Arelith

Hi!

In the wiki and according to the spell description, it's effects are supposed to apply to everyone in your party within a certain radius. In practice, this happens maybe 1 out of 100 attempts.

For the longest time, I didn't actually know this was intended behavior and thought it occasionally applying to party members was either a bug or faezress.

It is only supposed to affect the caster. (Area of effect: caster)

If it's ever applying to everyone in a radius that's a very, very odd bug and something I've never heard of before.

Do you mean magic circle, maybe?

Sockss wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:05 am It is only supposed to affect the caster. (Area of effect: caster)

I think you're lookin' at NWNWiki
It's Area of Effect: Large Radius when you examine it in-game.

Drowboy wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:23 am Do you mean magic circle, maybe?

I mean the level 8 Cleric spell.

Yep, for whatever reason the spell in game lists it as an AOE. I don't know if this is an EE addition or a bug.

Probably just a mistake in the description.

Definitely just supposed to affect the caster.

It's an arelith-specific change courtesy of I thiiiiiiiink yellowcateyes
it's definitely not part of vanilla NWN EE's spell description

I had a search and what do you know!

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=25&p=126312&hilit=aura#p126312

"Aura versus Alignment is now an AoE spell with a Large radius. Mind Immunity has been removed, replaced with +6 Will versus opposed alignments and +3 Will versus neutrals. An Aura versus Alignment spell offers +4 deflection AC against opposed alignments and neutral enemies, 5 + CL SR, and a damage shield of 6 + 1d8 damage. The holy aura deals divine damage, while the unholy aura deals negative energy damage."

Although I don't think this has ever worked and is pretty strong considering you can't breach it.

Haven't tried lately but you could cast it twice as protection from good then as evil and get both the negative and divine damage shield.

Sockss wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 2:31 pm I had a search and what do you know!

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=25&p=126312&hilit=aura#p126312

"Aura versus Alignment is now an AoE spell with a Large radius. Mind Immunity has been removed, replaced with +6 Will versus opposed alignments and +3 Will versus neutrals. An Aura versus Alignment spell offers +4 deflection AC against opposed alignments and neutral enemies, 5 + CL SR, and a damage shield of 6 + 1d8 damage. The holy aura deals divine damage, while the unholy aura deals negative energy damage."

Although I don't think this has ever worked and is pretty strong considering you can't breach it.

Pretty sure the damage is higher than that, I've seen numbers around 20-25 at CL26. Which makes it even stronger.
It also stacks with Elemental Shield or Mestil's.

Sockss wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 2:31 pm Although I don't think this has ever worked and is pretty strong considering you can't breach it.

Yea it's strong. I think the damage shield(s) should be made breachable, but otherwise it should be fixed

Kalopsia wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:40 pm Pretty sure the damage is higher than that, I've seen numbers around 20-25 at CL26.

?? I've been playing clerics for years and Aura is part of my windup and I've not noticed #'s that high
damage vulnerability ?

I'm not 100% sure - will double check later!

And testing finished, here's the proof: Unbreachable 20 biteback damage per hit. Or 40, if you stack Unholy and Holy Aura.
This also stacks with Elemental Shield for up to ~55 biteback damage.



Edit: For clarification, the spell Aura versus Alignment does this. It lasts rounds per level and can be extended for up to 6 minutes of uptime of the above damage shield.

Potent

Sockss wrote: Mon Apr 20, 2020 2:31 pm An Aura versus Alignment spell offers +4 deflection AC against opposed alignments and neutral enemies, 5 + CL SR, and a damage shield of 6 + 1d8 damage. The holy aura deals divine damage, while the unholy aura deals negative energy damage."

Although I don't think this has ever worked and is pretty strong considering you can't breach it.

The above picture seems like a bug.

The True damage shield numbers are not documented but clearly higher then the documentation. Especially considering they stack with both themselves and regular damage shields.

I suspect with the onset of Favored Soul Melee Champions we will be seeing a lot more of this in the wild.

Apokriphos wrote: Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:06 pm The above picture seems like a bug.

The True damage shield numbers are not documented but clearly higher then the documentation. Especially considering they stack with both themselves and regular damage shields.

It's worth pointing out that 99% of clerics will not be able to cast any of those other damage shields for any meaningful amount of time and 3 out of 4 times as a full action

NauVaseline wrote: Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:14 pm

Apokriphos wrote: Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:06 pm The above picture seems like a bug.

The True damage shield numbers are not documented but clearly higher then the documentation. Especially considering they stack with both themselves and regular damage shields.

It's worth pointing out that 99% of clerics will not be able to cast any of those other damage shields for any meaningful amount of time and 3 out of 4 times as a full action

Meanwhile, 99% of favored souls will have not just the spell, but also a plethora of spontaneous spell slots to sustain the damage shield in PvP.

These numbers really need to be changed before something like 40 unbreachable biteback damage becomes commonplace.

I recall participating in a thread a month or two ago, where it was pointed out that any buff to Undeath's Eternal Foe would be close to god-tier, because it already did so much and was unbreachable.

I know the aura spell is supposed to be a party buff as per PnP, and I'm cool with that. On the other hand, it's not supposed to be a damage shield. It's supposed to inflict blindness (at the aura's DC as an 8th level spell) on targets that hit it.

This should be put on the breach list, near the top, like every other damage shield in the game, or it should be reverted to caster only, or (my personal favorite) it should blind people of the appropriate alignment rather than damaging everyone.

Kalopsia wrote: Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:02 am These numbers really need to be changed before something like 40 unbreachable biteback damage becomes commonplace.

yea man better call the president this is egregious

The way I see it, either it remains unbreachable and you can only cast one version at a time
or it's breachable and you can cast both

Give favored soul it's own spellbook but these changes should definitely apply to them

Aelryn Bloodmoon wrote: Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:05 am I know the aura spell is supposed to be a party buff as per PnP, and I'm cool with that. On the other hand, it's not supposed to be a damage shield. It's supposed to inflict blindness (at the aura's DC as an 8th level spell) on targets that hit it.

This honestly sounds like it'd be stronger than what we have now, have you seen how people react to being hit with a word of faith?

NauVaseline wrote: Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:38 am

Aelryn Bloodmoon wrote: Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:05 am I know the aura spell is supposed to be a party buff as per PnP, and I'm cool with that. On the other hand, it's not supposed to be a damage shield. It's supposed to inflict blindness (at the aura's DC as an 8th level spell) on targets that hit it.

This honestly sounds like it'd be stronger than what we have now, have you seen how people react to being hit with a word of faith?

Word of faith's blind is saveless, this would be a fort save (vs spell, so passing on everything but a 1 seems like it would be common, as I doubt most clerics that would actually benefit from a damage shield will be taking epic abjuration- not that they can't, but they're probably more concerned with things like esf conj and esf evo or trans. (And unlike wizards they don't get 4 extra MM feats by 20).