DM Nagging: It's pretty much my job

[Anastasia]

Vigor of Tempus and Elle's Great Shooting Star are now in the Spell Collection.

[Anastasia]

Feedback and thoughts, y'all?

Create City
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 15
Components: V, S, M, F
Casting Time: 8 hours
Range: Long (400ft + 40ft/level)
Effect: A city; see text
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

This mighty spell creates a city from nothing. When cast, a city of up to 500ft/level in size is created. This covers all aspects of a city, which includes buildings, roads, wells, a city wall and any other normal features of a city. The city created is of competent but uninspired craftsmanship and uses whatever materials would be practical to use for a city in that location, though you may provide alternative materials to be used if you wish. Should you have ranks in Crafts skills relevant to the city's construction, such as Craft(Stonemasonry) for a city made of stone, and you wish it to be so, you can improve the craftsmanship of the city up to the limits of your Craft skill when you cast this spell.

The exact design of the city is yours to choose, though it must be within the normal limits of local physics as well as the skill of the craftsmanship of the city. Once created, the city is subject to normal wear and tear.

Material Components

Any alternative materials to be used in the construction of the city (optional).

Focus

A carved model of the city to be created, which costs 100 gold per 500ft of size of the city.

[Nephrite]

It's hard to judge that, but it feels like the level is a bit high. You can get the same sort of effect once a week from a Lyre of Building and I think the Lyre would actually do it faster than this spell?

"The lyre is also useful with respect to building. Once a week, its strings can be strummed so as to produce chords that magically construct buildings, mines, tunnels, ditches, etc. The effect produced in 30 minutes of playing is equal to the work of 100 humans laboring for 3 days."

So in an hour, you get 6 days of work from 100 humans, so... yeah, I think it's a little over-cost.

[Anastasia]

It's hard to judge that, but it feels like the level is a bit high. You can get the same sort of effect once a week from a Lyre of Building and I think the Lyre would actually do it faster than this spell?

"The lyre is also useful with respect to building. Once a week, its strings can be strummed so as to produce chords that magically construct buildings, mines, tunnels, ditches, etc. The effect produced in 30 minutes of playing is equal to the work of 100 humans laboring for 3 days."

So in an hour, you get 6 days of work from 100 humans, so... yeah, I think it's a little over-cost.

Probably and possibly, though that's also coming down to how precisely you measure and rule the lyre to work and the quality of that work.

For now I'm going to lower the casting time of the spell down to 8 hours and fiddle with the rest once I have time to do some math.

[Anastasia]

Today's installment of IRC crossposting.

Create City Discussion

(The post mentioned is for the Create City spell a few posts above this one.)

<Seira> I don't really know why it's necessary, especially for us
<Seira> Could've been useful before!
<Ebiris> We can make cities in our divine realms easily enough but it'd be good for stuff like rehousing people on Lifasa or jumpstarting stuff in those reclaimed wastes. It's just a kind of fun and interesting spell.
> Dolmaya's making the spell, since it's relevant for her offscreen things in Alyssa's realm.
<Seira> I sort of get it
<Seira> Although the assumption had always been for me that if we were to personally use lvl15 spells casually on Primes for this stuff, some other deity would come out and use their lvl25 spells casually to nuke it
<Seira> And locals really shouldn't have access to such magic and still remain locals
<Seira> I guess if an npc does it they may not get immediate retaliation we do
> You wouldn't really see it on the prime alot simply due to the caster level of it, no. 36th+ level casters aren't common there.
<Ebiris> Yeah. Even if it doesn't get used much though it's just nice that it's there though? There's not that many epic spells after all, so it's good as an option and an example of what's possible for any other spells we come up with.
<Seira> Full agreement there, yes
> Yeah. Deities don't need it as much per se, but not ever 36th+ level caster is a deity.
<Ebiris> That said someone with a lyre of building could probably build more in a solid week anyway.
<Seira> Incidentally
<Seira> How high is the spell to make a demiplane?
> That's more of the lyre not really being designed around people who won't ever get tired and don't need to rest from playing, I think. I'm not sure how much 24*7 hours of a lyre of building could do off the top of my head.
<Nephrite> Yeah, it's not especially reasonable to compare it to a full week of playing one, but I'm not sure how the logistics work if you play for, say, 8 hours or something.
<Ebiris> It's 14,400 man-hours of work her hour of lyre playing. So whatever could be built with 2,419,200 hours of work by one person.
<Seira> The thing is, it honestly doesn't matter. So long as 100 dudes (or less) can reasonably do it in 3 days of work (or less), you can treat their work as component of a greater whole.
<Seira> Then work modularly.
<Seira> However long it takes, it's still astronomically faster
> For all that I don't think lyre abuse matters at this level - didn't Moore do that before, Neph - I'm more included to reword the lyre than anything else. But that aside, I think I'll lower the casting time of the spell in light of that.
<Nephrite> He's used it a few times to make a quick tunnel or something but usually nothing super elaborate.
<Seira> He used it to make a stairway on a cliff
<Seira> And I think protection while traveling
<Nephrite> Oh yeah, that's right.

