Subject: A new spell
From: C. D. Hershberger <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1993 12:12:35 CST
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd

I've written the following spell, and plan to submit it to my DM soon to see
if my character (Salandre) can begin research on it. My question is what do
you people think of the spell? Is it too powerful? Lacking some important
restrictions? Boring, or just plain silly? How can it be improved?
I would appreciate constructive opinions from others. BTW If you like it,
feelfree to use this spell in your own campaign.

One more point. I know that fire magics isn't a school, this pertains to
specific house rules that we play with.

Powerful Blast of the Red Wizard (Evocation, Fire Magics)

Level: 2
Range: Special
Components: V,S,M
Duration: 1 Round
Casting Time: 2
Area of Effect: 10' Radius
Saving Throw: Special
Created by: Salandre Mauroneudill (The Red Wizard)

    Casting of this spell calls into existence an egg shaped ball which
smolders, giving off sparks, and wisps of smoke which smell strongly of
sulfur.  The egg appears in the casters hand, and can then be thrown,
treated as a grenade-like missile. The egg must be thrown within ten
segments of it's creation or it will self detonate. Once thrown, the egg
will explode against the first object it hits. A creature directly hit by the
egg suffers 1 point of fire damage for every 2 levels of experience of the
spellcaster, and 1 point of concussion damage for every 2 levels of
experience of the spellcaster. Flammable items directly hit by the egg
are scorched, but the fire is put out by the blast. Those creatures caught
in the explosion radius suffer 1 point of concussion damage for every 2
levels of experience of the spellcaster. A successful save versus breath
weapon reduces the damage by half. To summarize, the damage is 1 hp
per level for a direct hit, 1 hp per 2 levels if caught in the blast radius.
Save for half damage.
    2d6 creatures within the blast radius are also affected (in order of
increasing distance from the center) by one of the effects on the table
below. To determine the nature of the effect add the modifiers
appropriate for the affected creature, and the effect that matches the
total is applied. Modifiers are as follows:

- Creature saves versus Breath Weapon: +1
- Creature not directly hit by the egg: +1
- Creature has more than 6 HD: +1
- Creature has more HD than caster: +1 per 2 HD over caster
- Creature is larger than size M: +1 per size category over M
- Creature is smaller than size M: -1 per size category under M

Undead are not affected by the blast (other than damage).

Affect table:

Modifier     Effect
0 or less       Knocked unconscious for 2d4 rounds
1               STUNNED FOR ONE ROUND AND DEAF FOR 2D4 ROUNDS
2-4             STUNNED FOR ONE ROUND
>4              NO EFFECT

    Fragile items within the blast radius must save verses crushing
blow or be shattered. (Normal rules on saving throws for items in a
character's possession apply)

    Additionally, the egg can be thrown at an object such as a door or
a chest. There is a chance of destroying this object equal to the chance
that a fighter of strength 15 + caster's level would have. If the strength
value exceeds 18, then percentile strengths are used (1 category per
level). The maximum blast strength achievable by this spell is 21.

    The material component of this spell is a normal , unbroken egg.

         ___     __          __
        /   )  /   / /   / /   /  You know that you had a good time,
       /    ) /   / /   / /  _   If you have to ask for directions home
      /___ ) /__ / /__ / /__ /  The next morning.   -Socrates
Doug Hershberger [email-masked]