Goodman Games

Trying to set up a thread for the sharing of spell creations/conversions. It is a bit of work, so we should be sharing our work to lighten each other's loads.

Post your spells here!

Here's the few I've converted from PF:
http://peoplethemwithmonsters.blogspot. ... urces.html

Converting spells will be kind of hard until we have a more complete list of spells to use as a baseline, since the Beta rules only contain level-1 spells.

It'll be tricky to determine if they are too strong or too weak until we can compare them with "official" spells.

I've always been one of those DM's who prefers to be over-prepared. After my first play-test (and in prepping for running some 1st level PC's) I wrote out a complete list of Reversible Spells and what I thought their tables would say: because "Murphy's Law" says the players will get to use the spells that I didn't write up! It's a Microsoft Word file 9 pages long... so I'm not sure how or if it can be posted here. For anyone that is interested, here is the table I made for random spell generation & the first 2 reversed spells. I consider these as work-in-progress, so comments are welcome:

"Listing of known Wizard Spells and their reversed companions: Roll 2d20-1 for each spell the wizard is to receive at 1st level.


Spells
1 Roll three times ignoring #’s 1 & 38
2 No Spell
3 No Spell
4 Animal Summoning
5 Animal Banishing
6 Cantrips
7 Nullify Cantrips
8 Charm Person
9 Chill Touch
10 Choking Cloud
11 Cloud of Pure Air
12 Color Spray
13 Comprehend Languages
14 Obscure Languages
15 Detect Magic
16 Hide magic
17 Enlarge
18 Reduce
19 Find Familiar
20 Break Familiar Bond
21 Invoke Patron
22 Magic Missile
23 Magic Shield
24 Mending
25 Rend/ Tear/ Break Item
26 Patron Bond
27 Read Magic
28 Obscure Magical Writing
29 Ropework
30 Runic Alphabet, Mortal
31 Sleep
32 Spider Climb
33 Butter Fingers
34 Ventriloquism
35 Pilfer Voice
36 Ward Portal
37 Patron Spell
38 Roll twice ignoring #’s 1 & 38
39 No Spell


Name: Animal Banishing
Level: 1
Range: 20ft
Duration: varies
Casting Time: 1 round
Save: Willpower vs. spell check result
Manifestation: The targeted animal(s) disappear in a whirlwind of brightly colored smoke accompanied by a volume of thunder proportional to the size and number of animals banished
General: You use your mastery of dimensional magic to temporarily banish 1 or more mundane animals to an extra-dimensional space where they do not age and are free from harm.
1-3: spell lost and animal takes 1d4 damage
4-11: spell lost
12-13: You banish one mundane animal of 1HD or less. The animal will remain banished for 1 hour, and be removed of the need for food, water, & sleep. In this banished state the animal is incapable of following commands and is secure against all damage.
14-17: As normal, but you may banish up to 2HD of animals
18-23: The spell has all previous effects, but now lasts for 2 hours.
24-27: The spell has all previous effects, but now up to 4 + caster level HD of animals may be banished.
28- 29: The spell has all previous effects, but now duration is 4 hours
30-31: The spell has all previous effects, but now up to 8 +caster level HD of animals may be banished.
32+ The spell has all previous effects, but now the caster may banish 12 + caster level HD of animals and the duration is 24 hours.

Name: Break familiar bond
Level: 1
Range: 30ft
Duration: varies
Casting Time: 1 round
Save: Willpower Save vs spell check
Manifestation: Roll 1d4: (1) the targeted familiar simply vanishes with a popping sound, reappearing at the end of the spell; (2) green lightning bolts arc from the familiar for the duration of the spell; (3) familiar appears to be translucent; (4) familiar melts into a bubbling pool for the duration of the spell.
General: This spell causes a temporary interruption of the bond between caster and familiar. While interrupted the wizard suffers the same penalties as if the familiar had died except that the wizard only takes subdual damage. This damage is cumulative over multiple castings and may be healed normally, but the bonus HP and powers granted by the familiar are absent during the spell duration. The suddenly missing HP can cause a wizard to drop below 0HP at which time the normal rules for character death apply.
1-3: spell lost and targeted bond is enhanced to give familiar and wizard +1 to attacks and damage vs the caster of the Break familiar bond spell.
4-11: spell lost
12-13: bond is sundered for 1d4 rounds
14-17: bond is sundered for 1d4+2 rounds
18-19: bond is sundered for 1d4 turns
20-23: bond is sundered for 1d4+4 turns
24-27: bond is sundered for 1d4+4 hours
28- 29: bond is sundered for 1d4 days and when the familiar finally returns it has -20% of HP, which heals as normal.
30-31: bond is sundered for 1d4+4 days and when the familiar finally returns it has -30% of HP & lost 1d2 powers. HP heals normally and the powers return with 1 nights rest for each power lost.
32+ Bond is sundered for 1d4 weeks and when the familiar finally returns it has -30% of HP & lost 1d2 powers permanently.

