Topic: Favorite spell combinations?

[dutch206]

What are your favorite spell combos?

Mine has to be Levitate + Fireball = Nuke from Orbit 

[GrumpyOldFart]

It's not exactly a spell combo, but the one that impressed me was Flying opponent + Vacuum spell under a wing = steal its lift.

 

[Lord Garth]

Stun + Bleed (Magus). Fool will be dead before he comes back.

[Ynglaur]

Various protection spells (Resist Cold, etc.) and Permanence.  The various trigger spells are nice, too (e.g. Trigger on 0 hits Teleport to location; location contains Circle of <pick healing spell>).

[rdanhenry]

Any of the 50th level spells that let you cast one of the lower level spell on the list each round would be nice with Permanence. Of course, Permanence and any powerful spell is pretty cool.

Fog spells and Fogvision are made for each other, as are Darkness spells and Darkvision.

Symbols and Alchemist spells to create auto-enchantment factories.

Flying and Invisibility. Flight gets you away from most of the "oops, I bumped into something, now I'm visible" issues and Invisibility gets you away from the "Hey, look, I'm flying, you should probably shoot me" issues.

Light Wall with a damaging area effect spell (like Fire Wall) hidden behind it, so anyone who steps through your Light Wall takes the damage without warning.

[MariusH]

Hmm, I like low-level things, so how about circle I with sleep V, radiating outwards? If I'm lvl 3, then I can affect all 5th lvl or less creatures within 15' from the circle, with those adjecent to the circle even getting a -25 to their RR.

Apart from that, fly combined with almost anything is nice.

[Ecthelion]

Even though, as a power-gamer, I am fond of powerful spell combinations, I don't like spells or spell-combos that are so powerful that opponents don't stand a chance. As such we have eliminated most/all of the above options. E.g. for casting a Fireball while flying/levitating we would require development of Aerial Combat skill, unbalanced companion professions like the Magus were one of the reasons to switch from RM2 to RMSS, which removes all the killer-spells these companion professions might have.

[MariusH]

We allow casting spells (including balls/bolts) while flying, but melee or missile is another matter. Is it powerful? Yes. But you still have options, like firing missiles/bolts/balls at the flying mages, or dispelling the fly spell, or being a flying foe yourself. And since casting spells after using 25% of your PPs require SCSMs, which are rather hard "in a melee environment", it's not that overpowered (after a couple balls/bolts, you're more or less "out of ammo").

Also, a pure caster on the ground is quickly disposed of by any melee-fighter, who can strike from 50' distance using react and melee (sure, they get lots of minuses, but against a pure spell user you don't really need much OB left to hurt them). Combined with no spell casting while stunned, that sure makes casters on the ground really vulnerable! Getting airborne as fast as possible is their best bet for surviving - but then, of course, they are easy targets for enemy bowmen (who can now fire at them without risking hitting one of their own). Sure, if they are high enough level they can maybe deflect one (or maybe even two!) missile(s) each round, but they'll definitely run out of PPs before the enemy runs out of arrows, and since they can only cast one spell each round, they can't do much else while they're deflecting arrows...

[Ynglaur]

Flying is great, but also makes one vulnerable.  No cover--and thus no ability to parry missiles; vulnerable to counterspells, unable to see wards/symbols/etc. at ground level; etc.

[intothatdarkness]

Even though, as a power-gamer, I am fond of powerful spell combinations, I don't like spells or spell-combos that are so powerful that opponents don't stand a chance. As such we have eliminated most/all of the above options. E.g. for casting a Fireball while flying/levitating we would require development of Aerial Combat skill, unbalanced companion professions like the Magus were one of the reasons to switch from RM2 to RMSS, which removes all the killer-spells these companion professions might have.

I always found it easier to eliminate the unbalanced companion professions (or restrict their availability). RMSS just didn't do anything for me, and once I'd modified the RM2 systems to match my world's needs, it was just too much bloody work to go back in and start over with a system that would require much more work to modify.

That said, we tended to handle spell combinations like some of the above by strictly sticking to the warming requirements (except for instantaneous spells, which we revised somewhat to work in our setting). It also helped that I didn't have a line of power-mad spell users waiting in the wings.

I like the aerial combat skill development mentioned...bloody good idea. We did something similar for mounted combat (i.e., capped the OB for attacks at whichever skill was lower - riding or the weapon being used), and it worked well.

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

We allow casting spells (including balls/bolts) while flying, but melee or missile is another matter. Is it powerful? Yes. But you still have options, like firing missiles/bolts/balls at the flying mages, or dispelling the fly spell, or being a flying foe yourself. And since casting spells after using 25% of your PPs require SCSMs, which are rather hard "in a melee environment", it's not that overpowered (after a couple balls/bolts, you're more or less "out of ammo").

It's as much "over"powered as planes became to cars, or bows (then guns) to melee weapons, as soon as they became efficient. Meaning a lot. However, would forbid it the "correct" way to deal with it? Anyone has his own answer to that.

On topic, the spell combination I'd consider as powerful is:

• Cast Complex spell V (level 50) from the RoCo I Spell coordination list,
• Cast as the five spells in the combination Mass merge (level 50) from the SUC Power merge. Whilst the spells can't be combined together with each other, notice that a Complex spell spell allow them to be considered as independant spells that even take place split seconds from each other (caster determine the order, and it implies they do not take place at the very same instant),
• In each Mass merge spell, combine whatever spells you want (up to 7 spells with levels not to exceed 100, of which no single spell may be over 20).
  
