I just experienced Quill Blast [Archive] - Wizards Community

I just experienced Quill Blast [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Eric Anondson
08-01-04, 02:46 AM Oh My God.

The druid spell quill blast is just utterly overpowered. I just got done watching a druid at an LG convention take on an EL 17 encounter by herself. The rest of the party just sat and watched. She simply walked into a crowd of 8 huge creatures and unleashed a quill blast, dealing between 14d6 to 20d6 hp of damage to all, as well as causing all beasts to have a -14 to -20 penalty on all attacks and saves. Second round, all those beasts missed that druid due to the attack penalties they were just given, and then the druid launched a second quill blast.

If those huge beasts decided to not attack and instead pull out the quills, it would have taken a whole second batch of 14d6 to 20d6 of damage automatically. And DR doesn't reduce this damage, as it comes from a "spell". Meaning that stoneskin and protection from arrows doesn't do squat.

Quill blast is only a 5th-level druid spell.

Oh My God.

Please, Circle, ban this spell until it is fixed. I thought the debate about this spell was overreaction. But having now seen this spell in action... Oh dear. And of course, limited wish can duplicate it, so this spell is also a wizard spell, and what this spell does, it more than makes up for casting a limited wish to do.

Just wait until Gencon. There will be a whole slew of high-level druids just making a mockery of your precious Castle Greyhawk premier. They just turned one LG convention's interactive into a "Watch the Druid beat everything" event because of this one spell.

Regards,
Eric Anondson
Steve_MND
08-01-04, 10:31 AM "And DR doesn't reduce this damage, as it comes from a "spell".

That can be interpreted two ways; several people have understood the spell's effect (or at least the intent) is to create a number of non-magical, mundane projectiles that are thrown outwards by the spell, just as if you had used, say, a spell to create a mundane, non-magical rock and then used telekinesis or something to launch it at someone.

After all, why would it be designated as 'piercing' damage, if, as a spell, it was intended to bypass DR? Admitadely, such descriptors are not always used in terms of what DR it can bypass and such, but it does hold true for 99% of the cases.

Regardless, it is a dangerous spell (and from both sides -- imagine when we start running into Evil NP Druid opponents with it!). Someone from WotC reportedly said that CD wasn't "the best work" to come out of R&D (I'm paraphrasing), and that pretty much fits with most supplements in any game -- they are seldom given the same playtesting and attention to detail as the main books.

Well, we'll see what happens, I suppose.

Incidently, I think the table you describe may have been handling the spell wrong, at least by the way it sounds in your post. A Huge creature is hit by 4d6 quills, meaning that each one would have been hit by anywhere from 4-24 quills, doing anywhere from 4d6 to 24d6 range of damage, a far cry from the 14d6 to 20d6 you mentioned. And a successful Relfex halves the number of quills as well, and spell resistance still applies.

This means the average Huge creature affected is likely to take about 14d6 damage (7d6 with successful save) and suffer a -14 on attacks and saves (-7 with successful save). Most creatures in an EL 17 encounter would certainly feel a -14 to attack, but it would hardly put them out of the fight.

Plus, while possible, I find it really odd that a PC could just "walk into the middle" of a group of 8 Huge creatures without suffering any AoOs, etc., or that they were all just perfectly within the range of the spell. Could happen, certainly, but pretty unlikely as a rule.
rexfelis
08-10-04, 11:49 AM The point remains: this is still a grossly-overpowered spell for its level.

Quill Blast isnt the only either. Druids got a very significant power-up in the Complete Divine and I am very surprised that only Miasma spell was restricted.
Steve_MND
08-10-04, 12:23 PM "The point remains: this is still a grossly-overpowered spell for its level.'

In a perfect scenario, sure (just like most any other spell can be 'overpowered' if things work out improbably great).

