So I love the idea of Gift of Gab so much so that I am building a whole character around it. However, it has a weird limitation that I am not sure the purpose of
"so that each creature of your choice within 5 feet of you forgets everything you said within the last 6 seconds. "
The spell affects those within 5 feet of you, meaning if you are having a conversation with a room of people only those close to you are affected by the spell, those outside of 5 feet just here both phrases... It also means it won't work in places like throne rooms where more than likely the people you are talking to are not within 5 feet of you.
Is this really the intention of the spell? Or am I misunderstanding it?
I kinda figured it was the way it was intended. but it threw me because upon first reading it, I had this tale of being able to say something horrible to the king and cast the spell and just make everyone I choose to forget it.
But in reality, that would mean I would have to get close enough to him to be within 5 feet make the remake, hopefully, quiet enough that no one else would hear it then cast the spell. It takes a fun spell and makes it very situational. Also being a level 2 spell with a gold requirement.
I don't know, that range took it from a spell I would use to not even picking it up. Is it really so OP to have it read "so that each creature of your choice that can hear you forgets everything you said within the last 6 seconds. "
I'm sure you could take levels into sorcery to boost the spell up with sorcery points.
Problem is the spell has a range of self. Distant Spell doubles the range of 5+ ft ranges or turns Touch into 30 ft. I don't think it effects anything else. The 5 ft range for this spell is a specific part of the effect of the spell and not a part of it's range.
The range makes sense if you remember it's not a combat spell, but a social spell. 5ft radius is a tiny distance in combat, but in a social situation, that's a fairly reasonably sized area (over 300 square feet). Also, it's a 2nd level spell that lets you completely modify the memories of all those affected, any bigger area would be too powerful.
Also, it only affects what you've said in the last 6 seconds, it's designed to cover up a social slip up, not erase the kings memory of you calling him a fool.
Alright, so I will start off by stating that I was thinking this like combat, as in just the squares immediately surrounding me.
Thinking of it as square feet does make it much better, but unless I am calculating it wrong I am only coming up with 78.5 square feet. Where are you getting over 300 square feet?
Being able to mind-wipe an entire room full of people, even if it's just for 6 seconds, is INSANE. Especially for a second level spell. Now I understand that's what you want it to do because that would be an amazing spell that you could use casually and easily. But I actually like the limitations of the spell... it forces the player to think more creatively and find clever ways to implement it. Spells that are difficult to use but extremely powerful under the right circumstances are much more rewarding to me than spells that just make certain things a challenge-free cake walk.
you're not really mind-wiping them though, they still remember basically everything, you just replace the last 6 seconds of what you said. Making the spell great for certain cases, but very very situational. And I am not even talking about a whole room.
If you think about it an average bedroom is 132 square feet, using the calculation to convert a 5-foot radius circle would give you 78 square feet. A little more than half the size of a bedroom. That doesn't really seem like an unreasonable amount of space.... But if you were to put everything on a gird, 1 square around your character isn't a whole lot.
It's still a lot of characters to hit with a short-term memory altering spell. I'm not saying that the spell as written is over-powered, I'm just saying that if it did affect everyone within earshot it would be overpowered. Sorry I was still sort of responding to the initial question and not really taking into account all the discussion that came afterward.
But if you were to put everything on a gird, 1 square around your character isn't a whole lot.
IMO, if you're putting a social encounter on a grid, you're doing social encounters wrong. Grids are for combat encounters where everyone is desperately trying to maintain control of their 5 area. In a social situation, everyone isn't going to be standing 5 from each other in a square arrangement, you could easily be standing within 2 or 3 feet of someone, especially if you're chatting away in a noisey tavern or at a nobels party.
Again, looking at this spells range in terms of combat scale isn't the right way to evaluate it.
@FoxfireInferno I'm pretty sure Acquisitions Incorporated would come after you for copyright infringement and unauthorised modification of ISP (Intellectual Spell Properties) :P
@FoxfireInferno I'm pretty sure Acquisitions Incorporated would come after you for copyright infringement and unauthorised modification of ISP (Intellectual Spell Properties) :P
I'm guessing that as long as you continued to give them their full 2gp per casting they'll leave you alone. If you tried to create a new spell with a larger area that didn't give them their cut, you might see trouble.
The amount of personal space between individuals is purely opinion but, I feel a frontal cone of some dimension would have been a better choice for area of effect.
I feel that would be even worse considering social situations aren't (usually) played out on a grid. So you'd need to map out where each person might be standing and the caster would then need to very quickly figure who they should erase the memories of. A 5 ft radius is easier and more practical, both in and out of character
Actually, everything my group plays is on a grid. Just because you're in a social setting doesn't mean you don't want a clear understanding of your surroundings and positions. Given how often social settings become combat settings, this makes the transition easier, not harder.
We also use initiative out side of combat to prevent everyone from trying to do something at the same time. This allows people to try to act on a good idea during their turn and prevents bandwagon skill checks among other player competitive actions or decisions.
It might not hurt to consider that not everyone plays as you do and my cone shape suggestion DOES make the assumption that you generally address people in front of you. If none of my ideas work for you personally, that's fine.
