* The Problems *
It's quite apparent from reading the proposals on Safe spells that there is dissatisfaction with them (though how widespread, I don't know). Personally, I'm not totally satisfied with them either, but for different reasons. I don't like that we have six Safe spells where we used to have five spells that protected cleric casters and their targets. I think the Safe spells at present are inelegant and that there are too few differences in them to merit so many spells.
Others (Dawn Metcalf and Tim Shoemaker have active proposals) think that our current Safe spells are too weak, and that clerics don't get enough protection from them. I don't really agree with this position, but I think some compromise changes might be possible, ones that will deal with actual problems with our current Safe spells, and increase their power and versatility slightly, without creating undue complication in the rules, and without recreating the prior problem of clerics being too powerful relative to mages.
What are the actual problems with our Safe spells at present?
What are the benefits of our Safe spells at present?
Overall, I think we're better off with the new spells than the old ones. I'd like to see them refined and improved rather than thrown out.
To that end, I've written this massive proposal. It has a lot of parts. In it, I'm proposing six changes (several with sub-changes), each independently, that, taken as a package, would do a lot to improve our protective spells through simplifying them and increasing their versatility, while keeping them at power levels that are appropriate. (Because this proposal is so big, it's quite possible that I've made mistakes in drafting it. If you spot something that looks like it's an error, please let me know.)
This proposal is a counterproposal to the following proposals currently on the RC queue:
1. http://yale.graduate.net/~johne/rc/proposals/safe.html by Dawn Metcalf. (Dawn's proposal has three parts. I disagree with the first part of it, but have proposed a compromise. I've also proposed a compromise with the second part, and I have incorporated the third part.)
2. http://yale.graduate.net/~johne/rc/proposals/safe-2.html by Tim Shoemaker. (Tim's proposal has four parts. I disagree with the first three parts, and I haven't really proposed compromises, except that I think the overall package of this proposal improves clerics' abilities with protective magic. I have proposed a compromise with the fourth part.)
3. http://yale.graduate.net/~johne/rc/proposals/sanctity.html by Dawn Metcalf. (Dawn's proposal addresses both healing and Safe spells. This proposal does not address healing spells at all, but offers a compromise with the Safe spell portion of her proposal, which is the same as the first part of her other proposal mentioned above.)
I'd also like to note that I've used ideas from Dawn Metcalf's proposal here: http://yale.graduate.net/~johne/rc/proposals/safe-circle-limits.html in this proposal.
* Summary of the proposed changes *
1. To put what is likely the most controversial idea first, I'm proposing that
we scrap Safe Circle altogether. Its advantages over Safe Retreat and Safe Journey
are minimal, and its chief utility is in its use as a blockade. I'm proposing
that we replace it with Magic Wall, which is essentially a "force field"
spell, useful for protection and offense.
details | proposal
2. I'm proposing that we adopt Dawn's and Tim's idea of clerics being able
to protect one target per level of Cleric Magic---but *only* with Safe Retreat,
not with Safe Journey. I'm also proposing that the cleric should count as a
target for the purposes of that spell. This means that clerics will gain abilities
with protective magic at every level.
details | proposal
3. I'm proposing that we no longer allow people to block the targets of a Safe
Retreat, but that we reinstate the restriction that the targets must actually
retreat to a safe location. However, I think we should be liberal with the interpretation
of "safe location." Twenty feet behind friendly lines where there
are no enemy attackers should count as safe; we shouldn't make people in a Safe
Retreat entirely flee the area.
details | proposal
4. I'm proposing that we drop Safe Journey and Mass Safe Journey by one level,
but that we also count the cleric as a target for the purposes of those spells.
details | proposal
5. I'm proposing that we allow clerics to cast Safe Journey on others as a
touch-range spell that doesn't include them. Wraith Form allows mages to protect
someone for up to 48 hours (though with disadvantages that Safe Journey doesn't
have) at 7th level. I think we can consider allowing clerics to do that for
others for an hour at 5th level.
details | proposal
6. I'm proposing a change to meta-magic by which you can make it harder to
dispel a noncombat spell whose effects aren't instantaneous. This means that
a cleric could make it harder, though not impossible, to dispel Safe Journey
and Mass Safe Journey. While not strictly about Safe spells, this part of the
proposal creates a compromise with those who would like all Safe spells to be
undispellable.
details | proposal
Finally, I've made a case for adopting these proposals as a package.