[Anastasia]

More IRC crossposting

(FYI Eb, I used spellcheck on this so I suspect some of your British spellings got nailed. Sorry!)

Demiplane and Genesis discussion

<Seira> But seriously, what level would a demiplane-making spell?
<Seira> Asking for a friend
<Ebiris> Genesis is 9th level and it's not in banned or changed spells in houserules.
<Seira> I'm pretty sure Dune said before when I asked that it would be at least epic
<Seira> If it's only lvl10, though, wouldn't it be a lot better than making a city for a lot less?
<Ebiris> Well, if you make a city you expect it to be integrated with wherever it is. With roads to neighboring cities, maybe a harbor if it's by the sea or a big river. If you make a demiplane even if there's a huge city inside, getting in or out has a big bottleneck.
<Ebiris> But yeah if you just want your own cool kids club then a demiplane is superior in every way.
<Seira> I assumed there would be infrastructure within the city, but no actual integration with the country
<Seira> If that actually happens, regardless of distance, it's really 'build a country'
<Seira> One city at a time  >_>
<Ebiris> Well yeah but if you can build a city you can build roads.
<Ebiris> The point is a demiplane is stuck with just a tiny portal for getting in or out.
<Seira> Since demiplanes can be anchored wherever you want, a 'real' city would only be superior if there's more than a single way  out of it. Given medieval cities and protections against the environment, monsters and hostile armies, it might be best to build your cities in them
<Ebiris> Sure, I mean if your demiplane is self sufficient you don't ever have to leave anyway, and since you can dictate what resources and environmental conditions exist inside it, it's really easy to just stay in your cool wizard paradise and never leave.
<Seira> I keep on looking for disadvantages and it's hard to find any
<Seira> I guess people might be wary that you're a shitty wizard, or that it'd require upkeep if you die?
<Seira> But if you can use such spells anyway, regular people wouldn't have any defense against you to begin with
<Seira> So any sense of security they'd have is false
<Seira> As expected, the future of humanity is living in boxes
<Ebiris> I think it's just the perception that it's this weird hidden place and not a tangible spot on the map you can see and easily come and go from. And if lots of people need to come and go then getting through that portal is a hassle.
<Ebiris> What you should really do is combine them. Build a huge tower block full of rooms, each one leading to a demiplane containing residences or industry or farming or whatever.
<Ebiris> With golems to beat the shit out of anyone who tries casting dimensional anchor in the halls.
<Ebiris> Wait shit did I just invent Aurora?
<Seira> Haha
<Seira> Yes!
<Seira> Then you too can QUEST FOR JUSTICE without leaving your room!
* Kotono reads up. Yeah, the spell explicitly includes roads so you could connect it to existing infrastructure. A city includes infrastructure, after all, not just a bunch of buildings.
<Seira> The question was really how far that extends
<Ebiris> Yeah but other cities aren't going to be within *small number* x 500 feet of the one you're building.
<Ebiris> Though you can expand an existing city real easily with it.
<Seira> If you build SF and LA with it, will they connect?
> As to Genesis, lemme look up what I posted about it in B3.
> Since I know it came up.
> http://www.soulriders.net/forum/index.php/topic,101729.msg1097759.html#msg1097759
<Ebiris> Having demiplanes for various super-secret stuff in Sylica would actually be nice since you mention that.
> It is an option, yes.
<Seira> So a greater genesis as a lvl13 spell gives with genesis with a city designed as you like?
<Seira> Hmm
<Seira> Yeah, do your Manhattan project research in one
> I'd have to look since I haven't reviewed that material in some time.
<Seira> I presume you can actually make the portal into and out of one larger?
<Seira> Since if a dragon mage makes a demiplane, they wouldn't want to transform into something tiny to get through
> Yeah.
> There's something or another that covers that.

