I may have found a use for Soul Eater. (Icewind Dale Spells)

[Userunfriendly]

On the surface, it seems like a trash spell. 
 

This spell deals 3d8 magic damage to all living creatures within a 14-ft. radius. Any creatures that die as a result of this damage are obliterated, and their essence is transformed into a 3-Hit-Dice skeleton under control of the caster. Also, for each creature that dies in this manner, the caster receives a +1 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for 1 turn.

What creature dies to a 3d8 magic damage?  Kamikaze Gibberlings?  With Covid? But the boost to Strength, Dex and Con would be good for Kensai Mage dual…then I realized.

Limited Wish: I wish to Summon a Horde to Overrun my Enemies! ^_^

This spell ignores the summon limit to give you 20 fluffy bunnies…to be sacrificed! Soul Eater should boost Str, Dex and Con to 25 with that many fluffy bunnies.  Beware of the Bunny Cultist!  Someone curious, please test.  My laptop is slow. :(

[Endarire]

This reminds me of 3.5 consumptive field tricks.

[Userunfriendly]

Has anyone been able to test my speculation?  As mentioned, my laptop has problems. :(

[Isewein]

Such a brilliant idea! Will have to try this on my next run.

[Userunfriendly]

Thanks! Please post your results. It's all speculation, and until empirically proven, just a theory.

[polytope]

It's an interesting trick, problem is that you're using a 6th and a 7th level spell to get str/con/dex to 25 for only one character, for only one turn. Did anyone think the Wish option to raise the entire party's stats to 25 for 4 rounds was worth it? Also, for a kensai->mage 25 strength is the most noticeable benefit, 25 dex is only two points improvement of AC over 18 (kensai already have good speed factor, and don't use missile weapons) and while 27 extra hp from 25 con versus 18 is good, it's still kind of redundant for a character that's likely to be starting the battle with Stoneskin.

Also, when the rabbits die and become skeletons (human skellies with weapons...) you've exceeded your summon limit since they're controlled, unlike the rabbits.

And PETA would have something to say about this tactic.

[subtledoctor]

I mean, having 20 of anything between you and the enemies can sometimes be worth it. Even if each rabbit gets killed in one hit, that still absorbs 20 hits. And there is no WIS requirement, so a thief or someone else could cast this. And once there are 20 bunnies on the field... well, it would make perfect sense to change them into 20 3HD skeletons.

I like it. Is it worth a 6th-level spell? ...Maybe?  In some cases, definitely.

[Endarire]

PETA?  Like People Eat Tasty Animals?  For a fictional depiction of fantasy violence?

[Userunfriendly]

 Might be better for a Fighter Mage multi.  For them, the benefits are noticeably better, and as you don't have Draw on Holy Might like Fighter Cleric, it makes a difference.  And PETA are scary... :0

Also the Wish Spell option, it can't be counted on. True, it might appear during a major fight, and you'd be wise to take advantage of it, but can't be used reliably.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Userunfriendly

[Userunfriendly]

10 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

I mean, having 20 of anything between you and the enemies can sometimes be worth it. Even if each rabbit gets killed in one hit, that still absorbs 20 hits. And there is no WIS requirement, so a thief or someone else could cast this. And once there are 20 bunnies on the field... well, it would make perfect sense to change them into 20 3HD skeletons.

I like it. Is it worth a 6th-level spell? ...Maybe?  In some cases, definitely.

Oh, here's another fun trick. I was reading the Wiki, and noticed a sentence that literally blew my mind. Any increase in Luck will ensure that all your generated Mirror Images will take the hit before you. Huh?

So a Minor Sequencer with Luck and Mirror image at level 18 can guarantee 7 hits MISSING you. Luck only lasts 3 rounds, however, stored in a Minor Sequencer, you have a short duration Protection from Magic Weapons.  Demogorgon has 4 attacks per round. 2 rounds of guaranteed misses.  Using 2 second level spells.  
 

Of course, it's obviously better to rely on items to increase your luck, and continually cast Mirror Image, but if you thought Mirror Image becomes obsolete at high enough levels, think again.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Userunfriendly

[subtledoctor]

Yes, and btw this gives more utility to Chant - ordinarily an underwhelming spell and sometimes used to buff outside the presence of enemies. But if you take the time to cast it in the thick of battle, then the 'bad chant' effect that hits enemies is identical to a Luck penalty, and will let you chop up an enemy mage who thinks they are protected by Mirror Images.

[polytope]

17 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

And once there are 20 bunnies on the field... well, it would make perfect sense to change them into 20 3HD skeletons.

Can't do that without modding away the summoning cap, the engine is quite strict here (in my tests) and you're stuck with 5 skeletons (instead of five potentially better summons). Actually dangerous encounters that are worth using 7th level spells for tend to feature enemies that can one shot either a 3HD skellie or a bunny rabbit (maybe not if they're using slashing/piercing weapons, which skeletons resist), but even so, unless they have AoE damage they will need to expend at least one attack (and some time moving) on each rabbit, which is what made the Limited Wish for a rabbit horde useful, tactically you can think of it as either a double strength Stoneskin cumulative with regular skins or a Maze spell that still allows attacks on the confused bunny-hunting monster.

[Christian]

7 hours ago, Userunfriendly said:

Oh, here's another fun trick. I was reading the Wiki, and noticed a sentence that literally blew my mind. Any increase in Luck will ensure that all your generated Mirror Images will take the hit before you. Huh?

So a Minor Sequencer with Luck and Mirror image at level 18 can guarantee 7 hits MISSING you. Luck only lasts 3 rounds, however, stored in a Minor Sequencer, you have a short duration Protection from Magic Weapons.  Demogorgon has 4 attacks per round. 2 rounds of guaranteed misses.  Using 2 second level spells.  
 

Of course, it's obviously better to rely on items to increase your luck, and continually cast Mirror Image, but if you thought Mirror Image becomes obsolete at high enough levels, think again.

Those  will not be "true" misses though as on-hit effects (like planetar dispel or vorpal hit) don´t care about mirror image. At least not in the current version of the game.

[Userunfriendly]

On 2/12/2023 at 8:21 PM, subtledoctor said:

Yes, and btw this gives more utility to Chant - ordinarily an underwhelming spell and sometimes used to buff outside the presence of enemies. But if you take the time to cast it in the thick of battle, then the 'bad chant' effect that hits enemies is identical to a Luck penalty, and will let you chop up an enemy mage who thinks they are protected by Mirror Images.

Oh sh!t!  You're right!  Though it doesn't explicitly say so in the Wiki, applying bad luck to enemy's should degrade their mirror resistance!

Edited February 14, 2023 by Userunfriendly

[Userunfriendly]

On 2/13/2023 at 3:27 AM, Christian said:

Those  will not be "true" misses though as on-hit effects (like planetar dispel or vorpal hit) don´t care about mirror image. At least not in the current version of the game.

True.  This is only useful at lower levels.