details
* The details *
1. Replace Safe Circle and Mass Safe Circle with Magic Wall
The current advantages of Safe Circle over Safe Retreat, as I see it are:
Its disadvantages in relation to Safe Retreat are:
Now that we have Safe Retreat and Safe Journey, Safe Circle is no longer the best way to keep people safe. If you need safety for a long time, Safe Journey is better, because you can move around. If you need to protect yourself in an emergency, Safe Retreat is better because it can't be dispelled and it lets you flee the scene. The major advantage of casting a Safe Circle is that you can create a blockade. Indeed at the games I've attended in the last year, the only use I have seen made of Safe Circles is to create blockades. That function shouldn't be lumped in with a Safe spell. Blockades are a very useful effect of Safe Circles, both for defense and offense, but I think we should have a new spell that just blockades, not a Safe spell that blockades and provides safety.
I already know that this is going to raise some hackles, so I'd like folks to know that I play a relatively high-level cleric on a regular basis, and I would rather this change were made. I find the current set of six spells to be cumbersome and inefficient. There are already 53 spells in the cleric book; that's a lot to sort through. Fewer, better spells make for easier, more effective casting. I'd never choose a Safe Circle or a Mass Safe Circle unless I needed to hold some ground. And if I do need to hold some ground, I don't think I should get the bonus of being impervious to harm while I do so.
I know some folks have an emotional attachment to circles. I really have no reply to that; I can't make a logical argument against a sentimental attachment—except perhaps to say that sentimental attachments to rules aren't the best way to make sure our rules are good.
The removal of Safe Circles would leave us with four spells from second to ninth level that allow for protecting people. I believe that that's enough spells to keep the versatility we need, but other subproposals here increase the power and versatility of the remaining Safe spells.
How would Magic Wall work in game play? It'd be like a Safe Circle, except that you could go around the sides of it. The spell allows you to block a bridge, hold a door shut, put a barrier in between you and a line of orcs with swords, keep a group safe from a blast effect—all the same things we see people use Safe Circles for right now. In addition, it would allow a group of casters to trap someone with multiple castings of Magic Wall, which is also possible with Safe Circles right now, though not much used. This would represent a slight increase in cleric offensive power.
Why is this spell better than the Safe Circle spells? For two major reasons. One, because it is simpler; it preserves the useful blockade effect of Safe Circles while getting rid of some of the redundancy in the Safe spells. Two, because it's more versatile than Safe Circles in terms of its blockading ability; with the ability to create a vertical plane blockade, it's easier to hold a door and cheaper to block an average-sized hallway.
In indoor/enclosed spaces, the wall would block ceiling to floor, and wall to wall where spaces are narrower than 6', touching along uneven surfaces with no gaps. The wall would expand to close gaps while it was active, as long as it didn't exceed its maximum width. However, you can't cast it in the basement of a building and block the first floor of the same building.
The wall would allow nothing to pass through it "except clean air." This is so that someone trapped by a Magic Wall in an enclosed space won't suffocate. The Wall should be able to trap people/creatures, but not kill them. At the same time, though, I would like people to be able to block, say, poison gas with a Magic Wall. "Clean air" means both of those things are true.
If what the PCs need is both a blockade and safety for its caster, this spell still allows that. The caster can be protected by a Safe spell (Retreat or Journey) while the wall is up.
This part of my proposal isn't a compromise with anyone else's proposal. It's based on my strong opinion that the current Safe spells are too numerous and thus in need of refinement.
2. Change Safe Retreat so that clerics can protect one target per level (including themselves).
The spirit of this change is that we would allow clerics to protect more people earlier in what is arguably the most powerful spell we have (the undispellable spell that protects you from everything). However, it ought to get more expensive to do this as you protect more and more people; clearly we wouldn't want a caster to only spend one or two spell points to put nine people in a Safe Retreat. The easiest way to do this seems to me to be (and thanks to John Eure for this idea) to eliminate the spell Mass Safe Retreat entirely and put Safe Retreat at first level. Then we change Safe Retreat to stipulate that it can be cast multiple times simultaneously on a number of targets (who must include the caster) up to the caster's level. So a 4th-level cleric could say, "I cast Safe Retreat four times on me and these three targets," all of whom are touching the caster. That would cost 4 spell points, for 4 castings of the first-level spell.
