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Looking for a spell creation system

   
Looking for a spell creation system

I'm looking for a good spell creation system for D&D 3.5, that gives you an idea of what the spell level should be, and what the DC should be for research.

Erk. Good luck. Spell creation's a lot like monster creation - equal parts art and science.

Your best bet is to determine the "cap" spells for each level. A level 1 spell shouldn't be more powerful than magic missile or sleep, level 3 shouldn't be more powerful than fireball or darkness.

Basically, look for similar spells and try and gauge from there.

Put simply, playtest, tweak, playtest, tweak, playtest, tweak, playtest, tweak, playtest, tweak, until it doesn't seem too strong or weak.

There were some good guidelines in Tome&Blood.
Even if it is 3.0, it might be a good starting point, when paired with the guidelines from the DMG (like the level/damage (1 target)/AoE - caps).

The next step would be to compare the new spell with existing spells. Benchmark lists may help narrow down the range. Posting the spell and asking for evaluation is the next step - and playtesting the final one.

Let's see, benchmark spells (partially based upon T&B, partially upon my opinion).

Level 1
Offensive spells:
Uppermost limit !
Magic Missile, Charm Person, Sleep
Defensive: Mage Armor, Shield
Miscellaneous: Feather Fall, Magic Weapon

Level 2
Offensive: Glitterdust, Acid Arrow, Scorching Ray
Defensive: Blur, Protection from Arrows
Misc:
Upper limit !
Invisibility, Knock, See Invisibility

Level 3
Offensive: Fireball, Stinking Cloud, Suggestion
Defensive: Blink, Displacement
Misc: Fly, Haste, Dispel Magic

Level 4
Offensive: Charm Monster, Enervation, Phantasmal Killer
Defensive: Stoneskin, Minor Globe of Invulnerability
Misc: Dim. Anchor, Dim. Door, Imp. Invisibility,
Uppermost Limit !
Polymorph

Level 5
Offensive: Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Dominate Person
Defensive: Wall of Force / Iron
Misc: Teleport, Dismissal, Mind Fog, Passwall, Permanency

Level 6
Offensive: Chain Lightning, Disintegrate, Mass Suggestion
Defensive: Antimagic Field, Globe of Invulnerability
Misc: Greater Dispel Magic, True Seeing, Mass [Ability Booster]

Level 7
Offensive: Finger of Death, Delayed Blast Fireball, Prismatic Spray
Defensive: Spell Turning
Misc: Phase Door, Forcecage, Ethereal Jaunt, Limited Wish

Level 8
Offensive: Horrid Wilting, Mass Charm, Power Word:Blind, Trap the Soul
Defensive: Mind Blank, Protection from Spells, Prismatic Wall
Misc: Dim. Lock, Polymorph Any Object

Level 9
Offensive: Dominate Monster, Energy Drain, Wail of the Banshee,
Lower limit for damage spells
(Meteor Storm)
Defensive: Prismatic Sphere, Time Stop
Misc: Gate, Etherealness,
Upper limit, obviously
Wish

What about utility spells? For example, suppose that I want to create a spell that does the following:

Imbue an item with a magic bit.
??? (convince a mark to eat it?)
For the next x amount of time, you always know the direction to that item.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy View Post
Um, some of those are listed? Not sure what you're asking.
Those are benchmarks Roy, not new spells. So the list says that a benchmark offensive for a level 3 spell is Fireball, and a benchmark level 9 Defence spell is Prismatic Sphere.

I'd probably make that a level 1. It's more useful than a cantrip, but not invisibility or knock. If it tells you other things, like distance, mebbe pushing level 2.

Feast of the Prey
Divination
Level: Brd 2, Drd 1, Rgr 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Piece of food touched
Duration: 1 week/level or until expired; see text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You touch a piece of food during the casting and form a link with it. This link lies dormant until the food is eaten, at which point it triggers, and the duration starts - time before the food is eaten does not count towards the duration. If the food is not eaten in a year and a day, or spoils, the spell is lost.

After it is eaten, the link is transferred to the eater (from here on referred to as the target). With a swift action of concentration, you know which direction the target is from your current position. This functions in three dimensions, but is measured as if the globe was flat. For example, if the target was a foot beside the opposite side of the globe from you, the spell would point towards the horizon, not straight down through the world's core. If the target is exactly opposite you - if you are at the North pole and he the South, for example - you are shown that he lies in all directions. This also applies if he is in the same position as you, perhaps in the Ethereal plane. If the target is above or below ground, your are shown this as well. If he is directly below you, your senses will tell you "straight down".

This does not tell you the distance to the target, nor any other information. It does not function across planes, with the exception of the Ethereal plane, if you are on a Material plane. It does function if the target is dead, and points to his body. If the body has been separated into parts, it points to the largest piece. If all pieces are equal, it points to the piece with his head or, if the head is in multiple sections, which hand was his primary hand (right for right-handed people, left for left, more possible for thri-kreen).

When you come within 60 feet of your target, the spell begins to fade. For 3 + your caster level rounds, you can automatically sense the direction and distance to your target, up to 120 feet, at which point it simply registers as "more than 120 feet". After this time, the spell ends, and the link fades.




 

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