DM Nagging: It's pretty much my job

[Anastasia]

Alyssa charts are updated with new Bastian and Dolmaya charts.

[Anastasia]

Seira's build charts are all nice and updated now. Yay.

[Anastasia]

I continue to get things done, as epic focused hunter is now in homebrew.

[Corwin]

Strictly RAW there's nothing written that prohibits it. So it's more a question of what you plan.

Getting intensify down to +0 adjustment will be rejected. Enhance I'm less concerned about. Barrage I don't care about since quicken's out there and it's really just a fancy way to quicken spells in a different way, plus the two feats don't stack anyway. Vivacious it depends but fairly neutral on that.

Since I have enhance but not the others that's the one I'm asking about, yes. Cool, thanks.

[Anastasia]

Strictly RAW there's nothing written that prohibits it. So it's more a question of what you plan.

Getting intensify down to +0 adjustment will be rejected. Enhance I'm less concerned about. Barrage I don't care about since quicken's out there and it's really just a fancy way to quicken spells in a different way, plus the two feats don't stack anyway. Vivacious it depends but fairly neutral on that.

Since I have enhance but not the others that's the one I'm asking about, yes. Cool, thanks.

Cool, couldn't remember what you had.

[Anastasia]

Moradin is posted. His SDAs are in deity specific SDAs now and I provided a homebrew spell with him. It's crossposted here for reference as well as in the spell collection.

Life of the Earth
Conjuration (Healing) [Earth]
Level: Clr 12, Drd 13
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Short (25ft + 5ft 2/levels)
Targets: One creature/level
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

All targets of this spell heal 10 hit points per caster level, to a maximum of 400 hit points. The strength of stones flows into targets at the same time, which grants them a +4 morale bonus to Constitution, so long as they're in contact with the ground.

[Corwin]

Spontaneous Casting: A deity of rank 1 or higher who has levels in a divine spellcasting class can spontaneously cast any spell she can grant, just as a cleric can spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells. This ability does not fully extend to epic spells; a deity must research or otherwise learn an epic spell normally before she can spontaneously cast it.

How would this work for Ranbar once she goes DvR1? Would it be like the at will SLAs all deities get for their domain spells at levels 1-9? Except with all cleric spells at levels 1-9?

Or does it only count for her domain slots, which become an open slot for any spell she could wish to cast? Similar to leaving a wizard's spell slot unmemorized, or using a Spellpool?

[Iron Dragoon]

Spontaneous Casting: A deity of rank 1 or higher who has levels in a divine spellcasting class can spontaneously cast any spell she can grant, just as a cleric can spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells. This ability does not fully extend to epic spells; a deity must research or otherwise learn an epic spell normally before she can spontaneously cast it.

How would this work for Ranbar once she goes DvR1? Would it be like the at will SLAs all deities get for their domain spells at levels 1-9? Except with all cleric spells at levels 1-9?

Or does it only count for her domain slots, which become an open slot for any spell she could wish to cast? Similar to leaving a wizard's spell slot unmemorized, or using a Spellpool?

This also piqued my curiosity: how does this interact with the Devout Factotum ACF, since the spell list is Cleric? It isn't technically a divine spellcasting class, is it?

[Anastasia]

Spontaneous Casting: A deity of rank 1 or higher who has levels in a divine spellcasting class can spontaneously cast any spell she can grant, just as a cleric can spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells. This ability does not fully extend to epic spells; a deity must research or otherwise learn an epic spell normally before she can spontaneously cast it.

How would this work for Ranbar once she goes DvR1? Would it be like the at will SLAs all deities get for their domain spells at levels 1-9? Except with all cleric spells at levels 1-9?

Or does it only count for her domain slots, which become an open slot for any spell she could wish to cast? Similar to leaving a wizard's spell slot unmemorized, or using a Spellpool?

It basically means she casts spontaneously. This covers everything 1-9 and any epic spells they know. Her domain slots are still domain slots, but she can spontaneously cast domain spells from those domain slots. It grants no ability to treat domain spell slots as able to provide anything but domain spells.

You'll notice people like Antenora or Syala or Latha (Alicia's sort of the divine magic clearinghouse, in the same way you do that for arcane magic) usually have a note that they cast spontaneously but they favor the following spells. This is to give me structure to work with. they generally aren't memorized but instead a list so I can assess options and how the character tends to select and use their magic.