So I love the idea of Gift of Gab so much so that I am building a whole character around it. However, it has a weird limitation that I am not sure the purpose of
"so that each creature of your choice within 5 feet of you forgets everything you said within the last 6 seconds. "
The spell affects those within 5 feet of you, meaning if you are having a conversation with a room of people only those close to you are affected by the spell, those outside of 5 feet just here both phrases... It also means it won't work in places like throne rooms where more than likely the people you are talking to are not within 5 feet of you.
Is this really the intention of the spell? Or am I misunderstanding it?
No, it's the intention of the spell. You need to be close to undo that flub you made
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I kinda figured it was the way it was intended. but it threw me because upon first reading it, I had this tale of being able to say something horrible to the king and cast the spell and just make everyone I choose to forget it.
But in reality, that would mean I would have to get close enough to him to be within 5 feet make the remake, hopefully, quiet enough that no one else would hear it then cast the spell. It takes a fun spell and makes it very situational. Also being a level 2 spell with a gold requirement.
I don't know, that range took it from a spell I would use to not even picking it up. Is it really so OP to have it read "so that each creature of your choice that can hear you forgets everything you said within the last 6 seconds. "
I'm sure you could take levels into sorcery to boost the spell up with sorcery points.
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Problem is the spell has a range of self. Distant Spell doubles the range of 5+ ft ranges or turns Touch into 30 ft. I don't think it effects anything else. The 5 ft range for this spell is a specific part of the effect of the spell and not a part of it's range.
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The range makes sense if you remember it's not a combat spell, but a social spell. 5ft radius is a tiny distance in combat, but in a social situation, that's a fairly reasonably sized area (over 300 square feet). Also, it's a 2nd level spell that lets you completely modify the memories of all those affected, any bigger area would be too powerful.
Also, it only affects what you've said in the last 6 seconds, it's designed to cover up a social slip up, not erase the kings memory of you calling him a fool.
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Yeah, it's to cover the "*record scratching noise* HEY, THAT'S MY SISTER!" kind of goofs in RP encounters.
Alright, so I will start off by stating that I was thinking this like combat, as in just the squares immediately surrounding me.
Thinking of it as square feet does make it much better, but unless I am calculating it wrong I am only coming up with 78.5 square feet. Where are you getting over 300 square feet?
Ah, I miscalculated and plugged radius in as diameter when trying to do πr^2 in my head. It is indeed 78 square feet, sorry.
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Being able to mind-wipe an entire room full of people, even if it's just for 6 seconds, is INSANE. Especially for a second level spell. Now I understand that's what you want it to do because that would be an amazing spell that you could use casually and easily. But I actually like the limitations of the spell... it forces the player to think more creatively and find clever ways to implement it. Spells that are difficult to use but extremely powerful under the right circumstances are much more rewarding to me than spells that just make certain things a challenge-free cake walk.
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you're not really mind-wiping them though, they still remember basically everything, you just replace the last 6 seconds of what you said. Making the spell great for certain cases, but very very situational. And I am not even talking about a whole room.
If you think about it an average bedroom is 132 square feet, using the calculation to convert a 5-foot radius circle would give you 78 square feet. A little more than half the size of a bedroom. That doesn't really seem like an unreasonable amount of space.... But if you were to put everything on a gird, 1 square around your character isn't a whole lot.
It's still a lot of characters to hit with a short-term memory altering spell. I'm not saying that the spell as written is over-powered, I'm just saying that if it did affect everyone within earshot it would be overpowered. Sorry I was still sort of responding to the initial question and not really taking into account all the discussion that came afterward.
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Research a higher level version of the spell that affects a larger area perhaps?
IMO, if you're putting a social encounter on a grid, you're doing social encounters wrong. Grids are for combat encounters where everyone is desperately trying to maintain control of their 5 area. In a social situation, everyone isn't going to be standing 5 from each other in a square arrangement, you could easily be standing within 2 or 3 feet of someone, especially if you're chatting away in a noisey tavern or at a nobels party.
Again, looking at this spells range in terms of combat scale isn't the right way to evaluate it.
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@FoxfireInferno I'm pretty sure Acquisitions Incorporated would come after you for copyright infringement and unauthorised modification of ISP (Intellectual Spell Properties) :P
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That sounds like an adventure hook if ever I heard one.
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I'm guessing that as long as you continued to give them their full 2gp per casting they'll leave you alone. If you tried to create a new spell with a larger area that didn't give them their cut, you might see trouble.
The amount of personal space between individuals is purely opinion but, I feel a frontal cone of some dimension would have been a better choice for area of effect.
I feel that would be even worse considering social situations aren't (usually) played out on a grid. So you'd need to map out where each person might be standing and the caster would then need to very quickly figure who they should erase the memories of. A 5 ft radius is easier and more practical, both in and out of character
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Actually, everything my group plays is on a grid. Just because you're in a social setting doesn't mean you don't want a clear understanding of your surroundings and positions. Given how often social settings become combat settings, this makes the transition easier, not harder.
We also use initiative out side of combat to prevent everyone from trying to do something at the same time. This allows people to try to act on a good idea during their turn and prevents bandwagon skill checks among other player competitive actions or decisions.
It might not hurt to consider that not everyone plays as you do and my cone shape suggestion DOES make the assumption that you generally address people in front of you. If none of my ideas work for you personally, that's fine.