Annoying Game Questions You Want Answered

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:18 am

Saw this on a Facebook group, interested in the Den's suggestions

I currently have a 11th level sorcerer (soon to be L12) in a world which has just found itself with no gods (It's a long story, yeah we did it).
What I'm hoping for is some ideas for healings, our bard can't cover all the healing we need during and after a big fight, all potions, items etc of divine nature no longer function. DM has interpreted druidism to be of divine nature for this purpose as well.
Our group has most of the more popular books and our DM allows some third party stuff if it's reasonable.
Any thoughts?

I already pointed out that Wizards can technically learn any arcane spell so they could use Bardic scrolls to give a wizard healing magic, and the fact that nagas and dragons frequently get cleric spells as sorcerers. I also suggested polymorphing into creatures with natural healing powers and becoming undead with fast healing such as vampires and cursts.

Any other ideas that don't hinge on "here's an all new base class?"

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:24 am

Well you can spend like, a pair of feats (retrain some?) to get the level 1 Crusader stance that lets you infinite heal by punching allies.

You can take the Reserve Feat that summons an elemental infinite times, and then get a Vampiric Dagger and stab infinite summoned elementals until everyone is full health.

Eikre · Post by **Eikre** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 6:35 pm

Poison Healer (from Fiendish Codex I) heals HP equal to your CON bonus every time you succeed at a fortitude save vs. poison.

Turns out? There are a bunch of poisons that don't really do much. Slam a couple of six-packs after every fight, or wear your tiny viper familiar like a prince Albert. Drugs are poisons with upshot. Sleep Smoke, from City of Waterdeep, costs only 25gp a pop, makes a cloud that the whole family can stand in, and, at worst, only puts you to sleep for a few minutes. Whatever.

The actual answer to their problem is still a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, since they have a bard. That's some 101 level shit, right there. Guy doesn't have a problem because there aren't divine spellcasters, guy has a problem 'cause he thinks you use spell slots to recover HP after a fight.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:12 am

Poison Healer is ridiculously hilarious.

What's a rational cost for a masterwork weapon? I mean, for a repeating heavy crossbow that costs 400gp to begin with, I can maybe see it. For brass fucking knuckles that cost 1 gp, though... that's fucking absurd.

But then, 8 lbs for a repeating heavy crossbow is pretty absurd too...

K · Post by K » Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:43 am

Minor Creation to make alchemic healing salve or other healing plants.

Transporting to or importing the effects of planes with the positive-dominant trait also works.

Calling a creature with the Vivacious template is pretty easy too. Just stand near it for unlimited healing.

Also a Xag Ya is easy to call and keep leashed for unlimited healing.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:31 am

Prak wrote:But then, 8 lbs for a repeating heavy crossbow is pretty absurd too...

In what way? Seems fairly reasonable since wooden furniture rifles can be similar in weight, especially for something as bulky as a heavy repeating crossbow.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:15 am

Sorry, 8 lbs of gold. But actually like two pounds, because I did my math the wrong direction.

Eikre · Post by **Eikre** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:19 pm

Prak wrote:Poison Healer is ridiculously hilarious.

What's a rational cost for a masterwork weapon? I mean, for a repeating heavy crossbow that costs 400gp to begin with, I can maybe see it. For brass fucking knuckles that cost 1 gp, though... that's fucking absurd.

But then, 8 lbs for a repeating heavy crossbow is pretty absurd too...

It's probably more absurd that any amount of craftsmanship can make functional brass knuckles more effective than it is that the price on that craftsmanship should be 300x the base case.

Like, I carry a masterwork dagger, and its MSRP is, in fact, 300 currency units more than an ordinary commodity. Does its quality convey a 5% improvement to accuracy? I am not in the habit of knife murder, so I can't say for certain, but I'm fairly certain it does not.

Although it would be my preference to get rid of masterworking entirely (because that's what magic items already are), you could also affix its price to whatever you determine is the threshold between the cabbage and gold economies, such that a player ends up choosing specific masterwork items and anything that isn't at least as costly as master-working itself is just an inferior good to which they are entitled without any expenditure at all.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:27 pm

Can you chain cast project image to extend your spell reach even farther and around all sorts of corners?

schpeelah · Post by **schpeelah** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:30 pm

Eikre wrote: It's probably more absurd that any amount of craftsmanship can make functional brass knuckles more effective than it is that the price on that craftsmanship should be 300x the base case.