This means that high-level Safe Retreats would get more expensive than Mass Safe Retreat is at present. Personally, I'm okay with that. We're talking, again, about the undispellable spell that protects you from everything. I'm okay with it costing 9 spell points to get 9 people away from danger with no chance of dispelling the magic. It also means, however, that low-level Safe Retreats won't cost as much as a Mass Safe Retreat currently does. If you only need to protect yourself and two friends, you only spend 3 spell points, not 5. That's more advantageous for clerics than things are now.
This change will help replace some of the versatility that the removal of Safe Circles takes away. It also allows for a personal protection spell for first-level clerics, which is a great ability. One of the complaints we've been hearing about clerics is that they're not safe enough. I think this should help.
This part of my proposal very nearly duplicates things that Dawn and Tim have proposed. They've suggested doing this with Safe Circles, or with all Safe spells. I think Safe Retreat, with its shorter time limit, is the best spell to change in this manner.
Potential tweaks:
- Change Safe Retreat as above, but keep Mass Safe Retreat at fifth level, so that it never costs more than five spell points to have a large group retreat. Personally, I'd be opposed to this, but I want to offer it anyway. This tweak would generally favor higher-level casters, and they need the power boost less, as they have more spells at their disposal.
3. You can't get trapped in a Safe Retreat, but you have to retreat.
The fact that you can get trapped while in a Safe Retreat, which only lasts five minutes, means that the spell can actually put you in danger. Yes, you can cast it again, but that's only five minutes more, and you're going to run out of spell points eventually. This seems to run counter to the intent of the spell. We should change the stuff in Rules of Gameplay about being able to block people in a Safe Retreat. The spell should always allow you to retreat to a known safe location.
This change would make the spell substantially more powerful, so to keep it from becoming too powerful, we should reinstate the spell's original restriction that you must actually retreat, not just remain in a dangerous place, while under the protection of this spell. Casting a spell that lets you retreat and then remaining in a dangerous place also seems to run counter to the intent of the spell. We should define what counts as a safe location. I think it should be at least twenty feet from any moving danger and at least five feet away from any stationary danger. That would mean twenty feet from the orc with the sword or from the slowly creeping acid pool, and five feet from the edge of the cliff or from the poisonous statue.
When we initially got Safe Retreat as a spell with the 2001 rules changes, I heard complaints that it turned clerics into cowards by forcing us to retreat. I think a lot of people understood "you must retreat" to mean that you had to completely leave the scene. Although I am suggesting restoring the "must retreat" restriction, I think that with my proposed definition of what areas count as safe, we don't force clerics to totally flee the scene. We allow them to stay near a combat and be ready to heal their friends afterwards, for example. So I think that this narrow definition of where is safe addresses that original objection. In addition, I think it's a good compromise for not being able to get trapped while protected by this spell.
The spell should continue to state that you can't approach danger, but if it's not going to allow you to be trapped, it has to let you flee through a dangerous area. E.g., if you're in the middle of a lightning storm and you cast the spell, you have to flee through lightning to get safe. To resolve this, I suggest that the spell stipulate that you must take the shortest route to safety. This could mean that you wind up somewhere you didn't want to be (like on the far side of the lightning storm from your goal), but I think that's okay---after all, the spell is about getting you safe; it's not a navigation spell. This would also mean that you could use the spell after traversing just over half of a dangerous area to pass through the rest of the area unharmed. It would mean you'd have to use the spell carefully and it would reward cleverness, and I think that's good.
This part of my proposal pretty much duplicates part of one of Dawn's proposals and part of Tim's proposal, except that I'm adding back a modified version of the "must retreat" restriction.
4. Drop Safe Journey and Mass Safe Journey by one level, and count the cleric as a target for both spells.
The ability to move around freely, completely safe from harm, is an extremely powerful ability. Creating a caster-only version of it and making the Mass version cost more was, in my opinion, a good change. Shortly after the 2001 changes were passed, the caster-only version was changed to allow one additional target.
I'm proposing that we change that back and count the caster as a target of these spells, like I proposed with Safe Retreat, but that to make up for this drop in power, we drop both spells by one level. If we remove Safe Circle, then the ability to cast a Safe spell that lasts longer than five minutes doesn't come until sixth level. This seems a bit high. Dropping Safe Journey to fifth level would fix that. However, it is still a very powerful ability, and I think the drop in level should come with a drop in power. This would mean that the range of Safe Journey would change to personal.
