[Spell] Bad luck for you, eh?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Mirror Wall
Conjuration
Level: Luck 5, Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Anchored mirror, up to one 10-ft. square/level
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Reflex and Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell creates an anchored plane of highly reflective glass. A mirror wall cannot form in an area occupied by physical objects or creatures. Its surface must be smooth and unbroken when created. Any creature adjacent to the wall when it is created may attempt a Reflex save to disrupt the wall as it is being formed. A successful save indicates that the spell automatically fails.

A sheet of strong, hard glass appears. The wall is 1 inch thick per caster level. It covers up to a 10-foot-square area per caster level (so a 10th-level wizard can create a mirror wall 100 feet long and 10 feet high, a wall 50 feet long and 20 feet high, or some other combination of length and height that does not exceed 1,000 square feet). The plane can be oriented in any fashion as long as it is anchored. A vertical wall need only be anchored on the floor, while a horizontal or slanting wall must be anchored on two opposite sides.

Each 10-foot square of wall has 2 hit points per inch of thickness. Creatures can hit the wall automatically with a physical attack. A section of wall whose hit points drop to 0 is breached. If a creature tries to break through the wall with a single attack, the DC for the Strength check is 15 + caster level.

Any creature that successfully breaches the wall must succeed on a Will save or takes a -2 penalty to all attacks, damage, saves, and skill rolls for 1 hour per caster level. These penalties stack if further sections of the wall are breached on a failed save.

Magical attacks with an area other than touch that is directed at the wall are deflected directly back at the caster, or area of the caster, as if the wall were where the spell originated. The exception is the Shatter spell, which damages the wall as if it were a crystaline creature. If the spell successfully destroys the entire wall the caster takes a -6 penalty to all attacks, damage, saves, and skill rolls for 48 hours. A successful will save halves the penalty and length of the curse.

If the wall is not the target but still in the area of a non-touch spell, the damage it would normally take rebounds to strike the attacker, though not the entire area.

Break enchantment, remove curse, or similiar spells, removes the penalties taken from breaking the mirror, though the caster must succeed on an opposed caster level check against the caster of the wall.

Arcane Material Component: Shard of glass and a hair from a black cat.

[Winged One]

Awsome on a stick. Shouldn't it be Conjuration, though?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Shouldn't it be Conjuration, though?

Whoops, yes. Adjusted.

[Yuki Akuma]

Wouldn't it make more sense for the unnamed penalty to be a luck penalty?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Wouldn't it make more sense for the unnamed penalty to be a luck penalty?

Penalties aren't ever named, only bonuses.

[Yuki Akuma]

Really? That seems rather odd.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Really? That seems rather odd.

Well, it would seem so at first, but what it is is that while most bonuses don't stack, almost all penalties do. No point in naming them when it makes no real difference in general what kind of penalty it might be.

I used to put named penalties when I made creatures for example, but after a dozen or so times of folks telling me there is no such thing I went and looked it up, and y'know what, couldn't find a one, except maybe in a PrC, but there was some reason it was named because of a class function or something.

[ExHunterEmerald]

I love your work, VT. Awesome.

[Peregrine]

I once pondered the question of stacking morale penalties and bonuses. People told me they didn't happen, and I thought, Okay, it was only a third-party book I saw it in.

But then as it happens, just the other day I saw the Modifiers section of the SRD:

If the modifiers to a particular roll do not stack, only the best bonus and worst penalty applies.

So penalties can be named and then follow stacking rules.

Ability Modifier
The bonus or penalty associated with a particular ability score. Ability modifiers apply to die rolls for character actions involving the corresponding abilities.

The most obvious example of a named penalty! So obvious that I never would have thought of it; probably why you overlooked it, VT.

Circumstance Modifier
A circumstance bonus (or penalty) arises from specific conditional factors impacting the success of the task at hand.

Also one that I don't think would be that uncommon, if only because circumstance modifiers (including penalties) are the sorts of things DMs are likely to apply on the fly.

And so on down the list, including...

Morale Modifier
A morale bonus represents the effects of greater hope, courage, and determination (or hopelessness, cowardice, and despair in the case of a morale penalty). Multiple morale bonuses on the same character do not stack. Only the highest morale bonus applies.

...thus answering my original ponderings: yes, there is such thing as a morale penalty in the core. (But note that the phrasing implies only morale bonuses don't stack...)

Oh, and the spell? Took me a bit to comprehend its purpose (perhaps state at the outset 'this spell conjures a mirrored surface that imparts bad luck to whoever breaks it'?), but once I did, I liked. Good job.

[Roderick_BR]

Hehe. That's a good one. Good to confuse enemies for a minute before giving them a penalty.
Hmm... can you shape it in a circle, as to surround an enemy? The perfect weapon versus medusas :P

Funny thing that you sometimes see a lot of morale effects that give penalties, but they are rarely named, like the Bane spell, while bonuses are almost always named, like the Bless spell.
I think the only penalties with names I ever saw were Attack rolls, AC, and ability scores penalties for size (-1 Size penalties on attack rolls, for example)

[The Vorpal Tribble]

yes, there is such thing as a morale penalty in the core.

Yes, but they are almost never written down as 'morale penalty'. Its just 'a -2 penalty' or whatnot. Most have an actual name, its just not normally mentioned or even required.

Hmm... can you shape it in a circle, as to surround an enemy? The perfect weapon versus medusas :P

Well, I guess I could make it a dome like an ice wall and such... will think on it.

I think the only penalties with names I ever saw were Attack rolls, AC, and ability scores penalties for size (-1 Size penalties on attack rolls, for example)

Ok, yes, THOSE are often mentioned, but not the others. But then again, they aren't standard penalties. Its not that they don't stack, its just that for your size you have a different modifier.