Like, I carry a masterwork dagger, and its MSRP is, in fact, 300 currency units more than an ordinary commodity. Does its quality convey a 5% improvement to accuracy? I am not in the habit of knife murder, so I can't say for certain, but I'm fairly certain it does not.

Although it would be my preference to get rid of masterworking entirely (because that's what magic items already are), you could also affix its price to whatever you determine is the threshold between the cabbage and gold economies, such that a player ends up choosing specific masterwork items and anything that isn't at least as costly as master-working itself is just an inferior good to which they are entitled without any expenditure at all.

A +1 is a very small difference. I could buy a really well made fancy dagger having a small edge in how it handles, for someone who fights with fancy daggers (people who aren't Inigo Montoya don't really notice if their sword is ideally made, but when the masterwork bonus is only +1 it's pointless to also make it conditional).

Masterwork knuckles are hard to imagine, since knuckles mostly associated with level 1 thug kind of characters, or situations when for when no other weapon is available. Over-the-top cartoony fantasy characters could use whatever of course, but they would then have over-the-top fantasy weapons whose function is related more to the character than what kind of weapon they nominally are.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:38 pm

To be fair, they want brass knuckles like this-

RelentlessImp · Post by **RelentlessImp** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:59 pm

Which is sad, because we should want knuckles like these:

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Apr 01, 2016 4:03 am

Anyone familiar with the Kobold Guide to Game Design books? I'm specifically interested in the Worldbuilding one, and was wondering if they were worth readin.

Whiysper · Post by **Whiysper** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:30 am

virgil wrote:Can you chain cast project image to extend your spell reach even farther and around all sorts of corners?

Yes, that's sort of the point:
http://dndtools.pw/spells/players-handb ... age--2693/

'can originate from the projected image instead of from you' - so LoE, etc, are drawn from the image.

Arc node, ho!

RelentlessImp · Post by **RelentlessImp** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 11:01 am

This line would suggest you couldn't maintain them around corners, as you (the spellcaster) must maintain line of effect to the target at all times.

You must maintain line of effect to the projected image at all times. If your line of effect is obstructed, the spell ends. If you use dimension door, teleport, plane shift, or a similar spell that breaks your line of effect, even momentarily, the spell ends.

Then again, that's open to interpretation.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:34 pm

When I say chain cast, I mean cast project image at one point that's still in LoS but able to look around a corner. Then from the PoV of that image, cast another project image past that corner. The second image has LoS to the first image, but not the original caster.

Whiysper · Post by **Whiysper** » Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:12 am

Ah, apologies - didn't spot that part of your plan. I'm pretty sure 'no' is the answer, because of the line about needing LoE to the image, as Relentless says. You might be able to argue the case that as the spell is originating from the image, the 'you' implies the point of origin, but I don't think that's a hugely persuasive case, tbth..

Dogbert · Post by **Dogbert** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:07 am

My necro made an amulet with Fast Heal 1 (see Infernal Healing) and our party has a Vitalist that can redistribute said healing accordingly.

...I really need to upgrade that amulet, it's long obsolete at lvl 18.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 6:56 pm

Why is etherealness a 9th level spell? Crossing dimensions is available by 9th level for clerics.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 7:37 pm

I think a lot of spells got a tax put on them back in the AD&D days for just straightforwardly obviating chunks of the dungeon. Plane Shift at least has that margin of error in miles thing going on. Passwall and Glassee seem to also have been subject to the tax.

zugschef · Post by **zugschef** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 7:48 pm

virgil wrote:Why is etherealness a 9th level spell? Crossing dimensions is available by 9th level for clerics.

Why is polar ray an eighth level spell? Srzly, that shit doesn't even have the effect of a cantrip at first level, at the level it comes into play.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 7:56 pm

To be fair, Ray of Frost does half as much damage at first level. So Polar Ray is better than a cantrip.

RelentlessImp · Post by **RelentlessImp** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 8:03 pm

virgil wrote:To be fair, Ray of Frost does half as much damage at first level. So Polar Ray is better than a cantrip.

Yeah, but... 1d3 damage. Who gives a shit. You could drop Polar Ray down to a cantrip and nobody would care. It might actually see use in a game that isn't NWN 2: Mask of the Betrayer.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 8:44 pm

I could see a system where pretty much every spell that is purely damage is first to third level, because the damage is always (CL)D(X) anyway. Maybe even cantrips with a die step down for that.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 8:54 pm

Polar Ray was bizarrely split from the more versatile 3rd edition spell of Otiluke's Freezing Sphere. No one knows why it was made 8th level, or why anyone thought Otiluke's Freezing Sphere was too versatile.

-Username17