Per the 3.5 MM, a medium Animated Object has a space of 5'x5'. A large Animated Object has a space of 10'x10'.
The Gelantinous Cube on p. 201 is Huge and occupies a 15'x15' space.
Exactly. A human is only 1'x3'x6' and "occupies" a 5'x5' space. The "space" occupied by a creature is always bigger than the literal creature, since the space includes combat movement. If a creature is literally five feet long and five feet wide, it has to take up a 10' by 10' space, since otherwise it would be unable to move.
So a 5' cube creature has a 10' facing and is Large. The Gelatinous Cube is exactly a 10' cube - but has a 15' facing.
Frank wrote:So a 5' cube creature has a 10' facing and is Large. The Gelatinous Cube is exactly a 10' cube - but has a 15' facing.
Not according to the MM.
MM p. 202 wrote:A typical Gelatinous Cube is 15 feet on a side and weighs about 50,000 pounds, though much larger specimens are not unknown.
Your premise is interesting though. I'm going to course through the various MM and FF books to see how much text-described size correlates to header size and the Space/Reach numerics.
Frank wrote:Fiend Form: That's any fiendish creature that could be summoned by a Summon Monster IV. Remember that there are extended lists and peple who get improved Summon Monster Spells. This is a 6th level spell that can give you Spell-likes.
Flensing: It does Charisma Damage, which means that it will randomly take down some Epic creatures.
Freezing Fog: Acid Fog is totally awesome, so why they felt the need to make a spell that was lower level, had a longer duration, and took longer to escape from is utterly beyond comprehension. This spell is a must-have combat spell in the 5th level slot. And may displace teleports in many Wizards' prepared spells roster.
...more later...
-Username17
Frank, I'd love to hear more of your assessments on the other spells in the book. Thanks for the great ideas!
OK, there are a few more spells form CA that will pay to be remembered:
Ghostform: Rest in Peace, Ghostform, you were frequently used by blaster mages, and now you have passed beyond usefulness. Your passing will be missed.
Ghost Light: On first examination, this Wu Jen spell is sucktastic. But then you relaize that it is a duration spell that causes people to become shaken, but not to become unshaken. A couple of these and you can inflict permanent debilitating madness on large groups that can only be cured with remove fear. It's like the author doesn't even know how the fear rules wrok or something.
Giant Size: It's like being Ultraman, only with a shorter duation. The really cool part is that the strength bonus is not dependent upon the actual size change. It's a size bonus to strength and a size penalty to attack, but if you start out in Fire Giant form (Large size, strength 35, -1 to-hit), you already have a Size penalty to attacks (which therefore doesn't stack, and leaves you with only the worse penalty), and don't have a Size bonus to strenth (your strength is just 35 in a pile). So when you layer this spell on Polymorph you get all the benefits of being really big twice and the penalties only once. Expect to see this used in virtually all melee builds in one form or another by level 16.
Hail of Stone The really cool thing about all the Earth spells in this book is that the author seems to have forgotten that spells default to doing magical energy damage. So all these stupid spells do untyped - and unresistable - damage.
Heart of Stone: This splel is really cool sounding, but the advantages are less than that granted by simple transformational magics. There is literally no reason to ever cast this spell. Even if it was free it would be a serious quandary for a 15th level wizard to even bother.
Ice Knife This spell can inflict Dexterity Damage to objects on a Fort Save, and is thusly a berserkly effective anti-construct spell. Weird but true.
Illusory Pit: For some reason this spell stuns on a successful save. This means that if you have enough slots filled with this spell and a friendly goblin rogue - you automatically beat virtually any opponent. Just keep that in mind.
Imbue Familiar with Spell Ability: This spell will allow you to use costly material components multiple times - you need to have the materials when you cast the spell, but the materials aren't consumed until the familiar casts the spell. But the Familiar doesn't need to have the components at hand to cast the spell. So you can cast IFWSA, then actually cast the expensive spell in question, then have your familiar cast the same spell - all with one set of expensive components. Oddly though, the spell gives no special out for verbal and somatic components, so apparently you still have to use alter self to turn your viper into a gnome before it can actually use the spells. Most people will just use this spell as a blasting facilitator, giving the Wizard a few more spells/round - because it was apparently totally broken for anyone other than Wizards to make use of 3e Haste.
Greater Mage Armor: Remeber how much Bracers of Armor suck my butt? Well, getting an always-on +6 Armor bonus out of a set o Bracers from this spell costs only 30k. If you happen to have a 12th level Wizard, you can get an always on +6 bonus from this spell for only 16k.
