Whistleberry
07-04-2007, 01:35 AM
I wish the game developers would consider changing the Grease spell so that it makes the ground slippery. After experiencing how completely crippling it is to be hit with a Snow(sleet?)storm sans Freedom of Movement - not only can you hardly move, but even a 1/4" irregularity in the ground surface becomes an impassable barrier - my Bard ponied up the huge fee to swap his least-used L1 spell for Grease.
He's not asking for a completely painless Grease spell, mind. He realizes that it's unreasonable to expect that just because the stunning sound of a SoundBurst spell is only befuddling to enemies, or the flames of a summoned Firewall singe only the foes, or the fumes of an Acid Fog don't faze teammembers, that allies should be exempt from Grease effects. He's willing to accept Grease as being one of only two or three spells that disadvantages teammembers more than the foes - particularly since it only takes 1/3 of his mana to apply Freedom of Movement to each ally individually.
No, what he objects to is the fact that Grease has so little effect on the foes. Just to experiment, he cast Grease on a 45 degree slope, and then dared a troll to attack him. The troll promptly ascended the slope not only without falling, but without even being slowed. OK, I know, Trolls are famous for their high Dexterity, like Zombies (and to be fair, I've actually seen Zombies fall down on Grease, but they're still able to shamble uphill across it as if it weren't there).
If Grease slows player characters to less than 10% of normal speed even on level ground - and that's even when they save against being knocked down - then it seems preposterous to me that any non-flying critter is allowed to saunter uphill over Grease unless it's got a special immunity such as Freedom of Movement provides.
He's not asking for a completely painless Grease spell, mind. He realizes that it's unreasonable to expect that just because the stunning sound of a SoundBurst spell is only befuddling to enemies, or the flames of a summoned Firewall singe only the foes, or the fumes of an Acid Fog don't faze teammembers, that allies should be exempt from Grease effects. He's willing to accept Grease as being one of only two or three spells that disadvantages teammembers more than the foes - particularly since it only takes 1/3 of his mana to apply Freedom of Movement to each ally individually.
No, what he objects to is the fact that Grease has so little effect on the foes. Just to experiment, he cast Grease on a 45 degree slope, and then dared a troll to attack him. The troll promptly ascended the slope not only without falling, but without even being slowed. OK, I know, Trolls are famous for their high Dexterity, like Zombies (and to be fair, I've actually seen Zombies fall down on Grease, but they're still able to shamble uphill across it as if it weren't there).
If Grease slows player characters to less than 10% of normal speed even on level ground - and that's even when they save against being knocked down - then it seems preposterous to me that any non-flying critter is allowed to saunter uphill over Grease unless it's got a special immunity such as Freedom of Movement provides.