DM Nagging: It's pretty much my job

[Anastasia]

Eyes of Beezlebub
Divination (Scrying)
Level: Brd 10, Clr 15, Drd 14, Sor/Wiz 14

This spell is identical to mass scrying, except as noted here. Up to three sensors may be assigned to a single creature and that creature must save against each sensor separately. This spell is capable of scrying effectively on targets on other planes, they do not gain the +5 bonus to Will saves against this spell.

This spell was created by the Order of the Fly, but since then has been stolen and ultimately spread to others beyond Maladomini.

[Anastasia]

Spells moved over to the collection. More incoming.

[Anastasia]

Just one spell this morning, but it's a quirky one for sure.


Tears of Rebirth
Necromancy [Water]
Level: Drd 11, Sor/Wiz 11
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous; see text

You may only cast this spell when you are killed. You do not need a Concentration check to cast it and do not provoke attacks of opportunity for doing so. By doing so, one round after you die, your body and your possession dissolve into a puddle of water. This water evaporates one round later and in time will fall as rain. When it does so, the rain reforms your body and you return to life in full health with no need for a resurrection chance roll or any chance of mishap, for you never truly died. Your soul dwelled within the rains and silently awaited its chance to return. The exact time this take varies and ranges from a few day to several weeks.

While a powerful option of last resort, this spell has a few limitations. Should the majority of the water created by your body be unable to evaporate, such as being bottled or frozen, you do not resurrect until this changes and are effectively stuck in a mindless limbo between life and death. Note that you may reform hundreds or thousands of miles away from where you died, due to weather patterns and similar such things. However, this spell ensures you reform on solid land and not in immediate danger.

This spell is ineffective if you already reform after death, such as outsiders do. It is likewise ineffective if you lack a soul. Finally, effects that capture your soul on death overcome this spell, as this spell provides no protection against your soul being imprisoned.

[Anastasia]

Weekly Comments

I miss these. So let me give a brief one out.

Alicia

What strikes me about this quest is how Marie continues to redefine herself. This has pinged me before, but it really came home to roost when she first came on screen this quest with her interrupt. It's nice to see her grow like this and work to provide the 'maverick' point of view. Also, she and Jessica continue to prove to be a powerful team, though this isn't a new revelation. This particular adventure isn't quite yet in first gear, it's winding up by you avoided some early problems for smooth progress. We'll see how it develops next week.

Side note: I think Marie fills the maverick position better than Syala for Sylica. Syala's particular roles plus how she's evolved in the group make her surprisingly agreeable with Alicia, Antenora and Latha's lawful bend. She hasn't adopted it or anything, more than she's comfortable with it by now and knows how to work with it, even when perhaps more perspective would be better.

Moore

The interparty dynamics of your group are interesting. I continue to be surprised with how bossy and leader-y Sylvie's become. She's always had some of that in her DNA thanks to being the brains of most groups she's in, but her mix of confidence and often exasperation at Moore lends an interesting flavor to it. The observation that in some obscure way she's mothering Moore would get...well, it would get a reaction out of her. Let's leave it at that. Conversely, Kaja's more restrained but just as confident. However, Kaja doesn't really feel the need to project it or lead anything. Xandra tends to be a little on the quiet side as well, so she mostly lets them take the initiative in matters here.

Tryll

This isn't obviously a normal comment as much as a notice. Until Tryll's back in things, I may have a few of his node members cameo elsewhere. This is mostly to keep them fresh in my head. Seems like as good a place as any to mention this.

Alyssa

Growing pains suck. Some of Emily's (relatively mild) disagreements with Alyssa lately can be chalked up to that. Some of Emily's story arc is about a child who is now seeks adulthood and the independence that promises. I think that resonates within her actions and causes a bit of disagreement with Alyssa. Except when it's ethical disagreements, it's mostly position jockeying and boundary feeling-outs between the two, at least to my eyes.

Also how goes the spell, Iddy? May as well throw a gentle nag and reminder in if you haven't made headway on it yet. If you don't think you'll have it done by Tuesday, let me know.

Seira

I found the discussion with Kossuth interesting less for what was said - I mean I'm the DM so I already know what's up - but instead Seira's reactions. It wasn't quite what I expected and that made it noteworthy. I understand why she called it a villain rant, it's just not the perspective I expected.

That aside since it's just an eyebrow raise of interest rather than a party insight? I really enjoy how Seira's going after this dungeon and the possibilities here. It should be a lot of fun to see how it all hashes out and I think Seira took a good party for it. Kascha in particular feels overdue (and I enjoy her more mechanically than most in the node) so I'm looking forward to this. It's the sort of situation that invites zany PC antics and solutions.

