So I was working on a spy character and I realized that I was missing the ability to store crucial information in a hidden location. The BBS Sherlock series made me think of this. Yes, you can OOC write down everything without this spell, but I wanted something that gives a cool in-character reason for that perfect memory.
I guess I'm interested in balance feedback (which I think is really hard to do for utility spells). I keep flip-flopping between taking things away like the illusion replication or possibly adding more features.
It sounds like what you want is the Keen Mind feat, which includes perfect recall for 1 month.
An ability that stores specific pieces of information will essentially require that the player keeps a log of every, single, individual entry. That's likely to get very, very cumbersome over the course of a campaign. (Who's going to keep track of those 200~1000 entries?)
However, a "Camera/Recorder" cantrip/spell could be immensely useful. Something that can store and replay a single still image or short snippet of sound (Maybe storing up to 5 such "files", or a single video entry). There are always quests that include finding evidence of something, and the lack of cameras in D&D makes that far more tricky.
Basically, this would be an application-focused alternative to the Minor Illusion cantrip.
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Isn't Encode Thoughts a thing where you can literally store information and memories - even sharing them with others for convenience?
I will add I do like the flavour and style. I'm just not sure on the practicality of it.
Ah, yeah. Good catch.
The interesting limitation to Encode Thoughts[Wizard Exclusive] is that you must cast it to both extract and absorb the encoded thought, so the only person you can share it with is another person with access to the Cantrip. It would make sense for a spy network to have people equipped for the purpose, but it's unlikely anyone else would be able to benefit from it. However, a magic item based on Encode Thoughts would be pretty cool. It would essentially be the Pensieve from Harry Potter.
I forgot about Encode Thought pretty quickly after reading it sadly. They have overlap in utility and ability to share memories, totally. However, Encode Thoughts is wizard exclusive. They also differ in storage because Encode Thoughts makes a tangible object that can been seen if you are searched. If you are a spy network of part wizard informants, Encode Thoughts would make a lot of sense for passing and sharing ideas. Passing off strings is a really neat idea. Now, Mind Palace is essentially a totally secret book that you can peruse at any time and, like someone said previously, a camera/recorder that you can playback with minor illusion or other spells. I see Mind Palace being used by an agent to keep track of a list of informants, tracking a large amount of information about a target, and reviewing the things in a room in greater detail at a later time. Basically an intangible black book, which Encode Thoughts doesn't really do. The interaction with illusions lets you share with your party a lot easier as well. Snapshot a room and review/investigate it with the party later. Snapshot a room of dignitaries and Disguise Self at a later time. Really if this adds utility to your play session depends on how your DM would hand these sorts of things if you were working on memory.
Now, Keen Mind accomplishes the same thing if you do everything within a month. Absolutely true.
The character that spawned this spell idea was a Changeling spy who keeps under cover at all times in a severely unfriendly adventure book with an all-knowing BBEG.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea, it's just that there is always a bit of metagaming about the memory of the character because in a sense it depends on the notes that the players take.
I suppose the idea of the cantrip is that you effectively make your notes perfect? A player is always free to take notes, but if the character didn't then you shouldn't just assume that your character remembered everything perfectly, a DM could force you to take a History check to see if your character actually remembers specific details.
In terms of the cantrip itself, I'd maybe personally make it more like a recall ability, e.g- you can spend up to 10 minutes attempting to recall details of something you may have seen or heard, or to piece together clues. For each minute you spend doing this, you gain a +1 bonus to an eventual Arcana, History or Insight check that you make to recall or solve. This means that the limiting factor is your character's ability to spend time doing this; if you can spend ten minutes pondering clues you may able to push the DM for a hint.
The tricky thing is it's really going to depend on the group and the DM how well anything like this will really work; if you've got a DM who will eventually hand out clues in response to repeated investigation attempts then you may not find much value in either version of this spell. This differs from Encode Thoughts which is very explicit in how it works mechanically, is mainly intended for message passing, but can be used to do a few other cool things (like cheat Modify Memory if you know it's coming).