[Anastasia]

Spontaneous Casting: A deity of rank 1 or higher who has levels in a divine spellcasting class can spontaneously cast any spell she can grant, just as a cleric can spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells. This ability does not fully extend to epic spells; a deity must research or otherwise learn an epic spell normally before she can spontaneously cast it.

How would this work for Ranbar once she goes DvR1? Would it be like the at will SLAs all deities get for their domain spells at levels 1-9? Except with all cleric spells at levels 1-9?

Or does it only count for her domain slots, which become an open slot for any spell she could wish to cast? Similar to leaving a wizard's spell slot unmemorized, or using a Spellpool?

This also piqued my curiosity: how does this interact with the Devout Factotum ACF, since the spell list is Cleric? It isn't technically a divine spellcasting class, is it?

Devout Factotum isn't true divine casting and isn't affected by it. Like AD, it's knowing just enough to cobble together some spells rather than true spellcasting.

[Anastasia]

An analysis of 10th level damage dealing spells. The purpose of this is to get a grasp of what the average damage of a 10th level spell is and how things balance out. The ground rules here are simple: The spell's maximum amount of damage dice are assumed. So while you're get these spells at a base CL of 21, this is looking at effectiveness once you reach a high enough caster level to get everything you can out of it. Certain spells that deal a minor amount of damage as a secondary effect are omitted so that they don't skew the average.

Raw List

Spell Name/Damage, Max Damage and Average Damage/Targeting/Misc Effects/Save Type/Spell Resistance

Asgeroth's Groundbreaker/25d6, 150, 87.5/5ft line per level, reaches up to 100ft above the line/Creates difficult terrain that deals 5d6 going through/None due to ranged touch/Yes
Bone Burst/25d6, 150, 87.5/1 creature per level/slowed and sickened/Fortitude partial, reduces damage to 10d6 and negates slowed and sickened/Yes
Canderella's Sudden Thunderbolts/20d6, 120, 70/1 creature per level/None/Reflex Half/Yes
Cleansing Rain/20d6, 120, 70/80 by 80 cylinder/Damage per round for 1 round per CL, dissolves slain creatures/Reflex half at -4/Yes
Corruptor's Touch/20d6, 120, 70/Creature touched/Alignment change to evil/Will partial/Yes
Gae Assail/30d6, 180, 105 OR 30d12, 360, 195/Ray/Blinds/None due to ranged touch/Yes
Gathgorian's Fireball/25d6, 150, 87.5/40ft spread/Ignores fire resistance and immunity for chaotic or good/Reflex half/Yes
Greater Cone of Cold/30d6, 180, 105/60ft cone/None/Reflex half/Yes
Hellball/40d6, 240, 140/40ft radius spread/Damage is 10d6x4 for all elements but cold/Reflex half/Yes
Seira's Fireburst/40d10, 400, 220/5ft burst/Creatures slain reduced to ash/Reflex half, reduces base damage to 5d10/Yes
Sonic Shattering/30d6, 180, 105/80ft/Crystalline creatures only, otherwise damage is 15d6, defeans and dispels, complex/Fortitude partial/Yes
Star Explosion/25d6, 150, 87.5 OR 25d10, 250, 137.5/70ft radius spread/d10 damage is vs creatures vulnerable to bright light/Reflex half/Yes
Stone Skewers/35d6, 210, 122.5/1 creature/A bunch of effects, see the spell/Fortitude partial/Yes
Telay's Ice Horror/30d6, 180, 105/1 creature/Slain creature becomes an ice golem/Fortitude partial/Yes
True Meteor Swarm/30d6, 180, 105/60ft impact crater/Secondary damage from secondary meteorites/Reflex half/Yes
Unseen Needle/25d6, 150, 87.5/1 creature/Invisible needle is hard to detect/None due to ranged touch/No
Vitrification Bomb/20d6, 120, 70/10ft cube per 5 levels/Various effects, see spell/Reflex half/No

So what do I take away from this?