Dawn has proposed to drop Mass Safe Journey back to seventh level, where Sanctuary was. This seems to me to still be too inexpensive for this spell. I'm hoping that eighth level is an acceptable compromise. Again, there's a slight drop in power, as the maximum number of people a PC can protect with the spell drops by one.
5. Keep the range of Safe Journey as touch, and allow the spell to be cast on others.
Another way to add versatility to clerics' protective abilities would be to allow them to cast Safe Journey without including themselves. This would be a hugely powerful ability, as it would allow a group of safe people to enter an area and spread out to get in a good strategic position before dropping their safety. This seems to me to be the most problematic of the changes I'm proposing, as I think this could once again bring the power of protective spells to a game-breaking level. However, I do think it's worth discussing, and it's possible that it could be worth doing.
To compare this to the mage spell Wraith Form, which is also a form of protective
spell:
Pros: Targets remain corporeal.
Cons: Duration is substantially shorter.
Same: Targets can't attack. Targets can talk and move around the game area.
Can be dispelled.
Overall, I'd say that the cons versus Wraith Form outweigh the pros, and since
clerics are supposed to be better at protective spells than mages, I'd say we
can probably afford to have this be at least one level cheaper.
This part of my proposal isn't a compromise with any specific idea from another person, but more with the general idea that clerics' abilities to cast protective spells are too weak relative to what they used to be. I think this might be a place where we can expand those abilities in a way that isn't unbalanced so that we don't recreate old problems.
Potential tweaks to this idea:
- Make this change, but leave Safe Journey at sixth level. This ability may be to strong for fifth level for fear of it breaking games. However, that would still leave us without a Safe spell that lasts more than five minutes until clerics get to sixth level. I'd rather not pass the change than keep the spell at sixth.
- Make this change, and put Safe Journey at fifth level, but stipulate that people in a Safe Journey can't block someone else's passage and can still have their own passage blocked. This weakens Safe Journey slightly (right now those in S.J. can both block someone else's passage and have their own blocked), which might help justify having it at fifth level with this new power added.
- If Safe Journey is placed at sixth, it would be only two levels away from its Mass counterpart (which sort of breaks our scheme of a 3-4 level gap), so in that case, move Mass Safe Journey back to ninth level, but also allow it to be cast on a group that does not include the caster.
6. Create a way to make it harder to dispel Noncombat spells with enduring effects.
We have metamagic that lets you protect against your Combat spells being nullified, but we don't have metamagic that lets you protect against your Noncombat spells being dispelled. I think we should. For the purposes of these spells, Dispel Magic works like a post hoc Nullify, and I think we should allow casters to defend against that possibility.
I'm proposing that we allow all casters (clerics, mages, and mystics) to use Fortify on Noncombat spells with enduring effects. Any such spell would require a fortified Dispel Magic to dispel it, rather than just a regular Dispel Magic. However, you wouldn't have any way of knowing whether you needed to use a fortified Dispel Magic to dispel the effects, unless you tried to dispel them and failed, or unless you cast Determine Enchantment first.
This change would mean that the following spells could be strengthened against
Dispel Magic:
from the mage list: Awareness, Barkskin, Camouflage, Invisibility, Magic Absorption,
Poison Absorption, See Invisible, Spell Immunity, Stoneskin, Strong Grip, Trap
Resistance, and Wraith Form
from the cleric list: Holy Weapon, Iron Will, Magic Bandage, Mass Safe Circle
(if it still exists), Mass Safe Journey, Safe Circle (if it still exists), Safe
Journey, Speak with Spirit, Strengthen Will, and Truth
In actual practice, the things casters would probably want to strengthen would
be Wraith Form and the Safe spells.
For clerics, this means that you could make the Safe Journey spells significantly safer than they are now by making them twice as hard to dispel. Granted, it would cost you twice as many spell points to do so, and would fatigue you after the spell expired, but it would still be a substantial benefit. For mages, this means that you can make Wraith Form a bit safer—again, at a pretty substantial cost, but with a substantial benefit.
To prevent cheesing in game play ("Um, she fortified the Wraith Form when she cast it on me. Honest!"), casters who fortify Noncombat spells should write on a Post-It note "fortified [spell name]." Targets of fortified Noncombat spells would have to show this Post-It to anyone who tried to dispel the effect with an unfortified Dispel Magic. If the target(s) lose the Post-It or don't remember to produce it, the effect is dispelled and the Fortify was wasted. It still leaves substantial room for cheesing, since anyone can write things on a Post-It, but it uses the same mechanism we use for pre-casting, and I think that should be sufficient.
