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Spellcaster’s Bible 2 — 6 Comments

  1. Huh. Doesn’t that “colde spell” also give most of the utility of Cone of Cold as a 2nd level spell rather than a 5th level spell?

    Of course, it’s less effective as a 2nd level spell cast by a 3rd level caster who can’t fly (the true power of a cone spell of course being casting it an an angle to hit a large number of enemies with a clever conic section), but a 15th level caster will basically never mind being able to drop 15d6 cones with 2nd level slots rather than 5th or 6th level ones.

    And of course Sonic, lightning, and acid are similarly underlevelled — they’re basically acting like a cone is equivalent of a sphere when there’s kinda a reason big cones are higher level. (hmm. That would be fun, though; come up with equivalents for the three basic spell shapes and a formula for how to level them up, with more shapes being available at higher levels! Spherical shapes should generally be lower level for a given volume than cones because spherical sections are less flexible than conic sections, and lines starting with the caster should of course be lower level for a given length than either (but overall a lower volume per level).

    • Excellent point. It’s usually easier to angle a cone to not include allies than a sphere (hence the many stories about fireballs engulfing the party), and with lines, it’s harder to get multiple targets unless they’re in a corridor (which is why nasty GMs have an enemy caster waiting on the other side of the door, with a lightning bolt readied).

      • Cones can also be assumed to not “expand to fill their full volume” (they don’t need it and they’re not explosions) whereas AD&D fireballs were clarified to do exactly that in the AD&D PH1, justifying GMs who REALLY like frying parties with their own fireballs.

  2. Pingback:Spellcaster’s Bible 3 – Lizard's Gaming and Geekery Site

  3. Pingback:Spellcaster’s Bible 5 – Lizard's Gaming and Geekery Site

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