  My suggestion would be, as the first combination:
  • Major elemental field (level 20) from the EC Elemental area attack law list,
  • Ephemeral III (level 13) from the RoCo V Ephemeral enhancement list, choosing Em, Pr and In, as the stats enhanced, so that you temporily have more PPs, and better magical skills (such as Spell Mastery if the GM asks for such rolls),
  • Potency V (level 19) from the SUC Spell enhancement II list,
  • Reduction III (level 19) from the RoCo V Spell guard list,
  • Dispel Mentalism (level 15) from the SL Dispelling ways list,
  • Dispel Essence (level 14) from the SL Dispelling ways list.
  
  As the second combination:
  • Dispel Channeling (level 16) from the SL Dispelling ways list,
  • Increase radius III (level 13) from the RoCo V Spell manipulation list,
  • Quadruple criticals (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list,
  • Expansion (7x) (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental radius list,
  • Enhance P-E poisoning IX (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance proto-elemental poisoning list,
  • Enhance potency (x6) (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental potency list.
  
  As the third combination:
  • Penetrate III (level 17) from the RoCo V Spell guard list,
  • Crit bonus V (level 20, lowered to 12) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list,
  • Intensify critical III (level 16, lowered to 8 ) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list,
  • Continuation IX (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Elemental continuation list,
  • Superior elemental ball (level 18, lowered to 10) from the EC Elemental attack law list,
  • Quadruple criticals (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list,
  • Expansion (7x) (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental radius list.
  
  As the fourth combination:
  • Enhance P-E poisoning IX (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance proto-elemental poisoning list,
  • Enhance potency (x6) (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental potency list,
  • Crit bonus V (level 20, lowered to 12) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list,
  • Intensify critical III (level 16, lowered to 8 ) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list,
  • Continuation IX (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Elemental continuation list,
  • Superior elemental ball (level 18, lowered to 10) from the EC Elemental attack law list,
  • Quadruple criticals (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list.
  
  As the last combination:
  • Expansion (7x) (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental radius list,
  • Enhance P-E poisoning IX (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance proto-elemental poisoning list,
  • Enhance potency (x6) (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Enhance elemental potency list,
  • Intensify critical III (level 16, lowered to 8 ) from the EC Enhance elemental criticals list,
  • Continuation IX (level 25, lowered to 17) from the EC Elemental continuation list,
  • Superior elemental ball (level 18, lowered to 10) from the EC Elemental attack law list,
  • Ephemeral III (level 13) from the RoCo V Ephemeral enhancement list, to get your stats back.
• Now cast Complex contingency (level 25) from the RoCo I Spell coordination list, and put as the condition the casting of the previous Complex spell V, with all its combinations.

There. Next time you cast the previous Complex spell V, with all its combinations, it goes on, starting it from the contingency as well, each Complex spell V casting a succession (with a split-second delay) of THREE elemental balls, with just the instant before a tentative to dispell any protective spell of any realm but Arcane, bonus to spell rolls, minus to RR (for the PEM rolls), radii increased, critical rolled FOUR times, whilst being increased, etc. And don't forget the PEM rolls and increased stats!

There. :p

That being posted, let's notice that such a combination exists foremost only on paper since its caster needs to be at least level 50, knows spells from closed elemental lists, base elemental lists, closed Essence lists, Arcane lists... and the casting of each spell costs several HUNDREDS PPs!

...you can now resume your breathing.

[rdanhenry]

That being posted, let's notice that such a combination exists foremost only on paper since its caster needs to be at least level 50, knows spells from closed elemental lists, base elemental lists, closed Essence lists, Arcane lists... and the casting of each spell costs several HUNDREDS PPs!

Although, if your players are meeting gods, they might see something like that.

[Ynglaur]

Channeling can provide such PPs...and Spell Adders help with the Level 50 spells.

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

Channeling can provide such PPs...

Watch out for burnouts though!

[MariusH]

Well, going to the powerful end of the spells, I'll repeat myself: The most powerful spell in the book is more powerful than most other spell combinations: Time Returning. That single spell really can mess up the entire world system. I'd never ever allow such a spell in any campaign where I was GM.

[Ynglaur]

Perhaps a more interesting question that the OP: what are your favorite spell combinations, levels 20 and below?

[kevinmccollum]

Calm and haste. Once calmed, the opponent can't take any offensive/aggressive action but my fight in self defense. So, by the RMSS/RMFRP rules, he can't parry until attacked. Calm, haste and the first round will be a bloodbath.

[yammahoper]

Hold Person and Cloaking combined with a fighter.  Mentalist cloaks against as many foes as he can, then cast holding spells that hold foe to 20% activity, so he cant defend agaunst fighters attacks.  I tpk a party of three with this combo.  If the target fails the rr against cloaking after the holding spell is cast on him, the mentalist is still safe and can move about.  The combo is so nasty, I stopped using it after that campaign, though i confess it remains in the lexicon if I should meet a powergamer and want to chase him off as discreetly as possible.  otoh it made sense to that campaign since it was a tactic used by the islands native race.  good combos still require good reason.

[MariusH]

For defence against mentalism/channeling users: Circle II with Dispel Mentalism/Channeling and Unmentalism/Unchanneling. If a mentalism/channeling user tries to enter the circle, they either make their RRs (with a -50 RR mod) or lose all active spells as well as all powerpoints.

[Ecthelion]

Calm and haste. Once calmed, the opponent can't take any offensive/aggressive action but my fight in self defense. So, by the RMSS/RMFRP rules, he can't parry until attacked. Calm, haste and the first round will be a bloodbath.

IMO this notion of being able to defend oneself while under the effect of a Calm spell exactly means that the character may parry starting with the first round. Doing a full parry is a very defensive action. So why on earth shouldn't he be able to parry in the first round?