V has more spells...

So I was rereading the OOTS comics and on 49, V gives a list of spells that he/she/it is willing to trade with Zz'dtri for a version 3.0 flight spell and included on this list is, meteor swarm and time stop. Now I don't really play D&D but based on how they are used in the comics, meteor swarm being able to kill a slightly damaged zombie dragon and time stop only being used when V was super powered with the three other evil wizards, why doesn't V use these spells more often? They appear to be very good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The_Fire

So I was rereading the OOTS comics and on 49, V gives a list of spells that he/she/it is willing to trade with Zz'dtri for a version 3.0 flight spell and included on this list is, meteor swarm and time stop. Now I don't really play D&D but based on how they are used in the comics, meteor swarm being able to kill a slightly damaged zombie dragon and time stop only being used when V was super powered with the three other evil wizards, why doesn't V use these spells more often? They appear to be very good.

---

They are 9th level spells, which V does not have access to.

To equate it, imagine if I asked to buy your house for 50,000, then 100,000, then 2 billion. The first two offers are genuine, the third is clearly embellishment. Same thing as in the comic.

Edit: V had access to Time Stop only through the Soul Splice, which gave him the powers of three epic level arcane casters. One of whom knew Time Stop.

Yeah, given V's exasperated expression when he's reading out those spells, I don't think he even *knows* them--he was just throwing them out there to prove the point that Zz'dtri wouldn't trade his trick Fly spell for anything.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The_Fire

So I was rereading the OOTS comics and on 49, V gives a list of spells that he/she/it is willing to trade with Zz'dtri for a version 3.0 flight spell and included on this list is, meteor swarm and time stop.

---

imho, by the time V was proposing to trade meteor swarm, time stop and wish, he was merely tossing valid spells which he believed would tempt any regular wizard to be interested in trading, but spells that he did not in fact owned. They were only mentioned to build V's point that Drows are knowledge-hogging bastards.

[edit]
you know its early when you write a comment that raises the same points as the previous one... in a thread with just 3 points. My morning coffee still didnt kick in, it appears.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I disagree. It is true that Vaarsuvius can't cast those spells because they're too high level. But I think she does have those spells in her spellbook, and could have let Zz'drti copy them. The rules allow a wizard to copy any wizard spell to her spellbook, even if it's too high level for her to cast. Writing a spell requires making a Spellcraft checks to learn that spell, which is more difficult for higher level spells, but it's not something Vaarsuvius couldn't clear even for a level 9 spell. Vaarsuvius has spent decades studying arcane magic, so it's entirely possible that she's added spells like Time Stop, Meteor Swarm, and Wish to her spellbooks, hoping that one day she will have enough arcane power be able to cast them. (Vaarsuvius probably shouldn't have Vampiric Touch in her spellbook though, because that spell is of the Necromancy school which is one of Vaarsuvius's barred schools, and she can't copy such spells. Perhaps she doesn't: she might have a scroll from a randomized booster pack, and offers Zz'dtri to learn the spell from that scroll.) Of course, Zz'dtri couldn't cast those spells either, and she might already have them in her spellbook too, so they may be worthless to her.

Zz'dtri is male.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by b_jonas

Vaarsuvius has spent decades studying arcane magic, so it's entirely possible that she's added spells like Time Stop, Meteor Swarm, and Wish to her spellbooks, hoping that one day she will have enough arcane power be able to cast them. [...] Of course, Zz'dtri couldn't cast those spells either, and she might already have them in her spellbook too, so they may be worthless to her.

---

Catch-22 there, isn't there? The entire point of Vaarsuvius bringing up Meteor Swarm, Time Stop, and Wish is that it's ludicrous that Zz'dtri would refuse to trade a third-level spell for something so much more powerful. If there's nothing particularly remarkable about a level 7-9 wizard having those spells then Vaarsuvius looks silly for thinking they're worth anything comparable to a unique house-ruled 3.0ed Flight and the joke is ruined.

Quote:

---

(Vaarsuvius probably shouldn't have Vampiric Touch in her spellbook though, because that spell is of the Necromancy school which is one of Vaarsuvius's barred schools, and she can't copy such spells. Perhaps she doesn't: she might have a scroll from a randomized booster pack, and offers Zz'dtri to learn the spell from that scroll.)

---

In 3.0ed, a wizard who barred Conjuration didn't need a second barred school. Presumably, Vaarsuvius' spellbook still contains some Necromancy spells which they can no longer use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by b_jonas

I disagree. It is true that Vaarsuvius can't cast those spells because they're too high level. But I think she does have those spells in her spellbook, and could have let Zz'drti copy them. The rules allow a wizard to copy any wizard spell to her spellbook, even if it's too high level for her to cast. Writing a spell requires making a Spellcraft checks to learn that spell, which is more difficult for higher level spells, but it's not something Vaarsuvius couldn't clear even for a level 9 spell. Vaarsuvius has spent decades studying arcane magic, so it's entirely possible that she's added spells like Time Stop, Meteor Swarm, and Wish to her spellbooks, hoping that one day she will have enough arcane power be able to cast them. (Vaarsuvius probably shouldn't have Vampiric Touch in her spellbook though, because that spell is of the Necromancy school which is one of Vaarsuvius's barred schools, and she can't copy such spells. Perhaps she doesn't: she might have a scroll from a randomized booster pack, and offers Zz'dtri to learn the spell from that scroll.) Of course, Zz'dtri couldn't cast those spells either, and she might already have them in her spellbook too, so they may be worthless to her.

---

If it's on a scroll, V could potentially cast it from the scroll (so long as it's not from a banned school), but there's a chance of a miscast if it's a level V can't yet cast.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kish

In 3.0ed, a wizard who barred Conjuration didn't need a second barred school. Presumably, Vaarsuvius' spellbook still contains some Necromancy spells which they can no longer use.

---

A point I hadn't considered before.