[Anastasia]

Weekly Feedback

As the DM is a little below the weather with the muscle spasms and shakes, Tannin has volunteered to fill in for weekly feedback. Thank you, Tannin.

(These aren't serious, so enjoy them for the humor value as well as any commentary. Tannin's thoughts are not automatically my own.)

Seira

So yeah, I checked in on Seira and sure enough, she's taking care of all those odds and ends before going off to the Iron Tower. Most of it's pretty nice if you ask me, 'cept for where she had to eat crow for giving us that special information. You ask me and it's still better than giving it to anyone else, but that's heavier than all of Jaela's spears. I'm not sure what's that's going to touch off but it's going to be really complicated.

Afina probably but she won't stop. Jaela possibly to probably but I have a bad feeling about it, don't know why. Maybe it's the looks Hanna gives her. Wonder if Mom might put her foot down and keep it down? There's not many things worse than a berserk cornugon, but Hanna's one of them. 27 maybe, he'd probably like it but he'd drag Hanna along. Tryll's off doing something else last I heard, but maybe Ithea? If she's done with kitty time, or hey, what about Surraruthru? Let alone someone like Canderella or Ebony.

Though if you look at the numbers, we need more men as deities. There's too many women in the Godsrush, and that's just a fact. Wait, me? Uh, think I got other things to do, lots of big other things. Far Realm's a no way, probably come back with two more heads and non dimensional intestines.

Anyway, I wish her a lot of luck in the Iron Tower. Bet she'll need it.

Moore

Wait, Moore? I got no fucking idea what's going on there and I checked in. Why do wizards have to be so complicated? You tell me already, old man! Capital letter colors, blobs, lights, systems, I don't even know what's going on anymore. Does anyone but Moore? Sylvie maybe, she's smart. Sharp too, she might even cut through all the bullshit.

Guess it must make sense to someone, but now daemons are involved and I'm worried Moore won't take them seriously enough. Now I know we mostly focus on Hell but daemons aren't anything to laugh off. Why, did I ever tell you the time my friend crossed a yugoloth banker? They're still finding pieces of him in gold coins. Now he's a high'n'mighty deity so disease isn't a problem but I bet there's trouble there, too.

But Moore's tenacious and good at solving problems. Maybe he'll solve this one. At least it shouldn't be a repeat of Smoke, that was terrible.

Alicia

I don't get it. Why does everyone...? Yeah, I mean, she's gorgeous, I've seen her. But honestly, she's last place amid her group and that includes Ebony. Antenora and Ebony do the black hair better, the others have better bodies, they all have great curves and just...and she's the one they fall for.

No accounting for taste.

Though what I will account for is the Queen of Air and Darkness. See, there I was, minding my own business while I investigated the Glasae Queen. No, I've never met her, but the Glasae Queen's bad enough and I bet that Queen's way worse. Takes guts not to run for her and she's ice cold about it, too. Gotta say it was good solid work avoiding a war there, but someone's playing them and I wouldn't count on it being Imix. Too clean, too easy to slot in without it being a snug fit.

But if it isn't Imix then I have no idea, but on the up side it's a trick you can only do against the fey queen once. Heck, could even be an enemy of Imix trying to get Alicia to go smite him with Miss Winter over there. Bet those two could quench him good. Other hand, it really might be Imix and you just don't know, and if you're wrong you've picked a fight for no good reason.

Ugly business.

Alyssa

Am I the only one that gets her name and Alicia's name mixed up?

Anyway, she's doing a lot of establishment stuff like I saw Moore do on the side. Realm's growing great, real nice place if you like mountains or schools or magic. Preferably all three.  Nice place to get a drink after wandering all of Shaundakul's moonlit roads. Real cozy in a new way.

What I like her is that library, plus the way she bossed around her old order. Good work if you ask me, if you go to all the trouble to ascend you should get to throw some authority around. Never hurts to get more wizards to work for you, huh, old man? Should direct some friends of mine over there sometime, make a splash and get noticed.

Also I heard some redhead's looking around there for some reason or another, not sure why. Real flighty type in her way, wonder when that's gonna happen?

[Iron Dragoon]

Weekly Feedback

Alyssa

Am I the only one that gets her name and Alicia's name mixed up?

