How to prevent dominance of sleep at low levels?

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black1blade
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How to prevent dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by black1blade »

Well pretty much the title. Running the chaotic caves atm and 18 int wizard basically goes around sleeping everything that isn't undead really easily. Makes encounters kinda repetitive and boring.
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arcbolt21
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by arcbolt21 »

What level are they? They should only be able to cast sleep a mere handful of times a day.

One way would be a strange aura in one of the areas that prevents magic from working unless the caster makes a Spells Save.
black1blade
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by black1blade »

Level 1 but that's still 3 sleeps a day.
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SmootRK
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by SmootRK »

Stage opponents to come into combat in phases and from differing locations. Spread them out.

Increase the number of encounters with smaller numbers of foes in each so that the MU uses up such sleep spells.

Larger spaces with foes located in diametrically opposed locations.

Mix in the occasional stronger HD foe.

And you could always houserule specific limits to the spell such as spell components. When I have had players who were quite adept at such maximizing of spell effectiveness, I enforced spell component use (albeit under 1e/2e games). When spell use drains coffers at the same time, there is a modest decrease in spell use... even more when one has to roleplay the acquisition of rare materials.
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Clever_Munkey
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by Clever_Munkey »

I was just talking to my friend about this. In my game the party and some friends were holed up in a tower and under siege, and when the enemy gets in range the level 3 MU casts two sleep spells on all 60-ish of them (How I resolved all the saving throws is for another discussion).

Anyway we basically came up with what Smoot has said.

1. You can create situations where it isn't able to be perfectly used (e.g. divide the caster's attention).

2. You can make the spell costly to cast (e.g.material components, exhaustion, even hp).

3. You can make the spell itself less effective (e.g. turn undead style affected hit dice).
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Tree Ant
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by Tree Ant »

I've usually played without the bonus spells option, so sleep is the one spell that makes the MU awesome at first level (sort of a get-out-of-jail free card of spells). However, being able to cast 3 times sort of does make some issues.

Alternate suggestion: you can only prepare one spell a single time.
So three spells means you need to prepare 3 different spells.
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Maltese Changeling
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by Maltese Changeling »

What Tree Ant said: spells can't be multiple-prepped.
black1blade
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by black1blade »

That's a pretty interesting rules preposition however I don't think it would fit in with the campaign mellieu I've created so far. I've come up with a few methods that the monsters may start employing though.
Dizzy
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by Dizzy »

I didn't realize magic users got extra spells for intelligence? I can't find that.
black1blade
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Re: How to prevent to dominance of sleep at low levels?

Post by black1blade »

It's an optional rule in one of the supplements.
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