1. Average damage is roughly around 25d6. So scoring about 90 damage on an average casting of a 10th level spell is about right, though this can swing higher on certain single targeted spells.
2. Most spells of this level have some effect beyond raw damage, or otherwise have an unusual way of adjudicating the damage they deal. There's very few 'x damage, done' spells, even if it's merely more damage against a certain type of creature.
3. A good 10th level spell should be both interesting and not just a glob of damage. I think this fits fairly well. You have spells like Asgeroth's Groundbreaker, that causes a visceral effect on the battlefield as well as hitting enemies, or Telay's Ice Horror, that creates a golem from a slain foe. There's very much a feeling of pushing the boundaries, of doing magic more interesting beyond merely a bigger fireball. This produces a sense of doing something, of being active on the game world in more of a way than just dealing damage.
4. Ranged touch spells with no save are extremely uncommon and that's as designed. SR ignoring spells are likewise rare, though Vitrification Bomb is also an old spell that needs revamping. Otherwise that's just Unseen Needle.

Specific Spell Notes

1. Stone Skewers and Vitrification Bomb are old spells and it shows. They could use sprucing up.
2. Seira's Fireburst is a strange spell and this was known when I approved it. By the way, it it supposed to be a flat 5d10 on a save or 5d10 halved, Seira? The text is a little unclear, I think that's an editing snarl somewhere along the line. Anyway, I don't think it has a lot of analysis value due to how the save completely guts the damage.
3. Gae Assail may be better as an 11th level spell. It's enough of an outlier that it feels like it may well be underpriced by a spell level.
4. Hellball is balanced for what it is despite the out of line damage, due to how the elemental damage works and stacks up.

11th level spells.

Raw List

Spell Name/Damage, Max Damage and Average Damage/Targeting/Misc Effects/Save Type/Spell Resistance

Dragon's Burst/30d6, 180, 105/Adjacent creatures/Grants breath weapon equal to 1d6 per CL/Reflex/Yes
Elle's Deceptive Bolt/30d6, 180, 105/1 creature/Hard to detect, -10 penalty to save if not detected/Reflex/Yes
Faerinaal's Internal Revolt/18d12, 216, 117/1 creature/Ongoing damage, also 2 str/dex/con each round/Fortitude/Yes
Heresy's Reward/30d8, 240, 135/40ft radius burst/Branding/Will/Yes
Queen's Displeasure/30d8, 240, 135/1 creature/Strikes ethereal, expanded crit range/None due to ranged touch/No
Solar Convex Focal/25d6, 150, 87.5/1 creature/Ongoing damage, enables SA round 1/None due to ranged touch/Yes
Stigma/30d10, 300, 165/40ft radius burst/Branding/Will/Yes
Sunlance/30d6, 180, 105/1 creature/Double damage vs light weak, follow up sunburst/Reflex/Yes
Waters of Lunia/20d6, 120, 70/10ft per level radius spread/Destroys spell slots/Fortitude/Yes

So what do I take away from this?

1. 30d6 is roughly average damage at this level. That's up from 25d6 last level. 105 is the average damage on an average spell. There's not a single plain damage spell with nothing else at this level, though admittedly this level's pool of options is a bit smaller than 10th.
2. The trend of damage + effect is in full force here. Queen's Displeasure is the closest one to one and even that has a few add ons.
3. The power of spells that do damage each round should be noted.

Specific Spell Notes

1. Faerinaal's Internal Revolt may be a level too low. High damage plus on going damage plus the ability damage is a potent mix. On the other hand Fortitude negates is a thing, but it still may be underpriced.
2. Gae Assail would fit a lot better in this level than 10, as I thought.
3. Sunlance is very good for what it is, but we all know that. It's a borderline 12th level spell because of the followup sunburst.
4. Waters of Lunia is an oddball spell. It's not really about the damage, though it does enough to be counted here.

[Anastasia]

Continuing this project at last and trying to get it done.

12th level spells.

Raw List

Spell Name/Damage, Max Damage and Average Damage/Targeting/Misc Effects/Save Type/Spell Resistance

