A Few New Magic Tricks [3.5, Spells, PEACH]

[afroakuma]

Trick Sleeve
Transmutation
Level: Asn 2, Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You grant yourself the effect of a mage hand directed to all equipment you carry.

As a free action, you may return any objects in your hands weighing 5 lb. or less to a place up to 5 ft. away. You may secure an object with straps, open and close a pocket or shake a vial, if so desired. Complex, careful motions, such as mixing two potions, cannot be performed. You may also summon to your hand any item on your person weighing 5 lb. or less. This includes drawing such an item out of a sheath, twisting open a container or popping the cap off a tube.

You must be aware of the nature and shape of the item enough to mentally identify it. If you have no conclusive knowledge of the nature of an item, such as one placed on your person, you cannot affect it.

Material component: A glove


Tracking Lights
Evocation [Light]
Level: Asn 1, Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round/2 levels
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

You cause identifying points of light to appear on a creature.

The creature's facing and limbs are illuminated brightly, allowing the caster and others to observe which way the target is facing and what general action the target is performing, unless that target has concealment.

More importantly, you are able to track the movement of the creature's limbs. The creature is denied the benefits of evasion and improved evasion with respect to you. It suffers a -2 penalty on Reflex saves against effects you produce.

Material component: Strips of felt and phosphorescent moss.


Stifle Item
Abjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: S
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Touch
Target: One magical item
Duration: 1 round/2 levels
Saving Throw: Yes
Spell Resistance: No

You temporarily interfere with the properties of a magical item.

The magic item you touch must make a Will save or have its properties temporarily nullified. For magic items with multiple properties, only one is removed. Touching a potion, oil or nonmagical item wastes the spell.

If you touch a magic weapon or magical armor, stifle item either removes a property from it or decreases its enhancement by 1. This cannot reduce an item's enhancement bonus beyond 0.

If you touch a charged item, that item permanently loses one charge, in addition to being stifled.


Static Well
Conjuration (Creation) [Electric]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: 5 ft. static well
Duration: 1 round/level (Max 10 rounds)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

You conjure an animate locus of compressed static energy.

This locus takes the form of a small blot of darkness that constantly spits and arcs blue sparks. Tendrils of electricity strike out from the center to ground themselves on nearby objects. It must form in an empty square.

Each round, the well lashes out at all creatures in range with a concentrated static bolt, dealing 2d6 damage +1/caster level (max +10) to all adjacent creatures. Should a creature find itself within the same square as the locus, it takes 1d6 electric damage/caster level (max 10d6) and must make a Reflex save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. The sphere has an effective reach of 5 ft. You may make a Concentration check (DC 15) as a move action to direct the static well to move 5 ft. once each round.

Material component: Sugar and a brass rod

Focus: A bit of wool

[insecure]

Those looks good.

The only thing I'd do is to raise the level of Tracking Lights by one and give it the [Light] descriptor.

[afroakuma]

The only thing I'd do is to raise the level of Tracking Lights by one and give it the [Light] descriptor.

Which level? Assassin, Bard or Sor/Wiz?

That said, yes, I missed the [Light] descriptor. Fixed.

[Jaerc]

Harsh critique sequence initiate now. *click*

Trick Sleeve is not good enough to be a 2nd level spell. I like the concept, but right now it's a waste of a slot. You should allow complex and careful motions. Possibly make the casting time a swift action. And take out the 'such as one placed on your person' in the last sentence, it's redundant.

Tracking Lights is absurdly powerful. It dampens magical effect of a higher level than it, and just nukes many class abilities. On top of that it suffers penalties. First allow a saving throw, period. Then either increase the level to sor/wiz 6 or split up the effects into one sor/wiz third level spell that reduces miss chance by 45% and another of sor/wiz 5th level that negates either improved uncanny dodge or improved evasion. Ditch the other effects. As a matter of personal style I'd remove the light descriptor.

Stifle Item is also too powerful and I'm afraid unfixable. Removing or weakening it's effects makes it too useless, while increasing the level simply steps on the toes of Dispel Magic. Overall I'd axe it given that 'antimagic' stuff isn't viable until 3rd level.

Static Well needs some help but it's mostly okay. First change effect to read '5 ft. diameter well'. Add damage caps. Either allow the stunning effect or the grounding/dispel effect. If the latter is retained please note that it only applies to resistance effects granted by spells. The concentration effect needs to be a move action. Alternately you can ignore all of that advice and increase the level to 4.

Good ideas, good work!

[afroakuma]

Trick Sleeve is not good enough to be a 2nd level spell. I like the concept, but right now it's a waste of a slot. You should allow complex and careful motions. Possibly make the casting time a swift action. And take out the 'such as one placed on your person' in the last sentence, it's redundant.

I disallowed complex and careful motions to make sure the caster couldn't knot a rope, cover himself with an oil etc. as a free action while handling other things. The spell essentially allows a caster to retrieve any number of stored items on his/her person as a free action. This is normally a move action for each item, so I felt it was worth doing. It means that a caster can instantly get in hand any scroll or wand that he/she carries, load a crossbow, draw a rapier etc. as a free action. I felt there was a certain amount of power to that.

Tracking Lights is absurdly powerful. It dampens magical effect of a higher level than it, and just nukes many class abilities. On top of that it suffers penalties. First allow a saving throw, period. Then either increase the level to sor/wiz 6 or split up the effects into one sor/wiz third level spell that reduces miss chance by 45% and another of sor/wiz 5th level that negates either improved uncanny dodge or improved evasion. Ditch the other effects. As a matter of personal style I'd remove the light descriptor.

Looking it over, I am forced to concur. It will still nullify Evasion and Improved Evasion, because that's what it's really meant to do. The AC penalty will be stripped, as well as the concealment factor. As for it dampening the magical effects of (I presume) blur, displacement et. al, I based that on faerie fire and then weakened that effect. Faerie fire does not allow a saving throw, as there isn't really a classification for "avoiding magic lights that follow you." As it is an evocation spell that employs light, I do not understand why it would not have the light descriptor; I had originally planned to include it.

Stifle Item is also too powerful and I'm afraid unfixable. Removing or weakening it's effects makes it too useless, while increasing the level simply steps on the toes of Dispel Magic. Overall I'd axe it given that 'antimagic' stuff isn't viable until 3rd level.

I'd like to think it's not unfixable, as it is a touch spell and therefore hard to pull off as it is. I think I do have a fix for it, though I don't really see why it's so overpowered.

Static Well needs some help but it's mostly okay. First change effect to read '5 ft. diameter well'. Add damage caps. Either allow the stunning effect or the grounding/dispel effect. If the latter is retained please note that it only applies to resistance effects granted by spells. The concentration effect needs to be a move action. Alternately you can ignore all of that advice and increase the level to 4.

There is already a damage and duration cap; I forgot to put in the cap for the occupied space. I'm going to take out the grounding effect because it's just too complex.

Thoughts?

[DracoDei]

What is the DC of the concentration check forf Static Orb.

I see the main balancing factors of "Stifle Item" being the touch range and the limited versitility compared to Dispel Magic. It does, however have a much longer duration. For consistancy I might replace the Will save with the opposed caster level check that Dispel Magic uses.

[afroakuma]

The reason I chose a Will save was that it is essentially a magical attack against the item, which uses item saving throws as an attack form according to the DMG. I'll think about the caster level check, though.

Yep, missed that Concentration DC completely.