Yes, you are.

Anyway, she's doing a lot of establishment stuff like I saw Moore do on the side. Realm's growing great, real nice place if you like mountains or schools or magic. Preferably all three.  Nice place to get a drink after wandering all of Shaundakul's moonlit roads. Real cozy in a new way.

What I like her is that library, plus the way she bossed around her old order. Good work if you ask me, if you go to all the trouble to ascend you should get to throw some authority around. Never hurts to get more wizards to work for you, huh, old man? Should direct some friends of mine over there sometime, make a splash and get noticed.

Also I heard some redhead's looking around there for some reason or another, not sure why. Real flighty type in her way, wonder when that's gonna happen?

Redhead? Did I miss something in one of the posts?

[Anastasia]

Yes, you are.

A DM's life is hard, apparently.

Redhead? Did I miss something in one of the posts?

Not during this week's posts.

This also isn't entirely serious so this may or may not be anything at all.

[Nephrite]

Tannin is the last person who should be commenting on people having wizard problems!

(I liked this.)

[Anastasia]

Tannin is the last person who should be commenting on people having wizard problems!

(I liked this.)

Oh yes, that is true.

(Good, it's nice to experiment with the format.)

[Anastasia]

First draft of some core demiplane creation spells are here. Notes as follows.

1. Demiplanes aren't cheap. Even if you're a caster (or get one) with ignore material components, it's still a flat 100k to get into the game at a minimum. This limits the audience.
2. Demiplanes aren't easy to make. The long casting times are another limiting factor. This won't stop an immortal setting up for eternity, but it complicated matters further. You need peace and quiet for a good long time when you create or enhance a demiplane.
3. Some demiplane improvements can only be done by the creator of the demiplane. This won't stop someone from acquiring a demiplane if they want one, but it does mean unless you DIY, you may be stuck with how it's set up as is.
4. That all being said, they're still incredibly valuable and a wise investment for epic characters who aren't on the divinity advancement track like y'all are. You all are very much the planar elite in that regard and most of this material isn't terribly important for you.
5. Feedback welcome, these are very first draft. The ideas are there, just some numbers may need tweaks. Oh, and the first spell is a Creation 12 spell and the others don't follow through on that. I know, I'm aware of that, that's intentional as that's purely a DM placeholder to possibly assign later.
6. Even the best demiplane here can't compete with a fully developed divine realm. Again, that's 100% working as designed and part of the reason why these spells are mostly a curiosity for y'all.

Create Demiplane
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Creation 12, Sor/Wiz 12
Components: V, S, M, F
Casting Time: 1 week
Range: 1000ft; see text
Effect: A demiplane tied the plane this spell is cast on; see text
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

This spell is similar but superior to genesis and functions as that spell, except as noted here. This spell can be cast on any plane and not just the Ethereal Plane. When the spell is complete, a single portal is created that connects the plane this spell was cast on and the new demiplane. The initial maximum radius of the plane is 1000ft, additional castings of this spell increase the radius of the demiplane by 1000ft per casting.

Unlike genesis, this spell provides basic vegetation that fits the terrain created. A desert will have cacti, plains will have grass, forest will have trees and so on and so forth.

Material Component

Diamonds worth no less than 100,000 gold.

Focus

A crystalline sphere the size of a fist worth no less than 100,000 gold. Unlike a normal focus, this focus is consumed when the spell is completed. However, further castings of create demiplane to enlarge the demiplane do not require the focus, as it has been directly absorbed by the demiplane.

---

Greater Create Demiplane
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 15
Components: V, S, M, F
Casting Time: 1 week
Range: 10000ft; see text

This spell is identical to create demiplane, except as noted here. The demiplane created has an initial maximum radius of 10000ft. At your discretion, you can have simple, non magical animals also populate the newly created demiplane, ones that match the terrain.

You may cast this spell to expand a demiplane created by create demiplane by 10000ft, instead of 1000ft for create demiplane.

Material Component

Diamonds worth no less than 250,000 gold.

Focus

A crystalline sphere the size of a fist worth no less than 100,000 gold. Unlike a normal focus, this focus is consumed when the spell is completed. However, further castings of greater create demiplane to enlarge the demiplane do not require the focus, as it has been directly absorbed by the demiplane.