Boneyard's Embrace/20d12, 240, 130/1 creature/1d4 negative levels/Fortitude partial/Yes
Burst of Glory/30d12, 360, 195/Ray/Targets all creatures in range/None/Yes
Disintegrating Blast/60d6, 360, 210/100ft radius burst/Also targets unattended objects/Fortitude partial to 8d6/Yes
Greater Fire Storm/35d6, 210, 122.5/2 10ft cubes per level/None/Reflex half/Yes
Lightbound/25d6, 150, 87.5/1 creature/Dimensional anchor on nongood/None due to ranged touch/Yes
Moonfire Tear/30d8, 240, 135/180ft radius spread/Adds silver-white glow/Reflex half/Yes
Nerve Overload/30d8, 240, 135/1 creature/Stuns 4 rounds/Fortitude partial/Yes
Rain of Desolation/50d6, 300, 175/Cylinder 40ft radius and 80ft tall/Dispels/Fortitude partial/No
Sekmid's Trap/20d4+20, 100, 50/Cyilnder 30ft radius and 60ft tall/Traps targets within walls of force/None/Yes
Wrath of the Elder Treant/35d10, 350, 192.5/1 creature/Knocks target back like a fucking baseball/None since melee attack/No
Wrath of the Heavens/20d10, 200, 110/1 creature/Swift action/Fortitude partial/Yes

So what do I take away from this?

1. Average damage is probably somewhere around 35d6 to 30d8. So around 120-140 damage is the expected damage from a single, unaugmented spell. If it wasn't clear already, it's abundantly clear that base, average damage isn't terribly important here.
2. Seeing how the gaming environment has maximize spell as piss cheap'n'common, as well as with how strongly d12s perform with that, I should probably be more severe with spells that use d12s and enforce lower caps there. Maybe some cases of d10s, but this feels less needed as of now.
3. In general this wasn't a big level for damage escalation. It's more about horizontal movement and fine tuning. I suspect 13th will see more of a damage increase.
4. Yes, Syala is fond of Wrath of the Elder Treant, why do you ask?
5. In general, at this point you can see how spell damage is a careful balancing act between raw damage, secondary effects and how the spell executes its damage. There's a lot of moving pieces to this so a lot of judgment needs to be used.

Specific Spell Notes

1. Burst of Glory could stand to lose a few d12s. Everything else being equal, the downsides just aren't that meaningful to it for when it's relevant.
2. Lightbound could use a damage boost, doubly so since it's a sanctified spell with a sacrifice cost. That's just not cutting at 12th level.
3. Rain of Desolation's damage output is theoretical. It's not nearly as strong in most situations.

[Nephrite]

These are very helpful for cods like me who have no idea how to properly balance spells.

[Anastasia]

Glad it helps. I hope to have 13th and 14th level up tonight before or after session.

[Ebiris]

Finally knocked this out, helps figure out Marie's place in the pantheon. Helps that she's an interesting contrast from Alicia since the latter is very much an 'adventurer's deity' while Marie despite her focus on things like specialist mages ultimately comes across much more as a deity for regular people.

If Alicia most opposes 'corruption' as her evil concept, Marie would probably most oppose 'sloth'. Except there aren't really any good examples of that? Even the deity of entropy and loss is the most dynamic and hard-working of them all!

Marielle
Heaven's Helper, The Forceful Fairy
Demigoddess
Symbol: Three purple orbs with trailing streams, the middle and largest adorned with butterfly wings
Home Plane: Sylica
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Magic, playfulness, ambition, the heavens
Worshippers: Specialist mages, aasimar, warlocks, supporters
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG
Domains: Chaos, Good, Magic, Trickery, Luck, Force, Illusion, Celestial
Favored Weapon: Sword of light (longsword)

Marielle is a celebrant of the heavens and the ideal of making everywhere akin to heaven by the compounding nature of little kindnesses. She tirelessly espouses the virtue of working to the benefit of the common good and uplifting others through cheerfulness and consideration. When all are acting to benefit those around them, burdens are trivialised and everyone prospers by showing their best self to the community.

As a goddess of magic following in Mystra's footsteps she encourages the development of such talents and the use of magic to overcome difficulties - indeed where Mystra might caution against relying on it too much, Marielle forswears such caution and instead pushes for its use even for mundane things simply for the thrill of pushing its capabilities in unexpected directions and developing new insights. Specialising in spells, or even non-magical talents, is beloved by her. An illusionist compensating for his school's weakness at direct damage with quasi-real attacks, a dancer using her grace to evade harm in battle, a sculpter creating a garden of carved stone flowers to brighten his home, these are all examples of pushing an ability over a problem rather than adopting a more conventional route and creating something just as worthwhile or even arguably superior.