This part of my proposal is a compromise with the idea that all Safe spells should be undispellable. I simply disagree with that notion; I think that makes them way too powerful. This change would mean that casters can at least make it twice as hard to dispel their Safe spells, and I think that's a good compromise.
Some potential tweaks to this idea:
- Don't use Fortify; create a new spell instead. This might create less confusion, since it would leave Fortify unchanged, and people would think of the new spell effect as a new spell. I'd suggest calling it "Strengthen," since that conveys the effect. All types of casters would have access to this meta-magic spell.
- Instead of requiring a fortified Dispel Magic to dispel, have fortified Noncombat spells be completely undispellable. This would be most problematic in the case of Safe spells, in terms of PC power.
- Instead of having the new effect work only on Noncombat spells, have it work on all spells. That way, for example, a fortified Curse would not only be safe from being nullified, it would cost twice as much to dispel. In this case, we shouldn't allow the fortification to make the spell completely undispellable, since that would make it possible to create permanent Forget, Suggestion, and Curse spells with no chance of ever being dispelled. I'm personally not in favor of this tweak, but I still want to offer it.
* A case for these proposals, as a package *
If all of these proposals were passed, we would fix some problems with the Safe spells without reinstating old problems. Instead of six Safe spells, we would have only three (Safe Retreat, Safe Journey, and Mass Safe Journey), but clerics would still be able to do everything they can do now, and more. The problems with Safe Circle would be resolved. You could no longer get trapped while in a Safe Retreat. We would retain and improve the advantage of early access to moving safety. We would have increased ways to get PCs out of danger, for an appropriate amount of spell points. A cleric's ability to create safety would improve with every level.
The overall state of our Safe spells would look like this: Every caster with any Cleric Magic could cast some form of Safe spell. At fifth level, clerics could create safety for up to an hour (or longer with multiple castings). Clerics could place others in safety without having to be in the safety themselves. Clerics would still have one type of Safe spell that couldn't be dispelled, and they'd be able to boost their other ones so that they were harder to dispel. Clerics would gain some nifty new protective abilities that could also double as offensive abilities when used creatively.
As a package, I think this set of proposals will help alleviate some of the dissatisfaction with Safe spells. It will make them simpler and more versatile. It will increase the power of clerics in terms of their protective abilities, but not in an unbalancing fashion.
* The actual proposals *
1. Replace Safe Circle and Mass Safe Circle with Magic Wall.
— Eliminate Safe Circle and Mass Safe Circle, and all references to them.
— Add this new spell at cleric level 4, touch, Combat:
Magic Wall
This spell creates a vertical wall of magical force up to 6 feet wide and as high as the closest overhead obstacle. The wall does not move, but remains fixed. If cast in a space smaller than its maximum dimensions, the wall will fill a vertical area up to those dimensions. It will touch floor, ceiling, and walls along its edges without gaps, but will not extend into the floor, ceiling, or walls. If cast in an open space, the wall is too high to shoot arrows or throw spell components or other objects over its top.The wall is visible as a shimmer, but can otherwise be seen and heard through as empty space. The wall can not be scaled or otherwise climbed, and will not support weight (e.g., you can't lean a ladder on it; the ladder would slide down or fall away). The wall is impervious to spells and attacks in either direction; nothing may pass through the wall except clean air. Sight-range spells are stopped by the wall if the caster can only see the target through the wall.
The wall requires the proximity of the caster to persist; the caster must remain within one step of the wall (that is, able to touch it by moving only one foot), or the wall will vanish. The caster may speak, cast other spells, and otherwise act normally while maintaining the wall. The spell lasts for one hour or until the caster wishes it to end. A caster can only maintain one Magic Wall at a time.
To indicate the Magic Wall, the caster must place a six-foot length of yellow or gold rope on the ground.
(Material component: six feet of rope)
2. Change Safe Retreat so that clerics can protect one target per level (including themselves).
— Eliminate Mass Safe Retreat and all references to it.