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encode thoughts is my favorite cantrip me:"a throw the thought strand at the silver dragon " dm:"why" me:"to remind it of that one time his dad died" dm:"the dragon is now depressed"
encode thoughts is my favorite cantrip me:"a throw the thought strand at the silver dragon " dm:"why" me:"to remind it of that one time his dad died" dm:"the dragon is now depressed"
So I was working on a spy character and I realized that I was missing the ability to store crucial information in a hidden location. The BBS Sherlock series made me think of this. Yes, you can OOC write down everything without this spell, but I wanted something that gives a cool in-character reason for that perfect memory.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/703396-mind-palace
I guess I'm interested in balance feedback (which I think is really hard to do for utility spells). I keep flip-flopping between taking things away like the illusion replication or possibly adding more features.
It sounds like what you want is the Keen Mind feat, which includes perfect recall for 1 month.
An ability that stores specific pieces of information will essentially require that the player keeps a log of every, single, individual entry. That's likely to get very, very cumbersome over the course of a campaign. (Who's going to keep track of those 200~1000 entries?)
However, a "Camera/Recorder" cantrip/spell could be immensely useful. Something that can store and replay a single still image or short snippet of sound (Maybe storing up to 5 such "files", or a single video entry). There are always quests that include finding evidence of something, and the lack of cameras in D&D makes that far more tricky.
Basically, this would be an application-focused alternative to the Minor Illusion cantrip.
Isn't Encode Thoughts a thing where you can literally store information and memories - even sharing them with others for convenience?
I will add I do like the flavour and style. I'm just not sure on the practicality of it.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Ah, yeah. Good catch.
The interesting limitation to Encode Thoughts[Wizard Exclusive] is that you must cast it to both extract and absorb the encoded thought, so the only person you can share it with is another person with access to the Cantrip. It would make sense for a spy network to have people equipped for the purpose, but it's unlikely anyone else would be able to benefit from it. However, a magic item based on Encode Thoughts would be pretty cool. It would essentially be the Pensieve from Harry Potter.
I forgot about Encode Thought pretty quickly after reading it sadly. They have overlap in utility and ability to share memories, totally. However, Encode Thoughts is wizard exclusive. They also differ in storage because Encode Thoughts makes a tangible object that can been seen if you are searched. If you are a spy network of part wizard informants, Encode Thoughts would make a lot of sense for passing and sharing ideas. Passing off strings is a really neat idea. Now, Mind Palace is essentially a totally secret book that you can peruse at any time and, like someone said previously, a camera/recorder that you can playback with minor illusion or other spells. I see Mind Palace being used by an agent to keep track of a list of informants, tracking a large amount of information about a target, and reviewing the things in a room in greater detail at a later time. Basically an intangible black book, which Encode Thoughts doesn't really do. The interaction with illusions lets you share with your party a lot easier as well. Snapshot a room and review/investigate it with the party later. Snapshot a room of dignitaries and Disguise Self at a later time. Really if this adds utility to your play session depends on how your DM would hand these sorts of things if you were working on memory.
Now, Keen Mind accomplishes the same thing if you do everything within a month. Absolutely true.
The character that spawned this spell idea was a Changeling spy who keeps under cover at all times in a severely unfriendly adventure book with an all-knowing BBEG.
I suppose the idea of the cantrip is that you effectively make your notes perfect? A player is always free to take notes, but if the character didn't then you shouldn't just assume that your character remembered everything perfectly, a DM could force you to take a History check to see if your character actually remembers specific details.
In terms of the cantrip itself, I'd maybe personally make it more like a recall ability, e.g- you can spend up to 10 minutes attempting to recall details of something you may have seen or heard, or to piece together clues. For each minute you spend doing this, you gain a +1 bonus to an eventual Arcana, History or Insight check that you make to recall or solve. This means that the limiting factor is your character's ability to spend time doing this; if you can spend ten minutes pondering clues you may able to push the DM for a hint.
The tricky thing is it's really going to depend on the group and the DM how well anything like this will really work; if you've got a DM who will eventually hand out clues in response to repeated investigation attempts then you may not find much value in either version of this spell. This differs from Encode Thoughts which is very explicit in how it works mechanically, is mainly intended for message passing, but can be used to do a few other cool things (like cheat Modify Memory if you know it's coming).
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
encode thoughts is my favorite cantrip me:"a throw the thought strand at the silver dragon " dm:"why" me:"to remind it of that one time his dad died" dm:"the dragon is now depressed"
Check out my homebrew subclasses spells magic items feats monsters races
i am a sauce priest
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Check out my homebrew subclasses spells magic items feats monsters races
i am a sauce priest
help create a world here