Edit: I quickly reckoned who I liked mechanically in each node and oddly enough Kascha ended up middle of the pack. Seira's is a really tough field though, since I like Sanzha's madalani gimmick, enjoy Donald's build a lot, really like Amaryl being an arrow stations and...well, you get the idea. Tough field.

[Nephrite]

The thing that strikes me about Sylvie is she knows she's right, but she also knows Moore isn't wrong, and it's an interesting juxtaposition from her regular life where things really were just black and white.

[Anastasia]

The thing that strikes me about Sylvie is she knows she's right, but she also knows Moore isn't wrong, and it's an interesting juxtaposition from her regular life where things really were just black and white.

That and if you sat down and really picked Sylvie's mind, you'd find she has an interesting view of the truth. After all, who wouldn't after bearing 21 as long and as far as she did? What's true, what's false and what's a matter of belief and opinion are all distinct things, and the border between them can be difficult to discern at times.

[Nephrite]

That and if you sat down and really picked Sylvie's mind, you'd find she has an interesting view of the truth. After all, who wouldn't after bearing 21 as long and as far as she did? What's true, what's false and what's a matter of belief and opinion are all distinct things, and the border between them can be difficult to discern at times.

Oh yeah, absolutely. Moore doesn't bring it up very often because he'd rather she not "relive" that part of things, but sometimes he has to get out the little spray bottle to gently mist her face that she might be looking at something from a perspective that she wouldn't normally without that experience.

[Ebiris]

Alicia

What strikes me about this quest is how Marie continues to redefine herself. This has pinged me before, but it really came home to roost when she first came on screen this quest with her interrupt. It's nice to see her grow like this and work to provide the 'maverick' point of view. Also, she and Jessica continue to prove to be a powerful team, though this isn't a new revelation. This particular adventure isn't quite yet in first gear, it's winding up by you avoided some early problems for smooth progress. We'll see how it develops next week.

Side note: I think Marie fills the maverick position better than Syala for Sylica. Syala's particular roles plus how she's evolved in the group make her surprisingly agreeable with Alicia, Antenora and Latha's lawful bend. She hasn't adopted it or anything, more than she's comfortable with it by now and knows how to work with it, even when perhaps more perspective would be better.

Really when Jessica was explaining the suspiciously similar setup for this latest adventure into the Abyss I knew it had to be called out and I enjoyed the image of Marie sprinting down the hallway and slamming open the door to do so.

Shame they had to end up going to the Abyss anyway, but the stealth team is working fairly well and I'm hoping Marie will do better on this plane than Alicia has done recently. Even if they end up having to call Alicia in to come smite Yarus if they find him.

[Anastasia]

That and if you sat down and really picked Sylvie's mind, you'd find she has an interesting view of the truth. After all, who wouldn't after bearing 21 as long and as far as she did? What's true, what's false and what's a matter of belief and opinion are all distinct things, and the border between them can be difficult to discern at times.

Oh yeah, absolutely. Moore doesn't bring it up very often because he'd rather she not "relive" that part of things, but sometimes he has to get out the little spray bottle to gently mist her face that she might be looking at something from a perspective that she wouldn't normally without that experience.

Funnily enough, Sylvie imagines herself as the one with the water bottle.

Alicia

What strikes me about this quest is how Marie continues to redefine herself. This has pinged me before, but it really came home to roost when she first came on screen this quest with her interrupt. It's nice to see her grow like this and work to provide the 'maverick' point of view. Also, she and Jessica continue to prove to be a powerful team, though this isn't a new revelation. This particular adventure isn't quite yet in first gear, it's winding up by you avoided some early problems for smooth progress. We'll see how it develops next week.

Side note: I think Marie fills the maverick position better than Syala for Sylica. Syala's particular roles plus how she's evolved in the group make her surprisingly agreeable with Alicia, Antenora and Latha's lawful bend. She hasn't adopted it or anything, more than she's comfortable with it by now and knows how to work with it, even when perhaps more perspective would be better.

Really when Jessica was explaining the suspiciously similar setup for this latest adventure into the Abyss I knew it had to be called out and I enjoyed the image of Marie sprinting down the hallway and slamming open the door to do so.

Shame they had to end up going to the Abyss anyway, but the stealth team is working fairly well and I'm hoping Marie will do better on this plane than Alicia has done recently. Even if they end up having to call Alicia in to come smite Yarus if they find him.