— Change the first paragraph of Safe Retreat from this:
This spell creates an aura of magical protection around the caster and one target who must be touching the caster at the time of casting. A target who leaves the safety (that is, stops touching the caster) may not return. For as long as the safety lasts, they are impervious to harm by any magical or physical means. They may talk and move around during the spell, but may not attack or cast spells on targets outside the spell's protection.
to this:
This spell creates an aura of magical protection around the caster and any targets, all of whom must be touching the caster at the time of casting. A target who leaves the safety (that is, stops touching the caster) may not return. For as long as the safety lasts, they are impervious to harm by any magical or physical means. They may talk and move around during the spell, but may not attack or cast spells on targets outside the spell's protection. This spell can be cast simultaneously a number of times up to the caster's level, so that the caster can protect multiple targets. Caster can never use this spell to protect more targets than their caster level, and the caster must always count as one of those targets.
2a. (only if 2 passes) Keep Mass Safe Retreat.
— Reinstate Mass Safe Retreat, as it currently stands, at fifth level.
3. You can't get trapped in a Safe Retreat, but you have to retreat.
— Change the second paragraph of Safe Retreat from this:
During the course of the spell the targets may either stand still or retreat. If the targets choose to retreat, they must proceed to a known safe location without approaching combat or danger including foes, traps, acid pools, etc. (Multiple enemies surrounding them may prevent them from retreating; they cannot move through a dangerous zone to escape.) If the targets choose to remain where they are, they should avoid being an obstruction and move out of the way of combat.
to this:
During the course of the spell the target(s) must retreat. They must proceed to a safe location without approaching combat or danger including foes, traps, acid pools, etc. If they are surrounded by danger, they must choose the shortest route to safety. The targets should avoid being an obstruction and move out of the way of combat as they retreat. A safe location is one that is at least 20 feet away from any moving threat and at least 5 feet away from any stationary threat. Once in a safe location, the targets may remain there, but if the area becomes unsafe while the spell is still in effect, they must resume their retreat.
— In the Rules of Gameplay, Other Effects, Safe Spells change this:
It is permissible to block the retreat of those in a Safe Retreat spell. Persons under the spell should stay safely outside melee weapon range of an enemy, even if they have no other means of escape. If an enemy comes within range of them, they must either remain still or redirect their path of flight away from the new enemy. If they can't flee without moving into the range of another enemy, then they cannot move at all (other than to equalize the distance between enemies). However, if there are large undefended gaps between their enemies, they can slip through and continue their retreat.
to this:
Those in a Safe Retreat spell must be allowed to retreat. Enemies are not permitted to block their path. However, they must choose the shortest route to safety, and they must retreat until they are in a safe area. They should stay safely outside melee weapon range of an enemy, should avoid being an obstruction, and should move out of the way of combat as they retreat. A safe location is one that is at least 20 feet away from any moving threat (such as a sword-swinging orc) and at least 5 feet away from any stationary threat (such as a steep cliff). Once in a safe location, the targets may remain there, but if the area becomes unsafe while the spell is still in effect, they must resume their retreat.
4. Drop Safe Journey and Mass Safe Journey by one level, and count the cleric as a target for both spells.
— Change the first paragraph of Safe Journey from this:
This spell creates an aura of magical protection around the caster. A target who leaves the safety (that is, stops touching the caster) may not return. For as long as the safety lasts, they are impervious to harm by any magical or physical means. They may talk and move around during the spell, but may not attack or cast spells on targets outside the spell's protection.
to this:
This spell creates an aura of magical protection around the caster. For as long as the safety lasts, casters of this spell are impervious to harm by any magical or physical means. They may talk and move around during the spell, but may not attack or cast spells on anyone else.
— In Mass Safe Journey, change this:
This spell acts as Safe Journey but protects one target per level of the caster.
to this:
This spell acts as Safe Journey but protects one target per level of the caster (including the caster). All targets must be touching the caster at the time of casting. A target who leaves the safety (that is, stops touching the caster) may not return.
— Drop Safe Journey to fifth level and drop Mass Safe Journey to eighth level.
— Change the range of Safe Journey from touch to personal.
5. Allow Safe Journey to be cast on others as a touch spell.
— Change the first three paragraphs of Safe Journey from this (or from their modified form, if 4 passes):
This spell creates an aura of magical protection around the caster and one target who must be touching the caster at the time of casting. A target who leaves the safety (that is, stops touching the caster) may not return. For as long as the safety lasts, they are impervious to harm by any magical or physical means. They may talk and move around during the spell, but may not attack or cast spells on targets outside the spell's protection.
The spell lasts one hour or until the caster wishes it to end. The caster may begin a new Safe Journey while one is currently running, and through multiple castings may maintain a continuous safety for more than one hour.