Minute Form: Every bit as abusable as Giant Size - a Fine Fire Giant has a stength of 25 and a +8 attack bonus from its small size. Also, it can use it's size attack bonus and its +8 dexterity bonus, but thrown weapons do full normal damage. This spell, however, will almost never be used in polymorph builds, because the drawbacks are obvious and the advantages are subtle - though no less ultimately favorable.
Orbs of Crap Conjuration is better than Evocation. All of these spells kind of suck, but there is a brief period when you will consider using Orb of Force (before its lower damage cap catches up to you), and there are some reasons to use Orb of Fire. Stil, the fact is that Evocation gets the big shaft in this book, and these spells just come out to dance on its grave.
Phantasmal Asailants: This spell is awesome and is so full of legacy rules from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and poor editing that I am unsure as to what it does.
Prismatic Ray: As written, the random Prismatic effect only happens if your target has six or less hit dice, making this the worst attack spell I have ever seen. It's like the only reason they write Evocations at all is to grind salt into their open wounds.
Programmed Amnesia: If your DM won't let you use Mind Rape - this is the next best thing, and a truly sufficient reason to be an Enchanter. Remember to follow this spell up with an atonement that the victim "willingly" undergoes, so that you can dispel it and still have the victim follow you anyway.
Protection from Charm: I just want to point out that Protection From Evil is in all ways superior. It only lasts 1 round/level. What the fvcking fvck?
Reaving Dispel: This allows you to take advantage of continuous supernatural abilities that are personal in nature. It is enormously powerful, and too much fvcking work to figure out. Shapechange is already broken enough that I don't care about figuring out ways to break this spell. But they are there.
Reciprocal Gyre: Do you know any other spell that does 25 dice of damage to one target (save for half) that a 9th level Wizard can cast? How about one that has a small but perceptible chance of also taking an opponent out of the combat for a d6 rounds while you smack on them? This spell is, for a short while anyway, completely over the top - and it's Abjuration. Remember, this spell does extra damage when it's cast during the duration of other attack spells.
Ring of Blades: This is an awesome spell for a melee Cleric or Cleric Archer. And it reminds us that Clerics get more good toys in "Complete Arcane" than do Bards.
Scales of the Lizard: Do Amulets of Natural Armor cost too much? Of course they do. But an Amulet of Scales of the Lizard costs 2000 gp for a +2 enhancement bonus, and 24000 gp for a +5 enhancement bonus. It's a bad deal at other levels, but you probably weren't going to bother with an amulet +3 anyway.
Shadow Binding: More ways for an Illusionist on party support to totally own enemies.
Sign of Sealing: Like all the stuff that works just like this, it can be on bottles and origami balls as an attack form.
Snake Darts: The limit of two snakes is not actually explicitly stated, only implied. You could make a powerful argument for being able to shoot arbitrarily more snakes by tatooing more snakes on your body and then spending more actions eating serpents at the end of combat.
Sphere of Ultimate Destruction: Like shapeshifting into a Beholder only not as good. Under no circumstances would you ever cast this spell.
Spirit Binding: Every bit as broken as Planar Binding. Unfortunately, it is written up in a book that doesn't tell you what creatures have the [Spirit] subtype as near as I can tell. So unless you have OA, this spell line doesn't do anything. However, the important thing to note is that Spirits don't have to be from another plane - in OA there are no other planes. So if you are using OA, this spell is over-the-top crazytastic. Keep it in mind always.
Spiritwall: Note: a clear, cut gemstone is not a costly material component, because it doesn't have a listed cost. You can shirk this with Eschew Components. In any case, it emits a continuous fear effect that does not grant temporary immunity to people who make a save. As such, if you aren't immune to fear you are going to run away for four rounds. Also, it causes level loss when employed properly, which means that you can do the whole level-trade-in thing without actually needing creature abilities. Which is just plain good times all around. This spell is an integral protion of the Lycanthropy-based infinite level trick and the Artificer infinite craft XP trick. Also, it blocks magical effects but not movement, making it one of the most intriguing things to ever be combined with Antimagic Field.
Summon Elemental Monolith: Have we mentioned, lately, that the fact that you aren't a Cleric or a Druid is a personal failing on your part? This spell is hilarious. While somewhat underpowered for a CR 17, they are strictly bigger than most Fighters of that level, so the fact that a Cleric or Druid can tagout for one of these bad boys for the remainder of combat just drives the point home.
Superior Invisibility: While the fact that the author of the spell couldn't remember which coponents were somatic and which were verbal (the spell's silence field makes you incapable of moving your arms, apparently) - the fact is that this spell is just paper for the wood stove. It's a ninth level spell, and it gives you less undectability than just shapechanging into one of the many monsters which are clear, let alone incorporeal. If you have a 9th level spell that automatically loses to True Seeing, don't even talk to me.
