"I don't need to roll" (3.5 spells, PEACH)

[sreservoir]

Impossible Focus
Divination
Level: Cleric 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Components: S
Casting Time: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous

Treat one attack roll, saving throw, skill check, or ability check as if you had rolled a 10.

Preternatural Calm
Divination
Level: Cleric 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Components: S
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level

You can take 10 on skill checks and ability checks, even if stress and distractions would normally prevent you from doing so. Any other factors which would prevent you from taking 10 still apply.



I'm not quite certain they're worth the levels, so I assigned them conservatively. while being able to avoid the chance of auto-failing saves on a nat 1 is possibly powerful, it's not necessarily worth the spell slot and the immediate action; and the second might need a longer duration, because I do think I'd really rather cast guidance of the avatar.

[Garryl]

You don't automatically fail checks on 1s (nor automatically succeed on 20s). That's only for attack rolls and saving throws.

[sreservoir]

You don't automatically fail checks on 1s (nor automatically succeed on 20s). That's only for attack rolls and saving throws.

I know that. the ability to avoid auto-fail saves on 1 is kind of helpful sometimes, though.

although the penalty is probably too high for it to be useful as written under normal circumstances, and it's probably easier to take out mooks with AOE anyway.

[Garryl]

I know that. the ability to avoid auto-fail saves on 1 is kind of helpful sometimes, though.

although the penalty is probably too high for it to be useful as written under normal circumstances, and it's probably easier to take out mooks with AOE anyway.

Neither of those spells you made apply to checks. Saving throws and other non-check rolls (such as attack rolls, damage rolls, and miss chance rolls) are not checks, and thus don't qualify to be modified with Impossible Focus or Preternatural Calm.

[sreservoir]

Neither of those spells you made apply to checks. Saving throws and other non-check rolls (such as attack rolls, damage rolls, and miss chance rolls) are not checks, and thus don't qualify to be modified with Impossible Focus or Preternatural Calm.

... oh, that makes more sense.

do you know of any phrasing which specifically refers to d20+modifiers rolls?

[Amechra]

"Treat all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks as if you had rolled a 10."?

[sreservoir]

"Treat all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks as if you had rolled a 10."?

that sounds reasonable, I'm taking that phrasing.

[Phosphate]

I DO think there's an easier way to handle this.

Mending Fate [General]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 0th level spells
Benefit: Whenever you would fail a save or attack roll due to rolling a natural 1 (but wouldn't fail it on a 2), you can give up one of your lowest spell slots to succeed instead.

Yeah, pretty much solves the problem.

[jiriku]

I would place these at a much higher level. These spells duplicate maneuvers and class features, such as the Crusader's Aura of Perfect Order stance and the Rogue's Skill Mastery special, that aren't available until levels 10-11. Also, abilities that grant automatic success at a task are extremely potent -- you can be sure that players will use them when the chips are down and success is most important, so you're not just granting the ability to succeed at any old attack roll, saving throw, or skill check -- you're granting the ability to succeed at the most important ones. The lack of a verbal component also makes the spell more powerful, since it is more difficult to interrupt and can be cast secretly (you can cast it without revealing your location when you're Hiding, or perhaps hide the gestures under the table at a state dinner where you're not allowed to cast spells).

Preternatural Calm would more properly be a 5th level spell. Impossible Focus should be 6th level, or 7th if you're allowed to cast it after making the roll and seeing your die result.

[Zeta Kai]

Yay, mages get to have another really nice thing that melee can't hope to emulate! And at rather low levels, too!! Yay, magic!!!

[Kobold-Bard]

Yay, mages get to have another really nice thing that melee can't hope to emulate! And at rather low levels, too!! Yay, magic!!!

Could be made into a maneuver quite easily. It's not magic's fault that most melee classes have inflexible class features.

[Zeta Kai]

Could be made into a maneuver quite easily. It's not magic's fault that most melee classes have inflexible class features.

No, but the Tier 1 guys don't need more ways to be Tier 1 guys, either. They don't really need this, & it helps the Wizard & the Cleric even more than the Sorcerer.

[Yitzi]

They look ok, so long as you make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN not to:
-Make any way to reliably know an enemy's AC or touch AC.
-Allow any way for Impossible Focus to be applied to an enemy
-Allow any way to extend either ability (especially Preternatural Calm) to other types of checks (particularly caster level checks and dispel checks.)