[spells] I, ball, ...

[Grey Knight]

I'm not sure what level to assign this set of spells. I'm thinking either 6 or 7? - Set as Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6 for now.

Something I'm also looking at is some restriction on how many eyes you can have at one time, possibly linked to the animate dead limit of 4 HD worth of creatures per caster level. Perhaps an eye counts as 1 HD or so towards this limit? - Set as 2 HD for now, also turning resistance +2.

Feel free to offer other comments and suggestions too.


[hr]

Object Properties:
The effect produced by each spell is a Fine object with 0 hardness and 4 hit points.

Just Like The Living Dead
Eyes are damaged by cure spells and healed by inflict just as undead are; resurrection spells will turn them into mundane eyeballs, ending any effects. They can be turned and rebuked as discussed below. An eye counts as 2 HD towards the limit of 4 HD per caster level discussed in the description of animate dead.

Turn/Rebuke Undead:
Eyes can be turned or rebuked as an undead creature of 2 HD with turning resistance +2.
Turn undead: A turned eye cannot flee and so cowers instead. A turned eye cannot inflict new effects on anyone for as long as it is cowering, but any existing effects are still in place.
Rebuke undead: A rebuked eye cannot inflict new effects on anyone for as long as it is cowering, but any existing effects are still in place.
Command undead: You are immune to the effects of a commanded eye for as long as it is commanded by you.
Dispel turning: Works as normal.
Bolster undead: Works as normal.

It's A Trap!:
Eyes left as traps have a CR of 7. They do not normally require a Search check to uncover, as they rely on being left in plain sight to work.

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Horrid Eye
Necromancy [Evil, Mind-affecting]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 0 ft (see text)
Effect: One horrid eye (see text)
Duration: Until destroyed (see text)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Component: An eyeball of an intelligent being

A horrid eye writhes and squirms unpleasantly as it bleeds unnatural colours into the world. Anyone who sees a horrid eye directly must succeed on a Fortitude save or suffer effects according to its HD as below.
{table=head]HD | Effects

10+ | Sickened

5-9 | Sickened, frightened

4- | Sickened, frightened, nauseated

[/table]

- A creature which is sickened is so for 1 minute per caster level from the last time they saw the horrid eye; neither remove disease nor heal will cure the condition, but remove curse does.
- A creature which becomes frightened is so for 1d4 rounds, and is shaken for 1 minute per caster level after this time; it automatically becomes frightened again if it sees any horrid eye during that time. (This part of the horrid eye's effect is a fear effect)
- A creature which is nauseated by a horrid eye remains so for 1d4 rounds from the last time they saw the horrid eye.

Horrid eyes you create are considered under your control, and seeing them does not affect you.

The effects of the horrid eye cease when it is destroyed. Horrid eyes are Fine objects with 0 hardness and 4 hit points. They are damaged by cure spells and healed by inflict just as undead are; resurrection spells will turn them into mundane eyeballs, ending any effects. They count as undead of 2 HD with turning resistance +2 for the purposes of turning checks.

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Weeping Eye
Necromancy [Evil, Mind-affecting]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 0 ft (see text)
Effect: One weeping eye (see text)
Duration: Until destroyed (see text)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Component: An eyeball of an intelligent being

Weeping eyes sob violently and exude an air of despairing fear so thick as to be almost tangible. Anyone who sees a weeping eye directly must succeed on a Will save or take a -4 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for 1 minute per level.

The effects of a weeping eye counter and dispel good hope in a creature.

Weeping eyes you create are considered under your control, and seeing them does not affect you.

The effects of the weeping eye cease when it is destroyed. Weeping eyes are Fine objects with 0 hardness and 4 hit points. They are damaged by cure spells and healed by inflict just as undead are; resurrection spells will turn them into mundane eyeballs, ending any effects. They count as undead of 2 HD with turning resistance +2 for the purposes of turning checks.

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Scorching Eye
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 0 ft (see text)
Effect: One scorching eye (see text)
Duration: Until destroyed (see text)
Saving Throw: Will half (and see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Component: An eyeball of an intelligent being

A scorching eye is blasted black by the force of negative energy it channels. Anyone who sees a scorching eye directly will be struck by (4d8+caster level) points of damage (maximum 4d8+20), taking only half this damage on a successful Will save. As with inflict spells, undead creatures will be healed rather than harmed by this effect.