Swim: Usually, Druids won't care. But the long duration and the fact that it stacks with Cheetah form add up to the fact that it is a noticable Druid power-up. Also fun is the fact that it gives you a Swim Speed (which by definition gives you a +8 racial bonus to swim), and states explicitly that it gives you a +8 Competence bonus - they stack, so it grants a +16 total bonus to Swim checks. That's usually not important, but it's funny.
Sword of Extreme Suckiness: Any attack which has only a base attack bonus never hits. When you get Sword of Deception, at character level 9, it lets you make normal attack rolls at +9. That's right, the same +9 that the party Fighter had at 3rd level. No matter how cool the effects of the spell are (and as it turns out, they are only so-so), it doesn't matter - because the spell never ever hits. Ever.
Thornskin: It increases the damage your natural attacks do. It isn't a separate chunk of damage. As such, the fact that is specifically piercing is completely immaterial. This is The Octopus-Druid spell for a long time. This is one of the biggest Druid power-ups ever printed. Not the least because it is low level and Persistable.
Transfix Basically pointless, although it is amusing that the party is immune to the spell, and you can cast it on yourself. It makes any low level weaklings that come after you save versus paralysis that might as well be permanent.
Transmute Rock to Lava All the brokenness of Major Creation. But it allows a save. And it's ninth level. It's another 9th level attack spell that I wouldn't wipe myself with.
Unluck: Bring on the damned Legacy Mechanics! Nothing beats spells that specifically reference example items from the DMG! Bloody hell. It's not bad enough that the spell sucks. It feels the need to also rub our noses in incomprehensible legacy mechanics whilst doing so.
Wall of Gloom. People who fail to move through have partial concealment because they are adjacent to the wall. But the people with bows on the other side have total concealment because they are more than 5' away from the wall. This is a great spell. Like Web awesome of a spell.
All the rest of the spells are crap (Wood Rot? WTF?), so I guess that's the end.
A "spirit" includes any of the following creatures: - All incorporeal undead - All fey - All elementals - Creatures in astral form or with astral bodies (but not creatures physically present on the Astral Plane) - All creatures of the spirit subtype (OA, some specific spells)
Except the people writing Complete Arcane shouldn't assume you have Complete Divine (or OA for that matter). As such, they should take up the small amount of space required and print the damn list.
You can't fix stupid.
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." ~ Jackie Robinson
Lago_AM3P at [unixtime wrote:1106278936[/unixtime]]How is Craft Contingent Spell broken? Am I missing something?
Step One: Accept the fact that you are one level lower than all other PCs.
Step Two: You therefore get more XP in every encounter and need less XP to gain a level than the rest of the PCs.
Step Three: Take your relative XP bulge and spend it all on contingent attack spells that go off at the beginning of combat.
Step Four: Automatically win next encounter.
Step Five: Repeat.
---
Sure, you advance a little bit slower than you would if you weren't doing this shit. But you're just not even playing the same game as other people. You don't even have combats, you just have Trap Cards that attacking monsters activate.
FrankTrollman at [unixtime wrote:1106533192[/unixtime]]
Lago_AM3P at [unixtime wrote:1106278936[/unixtime]]How is Craft Contingent Spell broken? Am I missing something?
Step One: Accept the fact that you are one level lower than all other PCs.
Step Two: You therefore get more XP in every encounter and need less XP to gain a level than the rest of the PCs.
Step Three: Take your relative XP bulge and spend it all on contingent attack spells that go off at the beginning of combat.
Step Four: Automatically win next encounter.
Step Five: Repeat.
---
Sure, you advance a little bit slower than you would if you weren't doing this shit. But you're just not even playing the same game as other people. You don't even have combats, you just have Trap Cards that attacking monsters activate.
-Username17
While I am accustomed to have my wizard have some good escape clauses with his Contingency spell (grappled? DimDoor gets activated) -- I'm not sure how or what suite of Contingencies you would want up and running all the time with this feat?
Frank's overall use of this feat makes sense. But could anyone give examples of a spellcaster who has, say, 3, 4, or 5 contingencies up and running?
You know, the contingency trigger *and* resultant spell.
Because it sounds like this whole tactic scheme means a lot of cerebral planning and prognostication to effectively use as a schtick.
Guest (Unregistered) wrote:While I am accustomed to have my wizard have some good escape clauses with his Contingency spell (grappled? DimDoor gets activated) -- I'm not sure how or what suite of Contingencies you would want up and running all the time with this feat?
Frank's overall use of this feat makes sense. But could anyone give examples of a spellcaster who has, say, 3, 4, or 5 contingencies up and running?
You know, the contingency trigger *and* resultant spell.
Because it sounds like this whole tactic scheme means a lot of cerebral planning and prognostication to effectively use as a schtick.