Attitude is what matters most to her. Revel in your discoveries, celebrate the achievements of those around you, give everything of yourself to the tasks you deem worthwhile. There's no greater insult than a half-hearted effort, and if you can't bring yourself to give what you're doing your best effort? Find something that does excite you and focus on that, and give all appreciation to those who do care and work at the things you can't. Carry this attitude to your personal relationships, strive to make everyone you know feel that their presence is appreciated and matters to you, declare your love passionately, wear your heart on your sleeve and realise that the only thing capable of holding you back is yourself.

Followers of Marielle tend to wear brightly coloured or flashy clothing to better stand out, but the clerical vestments and ceremonial garb is contrastingly staid. Simple cut and uniform colours tending towards dark blue or purple with white trim or accents give an almost hidebound look to working clergy. This is to emphasise their position as servants and correspondingly makes a cleric stand out amidst a group of brightly attired lay worshippers at a temple so that their position can be easily spotted by any visitor.

The Day of Ascension is celebrated along with worshippers of the rest of the Syliciad, and Marielle also adds her own holidays on the solstices each year. The Shortest Day is an excuse for merriment and the telling of tall tales, to uplift everyone's spirits in the dead of Winter. The Summer Exposition is effectively talent show where followers of Marielle show off their skills in creative and exciting ways to astound and amaze the members of their community, though the timing of this holiday is flexible and often adjusted to fit alongside other festivals dominant in the area.

History/Relationships

A recently ascended deity and a young celestial at that, Marielle nonetheless has a number of friends to call upon across the heavens both from her work as a humble servant of Mystra up to her more prominent role in establishing Sylica. Getting her start as a messenger for Dweomerheart attached to the Keeper of Names, she developed a strong work ethic even in her afterlife which has obviously coloured her dogma as a nascant deity. This saw her frequently travelling to other heavens, exposing her to their virtues and instilling a profound respect for the whole of the upper planes and not just Elysium - though she often couches her praise for the more lawful planes in more playful terms, it's not unheard of for her to chide the chaotic ones for being insufficiently serious to her mind.

Leaving the heavens to act as Alicia's familiar on the prime exposed her to further influences, including the penitent fiend Antenora who would later become her wife. Though her role in those adventures wasn't as storied as Alicia or Antenora, she contributed to many significant events and often took it upon herself to alleviate their burdens both by taking over minor duties and lightening the mood in dark times with cheerful enthusiasm or the odd witty distraction.

Naturally her greatest allies as a nascant deity are the other members of the Syliciad, as well as Mystra and the deities of Dweomerheart. She also has some closeness to the Court of Stars, both as an eladrin and for her role in rescuing the children of Androlynne. However most of her old contacts not shared with Sylica are at a considerably lower level than deific, and so she has little in the way of unique relationships not shared with the rest of her pantheon.

Though she fights just as hard alongside her fellows she is not a crusading deity like Alicia and Antenora, and so she similarly has little in the way of unique enemies not shared by the rest of Sylica. It is known that despite being a deity of Chaos Marielle has a particular disdain for slaad, though she has had no real dealings with the slaad lords.

Dogma

Work hard, play hard. Give your all so that everyone can see the shine of your effort and enthusiasm towards your goals, and respect that shine in everyone else. Even if a job is humble it can be a stepping stone to greatness, so treat that first step as seriously as you would the last. Keep in mind the reason that drives you forward, whatever it may be, and you'll never lose yourself to tedium no matter how hard it gets. Never forget that the appreciation and rewards you desire are desired by everyone else on their own journeys forward, so always be generous in sharing them.

Clergy and Temples

While it's nascant, the idea of Marielle's church is surprisingly hierarchical for a goddess of chaos. Ranks, titles, rewards, and responsibilities are divided up to encourage the growth of its clergy and to provide a reason to celebrate whenever one ascends to a new position. Churches tend to be most common in cities or developed areas - the necessities of rural life tend towards a more jack of all trades mentality than the sort of specialisation Marielle encourages. Having to start up in an already crowded environment necessitates smaller temples out of the way, though Marielle dreams of having grand cathedrals and community centrepieces consecrated in her name.

For as nascant as they are, clergy of Marielle are expected to interpose themselves into civil life wherever they live - wearing clerical vestments while shopping or gossiping simply to 'fly the flag' and take any opportunity to talk about their faith while uplifting those around them. While this can be considered overbearing by some, it's seen as important for establishing their presence in an area and drawing out interest for the word of a neophyte deity.