Cantrip, because I've got a spell to steady me.

[hcobb]

IQ 11: Cling (T) Subject gains the ability to climb even shear and slippery walls as if they had a rope ladder (ITL 118). Costs 1 fatigue to cast and 1 per minute to maintain. Also grants a second 3/DX save for any roll to retain seating, as say when riding a horse. The enchantment has the same fatigue cost and the enchantment procedure is the same as for the base Sticky Floor.


Wizards can also cast the ordinary Rope spell to create a hanging rope five yards tall that can be climbed, but either the top or the bottom of the rope must touch a surface that can handle the weight put on the rope.

[David Bofinger]

It's always hard to know whether we should create a spell like this. Once a wizard gets a chest this will be yet another spell thrown in the book so they can have this capability just for money. If you believe as I do that wizards are already too powerful then this is devaluing the characters with Climbing and Acrobat, just like the Knock spell devalues Locksmith. On the other hand I wouldn't want to stop people coming up with new spells. It's a dilemma.

[Chris Rice]

Originally Posted by David Bofinger

It's always hard to know whether we should create a spell like this. Once a wizard gets a chest this will be yet another spell thrown in the book so they can have this capability just for money. If you believe as I do that wizards are already too powerful then this is devaluing the characters with Climbing and Acrobat, just like the Knock spell devalues Locksmith. On the other hand I wouldn't want to stop people coming up with new spells. It's a dilemma.

I’m coming round to the idea that a door closed with a Lock spell can’t be opened by non magical means. Vice-versa, a door locked by physical means can’t be opened with a Knock spell. Still not 100% sure.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by David Bofinger

It's always hard to know whether we should create a spell like this. Once a wizard gets a chest this will be yet another spell thrown in the book so they can have this capability just for money.

This just makes the case to disallow casting spells from books more compelling.

[David Bofinger]

Originally Posted by Shostak

This just makes the case to disallow casting spells from books more compelling.

And yet, there are so many spells a PC is unlikely to learn, and this is a way to get them cast from time to time. So I hate to kill the idea.

I'd feel better if the ability to cast from books were a talent, and not an expensive chest, so it's part of the character and not part of their bank balance.

I'd also be happy to see a class that had access to every spell, but suffered from other disadvantages, just because it would be different and encourage the use of some of the obscure spells that otherwise no one learns. The equivalent of a D&D cleric might be like this, or a demon-possessed sorcerer like Bujold's Penric. Someone for whom magic is as much who you know as what you know.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by David Bofinger

And yet, there are so many spells a PC is unlikely to learn, and this is a way to get them cast from time to time. So I hate to kill the idea.

Scrolls accomplish this without the need for cumbersome wizard’s chests or additional rules.

I'd feel better if the ability to cast from books were a talent, and not an expensive chest, so it's part of the character and not part of their bank balance.

Scholar? Admittedly, it is ridiculously expensive for the benefit described, and doubly so for a wizard. See this thread on the main forum forum for some discussion.

I'd also be happy to see a class that had access to every spell, but suffered from other disadvantages, just because it would be different and encourage the use of some of the obscure spells that otherwise no one learns.

I agree with the general sentiment, but would advocate for a different method to achieve the goal: just let anyone learn anything they want at the same cost—I’ve been doing it since the ‘80s with no game imbalance. The rules for iron and magic already provide some sacrifice if you want to wield both, and the requirement to use ST to cast spells provides another. If you want diversity, taking down barriers that encourage separating characters into identity groups will be more efficient than building more pigeon holes with rules to go along with them.