Air spells - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Air spells

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
bookworm702
Jan 23, 2009 11:30:37 Hey, I was planning to build a raptoran cleric for my 3.5 ed, but when I looked through the cleric spell list, their weren't a whole lot of air spells, and most of them weren't all that great in combat. I decided to make some of my own, but im still working on them. Please give advice on everything.

Vacuum
VS, casting time standard action
medium range 1 min per lvl
Creates a 5' per level sphere vacuum. creatures within begin suffocating, and fires are extinguished. When released suddenly, the resulting backlash causes anyone within 40 feat to become deafened for 1d4 rounds.

Vacuum, Greater
VS, casting time standard action
medium range, 1 min per lvl
Creates a 5' per level perfect vacuum. creatures within begin suffocating and take 2d6 damage per round from the tearing forces of the vacuum (Fort 1/2). Fires are extinguished. When released suddenly, the backlash causes anyone within 100' 2d6 sonic damage.

Vacuum blade
VS, casting time standard action
short range 1 rnd per lvl
creates a vacuum blade that acts as a +1 per ??? levels longsword.

Vacuum spear
VS, casting time standard action
short range 1 rnd per lvl
creates a vaccum spear that acts as a +1 per ??? levels longspear.

Vacuum needle storm
VS, casting time standard action
short range 1 rnd per lvl
creates a swarm of 2d8 vacuum needles that each do 1d4 piercing damage.

accel-air-ate
VS, casting time standard action
personal, 1 min
creates timed gusts of wind to increase speed and strength of movement. per ??? levels: +1 dodge bonus to ac, +1 to initiative, +1 on attack rolls, +1 on damage rolls, and +5' to movement speed. lifts up the person as a free action if knocked prone.

tempest palm
VS, casting time standard action
short range, 1 rnd per level.
Packs a hurricane into the palm of your hand. can be launched as a standard action for 5d6 air damage (reflex 1/2) or as a touch attack for 5d8 damage.
(to whom it may concern: yes, i did rip this off of naruto.)
#2
yrogerg
Jan 23, 2009 12:27:57 First, it's worth noting that given the default way the elements work in (I'm assuming you're playing 3e here), "vacuum" is actually a mixture of air and negative energy, rather than simply a local absence of air. It's opposite, Air and Positive Energy, is Lightning. Not necessarily going to change your mind on these spells, but something to consider, at least, particularly since that might matter a little, as far as clerics often have some suggested relations to positive and negative energy based on alignment.

Note also that there is the Air domain, which gives you a handful of additional offensive spells like Chain Lightning and Whirlwind (which, honestly, seems awfully underpowered for a level 8 spell; it could use some work). If your DM allows, you can probably tinker with the spell list a bit to get a more wind-flavored class by adding a few Wizard spells, like Fly, Whispering Wind, Lighting Bolt, Mage Hand, Unseen Servant, and the like.

Personally, I am a very strong advocate always looking at existing spells to modify or reflavor, rather than creating new ones out of whole cloth. Particularly if you're unsure about the balance conventions for homebrewed spells. So, there are a few spells that you can recycle or modify to fit your purpose better, as well. Blade Barrier, for example, could easily become a cyclone of flaying wind that surrounds you, rather than actualy magic blades. If you use Summon Monster and Planar Ally spells exclusively for summoning Air Elementals and other theme summons, that fits the bill pretty well. Even Control Water can work as a particularly strong breeze.

Oh, and I totally approve of the Naruto-ripping. I would suggest using a slightly amped-up version of Produce Flame, only with an air subtype and dealing slashing damage (though depending on which version of the rules you use, DR never applies to magic, anyway, making this version more powerful that Produce Flame from the get-go; be careful with the balance here). Relatedly, were you trying to explicitly avoid using lighting spells for related reasons? Because I totally retract my Lightning suggestions, in that case.
#3
bookworm702
Jan 24, 2009 0:37:37 great ideas. I guess your right about not making up spells, and your suggestions are great, but i was looking for a little variety. As a raptoran, i can fly above the battleground, and after im done buffing the party and theirs no healing needing to be done, i have plenty of time for offensive casting while staying safely out of range. I wanted a little variety so i wouldn't cast the same 3 offensive spells over and over.

