)
Greater Invisibility (6/day)
Phantom Steed (7/day)

For altruism:
Mindrape (1/day)
True Resurrection (1/day)
Panacea (6/day)

Notes:

For cheating at life-
This one's pretty self-explanatory. Emulate any of the 8th and lower spells, go anywhere. Live forever emulating Steal Life and such.

For making the world a better place, MY way-
I'm invisible even after acting, I can ride my (also invisible) Phantom Steed at 240 ft per round, and I can Mindrape a single person each day. I'd probably not use it to blow up police stations of anything, and I'd avoid getting innocents killed, but if I set up a plan, I'm pretty sure I could get into any building anywhere, legitimately. This gives access to anyone, and lets me Mindrape to a better future.

For altruism-
Again, Mindrape shows up, because if I Mindrape that guy about to hit his wife, he isn't going to do it any more. In fact, he's going to quit drinking, go to work the next day, come home with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine, and promise her it'll never happen again. And he'll mean it. True Resurrection is a good spell for people taken ahead of their time, people like Lincoln, or Martin Luther King, Jr, or... well, you get the picture. Panacea is a spell that's not in the d20srd, so if anyone hasn't heard of it, it's not a surprise. I think it's a Forgotten Realm spell of something, but it was added to Dungeons & Dragons Online, and I liked it there. It "restores 1d8 hit points +1 per caster level (max +20), and removes temporary ability damage and the conditions blinded, confused, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased, exhausted, fatigued, feebleminded, insanity, nauseated, and poisoned." So it's basically a one-shot cure everything. For a level four spell.

John Campbell
2008-10-18, 11:37 AM
*looks at everyone else's choices*

Uh, yeah, mind blank, thank you.

If holy word affected only Evil, not Neutrals, I'd take it just to drop into casual conversation with all you rapists, but as it is, it's likely to produce a lot of undesirable collateral damage. Possibly including myself. And word of chaos, which I'm pretty sure I could use safely, is unlikely to work on a lot of you. So I'll just have to use mundane weapons.

Assuming that (limited) wish and miracle are cop-out answers, I think I'll go with gate and genesis as my other two. AKA the "screw you guys, I'm goin' home" package.

Angel in Black
2008-10-18, 12:10 PM
Mass Heal
Heal
True Resurrection

Mass Heal to help the people.
Heal so I can help more than once a day.
True Resurrection for when I get there too late.

Kobold-Bard
2008-10-18, 01:27 PM
I've had a change of heart.

1. Limited Wish (Less cheaty than Wish, but still allows me to use Overland Flight. Can also be used 3/day. So everyday cast Overland Flight, then use the other two to cast other choice spells and then make them permanent)

2. Cure Serious Wounds (Most ordinary people have at best a 2-3 levels in NPC classes. So who needs Heal. CSW 7/day seems just as effective but overall more efficient.) (\/---- I forgot it did that. Maybe its a better spell then.)

3. Then either Fireball, Lightning Bolt or Flame Strike for my good old fashioned blasty spell (purely for self defence of course). Magic Missile is a classic, but doesn't affect objects, so can't be used for random acts of vandalism.

(Also woot: I'm a Barbarian now. Yay!)

Tempest Fennac
2008-10-18, 01:59 PM
(Heal is a better choice due to it removing tons of afflictions as well. That's why I picked the Mass version.)

Destro_Yersul
2008-10-18, 02:59 PM
Assuming that (limited) wish and miracle are cop-out answers, I think I'll go with gate and genesis as my other two. AKA the "screw you guys, I'm goin' home" package.

I want to be a lich, but there's no spell for that. Also I want a Death Star. Hence Wish. As long as I word stuff right and take it slow, I can probably Wish my way to being the most powerful person ali- er, undead. Any lich spell would be a one-shot deal anyways. Wish is more versatile. I'd use something else if I could. It felt like a bit of a cop-out to me too...