Broken Spell? Life Bridge, please help... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Broken Spell? Life Bridge, please help... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Sultano
10-25-06, 06:50 AM Hello,
I would like to ask this great community about a spell I made for a villain I use to annoy the PC group I’m DMing with.

I invented a new spell and I gave it to an archenemy of the PC Group I'm DMing since a very, very long time.

Problem is... the spell turned out to be too effective. The PCs just don't manage to slay this one, called Thargod, permanently. The spell is like a variation of the Power of a Dracolich, which, if it's slain, arises anew with his essence stored somewhere (phylactery).

______________________________

Here's what the spell does:

Life Bridge
Necromancy [Death]
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: Living creatures within the Range (long)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

If a follower or friend is within the spells range at the time the caster dies or died, his spirit wanders to find the follower or friend and possesses the chosen body. Then the souls exchange places. This means the certain death of the follower or friend and the caster lives now in his new chosen body.

Duration is Instantaneous only in the sense when the spell is acutally discharged. That means, the caster can cast the spell and only has to wait until the situation arises when he will be slain.

The new body retains all his physical attributes but the new owner does not gain any knowledge or any memories of the former owner of the body. Special powers and abilities (supernatural and extraordinary ones, etc.) will be learned in an instant but later be dropped (described later in detail, see below).

The caster chooses one spell to be "carried over" to the new body. This spell must be named at the time of the Life-Bridge's casting and the caster must be able to cast the spell actually (memorised for that day and still available for casting). He can cast then this one spell only in his new body and only once. The spell must be cast in that day otherwise it is lost. All components normally needed must be present in order to cast the spell.

Only a follower or friend can be a target for Life Bridge, but it is possible to convice someone to be a follower or friend ten minutes before the death (for example to convice someone out of persons which gathered for looking the casters beheading at the hand of the executioner). It is even possible that (only) a devoted follower of the caster convices someone to be a "friend" or "follower" of the caster. The caster will then have to know about the presence of the new aqquired "friend" or "follower", otherwise he have to try "looking" for the time after his death, when his spirit is wandering for a new body.

The term "follower" or "friend" is an abstract one in this sense. So, if someone just states he will be a follower or friend the person in question will be suitable as a target of the Life Bridge. Situations in which someone accepted to be a "friend" just out of greed (the caster offered him 1000 GPs to be his "friend") are not uncommon.

The spells only component is a swift hand gesture. The caster opens and closes his left hand once (the site of the heart). If, whatever reason, the caster has no left hand free or amputated, the spell cannot be cast.

After four days the transformation of the new body begins. At the fourth day all abilities of the caster will return, spell casting and so forth are available again.

Then a bit more slowly process will start. The transformation of the new body begins, and back to the old original form in which the caster was born into. After one week the new body will be exactly like the original of the caster at the time of his "dying". However, the dead body of the caster at the time of the Life-Bridges Casting looks still the same, so it is quite possible that many "copies" of the original form of the caster exists for some time (decaying of the dead "copies" are still at the normal level).

All creatures are suitable targets of the spell, even animals (like a pet dog) but in the case of animals there has to be a close relationship.

The spell can only be cast once in a month. But it is allowed to cast it again in a month from a scroll and from a magic item bestowed with that spell (like a wand).

So the maximum to cast this spell in a month is three (from the spellbook, from a scroll and from a magic item).

__________________

I hope, I thought of all things needed to bring the spell to "life" ;-)

So here are my questions for which I would appreciate your suggestions and game experiences.

The spell seems to get to overpowered because of the fact that Thargod is like a god with hundreds of devoted followers and friends AND the possibility that even a totally stranger can be "convinced" in a minute to be a "friend" and therefore is a target for the Life Bridge.

I cannot think of a way to turn back the wheel and make the spell non-existend for the PCs learned what Life Bridge is (they don't know what the spell exactly does but they got the basic idea).

In my oppinion the spell is too overpowered, but maybe you will think otherwise.

In fact, Thargod is even working on a more powerful version of the spell. This variant will let him choose whether the transformation into his original form takes place or not. That means that he can live forever (because dying of old age will not take place anymore, he just chooses another younger body at whatever time he wants).

Maybe you can give me some ideas on how to get rid of that spell because as it looks like he is unstoppable.

But maybe the PCs are just not smart enough to handle the situation, I don't know...