thank you again, and anyone else is welcome to give me some more suggestions.
#4
yrogerg
Jan 28, 2009 15:18:59 It actually occurs to me that the best way to do the Naruto thing is with a pretty straightfoward reflavor of Spiritual Weapon. And again, if your DM lets you swap out spells from the cleric list for Wizard or Druid spells, you can add a lot more to the list. A large number are going to be lightning based, of course, but if you're trying to convince your DM to let you mess with your spell list, this is a big selling point for him on it still being balanced.
The extra attack powers you *could* use for this theme are as follows:

1) Shocking Grasp, a reflavor of Magic Weapon to continue the Naruto theme, Obscuring Mist (which is mostly defensive, but has some nice Control potential)
2) you have the aforementioned Spiritual Weapon, as well as Gust of Wind (which isn't great, but really shouldn't be dismissed entirely), Fog Cloud (great Control spell)
3) Wind Wall (good control spell), Sleet Storm (somewhat of a stretch) Lightning Bolt (pure offense), Call Lightning (pure offense), a reflavored Greater Magic Weapon,
4) Gaseous Form and Fly deserve mention as excellent and flavorful buffs for other party members, but that aside: Solid Fog is a *great* Control spell.
5) Chain Lightning, Control Weather, Call Lightning Storm, Telekenesis, Baleful Polymorph (say, birds only)

...And so forth. You can add other spells, as well, with substantial enough repurposing. But, remember that you're also probably going to be doing typical clericy stuff, as well; there's no real paucity of combat spells, here.

Since you can fly already, you might want to steer clear of the Air domain qua Air domain; if you can take the Weather domain, but with the Air domain's power, it might work better.