---

Assign Planar Traits
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 16
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 month
Range: 0ft; see text
Target: 1 demiplane that you created
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You may cast this spell when you are within a demiplane you created, such as with a create demiplane spell. When you cast this spell, you may assign the following planar traits to your demplane: gravity, elemental and energy, alignment and magic. You can set these traits to whatever you wish, so long as they do not conflict with the plane the demiplane is attached to. For example, adding the good aligned alignment trait to a demiplane connected to the Abyss or the fire dominant trait to a demiplane connected to the Elemental Plane of Water.

Note that if you choose the dead magic planar trait that you gain no particular immunity to this dead magic area.

Material Component

A large platinum disk inscribed with diagrams of the planes, worth no less than 500,000 gold.

This one deserves two OOC notes.

1. The time traits would be available if not for the Temporal Compact.
2. DM judgment calls will likely be made here at times. Just the nature of the spell and how wide reaching it can be.

---

Connect Demiplane
Abjuration
Level: Sor/Wiz 13
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 week
Range: 0ft; see text
Target: 1 demiplane that you created
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

This spell connects a demiplane that you created, such as with a create demiplane spell, to the Astral Plane. This allows teleportation and other effects normally barred in a demiplane to function normally.

Note that a restore astral links spell can replicate the effects of this spell if cast by the creator of the demiplane.  However, there is a 5% chance that this spell destabilizes the demiplane, which results in its collapse. However, that spell is far faster than this spell.

Focus

A handheld replica of a color pool from the Astral Plane, made with a drop from a real color pool.

---
True Create Demiplane
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 18
Components: V, S, M, F
Casting Time: 2 weeks
Range: 10000ft/level; see text

This spell is identical to create demiplane, except as noted here. When this spell finishes, you may assign planar traits, as if you cast an assign planar traits spell on this demiplane.  You may choose to connect this demiplane to the Astral Plane to enable teleportation and similar magic, as if by a connect demiplane spell.

You may cast this spell to expand a demiplane created by create demiplane or greater create demiplane by 10000ft/level, instead of the limits for those spells. You may also apply the benefits of a assign planar traits and connect demiplane spell if you wish.

Material Component

Diamonds worth no less than 1,500,000 gold.

Focus

A crystalline sphere the size of a fist worth no less than 100,000 gold. Unlike a normal focus, this focus is consumed when the spell is completed. However, further castings of create demiplane to enlarge the demiplane do not require the focus, as it has been directly absorbed by the demiplane.

[Ebiris]

Am I the only one that gets her name and Alicia's name mixed up?

Yes and it's annoying how it keeps getting repeated over and over.

Alicia

I don't get it. Why does everyone...? Yeah, I mean, she's gorgeous, I've seen her. But honestly, she's last place amid her group and that includes Ebony. Antenora and Ebony do the black hair better, the others have better bodies, they all have great curves and just...and she's the one they fall for.

No accounting for taste.

Though what I will account for is the Queen of Air and Darkness. See, there I was, minding my own business while I investigated the Glasae Queen. No, I've never met her, but the Glasae Queen's bad enough and I bet that Queen's way worse. Takes guts not to run for her and she's ice cold about it, too. Gotta say it was good solid work avoiding a war there, but someone's playing them and I wouldn't count on it being Imix. Too clean, too easy to slot in without it being a snug fit.

But if it isn't Imix then I have no idea, but on the up side it's a trick you can only do against the fey queen once. Heck, could even be an enemy of Imix trying to get Alicia to go smite him with Miss Winter over there. Bet those two could quench him good. Other hand, it really might be Imix and you just don't know, and if you're wrong you've picked a fight for no good reason.

Ugly business.

Marie appreciates the compliment, shallow as it is.

And yeah, I guess I take it for granted that between divine senses/epic perception/epic knowledge that just impersonating a deity is something you can't get away with among their peers.

Like, I kind of want to have Marie pretend to be someone and go stir shit up, because she's got the epic disguise and bluff to pull it off, but I feel dead certain that if I did it the mark would just divine-text the real deal for verification then draw her into an ambush. It just feels like something that really has no business working.

[Corwin]

I suppose if Aurora chooses to ignore the warnings against Team Fiends or to ascend a glorified pet I'll be proven wrong about their judgement.

[Anastasia]

Any comments on the demiplane stuff, y'all? I'm inclined to drop the level of assign planar traits but one but the rest looks about right. Last call, I'll move them over before or just after session tomorrow.