Thanks for all your help
Dfalcon
10-25-06, 09:01 AM Perhaps you can adjust it so that a dimentional anchor or lock blocks the spirit from trading places. That way the spell retains its power only if enemies are unaware of the ability.
Sultano
10-25-06, 09:58 AM Hm, good idea. The only thing is that dimensional anchor then will block a 9lvl spell. Maybe that would be a bit to easy.

But I have to adjust Life Bridge anyway, so I guess the blocking of the spirit can result in the TRAPPING of the spirit in the original body.

Along those lines perhaps...

Thank you for your help

Any more ideas?
Knute
10-25-06, 12:04 PM I think you're way too easy on the caster.

I'd make it far more demanding.

1. Life Bridge establishes a survival line between the caster and a follower. While the spell is in effect the caster's soul may flee his\her dying body and posses the follower.

- Maintaining a life bridge costs a 9th level spell slot.

- The follower and caster must be part of a blood ceremony lasting a number of minutes equal to their combined levels. The ceremony places some of the casters blood within the body of the follower permanently.

- A willing, suitable host must have the casters HD in levels + wisdom bonus. Unwilling hosts may subtract their highest bonus from this number. ie a 10th level caster needs a willing 7HD intelligent creature with a +3 wisdom bonus.

- Both caster and follower will know if at the end of the ceremony the bond was created. They will have an instinctive Idea of each others direction and state of health.

- If the host has fewer HD the caster suffers penalties to Con or Level as if a resurrection spell had been cast.

Caster and follower must be on the same plane for this spell to function. Certain protective spells and powerful shielding magic can break, or temporarily sever the spell connection. A caster attempting to use a severed bridge will trap his soul or become a specter. (Dm's discretion) A severed connection may be renewed by the caster in a short ceremony requiring no further spellcasting so long as he\she has complete control over the follower.

The Caster may have as many life bridges as he\she has 9th level spell slots to lose. This spell link may be broken only with a new blood ritual requiring both parties. If the link is terminated in this way the caster recovers the 9th level spell slot.
Sultano
10-26-06, 04:27 AM Hey, thank you very much for these exellent ideas.

I guess, I will incorporate the most of them.

I just don't see the need to have that high a follower in levels. I guess a devoted follower can be of any level as long as he is, well, really devoted.

Hm, but maybe such things as a high priest would be suitable for being a LifeBridge target.

I have to work on this...

So I assume if I combine these ideas with the original spell idea it should work better the next time.

