Wise Counsel Spell (PEACH)

[Lysander]

Wise Counsel
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 1, Cleric 1, Druid 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 minute/level

The caster sees and hears a gruff old man who appears to follow the caster, hobbling with a cane, and engages them in conversation. This apparition is entirely in their own minds.

The apparition attempts to give the caster good advice and answers questions, drawing on all knowledge the caster has. It is not always correct, but it is sound guidance given the caster's available information and goals. The apparition may point out solutions or options the caster has overlooked, and relishes the chance to mockingly point out foolish behavior.

The old man acts as if it can see and hear on its own, and may sometimes point out hidden objects. In actuality the caster merely gains the Alertness feat for the duration of the spell, with the apparition pointing out anything detected due to that bonus.

Material Component
A gray human hair

Basically a "Railroad me, I'm stuck" spell. Annoying if you need to use it, but being able to get your DM's opinion on anything is a potent tool

[Zeta Kai]

So, you summon a sage (conjuration), or your create the image of said sage (illusion)? Either way, it's kinda weird. Not bad, just weird.

Also, shouldn't your DM be steering the plot better? You shouldn't ever need this spell unless the DM is asleep at the switch.

[Temotei]

So, you summon a sage (conjuration), or your create the image of said sage (illusion)? Either way, it's kinda weird. Not bad, just weird.

Also, shouldn't your DM be steering the plot better? You shouldn't ever need this spell unless the DM is asleep at the switch.

:smallsigh:...Zzzzz...

[DracoDei]

Change "human hair" to "humanoid hair" I think...

Other than that... sounds like a GM fiat spell, but very useful to have make its way into a casters book (by hook or by crook) when the players say the puzzles are too hard, while the GM feels ready to cry because of how dense the players seem.

[Lysander]

So, you summon a sage (conjuration), or your create the image of said sage (illusion)? Either way, it's kinda weird. Not bad, just weird.

Also, shouldn't your DM be steering the plot better? You shouldn't ever need this spell unless the DM is asleep at the switch.

It's not either. It's a divination vision.

It's not necessarily to get plot advice. It can be a reminder about an enemy's weakness, or a class ability you've forgotten. For an example of DM advice:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0437.html

[FlamingKobold]

I like the example :smallsmile: I also think the spell is good, but only if your DM is good. In front of a bad or only somewhat competent DM this gets very bad very fast. But that's true of just about everything, I guess. I just feel that this exacerbates that. Anyway, the spell itself is a good utility spell, and something every wizard should pick up.

[Dust]

I quite like this spell. I'd even go so far as to say the old man should in fact be a senior version of the caster.

[Lysander]

Here's another divination spell, this one a cantrip. It's simultaneously not that powerful, since it's barely better than random chance, but also kind of powerful since it applies to any choice:


Decision
Divination
Level: Sor/Wiz 0, Cleric 0, Druid 0
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous

This spell is cast when picking one of two options. The caster thinks of both options in their mind and the spell randomly picks one of them. There is a 60% chance that this choice is the better option for the caster. If both options are equally good the choice is completely random. Although this is barely better than flipping a coin, when the spell is correct it has complete omniscience about all time and space, including the likely future consequences of that decision, and that slight increase in accuracy may be worthwhile. Since the future is undecided the spell can do no more than judge likely possibilities, and what the caster would consider acceptable reward versus risk. The caster does not learn the spell's process of reasoning. The spell can be cast multiple times to be more sure of the result.

[FlamingKobold]

Decision: That sounds fun. But what if there is no objectively better option? Then is it just random chance? This sin't to say both are equally good (Since you covered that in the spell) but more along the lines of differing theories of what is the better option. For an example from OOTS, what would the spell say for V's decision to go battle xykon despite her mate's request? There's no way to way between the options. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

[Lysander]

Decision: That sounds fun. But what if there is no objectively better option? Then is it just random chance? This sin't to say both are equally good (Since you covered that in the spell) but more along the lines of differing theories of what is the better option. For an example from OOTS, what would the spell say for V's decision to go battle xykon despite her mate's request? There's no way to way between the options. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

If the DM can't decide what the caster would consider better, then its random. In that example it'd estimate the chance of defeating Xykon, versus the chance of being killed, while also considering that Ochul could break free and that the MiTD could help them escape. All those pros and cons would be judged in comparison to the benefits of giving the fiends less time owning V's soul in the future, based on whatever their evil plan is. "Better" would be whatever the caster considers better. If they have a tendency to take risks, the spell would favor a reasonable gamble over a safer but less potentially beneficial option.

Which is why the spell is best for less subjective questions. "Am I better off taking the left tunnel or the right tunnel?" If the left tunnel is lined with deadly traps, and the right tunnel has monsters the caster is more suited to face, then the choice is pretty clear. If it's something like "Should I go on this adventure?" it's more likely the spell won't work, since the risks and rewards are less clear.

[DracoDei]

Spamming it is pretty powerful... more powerful than many high level divination in some ways, due to the unlimited range it considers into the future.

An "At-Will" item used during down-time with 50 times per question would be pretty common in parties as soon as they could half-way reasonably afford it.

[Lysander]

Spamming it is pretty powerful... more powerful than many high level divination in some ways, due to the unlimited range it considers into the future.

An "At-Will" item used during down-time with 50 times per question would be pretty common in parties as soon as they could half-way reasonably afford it.

What sort of limits it is that the future isn't decided yet, so it only judges probabilities. I should add that to the spell. The spell can consider that jumping over a chasm is a shortcut, and that you have a good chance of making it over, but you could still roll a 1.

[Mulletmanalive]

The solution to the multiple decisions thing is simply to state that the universe will only make one call on a matter and just give the same response over and over. This was the response back in 2e with the multiple uses of Augery.

Back in 2e, you'd also annoy your deity while you were at it but hey.