New spell - comments?

[Joël of the FoS]

Good evening ladies and gents,

This morning around 4 am I dreamt of a spell and I’d like to share it with you guys.

It is something I will need for my campaign. As a gift Ivana will give them a vial of blood from a close friend of Natalia Vorishkova, a nemesis of the PCs. Someone from the board had this great idea for a reward from Ivana for their protection services. Using this, the PCs will have a tool in their chase.

So here’s the thing :

Spell : Find Foe

Know in which direction is your nemesis.

Divination
Level: Clr 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S (M – see below)
Casting Time: 10 minutes, then 1 minute each time afterward
Range: Unlimited (see below)
Target: One creature (see below)
Duration: 1h/level
Saving Throw: None (see below)
Spell Resistance: No

This spell works only on a target the caster thinks is one of his most important foe (not a regular villains, at DM’s judgement). To find a creature with the spell, you must have seen the creature or have some item that once belonged to it. First time the spell is cast, casting time is ten minutes as the caster needs to focus on the target. One such target is possible until the caster or the target is dead/destroyed. If both are not dead/destroyed, each time the spell is cast afterward, the focus of the spell is that target.

You sense the direction where the target currently stands, but not any information on distance. The spell is normally not able to pass through domain borders.

You are able to triangulate when it is possible (when close enough).

If the caster has blood of the target in his/her possession, the spell can cross domain borders (even if closed). The spell use just a tiny drop of blood each time the spell is cast. You just get the direction as usual. Using blood makes this spess a necromantic version and a power check is required (1 %).

Darklords can only be targeted within their domain, and they decide wether the spell works or not.

Q – is that spell balanced for a 4 level spell? Is it too dangerous to give to players? What are the dangers you see in a ongoing campaign?

Q – would the target know it is being targeted as the focus of the spell?

[Lord_Pruitt]

I think I would make it require a material component (like the vial of blood you suggested) of the Foe the caster wishes to find - for each casting. Especially for the initial ritual casting. That way they can't/wont/shouldn't go all willy-nilly with casting it to find their next Foe.

[DustBunny]

Maybe boost the 'blood option' a bit more to make it more tempting to use - prehaps the blood version has the normal duration, but the safer version only lasts a few minutes. Also have the caster have to use a drop of their own blood as well (say 1hp) - the justification being the detector draws a line between the target (whose blood they have) and the caster (whose blood they need). Make the blood ritual more scary when they have to use their own blood.

As for the target knowing they are tracked, I would say no for the ordinary version but yes for the blood version. Maybe they feel as if someone is starting at or following them - raised neck hair and so forth. They dont immediately know it is magic, but just a general feeling of unease as if they are being watched or followed when the spell is active. If they meet the caster while the spell is in effect, they instantly know that person is the cause of their feelings of unease - otherwise it is just an unsettling feeling.

And definetly agree with Lord_P that the first casting of the spell for a target must be the blood version in order 'to make the initial link'.

As a side note - And as Ivana gave them the spell as a reward, maybe she paid someone to include a subtle change into it. Every time the caster uses the spell, there is a 1% cumulative chance the caster comes under Ivana's sway. Not mind control, but more of a 'suggestion' spell like effect in her presence - if she asks them to do something they have to roll over the cumulative chance to resist or they will be well disposed to her 'small requests' (another reason why she was so generous). If they take the spell apart (as in research it) they will find the change but otherwise it seems to do as advertised.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

so, it's a long-range, long-duration Locate Creature, at the same level, but restricted to only an enemy. That's probably a fair tradeoff, but I might bump it up a level to be sure.

[steveflam]

Perhaps this spell could be used to create a better version of the Wand of Enemy Detection?

[Joël of the FoS]

Thank you guys for your comments, and sorry for the delay, I was in Nevada for the last week.

As a gift Ivana will give them a vial of blood from a close friend of Natalia Vorishkova, a nemesis of the PCs.

Just realised it won’t work as planned! It has to be Natalia’s blood for the spell to work, not a close friend. Corrected in my plan.

