Explosive Runes (D&D 3.5 spell)

Bagel
Bagel
edited January 2011 in General Discussion
For the unaware, this spell lets you write a few magical runes on something that when read, detonate, dealing a significant (deadly for most people) amount of damage with no saving throw. This spell is permanent, and has no material cost, so an enterprising wizard could spend the rest of his life casting it on pieces of paper and selling them for practically any price. What do you think about the implications of this spell? Personally, I feel that a reasonably high-magic setting, it would be inevitable that the market would become flooded with these difficult to avoid but easy to produce magical traps. There's not much reason why everyone from Orcs to Orcus wouldn't be using them.

Comments

  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425 edited January 2011
    You make a good point about a powerful and permanent spell. This definately could be exploited.

    Also this could make an interesting unabomber-type character. A disgruntled wizard who mails explosive runes letters to people, maybe he targets royalty or opposing wizards or a particular faith, or myabe just random people.
    Post edited by DarkMagus on
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    I've often thought about putting them in things like research materials that were "for your eyes only" type of situations, but I've always seen them as being slightly unfair in all the circumstances that they would also be cool or funny.
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    I always implemented a 50/50 chance of explosion-on-casting with this spell. It is thus so volatile and risky as to render its exploitative value inert.
  • RaseCidraen
    RaseCidraen
    Posts: 890
    Do explosive runes have any effect on illiterate characters?
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    Wow! Rase you found the one weakness to explosive runes, the barbarian class! lmao!
  • optimus_mush
    optimus_mush
    Posts: 28
    unless the "runes" were in fact some sort of pictograph-like cave paintings or something
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    Ooooh, nice one, Mush. Explosive heiroglyphs that anyone could understand...Dammit...but how would you separate that from the knowledge of an animal of some kind that could recognize familiar shapes?....no understanding needed. Unfortunately, they'd go off when any sentient being viewed them, right? So squirrels or raccoons wandering by that happened to look that way, or examine them because they were strange markings on a wall would get blown up, and there would be no "rune" for any intended target, right?
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    Optimus, you just made me wondering something quite absurd:

    If you were to start as a barbarian and then multiclass as a psionic (humor me here...) would that mean that you were unable to _read_ minds?
  • Poutine_Paladin
    Poutine_Paladin
    Posts: 285
    Nice.

    You maybe couldn't "read" minds...but you could hit them with your pointy stick?
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    My favorite explosive runes:

    You just lost the game
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    "Pointed sticks!!":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwrCnrJOm-A Getting all high and mighty are we?
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    When you've got someone coming at you with a banana, you have to know how to defend yourself.

    You could use a poin-ted stick

    SHUT UP!
  • DarkMagus
    DarkMagus
    Posts: 425
    Evolution of this thread:

    Explosive runes -> barbarian joke ->psionic barbarian joke -> pointed sticks -> Monty Python...


    We are all the kids who couldn't sit and pay attention in school huh??? lol
  • Duskreign
    Duskreign
    Posts: 1,085
    I was too busy drawing to pay any attention in school. :P

    Also?

    - > Pie.
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