4e Homebrew Stinking Cloud

[HMS Invincible]

My group complained to me regarding casting stinking cloud in a OOC chat. They were frustrated because everything gets a -5 penalty to attack enemies inside the cloud and combat grinds to a crawl until enemies stumble out of the AOE. The DM complained that the PCs were metagaming since the spell blocks line of sight but everyone can see where the minis are on the board.You guys are right, the DM is just being lazy. The PCs still have a valid complaint though. =|

However, I still want to cast it. The DM offered to adjust the spell properties to be less disruptive to combat.

Making it like cloudkill, it loses so much of it's oomph when it doesn't block line of sight. What if I made the cloud not block line of sight, but everyone in the cloud gets -5 to their attack rolls, grant combat advantage but they have concealment?
That makes the cloud transparent, lets the monsters in the cloud know which way to escape. It also lets PCs either fire in or maneuver with knowledge of where the monsters are and vice versa.

PS

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Why is cloudkill so weak for a lvl 19 daily? Does the burst 5 really matter? You lose the blinding effects in exchange for hitting something a burst 2/3 can't?

[Evard]

Tell your party and DM to grow up and deal with it without resorting to childish antics? Your DM will be throwing in a counter to it not because its a devious spell but because the other players are whining. All the DM has to do is give you all more enemies to face and separate them better so that your spell doesn't hit all of them.

Also the best time to use your spell is when they need a breather or when the rogue/other strikers need to get on the other side of the enemies so that when the cloud goes away they can close in for the kill. You are a controller, let your party know damn well YOU control the flow of battle and they should stay on your good side for it :D.

Just change your spell to say "enemies in the cloud don't have line of sight" or "targets IN the cloud don't have line of sight"

[Vitruviansquid]

What, so when you cast Stinking Cloud, the DM is having the monsters sit it out in the cloud under the logic that they don't know how to move because they're blind?

Sometimes, a little metagaming is a good thing because it moves the game along. Just have the DM play the monsters as if they, too, can see the miniatures on the board and move out of the cloud when it's over them. That'll give the other players something to do, too.

[Kurald Galain]

Some of your party members should have area attacks, which do not take the -5 penalty. Also, they can delay, or ready an action to attack an enemy leaving the cloud.

Note that by RAW, blindness does not impair movement in any way. More to the point, just because an enemy is blinded now doesn't mean he forgets where the walls or enemies are that he saw five seconds ago. Moving towards the last known location of one of the PCs is perfectly valid, and will usually get them out the cloud.

[HMS Invincible]

Some of your party members should have area attacks, which do not take the -5 penalty. Also, they can delay, or ready an action to attack an enemy leaving the cloud.

Note that by RAW, blindness does not impair movement in any way. More to the point, just because an enemy is blinded now doesn't mean he forgets where the walls or enemies are that he saw five seconds ago. Moving towards the last known location of one of the PCs is perfectly valid, and will usually get them out the cloud.

I'll remind them that their burst/blast attacks don't take that penalty, good idea.

The delaying factor along with the formation breaking is what I love about the spell, and what's so frustrating to all sides. Everybody knows they're winning when I cast it first, followed by a bloodpulse or thunderwave. But it provides small advantages which nobody can capitalize on. So they stand at the edge of the cloud, and slaughter the first guy who runs out. They realize its easier to win, but it's not very heroic to them.

You are right, a lot of this is DM preference and precedent. He made us walk in random directions when we got blinded, so me blinding monsters would do the same. If it is just the DM fluffing description into action, then it gives me an idea to make everyone happy:
The monsters that have better perception, so they can easily hear/feel/remember where the PCs are but the lowly grunts have to struggle to find our locations.

[Dragosai]

Also keep in mind RAW for blindness/concealment/invisibility - unless a monster/NPC/PC is actively hiding i.e. spending part of a move to hide, the other combatants know where said invisible person is or the blind person still knows where others are etc. This means they know what square opponents are in and can attack and/or move towards them with the -5 penalty of course. Also keep in mind that blasts and bursts do not take the -5 penalty so if the mobs stay in cloud, and the cloud itself is not doing enough, it is a great chance for anyone with an area attack to let loose.

[Kurald Galain]

You are right, a lot of this is DM preference and precedent. He made us walk in random directions when we got blinded, so me blinding monsters would do the same.

Ah, just wait until you get Orbmaster's Umbral Assault... with a ruling like that, it gets positively nasty.