Also note that your above-the-battlefield perspective makes some battlefield control, but not directly damage-ey, spells like Fog Cloud, Wind Wall, and Summon Monster N into some pretty potent tools. Don't overlook them just because they're not direct damage: the ability to cut off line of sight and ranged attacks, and to command an elemental on the ground from 20 feet up is pretty considerable.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bookworm702 Jan 23, 2009 11:30:37	Hey, I was planning to build a raptoran cleric for my 3.5 ed, but when I looked through the cleric spell list, their weren't a whole lot of air spells, and most of them weren't all that great in combat. I decided to make some of my own, but im still working on them. Please give advice on everything. Vacuum VS, casting time standard action medium range 1 min per lvl Creates a 5' per level sphere vacuum. creatures within begin suffocating, and fires are extinguished. When released suddenly, the resulting backlash causes anyone within 40 feat to become deafened for 1d4 rounds. Vacuum, Greater VS, casting time standard action medium range, 1 min per lvl Creates a 5' per level perfect vacuum. creatures within begin suffocating and take 2d6 damage per round from the tearing forces of the vacuum (Fort 1/2). Fires are extinguished. When released suddenly, the backlash causes anyone within 100' 2d6 sonic damage. Vacuum blade VS, casting time standard action short range 1 rnd per lvl creates a vacuum blade that acts as a +1 per ??? levels longsword. Vacuum spear VS, casting time standard action short range 1 rnd per lvl creates a vaccum spear that acts as a +1 per ??? levels longspear. Vacuum needle storm VS, casting time standard action short range 1 rnd per lvl creates a swarm of 2d8 vacuum needles that each do 1d4 piercing damage. accel-air-ate VS, casting time standard action personal, 1 min creates timed gusts of wind to increase speed and strength of movement. per ??? levels: +1 dodge bonus to ac, +1 to initiative, +1 on attack rolls, +1 on damage rolls, and +5' to movement speed. lifts up the person as a free action if knocked prone. tempest palm VS, casting time standard action short range, 1 rnd per level. Packs a hurricane into the palm of your hand. can be launched as a standard action for 5d6 air damage (reflex 1/2) or as a touch attack for 5d8 damage. (to whom it may concern: yes, i did rip this off of naruto.)
#2 yrogerg Jan 23, 2009 12:27:57	First, it's worth noting that given the default way the elements work in (I'm assuming you're playing 3e here), "vacuum" is actually a mixture of air and negative energy, rather than simply a local absence of air. It's opposite, Air and Positive Energy, is Lightning. Not necessarily going to change your mind on these spells, but something to consider, at least, particularly since that might matter a little, as far as clerics often have some suggested relations to positive and negative energy based on alignment. Note also that there is the Air domain, which gives you a handful of additional offensive spells like Chain Lightning and Whirlwind (which, honestly, seems awfully underpowered for a level 8 spell; it could use some work). If your DM allows, you can probably tinker with the spell list a bit to get a more wind-flavored class by adding a few Wizard spells, like Fly, Whispering Wind, Lighting Bolt, Mage Hand, Unseen Servant, and the like. Personally, I am a very strong advocate always looking at existing spells to modify or reflavor, rather than creating new ones out of whole cloth. Particularly if you're unsure about the balance conventions for homebrewed spells. So, there are a few spells that you can recycle or modify to fit your purpose better, as well. Blade Barrier, for example, could easily become a cyclone of flaying wind that surrounds you, rather than actualy magic blades. If you use Summon Monster and Planar Ally spells exclusively for summoning Air Elementals and other theme summons, that fits the bill pretty well. Even Control Water can work as a particularly strong breeze. Oh, and I totally approve of the Naruto-ripping. I would suggest using a slightly amped-up version of Produce Flame, only with an air subtype and dealing slashing damage (though depending on which version of the rules you use, DR never applies to magic, anyway, making this version more powerful that Produce Flame from the get-go; be careful with the balance here). Relatedly, were you trying to explicitly avoid using lighting spells for related reasons? Because I totally retract my Lightning suggestions, in that case.
#3 bookworm702 Jan 24, 2009 0:37:37	great ideas. I guess your right about not making up spells, and your suggestions are great, but i was looking for a little variety. As a raptoran, i can fly above the battleground, and after im done buffing the party and theirs no healing needing to be done, i have plenty of time for offensive casting while staying safely out of range. I wanted a little variety so i wouldn't cast the same 3 offensive spells over and over. thank you again, and anyone else is welcome to give me some more suggestions.
#4 yrogerg Jan 28, 2009 15:18:59	It actually occurs to me that the best way to do the Naruto thing is with a pretty straightfoward reflavor of Spiritual Weapon. And again, if your DM lets you swap out spells from the cleric list for Wizard or Druid spells, you can add a lot more to the list. A large number are going to be lightning based, of course, but if you're trying to convince your DM to let you mess with your spell list, this is a big selling point for him on it still being balanced. The extra attack powers you could use for this theme are as follows: 1) Shocking Grasp, a reflavor of Magic Weapon to continue the Naruto theme, Obscuring Mist (which is mostly defensive, but has some nice Control potential) 2) you have the aforementioned Spiritual Weapon, as well as Gust of Wind (which isn't great, but really shouldn't be dismissed entirely), Fog Cloud (great Control spell) 3) Wind Wall (good control spell), Sleet Storm (somewhat of a stretch) Lightning Bolt (pure offense), Call Lightning (pure offense), a reflavored Greater Magic Weapon, 4) Gaseous Form and Fly deserve mention as excellent and flavorful buffs for other party members, but that aside: Solid Fog is a great Control spell. 5) Chain Lightning, Control Weather, Call Lightning Storm, Telekenesis, Baleful Polymorph (say, birds only) ...And so forth. You can add other spells, as well, with substantial enough repurposing. But, remember that you're also probably going to be doing typical clericy stuff, as well; there's no real paucity of combat spells, here. Since you can fly already, you might want to steer clear of the Air domain qua Air domain; if you can take the Weather domain, but with the Air domain's power, it might work better. Also note that your above-the-battlefield perspective makes some battlefield control, but not directly damage-ey, spells like Fog Cloud, Wind Wall, and Summon Monster N into some pretty potent tools. Don't overlook them just because they're not direct damage: the ability to cut off line of sight and ranged attacks, and to command an elemental on the ground from 20 feet up is pretty considerable.