Skip to content

Since it was requested....New divination spells

ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
edited October 2013 in Feature Requests
VERY short list.


1st Level -

Read Magic -

Each scroll scribing requires 1 cast of Read magic memorized, similar to the way Identify works. (Conjurer's opposed school changed to Evocation). All Mages/Specialists automatically know Read Magic at creation.

3rd Level -

Pain Touch -

On next hit, target experiences an echo of all the pain they've taken earlier in their life. Resulting in 1d6 damage per caster level. Damage is treated as sub-dual on a successful save.

4th Level -

Halo of Eyes -
(Abjuration/Divination)

Caster has infravision, and cannot be backstabbed. Also invisible or stealthed creatures gain no bonus to hit. Lasts 1 round per level.

6th Level -

Greater Pain Touch -

On next hit, target experiences an echo of all the pain they've suffered and inflicted in their lifetime. Resulting in 1d8 damage per caster level. On a successful save it's treated as Sub-dual damage.

8th Level -

Experience Death -

On next hit, Target experiences the moment of their death, requiring a save vs -4 or die. On a successful save, they take 1d8 sub-dual damage per caster level and are stunned for 1d4 rounds from the strain.

Temporal Freedom -
(Alteration/Divination)
The next hostile time stop or temporal stasis spell cast in the caster's presence triggers temporal freedom, allowing the caster to move freely in time for up to 2 rounds during a time stop or blocking temporal stasis for the duration. Lasts 8 hours or until triggered.

Foresight -

Caster gains +2 ac and cannot be critically hit or backstabbed for the duration. Stealthed or invisible creatures gain no bonus to hit against the caster. Lasts 1 round per level.
Post edited by ZanathKariashi on

Comments

  • AendaeronBluescaleAendaeronBluescale Member Posts: 335
    edited October 2013

    1st Level -

    Read Magic -

    Each scroll scribing requires 1 cast of Read magic memorized, similar to the way Identify works. (Conjurer's opposed school changed to Evocation). All Mages/Specialists automatically know Read Magic at creation.

    This effectively nerfs casters. Don't make it a mandatory spell.
    Trade-off: Using this guarantees success in scribing a scroll to your spellbook; scribing scrolls into your your spellbook without this spell still should have a chance to fail.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    Nope...it's supposed to be a required part of the spell scribing process, and I will not budge on that point. Mages have too few restrictions as it is. I also want specialists to receive their proper learning bonus/penalties (+15% for chosen school, -15% everything else).

    (technically ALL magic scrolls are supposed to be unreadable, and you cast read magic on them to make them readable, and it doesn't matter if you buy them in a store or find them, you personally have to cast RM to decipher them. If they could make a 2ndry type of identification that applies only to scrolls but requires read magic instead of identify (and no shop can provide the service), that would work even better, imo. But this implementation is the easiest work around).


    And I fail to see how it's a nerf, it's no more annoying to use then identify, and would help curb the tendency to spam scrolls for xp, which, if I had my way I would actually remove spell erasing completely and go back to Pre-ToB BG/BG2 models of having to make choices as which spells you could learn. Or at least implement some check that no mage can gain xp for the same spell twice.

    And if it's about capacity...a sorcerer gets all the spell slots they need, and a 9 int mage gets more known spell slots then they do.

    Most people just scribe a bunch of spells and then never use them. This would simply make people think, do I REALLY wanna memorize that spell, or should I just save the scroll to use as a back-up in case I run out of daily slots.



    (And especially on the Conjuer's losing Evocation instead of Divination..in PnP they lose all of Evocation, but only a tiny bit of Divination (5th and higher)..so Divination should've never been chosen for their opposed school in the first place).
  • JoeyJoey Member Posts: 201
    Could you stop spamming the forum with these threads and simply make one mega-thread?
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    @ZanathKariashi Read Magic was only necessary in 1e AD&D. The spell does not exist in 2e. There was a spell called "Scribe" that could perfectly transfer spells from scrolls to a spellbook as well.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    edited October 2013
    Need to re-read the player's hand book then. It's been necessary in 1st through 3.5 (haven't touched 4th, so I don't know about them), and does exist, with perfectly the same writing it's had since day 1, across all editions.

    It even says in the equipment section, on scrolls, that mage scrolls MUST have read magic cast before they can be read or identified. (technically 1 cast could potentially be used to read multiple scrolls, but it depends on their spell level and the caster's level. It takes 1 round per spell level per scroll. Though Identify is also supposed to have a duration, so I see no reason read magic should be treated differently).

    In order to be able to read a scroll at all a mage MUST cast read magic on it. They only have to do it once, but until then, they can't scribe, use it or even tell what spell is actually contained in it. Their own spell book or scrolls they've created themselves are exempt.

    Bards and vanilla Thieves are an exception (though vanilla thieves have to wait till lvl 10 to do so), as they can make a Read Languages skill check to attempt to decipher the script of the scroll (but having a bard learn Read magic as soon as possible will save them a lot of grief) (doesn't allow retries on that particular scroll). (Though just for continuity's sake I'd add Read magic to all arcane casters at creation since the read language skill isn't implemented, except sorcerers).
    Post edited by ZanathKariashi on
  • VintrastormVintrastorm Member Posts: 216
    regarding pain touch - AFAIK subdual damage doesn't exist in BG rule system.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    edited May 2015
    It does. Non-monk unarmed attacks deal sub-dual. (referred to as Non-lethal in 2nd edition parlance)
    Post edited by ZanathKariashi on
  • DurenasDurenas Member Posts: 508
    What about detect magic? would be nice to get a read on an enemy's buffs via an active action, rather than what we have now, as the spells fire off as soon as you're in range(which doesn't make sense but it's a limitation of the engine, so we roll with it). Just hide the spell names for enemy NPCs and require a detect magic to see the buffs on each NPC. Should it be single target or a buff that when active makes any enemy you can click on spit out the buff list in the dialog window?
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    edited October 2013
    I thought about it, but detect magic really only tells you auras (unless you focus on it for 3 rounds). Which wouldn't be that helpful as most buffs are alteration or abjuration.

    Detect Magic (2nd) (Can be made permanent duration via Permanency) -

    Lasts 3 rounds, +1 round per level. AoE - 60ft cone projected from the caster's front facing at the beginning of each round.

    Displays any dispellable buffs or debuffs of hostile targets within the area of the cone. Targets affected by Non-detection cannot be read.



    Wizard Sight (4th) (can be made permanent duration via Permanency)-

    Lasts 1 turn, +1 round per level.

    Same as Detect magic, but if the target is a spell caster their caster level is also displayed. Is not blocked by Non-detection.
  • DurenasDurenas Member Posts: 508
    I want me some goggles of magic detection. Even limited uses per day.
  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356

    Nope...it's supposed to be a required part of the spell scribing process, and I will not budge on that point. Mages have too few restrictions as it is. I also want specialists to receive their proper learning bonus/penalties (+15% for chosen school, -15% everything else).

    It seems like the bonus/penalty has already been incorporated into BG:EE. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I haven't failed to scribe a specialty school spell yet with an 18 INT (base 85% chance + 15%), and I seem to scribe non-specialty school spells much less than 85% of the time.

    I just tested my Necromancer and she scribed all 10 of the Necromancy spells without a fail three times in a row.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    That one I'm not 100% sure about, mostly since I don't know where to look, and it could simply be RNG. It's not an affect, since all specialists have is +1 spell slot and an opposed school. I suppose it could be built into the specialist itself rather then an added effect, but I dunno.

    Any developers wanna chime in to whether or not it's working? (it'd be nice to cross another thing off my list).
Sign In or Register to comment.