tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post4033600530396683797..comments2024-03-26T15:35:56.004-04:00Comments on Delta's D&D Hotspot: Spells Through The Ages – FeeblemindDeltahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-25923914886941051002021-05-26T10:13:03.052-04:002021-05-26T10:13:03.052-04:00Wow, I love that question!
Personally, by RAW, I&...Wow, I love that question!<br /><br />Personally, by RAW, I'd rule "yes". The spell doesn't prohibit use vs. undead/vampires, and the vampire listing specifically excludes only "Sleep, charm, and hold spells" (same as 2E).<br /><br />Contrast with 3E that stipulated all undead ignore "mind-influencing effects" and feeblemind is indeed tagged with that keyword. So there it flips.<br /><br />So I could see a DM ruling "no" if either (a) they felt they were extrapolating intent of the 1E vampire description, or (b) had played a lot of 3E+/Pathfinder or whatnot. I could imagine doing that myself. It's not a crazy ruling either way.<br /><br />(It's funny, I just asked about vampire magic-users the other day on ODD74; obv. they appear in the tables in 1E DMG, but I was wondering if they appeared any other/earlier place than that.)Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-62262127789461455342021-05-26T09:26:42.851-04:002021-05-26T09:26:42.851-04:00Will the Feeblemind spell work in 1E against undea...Will the Feeblemind spell work in 1E against undead; specifically a vampire magic user?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15227385912437290177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-18977033534882107342021-01-19T16:10:53.811-05:002021-01-19T16:10:53.811-05:00Yeah, it's got to be that. Historically in the...Yeah, it's got to be that. Historically in the technical definition, "moron" meant IQ 50-70, so Intelligence 5-7 under traditional D&D correlations. Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-74343677335828953292020-11-06T20:00:18.780-05:002020-11-06T20:00:18.780-05:00Speaking of the AD&D 2nd version of the spell,...Speaking of the AD&D 2nd version of the spell, in the description is not written that the affected wizard cannot cast spells. Should we assume that its intelligence is dropped bellow 9 so the wizard cannot cast spells? What would be the intelligence of a "moronic child"? Low? Semi?Κώσταςhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01761661515073986607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-16901348428750151402017-06-04T20:46:57.889-04:002017-06-04T20:46:57.889-04:00Keep in mind this is an old-school blog, and we...Keep in mind this is an old-school blog, and we'll be using a lot of save-or-die stuff; particularly at the 5th-6th spell levels which are the maximum in OD&D. :-)Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-19671955517650391192017-06-04T15:35:51.721-04:002017-06-04T15:35:51.721-04:00It's a save or die spell, and as a rule I don&...It's a save or die spell, and as a rule I don't care for those too much...<br /><br />For comparison, the 5e version targets Charisma and Intelligence, although not Wisdom, so it theoretically doesn't affect clerics. However, after that it says that the creature can't cast spells, activate magic items, understand language, or communicate in any intelligible way. It retains the "identify its friends, follow them, and even protect them."<br /><br />They get a saving throw every 30 days to recover, or a greater restoration removes the effects. That is, a 5th level spell (that practically everybody has access to), negates an 8th level spell.<br /><br />Personally, I'll probably rewrite it to just cause Ability Damage. In my campaign you recover very slowly from ability damage (it uses the death save mechanic, 1 save daily), and 3 failures indicates that point of loss is permanent. Most likely it will cause just Intelligence damage, although since spellcasting is tied to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma depending on class, it might target the relevant ability. I don't particularly like that idea due to it being called feeblemind, though.<br /><br />The intention of the spell is to target spellcasters (although originally wizards). So I guess I'm OK with just Intelligence. There could be additional spells that target Charisma or Wisdom.<br /><br />Ability damage in the campaign requires 7th level magic to heal. Even though that's lower level than the spell that caused it, it's actually addressing an effect, so I'm OK with that. Plus, it will probably require several applications to heal it all.<br /><br />I might do a variable amount of Intelligence damage too - say, 4d4, or maybe as high as 8d4, with the amount over the creature's intelligence score being psychic damage (instead of rolling such damage separately).<br /><br />Although perhaps I'd make this a necromantic spell. Casting necromantic spells in my campaign can draw unwanted attention to the caster, and potentially corrupt them as well. Necrotic damage doesn't heal naturally in the campaign either - it requires magical healing (3rd level or higher).<br /><br />Regardless, in most civilized regions, it would be a significant crime against another to cast such a spell. If you're caught. That's not to say that in less scrupulous areas that it's not used by the state as spaceLem suggests. It's probably a favorite of the Wizards of Thay.<br /><br />Almost certainly there are defenses against such a spell by high level wizards - at the very least a contingency spell of some sort.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09267051945521881482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-41991294356848694322017-03-10T11:56:59.820-05:002017-03-10T11:56:59.820-05:00Thank you! You're right, I didn't notice t...Thank you! You're right, I didn't notice that about the component. :-)Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-12049628776440092602017-03-10T11:56:34.732-05:002017-03-10T11:56:34.732-05:00Thanks for the kind words and ideas!Thanks for the kind words and ideas!Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-84412279779841676192017-02-05T10:10:53.678-05:002017-02-05T10:10:53.678-05:00Great analysis as usual, and good to see you posti...Great analysis as usual, and good to see you posting again. I would just add that the material component is a joke - losing one's marbles!Retromancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03001000119685884211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-59122116994708326442017-01-27T09:34:07.833-05:002017-01-27T09:34:07.833-05:00Good to see you back!
I'd love to see how thi...Good to see you back!<br /><br />I'd love to see how this spell would be treated in a setting. In a magocracy, it might be banned, with severe penalties for anyone found with even a copy of the spell. In a magic fearing society though, it might be the tool of the inquisition, essential for hunting down mages who refuse to work for the state.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-70074891803284468402017-01-24T12:04:40.662-05:002017-01-24T12:04:40.662-05:00LOL, that's terrific.LOL, that's terrific.Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-49332386579484536562017-01-23T14:15:54.304-05:002017-01-23T14:15:54.304-05:00One way to think about this spell is that Feeblemi...One way to think about this spell is that Feeblemind provides a bridge between the Game world and the Real world. If a player successfully casts the spell on an evil wizard I would say to the players around the table, "see before you the transformation of this genius, before he had the mind of a god, now his mind is almost exactly like yours."Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165997449776226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-27790623616222640972017-01-23T10:47:36.508-05:002017-01-23T10:47:36.508-05:00Well, that's terrifying. If it was common enou...Well, that's terrifying. If it was common enough to be known method of disabling Wizards in a setting, I could see a group of spellcasters working together to produce more effective countermeasures, or failing that, try to destroy every copy of the spell in existence.JWDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14655605701809755404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2170237526012357403.post-26332185923338357792017-01-23T08:54:42.219-05:002017-01-23T08:54:42.219-05:00Glad to see you back, hope things are well.Glad to see you back, hope things are well.Baquieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08357103428591599364noreply@blogger.com