Thanks for all your help

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sultano 10-25-06, 06:50 AM	Hello, I would like to ask this great community about a spell I made for a villain I use to annoy the PC group I’m DMing with. I invented a new spell and I gave it to an archenemy of the PC Group I'm DMing since a very, very long time. Problem is... the spell turned out to be too effective. The PCs just don't manage to slay this one, called Thargod, permanently. The spell is like a variation of the Power of a Dracolich, which, if it's slain, arises anew with his essence stored somewhere (phylactery). ______________________________ Here's what the spell does: Life Bridge Necromancy [Death] Level: Sor/Wiz 9 Components: S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level) Area: Living creatures within the Range (long) Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: Yes If a follower or friend is within the spells range at the time the caster dies or died, his spirit wanders to find the follower or friend and possesses the chosen body. Then the souls exchange places. This means the certain death of the follower or friend and the caster lives now in his new chosen body. Duration is Instantaneous only in the sense when the spell is acutally discharged. That means, the caster can cast the spell and only has to wait until the situation arises when he will be slain. The new body retains all his physical attributes but the new owner does not gain any knowledge or any memories of the former owner of the body. Special powers and abilities (supernatural and extraordinary ones, etc.) will be learned in an instant but later be dropped (described later in detail, see below). The caster chooses one spell to be "carried over" to the new body. This spell must be named at the time of the Life-Bridge's casting and the caster must be able to cast the spell actually (memorised for that day and still available for casting). He can cast then this one spell only in his new body and only once. The spell must be cast in that day otherwise it is lost. All components normally needed must be present in order to cast the spell. Only a follower or friend can be a target for Life Bridge, but it is possible to convice someone to be a follower or friend ten minutes before the death (for example to convice someone out of persons which gathered for looking the casters beheading at the hand of the executioner). It is even possible that (only) a devoted follower of the caster convices someone to be a "friend" or "follower" of the caster. The caster will then have to know about the presence of the new aqquired "friend" or "follower", otherwise he have to try "looking" for the time after his death, when his spirit is wandering for a new body. The term "follower" or "friend" is an abstract one in this sense. So, if someone just states he will be a follower or friend the person in question will be suitable as a target of the Life Bridge. Situations in which someone accepted to be a "friend" just out of greed (the caster offered him 1000 GPs to be his "friend") are not uncommon. The spells only component is a swift hand gesture. The caster opens and closes his left hand once (the site of the heart). If, whatever reason, the caster has no left hand free or amputated, the spell cannot be cast. After four days the transformation of the new body begins. At the fourth day all abilities of the caster will return, spell casting and so forth are available again. Then a bit more slowly process will start. The transformation of the new body begins, and back to the old original form in which the caster was born into. After one week the new body will be exactly like the original of the caster at the time of his "dying". However, the dead body of the caster at the time of the Life-Bridges Casting looks still the same, so it is quite possible that many "copies" of the original form of the caster exists for some time (decaying of the dead "copies" are still at the normal level). All creatures are suitable targets of the spell, even animals (like a pet dog) but in the case of animals there has to be a close relationship. The spell can only be cast once in a month. But it is allowed to cast it again in a month from a scroll and from a magic item bestowed with that spell (like a wand). So the maximum to cast this spell in a month is three (from the spellbook, from a scroll and from a magic item). __________________ I hope, I thought of all things needed to bring the spell to "life" ;-) So here are my questions for which I would appreciate your suggestions and game experiences. The spell seems to get to overpowered because of the fact that Thargod is like a god with hundreds of devoted followers and friends AND the possibility that even a totally stranger can be "convinced" in a minute to be a "friend" and therefore is a target for the Life Bridge. I cannot think of a way to turn back the wheel and make the spell non-existend for the PCs learned what Life Bridge is (they don't know what the spell exactly does but they got the basic idea). In my oppinion the spell is too overpowered, but maybe you will think otherwise. In fact, Thargod is even working on a more powerful version of the spell. This variant will let him choose whether the transformation into his original form takes place or not. That means that he can live forever (because dying of old age will not take place anymore, he just chooses another younger body at whatever time he wants). Maybe you can give me some ideas on how to get rid of that spell because as it looks like he is unstoppable. But maybe the PCs are just not smart enough to handle the situation, I don't know... Thanks for all your help
Dfalcon 10-25-06, 09:01 AM	Perhaps you can adjust it so that a dimentional anchor or lock blocks the spirit from trading places. That way the spell retains its power only if enemies are unaware of the ability.
Sultano 10-25-06, 09:58 AM	Hm, good idea. The only thing is that dimensional anchor then will block a 9lvl spell. Maybe that would be a bit to easy. But I have to adjust Life Bridge anyway, so I guess the blocking of the spirit can result in the TRAPPING of the spirit in the original body. Along those lines perhaps... Thank you for your help Any more ideas?
Knute 10-25-06, 12:04 PM	I think you're way too easy on the caster. I'd make it far more demanding. 1. Life Bridge establishes a survival line between the caster and a follower. While the spell is in effect the caster's soul may flee his\her dying body and posses the follower. - Maintaining a life bridge costs a 9th level spell slot. - The follower and caster must be part of a blood ceremony lasting a number of minutes equal to their combined levels. The ceremony places some of the casters blood within the body of the follower permanently. - A willing, suitable host must have the casters HD in levels + wisdom bonus. Unwilling hosts may subtract their highest bonus from this number. ie a 10th level caster needs a willing 7HD intelligent creature with a +3 wisdom bonus. - Both caster and follower will know if at the end of the ceremony the bond was created. They will have an instinctive Idea of each others direction and state of health. - If the host has fewer HD the caster suffers penalties to Con or Level as if a resurrection spell had been cast. Caster and follower must be on the same plane for this spell to function. Certain protective spells and powerful shielding magic can break, or temporarily sever the spell connection. A caster attempting to use a severed bridge will trap his soul or become a specter. (Dm's discretion) A severed connection may be renewed by the caster in a short ceremony requiring no further spellcasting so long as he\she has complete control over the follower. The Caster may have as many life bridges as he\she has 9th level spell slots to lose. This spell link may be broken only with a new blood ritual requiring both parties. If the link is terminated in this way the caster recovers the 9th level spell slot.
Sultano 10-26-06, 04:27 AM	Hey, thank you very much for these exellent ideas. I guess, I will incorporate the most of them. I just don't see the need to have that high a follower in levels. I guess a devoted follower can be of any level as long as he is, well, really devoted. Hm, but maybe such things as a high priest would be suitable for being a LifeBridge target. I have to work on this... So I assume if I combine these ideas with the original spell idea it should work better the next time. Thanks for all your help