Reagent Spells
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As some of you may have noticed, I'm finally getting around to what I meant to start years ago when I updated the summons spells. That being namely, optional reagents for spells.
I'm toying around with basic ideas, and will probably adjust a few spells here and there-but am curious what spells people would be interested in seeing have a few vague reagents. Similar to how you can now make Flame Blade an Acid Blade if you have the right reagent, or summon insects with Summon Monster spells if you have the right reagent or tome.
I'm also debating if reagents are something that should be used by wizards rather than clerics, bards, or sorcerers for most spells.
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I will put it straight, when I played a wizard I was fascinated by reagents and what they did with Summon spells. I spent lots of gold buying books and different items trying to figure out all the combination and even wrote IC books on them.
If you did that with other spells, I would in heaven (once I started playing a wizards again).
As to whether all classes should have access to them, I say it depends on the spell, rather than class. Some spells I assume can use reagents, while others cannot.
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I'm not a very good spellcaster but how about reagents that allow you to do things like combine spells:
grease and burning hands + reagent = fireball
Icestorm+fireball+reagent = drown?
stoneskin+ghoul touch+reagent=petrification?This is why I don't play spellcasters. I don't know if it's even possible to activate a reagent, strip two spells and cast a third. Obviously the cost of reagents would have to match the doubled affects and maybe you could stun the wizard for one round to compensate for casting 2 spells at once. You could reward wizards who research and try to find these reagents to "create new spells". I'm not sure what other monster abilities or affects there are in game you could apply this research+reagent thing too.
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grease and burning hands + reagent =
http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Incendiary_cloud
:D but i love the idea of just being able to change spells. Makes you bypass the tieflings' pesky fire resistance, at least.
Would this also apply to different versions of 'alchemists fire'? -
I'm not a very good spellcaster but how about reagents that allow you to do things like combine spells:
grease and burning hands + reagent = fireball
Icestorm+fireball+reagent = drown?
stoneskin+ghoul touch+reagent=petrification?This is why I don't play spellcasters. I don't know if it's even possible to activate a reagent, strip two spells and cast a third. Obviously the cost of reagents would have to match the doubled affects and maybe you could stun the wizard for one round to compensate for casting 2 spells at once. You could reward wizards who research and try to find these reagents to "create new spells". I'm not sure what other monster abilities or affects there are in game you could apply this research+reagent thing too.
Stuff like that would be really complex.
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Reagent on any elemental damage spell to make it do other types of damage is the one that comes off the top of my head. Ice Dagger could be mad into acid or electric or dire or sonic and so on.
Perhaps reagents that can augment an animated undead and make it more powerful/hardier.
Reagent to turn death armor into a positive energy damage spell.
Reagents that could mimic meta magic might be cool.
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Reagents that could mimic meta magic might be cool.
Maybe a rare reagent to make a spell last longer, or do max damage. Still more worthwhile to take the metamagic feat, but having a reagent for that life-or-death situation.
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Not sure if stuff like this would be too complex…
Melf's Acid Arrow (Wiz 2) + Fire Reagent --> Scorching Ray (Wiz 2)
(Simple change of Acid dmg to Fire dmg? Not a perfect recreation but it could work.)Ghoul Touch (Wiz 2) + Reagent --> Touch of Idiocy (Wiz 2)
(Remove all dmg from ghoul touch, and instead deal 1d6 penalty to target's intelligence - could be good for fighting mages and making them loose spells?) -
Reagents that could mimic meta magic might be cool.
I agree with this. Some rare and remote treagents that can extend and empower a spell.
As for making up variations of spells, maybe the ones specific to deities for clerics: http://www.nj-pbem.com/data/Gods/Gods.htm (bottom of the individual deities' pages).
For mages, there are tons of non-NWN spells that aren't in the game that could be created. I'm really not knowledgeable at that, though, but a Myth Drannor server has a extensive collection of those spells added in.
If the direction is more "elemental variations of the spell cast" or invented ones, can Ice Storm be changed not to suck since the PnP approach isn't what we're going with?
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You're all being more vague than I was hoping. I, of course, can do lots of changes. I was more curious what specific changes people would like to see first.
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A reagent that casts your next spell at raised casting level (useful for damage/projectile-per-level spells like magic missile, fireball, fire arrow)
A reagent that casts the same spell twice in immediate succession (maybe with added spell-failure on both?).
A reagent that makes you cast as if you'd just done it in a wild-magic field (it could be useful!)
A reagent that lets you cast a spell without the vocal or somatic component.
A reagent which teleports the target of your next spell to you, or teleports you to the target of your next spell.
I suppose the ones i'd probably like to see first are the raised-casting-level one and then the teleport one, if that's what you meant.
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Can you change spells slightly to use monster abilities instead of the spell:
How about an "aura" reagent.
Blindness/deafness + reagent = aura of blindness
cone of cold + reagent = aura of cold
electric loop + reagent = aura of electricity
Phantasmal killer + reagent = aura of un earthly visage
(others per the visage list)Horn of a baby gargoyle
Fear + horn = Fear howlPiece of a burial shroud
Stinking cloud + shroud = tyrantafog zombie mist centered on caster. -
Right, I give up.
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I think the question is how far do the changes go, many of these suggestions would break the server as it is currently designed
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I like the idea of reagents, though it makes no sense for clerics and sadly, that'd make them even more powerfull compared to arcanists.
Otherwise, I'd rather have spellbooks implemented too, it's much more usefull I believe.
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Animate Dead.
Reagents to arm and or armor the zombie/skeleton better
the reagents could be actual weapons targeted with the PC Mode Tool.target a bow and create a skeletal archer
target some armor and create a skeletal fighter
target a club and create a zombie warrior
target and orc corpse and make a zombie orc and so on. -
Identify + high value gem = Raises spellcraft instead of lore.
find traps + shadow thief of Amn's handbook = Finds and disables traps
Knock + Skeleton key of …..Mask? = opens magical locks and faction doorways
iron guts + brain of those walking brain things = Raises will save vs mind spells
iron guts + cats leg = Raises reflex save vs traps
Light + gems again? = different colour light
Darkvision + Drow eye = See through magical darkness
Protection from allignment, and magic circle against allignment + Iron wood? = protection from neutral
Contagion + zombie flesh = zombie rot
Contagion + rat tail = .... I dont know any DnD diseases...Polymorph + Krenshar bone = polymorph krenshar
Polymorph + tressym wing = polymorph tressym
Polymorph + werewolf claw = polymorph were wolfAny of those would be nice.
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You could also make it like.. Lets say you have the fireball reagent in your pack.
Any fireball that you cast is automatically empowered.
Just a thought..
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Right, I give up.
Cheer up, here is an excellent idea specific to a spell. I heard the suggestion some time ago (I think it was from SFP or another player), but the idea is to have reagents for the spell Polymorph.
Using a reagent would simply polymorph you into a different creature when casting that spell.
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Bable Fish has some nice ideas on making use out of useless spells…