Spellcreation: Hard mojo

RPGC Community Realm of the Dragons Forum
#1

Lately, I have been working on the idea of creating a new sort of spells for an new character of mine in D&D three dot five. (Basicaly, for you oldies, Raoul is reborn!) What I thought would be an easy task ended up to be much more than I anticipated. Creating totaly new spells with new applications and not just ‘ports’ of other spells AND make them balanced is harder than it’s look.

By ‘balanced’, I mean the spell must have some kind of drawback. Some specific use. Must give the spellcaster a choice of ‘why I am taking this spell and not this one instead?’. Creating a spell that every single person would take (« Ooo, I’ll make a level 2 spell that deal 3d6 damage, is non-elemental and require no to-hit rolls! Duh! ») is very disbalancing. It’s giving the spell do a FUNCTION. Levitate only allow you to float upward. Not to the sides. (unless there is wind.)

The problem, too, is not making the spell TOO WEAK either. Gaining balance is extremly hard.

Now you all probably wonder why the heck I am writing all this crap. That’s because I thought it would be worth a try to post it here and see what you folks were thinking about this. If you guys had original ideas of new kind of spells(I am working on Offensive Positive Energy Arcana spells, too. Like the Aurora Brand I might post later.), some function or thing. Something. Maby something that disbalanced and *(?%$ »/up can be bought down to something decent.

Plus, an attempt to revive this board. Anything to say?

#2

Zoliphian’s Magneto-Automatic Weapon Yoink:
[Transmutation]
Level: Wiz/Sor/Brd2
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 ft.
Duration: NOW.

After being tired of getting into encounters half-naked and unarmed, at the worst hangovers after tankards and tankards of strong, dwarven Ale, The Rogue Magician Zoliphian created this spell to remove certain problems from the hands of her enemies, namely, their weapons. (She claims that she can’t be bothered to actually try disarming an enemy personally…)

You must be unarmed in order to use this spell.

This spell grants you a disarm attempt that does not provoke AoO with +10 (+20?) enchancement to your opposed roll, and your enemy nor you do not get bonuses/penalties for size/weapon. You still provoke an AoO normally as you cast this spell. If successful, you now have that weapon in your hands, and your enemy (surprisingly) does not!

Sound any good? Changes?

#3

Up the level or make the enemy drop the weapon instead of you getting it. Would be too easy to get insanely power weapons from “bosses”, and most enemies are a lot less dangerous without weapons.

#4

Well, do remember that your spellcaster goes NEAR the guy wielding the weapon. (Element of Risk) Secondly, It only affects creatures with items on their hands… (Drawback!) so good luck disarming a displacer beast or something.

Of course, two versions wouldn’t sound bad:

The level 2 version makes the opponent drop his weapon (Perhaps a cone effect where the weapons simple gain extra weight as per a +10 disarm check?)

The level 3 one is a pure disarm vs a single opponent.

#5

Your spellcaster will quite often be “near” enemies when they charge his/her ass. And a lot of enemies fight with equipment.