To represent the aura of safety, the caster should wave a piece of gold or yellow cloth or rope overhead, or wear the cloth or rope on the head. The caster must say "safe" whenever anyone approaches and must repeat it constantly when in the middle of a combat.
to this:
This spell creates an aura of magical protection around the target. For as long as the safety lasts, targets of this spell are impervious to harm by any magical or physical means. They may talk and move around during the spell, but may not attack or cast spells on anyone else.
The spell lasts one hour or until the target wishes it to end. The caster may begin a new Safe Journey while one is currently running, and through multiple castings may maintain a continuous safety for more than one hour.
To represent the aura of safety, the target should wave a piece of gold or yellow cloth or rope overhead, or wear the cloth or rope on the head. The target must say "safe" whenever anyone approaches and must repeat it constantly when in the middle of a combat.
— (only if 4 passes) Change the range of Safe Journey from Personal to Touch.
5a. (only if 5 passes) Those in Safe Journey can't block the passage of others.
— In Rules of Gameplay, Other Effects, Safe Spells, change this:
However those in a Safe Journey spell may block the path of (and have their path blocked by) others. As a guideline, those in the spell should avoid approaching within arms' length of any enemy, and vice versa. (Note that this is for a purely physical blockade—those protected by Safe Retreat should never be this close to an enemy if they can help it.)
to this:
Those protected by Safe Journey and Safe Retreat may not block the path of others, although those in Safe Journey may have their path blocked. As a guideline, those in Safe Journey should avoid approaching within arms' length of any enemy, and vice versa. (Note that this is for a purely physical blockade—those protected by Safe Retreat should never be this close to an enemy if they can help it.)
5b. (only if 4 and 5 pass and 5a fails) Put Safe Journey back at sixth level.
— Change Safe Journey from fifth to sixth level.
5c. (only if 5b passes) Move Mass Safe Journey back to ninth level and allow it to be cast on a group that doesn't include the caster.
— In Mass Safe Journey change this:
This spell acts as Safe Journey but protects one target per level of the caster (including the caster). All targets must be touching the caster at the time of casting. A target who leaves the safety (that is, stops touching the caster) may not return.
to this:
This spell acts as Safe Journey but protects one target per level of the caster. All targets must be touching a single chosen target at the time of casting. A target who leaves the safety (that is, stops touching the chosen target) may not return.
6. Give Fortify a new effect on Noncombat spells with enduring effects.
— In Fortify, change this:
This meta-magic prevents the use of any counterspells upon a single Combat spell that you cast. (Defensive spell effects, such as Magic Absorption, will still work against the spell.)
to this:
This meta-magic prevents the use of any counterspells upon a single Combat spell that you cast. (Defensive spell effects, such as Magic Absorption, will still work against the spell.)
This spell also prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling the noninstantaneous effects of a single Noncombat spell that you can cast. (To dispel the effects of a fortified Noncombat spell, a fortified Dispel Magic is required.) You must give the target of the Noncombat spell a slip of paper that says "fortified (spell name)" so that they can verify that the spell is fortified.
— In the Rules of Gameplay, Rules of Magic, Special Spell Types, Meta-Magic, change this:
Meta-magic is special Combat magic that affects normal Combat spells. There are two types: counterspells (Nullify, Reflect, and Redirect) and Fortify. Clerics and mystics may only use Nullify and Fortify; mages may use any meta-magic they wish. You must be able to cast a spell to be able to use meta-magic on it.
to this:
Meta-magic is special magic that affects normal Combat spells and some Noncombat spells. There are two types: counterspells (Nullify, Reflect, and Redirect) and Fortify. Clerics and mystics may only use Nullify and Fortify; mages may use any meta-magic they wish. You must be able to cast a spell to be able to use meta-magic on it.
and change this:
Fortify prevents any counterspells from being used on a Combat spell that you cast, but it fatigues the caster for five minutes (see the section on fatigue, p. 55), thus making them unable to stand, fight, walk unassisted, or cast spells for five minutes. Fortify is not cast separately, but is conjoined to the spell to be fortified. For example, one might say "I cast the fortified spell of Death. Let thee now be struck dead, and may this spell be immune to countermagic. Initium."
to this:
Fortify prevents any counterspells from being used on a Combat spell that you cast, and prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling noninstantaneous effects of Noncombat spells that you can cast (a fortified Dispel Magic is required instead, and the target(s) must have a slip of paper from the caster to prove that the spell was fortified). Fortify fatigues the caster for five minutes (see the section on fatigue, p. 55), thus making them unable to stand, fight, walk unassisted, or cast spells for five minutes. In the case of Noncombat spells, if the caster is a target of the spell, the fatigue does not take effect until after the spell effects finish. Fortify is not cast separately, but is conjoined to the spell to be fortified. For example, one might say "I cast the fortified spell of Death. Let thee now be struck dead, and may this spell be immune to countermagic. Initium."
