Dear Devs,

Are you tired of your dungeon designs being bypassed by high level casters, flinging WoF, PK, FoD, and FTS on everything that moves? Bards that Fascinate everything in their paths? Melees complaining that they are pointless?

You could counter this trend by slapping immunities on everything, making everyone even more disgruntled, or by investing gadzillions of man-hours into improving monster AI. Or, you could implement something that is already in the Paper and Pencil game.

I knew it as Silence, 15 Foot Radius. The current name is simply Silence.

Quote Originally Posted by SRD20
Silence
Illusion (Glamer)
Level: Brd 2, Clr 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: 20-ft.-radius emanation centered on a creature, object, or point in space
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text or none (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes; see text or no (object)

Upon the casting of this spell, complete silence prevails in the affected area. All sound is stopped: Conversation is impossible, spells with verbal components cannot be cast, and no noise whatsoever issues from, enters, or passes through the area. The spell can be cast on a point in space, but the effect is stationary unless cast on a mobile object. The spell can be centered on a creature, and the effect then radiates from the creature and moves as it moves. An unwilling creature can attempt a Will save to negate the spell and can use spell resistance, if any. Items in a creature’s possession or magic items that emit sound receive the benefits of saves and spell resistance, but unattended objects and points in space do not. This spell provides a defense against sonic or language-based attacks.
Why is this spell not in the game? Why should level 20 enemies with 30 intelligence and 1000 hit points just give up and die because some hasted Bard has come around the corner strumming his lute? Enemy spell casters have Options, specifically crafted for just this sort of situation.

There are three major effects that this could have. Two are optional.

1. If the person in the radius fails the save, spells with Verbal components can't be cast. Casters can't cast, clerics can't heal, and bards can strum till their fingers bleed, to no affect whatsoever. Paladins can still Lay on Hands. I'm not sure about wands, do they have Verbal components to activate them?

2. The affected person should not be able to communicate. Shouting or typing, "I'm Silenced! Come help me!" would seem, well, odd at best.

3. The affected person should not be able to hear anything, including sound effects, voice chat, and seeing words in party chat. This effect would be creepy (and as cool as Blind is now), and the person would not know if anyone was coming to rescue him, except visually seeing the dots move.

The first effect is critical. The second two are optional because they'd probably involve a LOT more coding and troubleshooting. In addition, the coolest aspect of it (isolation) can be easily bypassed by Teamspeak or Vent. So, while they would be cool and nice to have, if the second and third effects become a major block for implementation, dump them.

If the major block for implementation is fear that we'll become overpowered by casting Hightened Silence on everything and everybody, then simply make it an Enemy Only spell, like Darkness and Incendiary Cloud are now. Darkness, in fact, would make a good template for Silence.

It just seems to me that using a Dungeons and Dragons solution to an issue beats the slapping around blanket immunities route any day. Silence is the primary anti-spell weapon in the game, useful at all levels with Heighten. I don't think we should be in the midst of an "OMG Casters are Overpowered" pandemic without considering the use of this pre-existing tool that has been play-tested and found effective and balanced for 30 years....

_