2d20-1 is non-linear. Do you really intend for the player's spells to cluster around the 19 +/- 7 or so.

I suppose I should've been more specific about solicitations for comments... I figured that since this is a thread about spells I was hoping folks would give me some feed-back on the merits/weaknesses of the spells

but since you bring it up... I had 34 entries to deal with so I could:

A) get rid of 4 spells and roll 1d30
B) assign % numbers to each entry to use a d100
C) add 5 items and use 2d20-1

All of these methods use 2 dice, so they will all have "clustering" issues, it's really a question of the degree of error. I don't consider the list complete yet, as I have had some other spell ideas kicking around in my head: so I went with "C".

I realize that writing these spells is stepping "outside" the parameters of the Beta test, but the rules say spells can be learned in their reversed form, so I feel that I should have something prepared. It would really slow down the game if I had to stop and "invent" reversed spells every time someone got an idea. In doing this work ahead of time I can also predetermine spells that can't be reversed; which will stop arguments at the table before they occur.

I was hoping for some official input on the spell content; or, at least a "yes" or "no" on whether I may use them. If "no" then I probably won't let wizards reverse their spells. Beta-test or no beta-test, I don't want my games devolving into arguments over "game-theory," or risk making a spell table too strong because I don't have time in the game to do in-depth analysis & number crunching while the game is "live."

I liked entangle and healing word. I think the combat spells are handing out too much damage, but I love the manifestations on the spells.

I was reading the entry for Chill Touch in order to determine if it was a candidate for reversal and the following question of basic spell theory came to mind:

The spell "chill touch" says that negative energy damages negative energy creatures more than normal ones. Is this an intentional divergence from the old standard?

I suppose the logic of this goes: undead and negative energy creatures "feed" on the positive energy of the living; therefore healing magic now heals undead & necromantic spells harm undead.

Any thoughts?

using a d% seemed fine, since you had to get rid of 1 spell and assign just 3% to each spell. It makes 99%. Ignore 00-0

To get 34 entries, you can roll a d20 ignoring any 18-19-20 result. Along with that roll a d2. On a 2, you add 17 to the roll of the d20.

D100 (i assume you mean rolling the classic two d10) has no clustering issues, you have exactly the same chance of getting 03 rather than 51 or 76. That's because you multiply by 10 the result of one the d10s, but you decide which die to multiply BEFORE the roll.

You ahve clustering issues when you roll 2d10 and add the results. This way you have a bell curve with more probable outcome of 11.

This formula applies to every dX+dY, because you're just adding the average result of each dice. Average result of a dX is (X+1)/2, so if you're rolling dX+dX = 2dX (like in our case, 2d10) you end up with an average 2*[(x+1)/2]. You can simplify and end up with X+1.

Dear Dice Trolls,

BUGGER OFF!

I sat down and came up with a much more elegant solution:
1 Animal Summoning
2 Cantrips
3 Charm Person
4 Chill Touch
5 Choking Cloud
6 Color Spray
7 Comprehend Languages
8 Detect Magic
9 Enlarge
10 Find Familiar
11 Invoke Patron
12 Magic Missile
13 Magic Shield
14 Mending
15 Patron Bond
16 Read Magic
17 Ropework
18 Runic Alphabet, Mortal
19 Sleep
20 Spider Climb
21 Ventriloquism
22 Ward Portal
23 Patron Spell
24 Roll 1d12 on Reversed Spell list

Reversed spell list
1 Animal Banishing
2 Nullify Cantrips
3 Cloud of Pure Air
4 Obscure Languages
5 Hide magic
6 Reduce
7 Break Familiar Bond
8 Rend/ Tear/ Break Item
9 Obscure Magical Writing
10 Butter Fingers
11 Pilfer Voice
12 Choose any 1 spell from either list

now can we please discuss home brew spells?