6a. (only if 6 fails) Create the spell Strengthen to guard against the dispelling of Noncombat spells.
— Create a new meta-magic spell, Strengthen (meta-magic Noncombat, cost of 2x the base spell), as follows:
This spell prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling the noninstantaneous effects of a single Noncombat spell that you can cast. (To dispel the effects of a strengthened spell, a fortified Dispel Magic is required.) You must give the target of the spell a slip of paper that says "strengthened (spell name)" so that they can verify that the spell is strengthened.
After casting a strengthened spell, the caster will be fatigued for five minutes—fatigued characters are unable to fight, cast spells, or even stand. If the caster is a target of the strengthened spell, the fatigue takes effect after the spell's effects end.
— In the Rules of Gameplay, Rules of Magic, Special Spell Types, Meta-Magic, change this:
Meta-magic is special Combat magic that affects normal Combat spells. There are two types: counterspells (Nullify, Reflect, and Redirect) and Fortify. Clerics and mystics may only use Nullify and Fortify; mages may use any meta-magic they wish. You must be able to cast a spell to be able to use meta-magic on it.
to this:
Meta-magic is special magic that affects normal Combat spells and some Noncombat spells. There are two types: counterspells (Nullify, Reflect, and Redirect) and other metaspells (Fortify and Strengthen). Clerics and mystics may only use Nullify, Fortify, and Strengthen; mages may use any meta-magic they wish. You must be able to cast a spell to be able to use meta-magic on it.
change this:
Fortify prevents any counterspells from being used on a Combat spell that you cast, but it fatigues the caster for five minutes (see the section on fatigue, p. 55), thus making them unable to stand, fight, walk unassisted, or cast spells for five minutes. Fortify is not cast separately, but is conjoined to the spell to be fortified. For example, one might say "I cast the fortified spell of Death. Let thee now be struck dead, and may this spell be immune to countermagic. Initium."
to this:
Fortify prevents any counterspells from being used on a Combat spell that you cast. Strengthen prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling noninstantaneous effects of Noncombat spells that you can cast (a fortified Dispel Magic is required instead, and the target(s) must have a slip of paper from the caster to prove that the spell was strengthened). Both spells fatigue casters for five minutes (see the section on fatigue, p. 55), thus making them unable to stand, fight, walk unassisted, or cast spells for five minutes. In the case of Strengthen, if the caster is a target of the spell, the fatigue does not take effect until after the spell effects finish. Fortify and Strengthen are not cast separately, but are conjoined to the spell to be fortified. For example, one might say "I cast the fortified spell of Death. Let thee now be struck dead, and may this spell be immune to countermagic. Initium."
and change this:
Casting a fortified spell costs twice as much as it would cost to cast the spell.
to this:
Casting a fortified or strengthened spell costs twice as much as it would cost to cast the spell.
6b. (only if 6 or 6a passes) The new effect of Fortify/Strengthen makes Noncombat spells undispellable.
— In Fortify or Strengthen, change this:
This spell [also] prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling the noninstantaneous effects of a single Noncombat spell that you can cast. (To dispel the effects of a [fortified Noncombat/strengthened] spell, a fortified Dispel Magic is required.)
to this:
This spell [also] prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling the noninstantaneous effects of a single Noncombat spell that you can cast.
— In the Rules of Gameplay, Rules of Magic, Special Spell Types, Meta-Magic, remove this:
(a fortified Dispel Magic is required instead, and the target(s) must have a slip of paper from the caster to prove that the spell was [fortified/strengthened])
6c. (only if 6 or 6a passes and 6b fails) The new effect of Fortify/Strengthen also works on Combat spells.
— In Fortify or Strengthen, change this:
This spell [also] prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling the noninstantaneous effects of a single Noncombat spell that you can cast.
to this:
This spell [also] prevents an ordinary Dispel Magic from dispelling the noninstantaneous effects of a single spell that you can cast.