But I still suspect that the fact that you'll almost never be able to use it to it's full advantage helps mitigate it somewhat. Powerful, sure. Overly-powerful, maybe. Grossly-overpowered? I have my doubts.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Eric Anondson 08-01-04, 02:46 AM	Oh My God. The druid spell quill blast is just utterly overpowered. I just got done watching a druid at an LG convention take on an EL 17 encounter by herself. The rest of the party just sat and watched. She simply walked into a crowd of 8 huge creatures and unleashed a quill blast, dealing between 14d6 to 20d6 hp of damage to all, as well as causing all beasts to have a -14 to -20 penalty on all attacks and saves. Second round, all those beasts missed that druid due to the attack penalties they were just given, and then the druid launched a second quill blast. If those huge beasts decided to not attack and instead pull out the quills, it would have taken a whole second batch of 14d6 to 20d6 of damage automatically. And DR doesn't reduce this damage, as it comes from a "spell". Meaning that stoneskin and protection from arrows doesn't do squat. Quill blast is only a 5th-level druid spell. Oh My God. Please, Circle, ban this spell until it is fixed. I thought the debate about this spell was overreaction. But having now seen this spell in action... Oh dear. And of course, limited wish can duplicate it, so this spell is also a wizard spell, and what this spell does, it more than makes up for casting a limited wish to do. Just wait until Gencon. There will be a whole slew of high-level druids just making a mockery of your precious Castle Greyhawk premier. They just turned one LG convention's interactive into a "Watch the Druid beat everything" event because of this one spell. Regards, Eric Anondson
Steve_MND 08-01-04, 10:31 AM	"And DR doesn't reduce this damage, as it comes from a "spell". That can be interpreted two ways; several people have understood the spell's effect (or at least the intent) is to create a number of non-magical, mundane projectiles that are thrown outwards by the spell, just as if you had used, say, a spell to create a mundane, non-magical rock and then used telekinesis or something to launch it at someone. After all, why would it be designated as 'piercing' damage, if, as a spell, it was intended to bypass DR? Admitadely, such descriptors are not always used in terms of what DR it can bypass and such, but it does hold true for 99% of the cases. Regardless, it is a dangerous spell (and from both sides -- imagine when we start running into Evil NP Druid opponents with it!). Someone from WotC reportedly said that CD wasn't "the best work" to come out of R&D (I'm paraphrasing), and that pretty much fits with most supplements in any game -- they are seldom given the same playtesting and attention to detail as the main books. Well, we'll see what happens, I suppose. Incidently, I think the table you describe may have been handling the spell wrong, at least by the way it sounds in your post. A Huge creature is hit by 4d6 quills, meaning that each one would have been hit by anywhere from 4-24 quills, doing anywhere from 4d6 to 24d6 range of damage, a far cry from the 14d6 to 20d6 you mentioned. And a successful Relfex halves the number of quills as well, and spell resistance still applies. This means the average Huge creature affected is likely to take about 14d6 damage (7d6 with successful save) and suffer a -14 on attacks and saves (-7 with successful save). Most creatures in an EL 17 encounter would certainly feel a -14 to attack, but it would hardly put them out of the fight. Plus, while possible, I find it really odd that a PC could just "walk into the middle" of a group of 8 Huge creatures without suffering any AoOs, etc., or that they were all just perfectly within the range of the spell. Could happen, certainly, but pretty unlikely as a rule.
rexfelis 08-10-04, 11:49 AM	The point remains: this is still a grossly-overpowered spell for its level. Quill Blast isnt the only either. Druids got a very significant power-up in the Complete Divine and I am very surprised that only Miasma spell was restricted.
Steve_MND 08-10-04, 12:23 PM	"The point remains: this is still a grossly-overpowered spell for its level.' In a perfect scenario, sure (just like most any other spell can be 'overpowered' if things work out improbably great). But I still suspect that the fact that you'll almost never be able to use it to it's full advantage helps mitigate it somewhat. Powerful, sure. Overly-powerful, maybe. Grossly-overpowered? I have my doubts.