Comprehend Languages affects the caster, but I assume your Obscure Languages affects another person/other people instead ? Else it would be a bit useless. Same with Butter Fingers and Pilfer Voice.

Cloud of Pure Air - maybe this could be Bubble of Air instead so you could use it as a Water Breathing spell too.

Sorry...

The reversed forms you present are cool - personally I'd be inclined to allow Break Familiar Bond to be applied to self to get rid of a familiar that had become 'too familiar', but I like the idea of wizards taking shots at other wizards' familiars. The issue of reversed spells is one where I diverge in personal preference - I've always allowed casters to use reversed forms of memorized spells, not counted them as separately memorized spells.

I hope this means we can now post homebrew spells here??? Ok (Takes deep breath) heres one of mine to test the water:-

Spell Name Image
Level 1st
Range 100' or more
Duration 1 round + Concentration (or special see below)
Casting Time 1 round
Save will Vs check
Manifestation A shimmering mirage solidifies into a shape formed by the casters will in a small area.
General The caster manipulates light into creating a three dimensional image of some sort in a given area.
1-11 Failed; Lost
12-13 A simple immobile image is created in a 10'x10'x10' area
14-17 Image may have some minor movement involved such as waving leaves on a tree or a spray of water.
18-19 As above but minor sound components are added so a fountain would bubble and each water drop would make a sound.
20-23 As above but kinetic elements are introduced so a roaring fire would (apparently) feel hot but no damage would be done to anyone touching it
24-27 As above but the Image is so realistic NO save is allowed until it is tested by some direct means. (Touching etc)
28-29 As above but the duration is one day after the Wizard ceases to concentrate on it.
30-31 As above but the Image lasts for as long as the wizard that cast it lives and desires it to.
32 plus As above but the duration is permanent.

OK so its an Illusion. Illusions were always tough buggers to rule on in OD&D hopefully the sliding scale we have here in DCC will make it easier to say what they DO or DO NOT do. If there is some positive feed back to this offering I shall post my ideas for improved versions at higher levels. Otherwise I shall sit meekly in the corner and watch the debates

I'm not sure I want to know, but what does "too familiar" mean?

I suppose the wizard could cast it upon himself if he designated his familiar as the target. I always figured a wizard could end any spell that they had cast at any time, and I'd include Find Familiar along with other spells. I'd go further and say that with an "amicable split" there would be no harmful repercussions; though, the wizard would still have to wait a full month before casting the ritual again.

Thanks for the feed back

Judging by comments on other threads, I get the idea that writing up new spells is not something that is generally encouraged. However, the rules say that spells can be reversed and I don't want to have to write up a spell table every time a player gets a wild idea.

I'm still not sure if I will use them in the beta test though...



I love illusion spells! Populating a dungeon with shifting wall illusions is one of my favorite ways to harass my players into paying attention.

I like what you've got here, but to me the entry for 24-27 seems out of place considering that the entry for 20-23 says that you can hold your hands out to feel the warmth of the fire... wouldn't that also qualify as a test? Maybe just some more text to clarify your intent would help.

I have a question concerning the Mercurial Magic and Manifestations: do they reverse along with the spell? If your Mercurial Magic roll says Energy Burst (frost); does the reversed form of the spell get Energy Burst (fire), or do you roll separately for the reversed spell when you learn it? Manifestations: same question.

For anyone interested, here are a couple more off the list: the reverse spells for Choking cloud & Spider Climb...

