I love the visual effect of the Meteor spell, but I find it's damage o be a little underwhelming - combine it with the damage enhancing skill in Rifter 30 though and it suddenly improves dramatically. I'm also fond of the Barrage spell, but more fore the negative effects it imposes on the enemy. I like all the damaging spells that youu cast once, and for a duration of time you can throw or fire damaging attacks with no further P.P.E. cost or worry of spell interruption.
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kiralon: "...the best way to kill an old one is to crash a moon into it."
Galroth wrote:Best bang for your buck is Sorcerous Fury.
Good spell, but I don't like the after effects.
Put it in a Talisman and let others use it against your enemies. No need for you to expose yourself to the risk of combat or the undesirable after effects.
For instance, you could cast Compulsion on someone in a group ahead of time, then before the compulsion expires, Teleport Object a Sorcerous Fury Talisman to them.
Edit: I almost forgot the obvious: Id Alter Ego + Sourcerous Fury Talisman. If you're careful, Swap Places also has its uses in this situation.
--flatline
I don't care about canon answers. I'm interested in good, well-reasoned answers and, perhaps, a short discussion of how that answer is supported or contradicted by canon.
If I don't provide a book and page number, then don't assume that I'm describing canon. I'll tell you if I'm describing canon.
Assuming you are only referring to invocations, I am partial to Spinning Blades. Versatile and effective for a relatively low P.P.E. cost.
If spells from any magic type are fair game, it is hard to beat the Warlock spells Earthquake and Tornado for unbridled devastation.
EDIT: Upon further thought, I like the defensive aspects of Spinning Blades more than the offensive, so I withdraw the comment. I have found Shockwave and Luck Curse to be very useful attack spells.
I've found Trance to be a surprisingly effective offensive spell. completely incapacitates an enemy for a long duration and makes ti easy to bind and/or arrest them
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I personally like Realm of Chaos myself. There's nothing like having an enemy's most dreaded foe (or foes for that matter if a group) do all the dirty work for you.
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When combat starts, my general goal is to secure the party's ability to safely escape from combat if we need to. I generally leave the damage dealing to someone else if I have the choice. As such, the spells I use in combat are spells that are reliable (no dodge or saving throw) and offer some sort of tactical advantage.
Time Slip If I could only have one spell ever to use in combat, it would be this spell. Being able to have an extra seven uninterruptable seconds is so broadly useful that I always attempt to have multiple charged Time Slip Talismans on me at any time so that I can cast it in a single action at any time even if I'm out of PPE myself.
Swap Places This spell is an excellent tool for ambush and for dividing and conquering. If you also have Id Alter Ego, you can create a double of your target, swap the double for the target, and the enemy party won't even realize you've stolen (and probably ambushed and killed) one of their members until the body appears at the end of the spell's duration or when the caster decides to cancel the spell.
Cloud of Smoke An effective way to eliminate any numerical advantage the enemy may have or to cover your escape. Can also be a distraction (cast it somewhere that you're not).
Id Alter Ego This can be used as the spell description suggests (sowing confusion and such), but the real use for this spell is that the double knows EVERYTHING the target knows (passwords, troop counts and movements, spells, etc). Not really a spell to cast during combat, but definitely a spell to help you prepare for combat. Also, the double is created with all the same stuff (by appearance, anyways), so you can take his (fake) armor and (fake) equipment off him and use it as a disguise or props if you need to.
There are others, but those were the first 4 that popped into my head. When I get home and have a chance to look at the BoM and some old character sheets, I'll probably post again with some more.
--flatline
I don't care about canon answers. I'm interested in good, well-reasoned answers and, perhaps, a short discussion of how that answer is supported or contradicted by canon.
If I don't provide a book and page number, then don't assume that I'm describing canon. I'll tell you if I'm describing canon.
There are so many that have combat applications, even without causing one bit of damage, that the idea of "attack spells" gets muddy.
Limiting the choices to purely offensive, damage-dealing spells, I guess I'd choose:
Lightning Arc: Not the hardest hitting or farthest reaching spell, but it is an excellent use of PPE; you can get many attacks out of a single casting, unlike most spells which are single use. As a level eight spell, it is also an excellent choice to place in a Talisman.
Most of my fav. spells are not in the RBoM. They are in the "Invented Spells" topic in this forum. Otherwise, the spells in the Library of Bletherad book.
May you be blessed with the ability to change course when you are off the mark.
Each question should be give the canon answer 1st, then you can proclaim your house rules.
Reading and writing (literacy) is how people on BBS interact.
drewkitty ~..~ wrote:Most of my fav. spells are not in the RBoM. They are in the "Invented Spells" topic in this forum. Otherwise, the spells in the Library of Bletherad book.
Back in 1999 or 2000 (before this account expired the first time) I posted a bunch of magic pigeon variants. As I recall, one of them was called Magic Pigeon of Death and was actually quite a viable attack spell against stationary targets.
It was basically a magic cruise missile with a top speed of 30mph...
Edit: Looks like drewkitty reposted it in 2010. It was written before RUE boosted ley lines, so it probably needs to be capped or rebalanced somehow.
--flatline
I don't care about canon answers. I'm interested in good, well-reasoned answers and, perhaps, a short discussion of how that answer is supported or contradicted by canon.
If I don't provide a book and page number, then don't assume that I'm describing canon. I'll tell you if I'm describing canon.
May you be blessed with the ability to change course when you are off the mark.
Each question should be give the canon answer 1st, then you can proclaim your house rules.
Reading and writing (literacy) is how people on BBS interact.
drewkitty ~..~ wrote:sent them to your PMs flatline
Ah, excellent. Thank you!
I had written more than I remembered. It might be worth restarting that project since I think I would do it a little differently now.
--flatline
I don't care about canon answers. I'm interested in good, well-reasoned answers and, perhaps, a short discussion of how that answer is supported or contradicted by canon.
If I don't provide a book and page number, then don't assume that I'm describing canon. I'll tell you if I'm describing canon.
Power Bolt - best long range attack with decent damage . Fire Globe - nice "magical grenades" with a good duration CoA - but I wouldn' call it an attack spell Power Weapon - good beaf up of melee weapons Desiccate the Supernatural - good against demons, deevils and other supernatural creatures. Magic Warrior - good for a buddy in a fight Meteor - aera bombardment, nuff said Annihilate - massive damage Spell of Legend. Sanctuary - no one can attack!!!
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