Contingency: triggers and effects

[Hallavast]

I've tried to start a similar thread to this one a while back, but it didn't get very many useful replies... So I hope this one does better.

Provided celerity has been banned from your games:

-What spell do you cast into your contingency?

-What is the trigger for this spell?

-Have you ever run this combo by a DM who didn't like/allow it?

-Does it save you consistently?

[mostlyharmful]

I've tried to start a similar thread to this one a while back, but it didn't get very many useful replies... So I hope this one does better.

Provided celerity has been banned from your games:

-What spell do you cast into your contingency?

-What is the trigger for this spell?

-Have you ever run this combo by a DM who didn't like/allow it?

-Does it save you consistently?

the spell is teleport, the trigger is the word teleport which is a free action, and the result is that you can be killed if they're smart and take you by surprise but if not you're out of there pal. Traps and ambushes can still acount for real encounters and hopefully the party isn't wiped on TPKs

[tahu88810]

erm...do you mind me asking what Contingency and Celerity are?
I don't remember seeing those spells in core...

[Reel On, Love]

erm...do you mind me asking what Contingency and Celerity are?
I don't remember seeing those spells in core...

Oh, really?

Celerity isn't core, it's from the PHB II. 4th level spell, immediate action casting time, and it grants you a standard action, but dazes you for a round on your next turn.

[Rachel Lorelei]

Celerity isn't core, it's from the PHB II. 4th level spell, immediate action casting time, and it grants you a standard action, but dazes you for a round on your next turn.

It's also one of the most broken spells in the game.

[Reinboom]

Indomitibility (Spell Compendium)
"When an Indomitibility on me ends."

Or other trigger to get you that quick survive-a-hit.

[Sornjss Lichdom]

Well I like teleport, have yourself to a place with healing potions and what not. Also if your a really high caster lvl, premake an area with permanite antimagic field set up, teleport just above it, or onto a slide that takes you into the area. This is to counter act any type of tempory statis or other nasty effects put on you before you teleport away, hopefully you can think of a way to fix this while pretectide by the field.

Also spell trigers, "If my body were to be surrounded in harmful magical energy, my mind is altered or hindered in any way or my concious slips from me." or somthing to that effect.

[Funkyodor]

Also spell trigers, "If my body were to be surrounded in harmful magical energy, my mind is altered or hindered in any way or my concious slips from me." or somthing to that effect.

Your contingency statement is a little open to interpretation. Surrounded in harmful energy could mean energy harmful to others, and mind hindered could be if you ever become confused on how to proceed with a plan. And whenever you rest for spells and/or camp for the night and conciousness slips from you your contingency goes off.

Simple words like 'Teleport' placed into a contingency could be problematic if you ever say it out of hand. "Hey joe, what spells you get today?" "Ah, just your standard array and a custom crafted Teleport..." *Poof*. "Hey, where'd Joe go?"

Complex word phrases could fall under the "speaking more than a few sentances" bit under free actions, but that would have to be a very specific long phrase like whenever I say "Fore score and seven years ago... (continues on with whole Gettysburg address)".

I generally don't agree with the free action contingency unless it is reactive but can't find any bit of rule denying it other than rule 1. The only thing that comes close is: Why would saying a short sentance allow you to activate your contingency, but it takes a standard action to command word activate a magic item?

[Saph]

I generally don't agree with the free action contingency unless it is reactive but can't find any bit of rule denying it other than rule 1. The only thing that comes close is: Why would saying a short sentance allow you to activate your contingency, but it takes a standard action to command word activate a magic item?

Yeah, it's definitely in the grey area. If you look at magic items, the fastest you can generally activate an item or effect is an immediate action. So an immediate-action contingency is reasonable, but a free-action one isn't, really.

Also, does anyone really use the 'teleport-away-at-the-first-sign-of-danger' tactic?

DM: "A large creature appears at the mouth of the cave. It moves its hands, mutters something and begins to speak-"
Wizard: "It's casting a spell! My contingency goes off! Teleport! *poof*"
Everyone: "..."
DM: "The creature says, 'I would like to warn you of the - wait, where did the old guy go?"
Cleric: "Don't worry, he didn't need the XP anyway. Carry on."

- Saph

[Curmudgeon]

Why would saying a short sentance allow you to activate your contingency, but it takes a standard action to command word activate a magic item?

It might be a free action to activate a magic item also:

A command word can be a real word, but when this is the case, the holder of the item runs the risk of activating the item accidentally by speaking the word in normal conversation.

Speak
In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn’t your turn.

More often, the command word is some seemingly nonsensical word, or a word or phrase from an ancient language no longer in common use. Activating a command word magic item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Because these two statements about command words are contradictory, I conclude that there are two different types. The default is a standard "nonsense" word like "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which takes a full 3 seconds (1 standard action) to say. But if PCs craft their own magic items they can make them use a "real" word as the command word, which is an anytime free action to say.

Anyway, here's my favorite Contingency:

If I'm about to take acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic damage, apply Energy Immunity to me to protect against that energy type.

It's quite expensive via Use Magic Device, but since it requires a 6th level Wizard spell at CL 18 and a 6th level Cleric spell, pretty much only flush UMD experts and Mystic Theurges can pull this combo off.