Name: Butter Fingers
Level: 1
Range: 30ft
Duration: 1 turn per caster level; or, by spell check results
Casting Time: 1 action
Save: Willpower vs. Spell check
Manifestation: casters eyes glow. The hands and feet of the target begin to ooze slimy and extremely slippery goo.
General: the goop coating the hands and feet of the target replenishes itself continuously, so attempts to remove it are futile. The stuff smells vaguely of rancid butter and makes it nearly impossible to move or manipulate objects. Its taste is horrific….
1-11: spell lost
12-13: Upon failing their save, the target applies a -5 penalty to all physical skills & to spell casting attempts; immediately drops any held items unless target is wearing gloves, and if they are barefoot they must make a Reflex Save verses a DC= the casters spell check or fall prone and lose their Agility bonuses to AC. The target may remain standing if their Reflex Save succeeds; but they may not move, and they still loose their Agility bonuses. The Reflex Save must be made each round of the spells duration and/or whenever the target attempts an action. The target may move without using hands and feet [elbows and knees] dropping their move to 10ft [5ft for Dwarves & Halflings], but target still loses Agility bonuses.
14-17: As entry 12-13, but the Skill penalty increases to -10.
18-19: As entry 14-17; but it no longer matters if the target has gloves or boots, as the goop oozes through such garments instantly and completely.
20-23: The caster may now target a number of creatures = their INT bonus.
24-27: The effect may now be spread by the targets physical contact with other living creatures though all are held to the original spell duration. The additional targets are allowed a Reflex Save vs. DC= 10+ the casters level to avoid being contacted
28- 29: Spell now lasts 1 hour per caster level
30-31: Spell now lasts 1 day per caster level
32+ Spell now lasts for 1d3+4 days per level

Name: Cloud of fresh air
Level: 1
Range: varies
Duration: varies
Casting Time: 1 action
Save: none
Manifestation: Roll 1d8: (1) white cloud; (2) rainbow mist; (3) explosion of swirling rose petals; (4) bubbly geyser that erupts from the ground at the targets feet; (5) blue-red cloud; (6) green mist; (7) bilious, whirling fog; (8) orange cloud.
General: You summon forth a refreshing blast of pure sweet air that has various effects upon those targeted. This spell doesn’t function under water or obscure the vision of its recipients in any of its forms.
1-11: spell lost
12-13: target is engulfed in a personal zone of clean, sweet air for 1d4 rounds. The target gains a +1 on saves verses damages from choking clouds, bad air, poison gasses, etc.
14-17: As above but caster effects 1d3+1 targets, or 1 target for 3d4 rounds.

18-23: Caster summons forth a single cloud of sweet, clean air with a radius of 20ft that lasts for 1d6 rounds. The zone of good air pushes outwards from the center, so it keeps noxious vapors away from those within the cloud until the spell duration expires. Those within the cloud gain +1 AC from attacks outside the cloud. Those within the cloud may re-roll saves verses damages from choking clouds, bad air, poison gasses, etc. suffered immediately prior to their entering of Cloud of fresh air spell with a +2 bonus. By concentrating, the caster may move the spell effect up to 50ft per round.

24-27: With this result, the cloud now lasts for 2d6 rounds. Additionally, those within the cloud may re-roll saves verses damages from choking clouds, bad air, poison gasses, etc. suffered immediately prior to their entering the Cloud of fresh air spell with a +3 bonus.

28- 29: With this result, the cloud now lasts for lasts for 3d6 rounds. Additionally ,those within the cloud gain +2 AC from attacks outside the cloud. By concentrating, the caster may move the spell effect up to 100ft per round.

30-31: Caster summons forth 2 clouds of sweet, clean air with radii of 40ft, each lasts for 3d8 rounds. These zones of good air push outwards from their centers, so they keep noxious vapors away from those within until the spell duration expires. Those within the cloud gain +2 AC from attacks outside the cloud. Those within the cloud may re-roll saves verses damages from choking clouds, bad air, poison gasses, etc. suffered immediately prior to their entering the Cloud of fresh air spell with a +3 bonus. By concentrating, the caster may move the clouds up to 100ft per round. The caster may only move 1 cloud per action.

32+ Caster summons forth a number of clouds equal to their caster level. These clouds of sweet, clean air with radii of 40ft that last for 3d6 turns. These zones of good air push outwards from their centers, so they keep noxious vapors away from those within until the spell duration expires. Those within the cloud gain +3 AC from attacks outside the cloud. Those within the cloud may re-roll saves verses damages from choking clouds, bad air, poison gasses, etc. suffered immediately prior to their entering the Cloud of fresh air spell with a +4 bonus. By concentrating, the caster may move the spell effect up to 150ft per round. The caster may move a number of clouds equal to their INT bonus per action.