If the creature fails their Will save, they are additionally dazed for 1d3 rounds.

Scorching eyes you create are considered under your control, and seeing them does not affect you.

The effects of the scorching eye cease when it is destroyed. Scorching eyes are Fine objects with 0 hardness and 4 hit points. They are damaged by cure spells and healed by inflict just as undead are; resurrection spells will turn them into mundane eyeballs, ending any effects. They count as undead of 2 HD with turning resistance +2 for the purposes of turning checks.

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Beautiful Eye
Necromancy [Evil, Mind-affecting]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 0 ft (see text)
Effect: One beautiful eye (see text)
Duration: Until destroyed (see text)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Component: An eyeball of an intelligent being

A beautiful eye enchants those who view it so that they regard it as the most beautiful thing in the world. Anyone who sees a beautiful eye must succeed on a Will save or be fascinated by it. Creatures fascinated by a beautiful eye will attempt to move towards it, if possible, at half their normal movement rate. Each round, a fascinated creature may make another Will save to break the fascination.

Beautiful eyes you create are considered under your control, and seeing them does not affect you.

The effects of the beautiful eye cease when it is destroyed. Beautiful eyes are Fine objects with 0 hardness and 4 hit points. They are damaged by cure spells and healed by inflict just as undead are; resurrection spells will turn them into mundane eyeballs, ending any effects. They count as undead of 2 HD with turning resistance +2 for the purposes of turning checks.

[hr]

Crawling Eye
Necromancy [Evil, Mind-Affecting]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 0 ft (see text)
Effect: One crawling eye (see text)
Duration: Until destroyed (see text)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Material Component: An eyeball of an intelligent being

A crawling eye cannot move about, but undulates the decaying remains of its optic nerves and other entrails in a disturbing manner as it draws insane patterns in the air; the eyeball itself seems to distort and change into impossible shapes. Anyone who sees a crawling eye must succeed on a Fortitude save or take a -6 decrease to Wisdom (with a minimum score of 1) and be nauseated for 1d3 rounds.
The effects inflicted upon the victim constitute a curse which cannot be dispelled, but can be removed with break enchantment, remove curse, limited wish, miracle, remove curse, or wish.

Crawling eyes you create are considered under your control, and seeing them does not affect you.

The effects of the crawling eye cease when it is destroyed. Crawling eyes are Fine objects with 0 hardness and 4 hit points. They are damaged by cure spells and healed by inflict just as undead are; resurrection spells will turn them into mundane eyeballs, ending any effects. They count as undead of 2 HD with turning resistance +2 for the purposes of turning checks.

[Mewtarthio]

Eye see...

I'm not entirely sure why you need to make the eyes last "until destroyed." It seems like the eyes are more of a days/level type thing, rather than an undead under your control. Or did you intend to have a dungeon filled with these things?

[mikeejimbo]

Ooh, I like the idea. I think they should be a level 1 higher than a similar spell...like Weeping Eye would be 1 higher than Crushing Despair. Maybe 2, I dunno.

[Grey Knight]

Eye see...

I'm not entirely sure why you need to make the eyes last "until destroyed." It seems like the eyes are more of a days/level type thing, rather than an undead under your control. Or did you intend to have a dungeon filled with these things?

Ah, the puns begin...

I just think the concept is "prettier" as an undead thing... It occurs to me that this makes them inappropriate as Sor/Wiz spells, though, so I think I'll restrict them to being Cleric spells. You raise a good point that they can be well used as traps, so I should assign trap CRs to them as well.

Hee hee... I can just picture some adventurer opening a treasure chest and finding on top of the treasure a squirming eyeball that blasts them with unnatural energies.

Ooh, I like the idea. I think they should be a level 1 higher than a similar spell...like Weeping Eye would be 1 higher than Crushing Despair. Maybe 2, I dunno.

The effects of a weeping eye are twice as strong as crushing despair, and can affect multiple targets, so I think 6/7 is appropriate.