For what it's worth, sometimes a spade is a spade, even in planar affairs. Or one trip to the Abyss may well just be random coincidence and unrelated to the next. Just don't tell Antenora, okay?

[Iron Dragoon]

Rough framework. Details of spell functions is something I've never been good at:

Grace of Prey
Transmutation [Air]
Level: Sor/Wiz 11
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 hour

When you cast this spell, you draw a portion of the Plane of Air into the local area. A wisp of sapphire tinged dust is drawn into the area, pulled from the impurities of a Maelstrom on air. This wisp travels on the air currents, imparting its traits onto any other dust it comes in contact with.

When this dust lands on a creature, its secondary functions activate. First, it coats the creature. This doesn't hinder the creature in any way until the second trait is activated. Once it has, the dust glows a bright sapphire color, gaining the effects of the Glitterdust spell.

Second, it begins to Detect Hostile Intent, as the psionic ability. Once hostile intent is detected, it activates the Glitterdust ability.

[Anastasia]

Rough framework. Details of spell functions is something I've never been good at:

Grace of Prey
Transmutation [Air]
Level: Sor/Wiz 11
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 hour

When you cast this spell, you draw a portion of the Plane of Air into the local area. A wisp of sapphire tinged dust is drawn into the area, pulled from the impurities of a Maelstrom on air. This wisp travels on the air currents, imparting its traits onto any other dust it comes in contact with.

When this dust lands on a creature, its secondary functions activate. First, it coats the creature. This doesn't hinder the creature in any way until the second trait is activated. Once it has, the dust glows a bright sapphire color, gaining the effects of the Glitterdust spell.

Second, it begins to Detect Hostile Intent, as the psionic ability. Once hostile intent is detected, it activates the Glitterdust ability.

What's the area/range on the spell?

[Anastasia]

How's this look? Spell 1 for the morning.

Grace of Prey
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 11
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: 0ft; see text
Targets: See text
Duration: Permanent; see text
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: No

This spells creates a small cloud of sapphire dust that spreads in all directions, carried by the winds. Any creature touched by this dust must succeed on a Will save. Creatures that fail momentary glow with blue dust but nothing more. However, when an affected creature displays aggression or hostile intent, they are affected as by a blue colored glitterdust spell. This lasts until they no longer have aggression or hostile intent, and for 10 minutes after.

The exact distance and direction this dust travels varies and depends on the prevailing winds. When cast in an area with no wind, the dust generally goes no more than 100ft in any direction. In an area with strong winds, it can go exponentially farther. The sapphire dust lasts for about an hour, but creatures affected are permanently affected unless the spell is dispelled on them.

[Anastasia]

Spell 2 for the morning. Going to move this and tears into the collection tomorrow, assuming no feedback that says otherwise.

This is a spell you cast when you decide that small army or city doesn't really need to be there anymore.

I've mostly avoided damage spells so far, but this one was requested.

Lightning Tornado
Evocation [Electricity]
Level: Sor/Wiz 16
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400ft + 40ft/level)
Effect: 400ft radius tornado, up to 20ft/level tall, centered on a point in space
Duration: 1 round/3 levels
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell conjures a massive tornado of lightning that spins and whirls about. This spell is similar to greater whirlwind, except that any creature or object within the tornado or touches it takes 50d6 points of electricity damage each round. Any creature or object within 100ft of it takes 25d6 points of electricity damage each round, and any creature or object within 101ft to 1000ft of it takes 10d6 points of electricity damage each round. All creatures damaged are entitled to a Reflex save for half damage.

[Iron Dragoon]

How's this look? Spell 1 for the morning.

Grace of Prey
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 11
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: 0ft; see text
Targets: See text
Duration: Permanent; see text
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: No

This spells creates a small cloud of sapphire dust that spreads in all directions, carried by the winds. Any creature touched by this dust must succeed on a Will save. Creatures that fail momentary glow with blue dust but nothing more. However, when an affected creature displays aggression or hostile intent, they are affected as by a blue colored glitterdust spell. This lasts until they no longer have aggression or hostile intent, and for 10 minutes after.

The exact distance and direction this dust travels varies and depends on the prevailing winds. When cast in an area with no wind, the dust generally goes no more than 100ft in any direction. In an area with strong winds, it can go exponentially farther. The sapphire dust lasts for about an hour, but creatures affected are permanently affected unless the spell is dispelled on them.

Looks alright.

[Anastasia]

Cool, we'll roll with this today then.