I have not read much of Appendix N (Dying Earth is on its way) but I think the ability to just end a spell is out of character for DCC. Given all the random rolls, effects, corruption, etc, it would seem more appropriate that a spell, once cast, is out of the caster's control; i.e. it exists in and of itself.

It reinforces the dangerous side of magic, encourages/requires careful thought before action, and just seems right.

While the book implies that magic can be reversed I found that a relatively few spells actually list that in their description. However, the fact that a couple do say they are reversible implies that a whole bunch more are not. This definitely needs better clarity.

I think homebrew spells appropriate to anyone's individual campaign rock and should be strongly encouraged. I'd rather see a pretty narrow list of "standard" spells for the game though. With all the effects you can pile into one spell, that shouldn't be too hard.

You're probably correct on this one...



Makes things more dangerous... yes; but if everything is randomized, there can't be forethought and planning. Every casting becomes a game of Russian Roulette for the wizard, and after the first time a spell backfires & harms the party... you can bet they will turn on the wizards, or make them walk out in front all the time.

On p.92 it says that "Some spells can be reversed..." and there are spells that say they can be reversed in their descriptions. The way the spells are written implies that only those spells which list reversal in their descriptions are fair game, but the section on p.92 is vague on the subject. So, Yah, I think you're correct... we need more clarity.

I'm a fan of reversing as many spells as possible. From a story point of view: it makes total sense with magic being so rare. A clever wizard character is going to take their initial spell list at level 1; with some luck & some study time, they might even be able to double their available spells. If one works particularly well in its reversed state the wizard can learn it the next time they gain new spell slots.



I totally agree, all DM/Judges should feel empowered to create whatever spells are necessary for their games flavor.

Thanks to everyone who's shared their spells so far. As far as people discouraging us monkeying with spells, well, that's just silly. The beta rules obviously are incomplete when it comes to spells, so I consider this activity pretty much necessary if you want to mess around in the higher levels.

At any rate, here are a few more spells I've converted from Pathfinder, which can be found on my resources page:
DCC Resources Page

Burning Hands (wizard 1)
Phandaal's Mantle of Stealth (Invisibility) (wizard 2)
Fireball (wizard 3)
Flame of the Forge (cleric 2)
Prayer (cleric 3)
Speak with Dead (cleric 3)

For a lot of these I've switched to a simpler table that increments every 5 - partially due to laziness, and partially due to the fact that I didn't see a clear reason that the results incremented in a pattern of 2-4-2-4-4-2-2. It seemed unnecessarily complex. However, if anyone knows the design reason for the spells being that way, I'd be curious to know about it.

I think I see what you mean. Maybe I wasn't clear enough. I meant that at one level the Illusory fire feels warm as you get near it (but you get a save first to see through it) BUT if you actually touch it you take no damage and thus can deduce its an illusion even though you didn't get a save at the next spell effect level.

Perhaps if an illusion is vigorously tested by touching etc it should dispel automatically unless the caster makes a Concentration check?

At high casting levels a touch can show its a low level illusion but won't risk dispelling it?

Interesting - good stuff, my version of Invisibility is a lot less low-powered. At the lowest 'success' range the caster has to remain stationary for the spell to stay in effect. I prefer your Fireball spell effects to the DCC prototype - but as higher levels I'd like the caster to be able to choose between same area of effect but high damage and extending the area of effect but with low damage.

Seems reasonable to me @ low levels of success [12-19]; though for higher levels of success, I'd say that if someone vigorously challenges an illusion [like one character walking through the illusion of a wall] provokes a new save with a bonus for everyone who failed the first time.



Certainly, I'd even say that by 28+ the illusion has so strongly manifested in the minds of those who fail their saves that they start taking penalties for interacting with it. IMO, by 32+ the illusion should be capable of killing those who fail their saves. You know the old stories about how if you die in a dream you'll have a heart attack in reality... Never discount the lethality of "shock to the system."