Creative Ways to Combine Spells in D&D 3.5
Because I like coming up with nonstandard (or powerful) uses for spells, I figured writing about some fun combinations would be amusing. There are a few ground rules I’ll be following before getting started though. These will all be combinations of at least two spells. Most of these will be spells from different class spell lists, so if you aren’t a mystic theurge, you’ll have to work with your party to make some of these work. Not all of these will be completely supported by the rules, or I might not know which rules exactly support them, though they will all be supported by some common sense if not the rules, which means some will work better than others with certain GMs. As a final note, I’m sticking with core rules from The Hypertext d20 SRD.
Create Water + Ice or Lightning spells.
First off, we have create water to make a puddle of water on the floor behind a door, followed by a ray of frost to create a layer of ice on a single five foot square. Best used as a trap behind a door when you have a few rounds of prep time and nothing else to prep. I’d rule this works just like grease, just on a smaller area.
Taking this idea further, if you were to say, use a cone of cold over a large area effected by create water, perhaps any square effected by the cone of cold would freeze over instead. This would create a much larger area of ice, and would be great to use on a group of enemies if the cleric isn’t sure what to do with his turn on a given round.
Of course, you might also have the problem that you need to get at an enemy you don’t have line of effect to, but you don’t want to use an AOE effect because of the collateral damage. Drop a create water… it will spread around the corner of the building. Then zap it with a lightning bolt or other appropriately electric spell, and watch everything in the pool of water take electrical damage. I’d rule half of the damage roll, unless there’s a rule that says otherwise.
Mage Armor + Shield + Alter Self + Cat’s Grace
Who says mages can’t tank? Mage armor and shield will get you up to an AC of 18 assuming a dex of ten. Alter self into a lizardfolk for a +5 natural armor bonus and some (likely unhelpful) natural attacks, and toss on a cat’s grace for a +2 dex bonus to AC. Now, you have AC 25… probably more than the fighter or cleric at lower levels. And you can still cast spells effectively too. Cast shield and cat’s grace last, as they have the shortest durations, though they should still last through a battle as long as you prepare soon enough before going in. Then go stand up front with the fighter.
Reverse Gravity + Control Winds
You know the fun thing about high speed winds? They always work better on creatures that are flying. And they work way better on creatures helplessly floating above the ground. Once you have your enemies suspended helplessly in the air, blow them away. They’ll take both falling damage as well as whatever damage they take for being caught in a windstorm, and be quite far away from you to boot. Makes for a great chance to rebuff.
Prismatic Wall + Control Winds
You’ve probably figured out I like control winds by now. Be that as it may, the idea this time is to set up a prismatic wall, then have everyone blown into the wall by the winds from control winds. After that, everyone blown into the wall has to save vs all seven effects. Good luck. And make sure your allies don’t get caught in this trap.
Simulacrum + Permanent Telepathic Bond
This one is fairly costly, and is generally more fun in the hands of the GM than as a player. It’s also fairly high level stuff. However, the simulacrum provides a clone of you, though only half as powerful. A clone that unquestioningly obeys all commands. The telepathic bond made permanent via permanency is so you can issue those commands from anywhere. As well, the simulacrum can let you know what’s happening in the area in order to let you make more informed decisions about the orders you want to provide it.
Of course, the fun is in the fact that you get to basically go anywhere you want without leaving the comfort of your home or risking your life, though it’s a considerably weaker version of you. Alternatively, you can fight side by side with yourself, and give your simulacrum orders telepathically so your enemies don’t know what you’re planning to do, yet you can still coordinate attacks.
Trap a creature or creatures in a barred forcecage. Then cast the circular wall of fire inside. Concentrate as long as necessary. At 2d6+caster level damage a turn, those creatures won’t last long. If you have two casters, prepare to cast the spells together, and do the wall of fire first, followed by the windowless cell version of the forcecage. Harder to escape, and impossible to attack through.
Illusory Script + Explosive Runes
What’s worse than finding an awesome new spellbook, only to have it explode upon trying to read it? Having it explode upon trying to read and being compelled to do the bidding of who ever created this hateful trap for the next half hour via the suggestion implanted in the illusory script. I recommend a nature walk through the local marsh, just so they get to be uncomfortable for a bit after being exploded. Asking the queen to marry them while they’re in their singed clothing might be fun too. Of course, there are all sorts of possibilities, so have some fun with it… and keep your real spellbook in a your bag of holding or handy haversack on your person at all times.
So there are some fun combinations to use. Some are practical, and some are there just because it’s fun to pull them off in a game once in awhile, even though you’d likely be better off just doing something else. Besides which, you never know when something seemingly not useful becomes exactly what you’re looking for in the game.
