Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site inuxg.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!ihnp4!inuxc!inuxg!burton From: burton@inuxg.UUCP (Thomas Burton) Newsgroups: net.games.frp Subject: Creative use of spells Message-ID: <253@inuxg.UUCP> Date: Tue, 10-Jan-84 12:23:50 EST Article-I.D.: inuxg.253 Posted: Tue Jan 10 12:23:50 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 11-Jan-84 04:57:41 EST Organization: AT&T Consumer Products Div., Indianapolis Lines: 107 [bug squasher] Steven Maurer writes: My "favorite" spell is "feather fall". This allows you to reduce the weight of an opponent to almost nothing, and "push" him whereever you want to. A third level MU once got rid of a Xorn, by floating him up 1/2 a mile..... This is ridiculous. The spell says the recipient's weight is reduced to that of a feather, allowing him to float downward at the rate of (x=very small number) inches per round, or some such. Gravity still acts on a feather, and air resistance will make it very difficult to push a body up before it slows down and starts to fall again. Unless the 3rd level MU used some other spell to help, or else pushed the Xorn off of a 1/2 mile high cliff, the above-mentioned feat is impossible (in my opinion). "Invisibility" lasts "until the person attacks". This allows an entire party to start off invisible, and continue until there is some creature that can see through the spell. -- it's also great for familiars. True, Steve, but Invisibility does NOT include Inaudibility. Any D.M. that would allow an entire party (which would in all probability include Fighters wearing clanking armor) to sneak through a dungeon without being detected is guilty of flagrant misunderstanding (and abuse) of the rules. "Tensor's Floating Disk" is a cheap form of levitation. There is nothing in the discription that implies that the MU cannot float himself. Wrong. It says that the Disk will follow the magic-user at a certain distance, or will go where he tells it to go within a certain range. I also believe (I don't have the book with me) that it states it will not come any closer than some minimum distance. However, even if the rules allow the disk to get close enough for the MU to hop on, rulings by both Gygax and the writer of "Sage Advice" in the Dragon have precluded this use of the spell. One interesting use I did see written up for this spell: A 5th level MU and his 1st level apprentices needed to cross a river. The MU had each apprentice cast a Tenser's floating disk. Then he cast both a fly spell and a Tenser's Floating Disk. Then the first apprentice sat on the MU's disk, the second apprentice sat on the first apprentice's disk, etc, until all apprentices were seated on another apprentice's disk. Then the MU simply flew across the river with the apprentices in tow. This sort of use IS allowed (because I saw it as the solution to the AD&D quiz in the Dragon, which was written by Gygax). "Charm Person" can be used to grab whole hoards of Orcs, Hobgoblins, and the like (after you have Slept them, of course). You can create an entire army of "friends", that will act as good cannon-fodder for your characters. Great idea, Steve. What about the part of the spell that says the charmed being cannot be forced to do something that is against its nature. Also, the charm only makes the creature friendly toward the one casting the charm spell; the charmed creature will still be hostile toward the caster's friends UNTIL told to do otherwise, and it will still treat them with a degree of mistrust. Also, the creature gets another saving throw every time it is asked to do something "unnatural". I would love to see a whole hoard of orcs suddenly turn on the group and attack because they all made their saving throws... -- Of course, the grosset, and most stupid, things has nothing to do with D&D spells at all. Just capture a few of the nuke-em monsters, and use their abilities to blow dungeons away.... Box a Basilisk. Hoards of fun. Watch characters five times your level scream in horror. How high level is your group? What do you mean by "Box a Basilisk"? Carve out a Medusa's head. Somewhat gross, but always good fun. Do you mean to hollow out a Medusa's head and wear her snakes to make it look like YOU are a Medusa? Not a bad idea, really, but again, how high level is your group, to allow you to wantonly slaughter Medusas and use them this way? Rub various creatures' poisons on your weapons. Cockatrice poison is especially fun. Handling of any such poison requires great care; even Assassins must make saving throws against accidental poisoning when trying to handle poisons and poisoned weapons. I would probably allow the players to try to extract poison from a dead creature, but there would be lots of saving throws required, and the poison would have to be treated by an Alchemist to put it in a suitable form for use on weapons (as well as make it stable enough to keep without losing potency). Don't kill a dragon, subdue it. The rules actually make it easier to subdue, than kill -- because every time the dragon takes subdual points of damage, you must roll again to see if if it gives up.... True, but intelligent evil dragons will always be on the look-out for opportunities to turn on their masters. Dragons, like wizards, are subtle and quick to anger. A dragon might very well fake being subdued by a powerful party, in order to gain time and advantage over the group. Doug Burton inuxg!burton ATT-Consumer Products Laboratories a division of ATT-Technologies