In the game, I’ll have Ivana or Nostalia explain the Sympathetic magic option that Borcan bankers use (see Dread Possibility: Corporeal Collateral in the cut Gaz 4 material, and the Gaz 4 p 134 for Sympathetic Magic)

I think I would make it require a material component (like the vial of blood you suggested) of the Foe the caster wishes to find - for each casting. Especially for the initial ritual casting. That way they can't/wont/shouldn't go all willy-nilly with casting it to find their next Foe.

Yeah, but that would limit the spell too much I think. Getting a blood vial from an enemy is a dire task, no? The Red Cross would be heavily watched!

I thought about it and changed it to : you need to have seen / interacted with the nemesis for it to work. But blood or hair or whatever increases the spell’s strenght.

Maybe boost the 'blood option' a bit more to make it more tempting to use - prehaps the blood version has the normal duration, but the safer version only lasts a few minutes. Also have the caster have to use a drop of their own blood as well (say 1hp) - the justification being the detector draws a line between the target (whose blood they have) and the caster (whose blood they need). Make the blood ritual more scary when they have to use their own blood.

Added!

As for the target knowing they are tracked, I would say no for the ordinary version but yes for the blood version. Maybe they feel as if someone is starting at or following them - raised neck hair and so forth. They dont immediately know it is magic, but just a general feeling of unease as if they are being watched or followed when the spell is active. If they meet the caster while the spell is in effect, they instantly know that person is the cause of their feelings of unease - otherwise it is just an unsettling feeling.

Added!

As a side note - And as Ivana gave them the spell as a reward, maybe she paid someone to include a subtle change into it. Every time the caster uses the spell, there is a 1% cumulative chance the caster comes under Ivana's sway. Not mind control, but more of a 'suggestion' spell like effect in her presence - if she asks them to do something they have to roll over the cumulative chance to resist or they will be well disposed to her 'small requests' (another reason why she was so generous). If they take the spell apart (as in research it) they will find the change but otherwise it seems to do as advertised.

Interesting, I’ll think about it more.

so, it's a long-range, long-duration Locate Creature, at the same level, but restricted to only an enemy. That's probably a fair tradeoff, but I might bump it up a level to be sure.

Not sure, mainly because my PCs do not have access to 5th level spells

Perhaps this spell could be used to create a better version of the Wand of Enemy Detection?

Good idea, that could work well indeed.

So here’s the revised version of the spell :

Spell : Find Foe

Know in which direction is your nemesis.

Divination
Level: Clr 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S (M – see below)
Casting Time: 10 minutes, then 1 minute each time afterward for the same foe
Range: Unlimited (see below)
Target: One creature (see below)
Duration: Varies (see below)
Saving Throw: None (see below)
Spell Resistance: No (see Darklords below)

This spell works only on a target the caster thinks is one of his most important foe or a foe of a close friend (not a minor villains, at DM’s judgement). To find a creature with this spell, you must have seen the creature up close (within 30 feet) at least once, or interacted with the creature (DM’s judgement). First time the spell is cast, casting time is ten minutes as the caster needs to focus on the target. One such target is possible until the caster or the target is dead / destroyed. If both are not dead / destroyed, each time the spell is cast afterward, the focus of the spell is that specific target.

You sense the direction where the target currently stands, but not any information on distance. The spell is normally not able to pass through domain borders. Duration of the spell is one minute per level.

You are able to triangulate when it is possible (when close enough).

If the caster has a personal possession of the nemesis, or a body part like hairs, but *not* blood, duration of the spell increase to ten minutes per level. Having blood in possession without blood ritual (see below) has no additional effect.

If the caster has blood of the target in his/her possession, the caster can make a blood ritual to mix his blood with that of the creature (loss of 1hp, duration one minute). While mixing both bloods, the caster creates a sympathetic link between the caster and the target. When this blood ritual is done, using the mixed blood increases the potency of the spell: it can cross domain borders (even if closed) and duration of the spell is increased to one hour per level. The spell uses just a tiny drop of the mixed blood each time the spell is cast. Otherwise, you just get the direction of the foe as usual. Using blood adds to this spell a necromantic component and a power check is required (1 % each casting).

If the spell is cast with a body part, or after a blood ritual, the target feels watched somehow, without being able to tell more about the source of their unease. The spell cannot be fooled by mislead and polymorph spells.

Darklords can only be targeted within their domain, and they decide whether the spell works or not.