[fangthane]

Create Undead
Necromancy (Evil)
Clr 6, Death 6, Evil 6, Sor/Wiz 6

Control Undead
Necromancy
Sor/Wiz 7

Animate Dead
Necromancy (Evil)
Clr 3, Death 3, Sor/Wiz 4

I think you can see where I'm headed with this... :)
You might want to consider adding a level to the sor/wiz requirement for animating these eyeballs, if it's your contention that it's more akin to Animate Dead than Create Undead. However, I'd contend that at its level it's more akin to Create and thus should be the same level. In any case it's obvious that the spell should be available to both arcane and divine casters.

Nifty stuff in any case. I think I'll have to mention these things to the DM in our epic group... One of the other guys has a Robe of Eyes and I'd love to see him take some save penalties >)

Hmm, a question occurs. If they're undead, they can be turned or rebuked; how many HD do they count as, for that purpose? This will also (of course) answer your own question as to the control limit; equate it to HD of undead under the creator's control. (you may also want to give them Turn Resistance, to save a bit on HD totals)

[Grey Knight]

Gah, in that case I have no idea what spell I was looking at when I thought I had animate dead; this is why you shouldn't edit your homebrew ideas after 36 hours of sleeplessness!

Based on a note in the SRD, I've assigned an "eye trap" a CR of 7 (1+spell level). I'm also going with effective HD of 2, with turn resistance +2, like you suggested. I'm going to add a list of how the different turning effects affect the eyes, since they can't flee from turning or be commanded to attack. Best to clarify such matters.

Oh, and good catch on the Robe of Eyes idea!

[fangthane]

Hmm, just a thought but at a caster level of 11 minumum, you may want to boost their turn resistance to +4 (vampire-like) and their HD to 4 (they are fine after all, so 4d1 is plausible despite the MM's recommendation) so as to prevent their being destroyed by a level 8 cleric (with the right items) who turns as level 12 (and thus destroys anything with 6 or fewer effective HD vs a turn check).
I think my "I want to kill my players" side was showing through too much... The HD and resistance are fine. :)

Not, I suppose, that it matters too much since obviously step 2 after turning would be to have someone other than the cleric KO the thing. Skoosh.

[Grey Knight]

Indeed. It's worth putting these things in a game just to see your players stomping around the room squishing eyeballs. Bonus points if you use props.

Do you think they should have some resilience against slashing and piercing damage? It's hard to cut or stab a hard slimy ball that size, compared to bludgeoning it into a pulp.

[Jack_Simth]

At CR 7 trap, with 4 HP and no hardness, any particular DR they have won't much matter unless it's absurdly high - At 6th, a Fighter should be able to do at least 20 damage in one hit to a stationary object on their automatic hit (say, STR 18, greatsword, power attack for full; 12 damage from Power Attack, 6 from Strength, bare minimum of 2 from the worst possible roll on the greatsword - 20 damage).

Do they affect the creator if the creator allows them to become uncontrolled (as per too many undead under your control)?

If so, the Scorching Eye is rediculously broken. If not, it's still insane for something that routinely uses undead. You have one, high HP zombie/other undead in a room lined with them. Unless they can one-round the zombie, it won't die (constantly healed). Oh, and the Lich that set it up is in there, too. Have fun! For that matter, if the lich can cast Illusory Wall, and give its pet zombie proof that it's an illusion, the zombie sees right through the wall (it is a figment, after all) to the eyeballs. A Lich that's been at this for a while could be basically indestructable.

[fangthane]

Except against the aforementioned Turn Undead, or any other effect which either affects all of them or just the eye. A magic missile, for example. Or a Sound Burst with average damage, or any acid arrow, or burning hands, or shocking grasp, or an axe, or an arrow with moderate damage bonus.

True, the first zot it makes is going to catch some folks by surprise... But once it's shot black fire once, it's going down hard. And while the zombie may need to be held off an extra round or so, the eyeball can certainly be one-shotted by most characters at level 7-8.

Your point about number under control is valid though, for sure. I'd rule that they collapse, oldest first, myself.

[Rama_Lei]

It is teh shmex. I love it, and can see this as great fun for a campaign.