Special abilities take too long to cast

[Ieldra]

Actually, I'm not sure about all of them, but I think the Faerie Fire and Moon's Hand special abilities of my Silverstar of Selune take too long to cast. These are spells that are made for combat, and many Priests stand in the front line and are among the first to be attacked. Since the Priest can use these abilities only once per day, having them interrupted often makes them a lot less useful. If I play as usual, meaning not deliberately acting from foreknowledge and casting the spell a few steps from where I know the encounter to take place, Moon's Hand gets interrupted more often than I can it off.

 

I think all those special abilities should be treated like the Bhaalspawn powers, with a very short casting time.

 

BTW, the Moonblade spell has the same problem. Its main use is against undead, so you would only cast it if you see undead of significant power or number opposing you. But at that time it's already too late to get it off without being attacked.

[Andyr]

I think casting times are taken from the IWD/pnp equivalents of the spells.

 

Since they're meant to represent part of the Priest's normal repertoire of spells (why we remove 1 normal slot from them) I don't think we'll decrease casting times - it would turn out pretty powerful!

[Ieldra]

So why then make a special ability that summons a weapon at all? That doesn't make sense if you can't cast it in combat. It's even weaker than a normal spell, since with those, if you thought you *really* needed it, you could memorize it twice. To balance that disadvantage, the special ability could have a shorter casting time.

 

Another point: the main result of the long casting time is that this special ability (Moon's Hand) is more useful in dungeon and city settings, where you are more likely to scout with a Thief, and so have time for preparation. That doesn't seem appropriate for a Silverstar of Selune.

 

BTW, I think a staff would be more appropriate than a mace for this kit. OK, it's a lot weaker, but every time I cast "Moon's Hand" it feels somehow wrong.

[Andyr]

I think we used the same duration for our spiritural weapons as the existing priest spell Spiritual Weapon.

 

Also, Selune's weapon of choice is a mace called Moon's Hand, hence the choice of weapon for the kit. We have done this for all the deities.

[Ieldra]

I think we used the same duration for our spiritural weapons as the existing priest spell Spiritual Weapon.

Indeed. Why do you think I almost never use that spell?

[Guest SirLancelot]

Pfff, Ieldra, if you don´t want to be interrupted, take the cleric behind your warriors.

[Ieldra]

Pfff, Ieldra, if you don´t want to be interrupted, take the cleric behind your warriors.

Clerics are good tanks. Taking them to the back would limit their usefulness greatly.