AD&D standardized Special conditions, Spell updates and Goodbye! 4.23.0! Github PR: Pull Request Hello everyone. It is finally time for the big update I have been working on for since Jul 15, 2023. This will probably be my last update for the sheet, more in the end of the post. New features Special Conditions DM buttons Looking over the rules multiple times showed inconsistencies with special condition descriptions such as Blindness or Deafness. I have been going over every instance of these in the PHB and DMG as well as Sage Advice to consolidate all the contradicting information in a single place. As you will see on the screenshots to come, every button has sources so you can verify where the information was found. Blindness and Deafness Blindness is described like this in various spells Source Attack modifier AC modifier Saves modifier Surprise Initiative modifier Wizard Light -4 4 worse -4 Wizard Blindness -4 Enemy gets +4 attack modifier Wizard Continual light -4 4 worse -4 Wizard Glitterdust -4 4 worse -4 Priest Light -4 4 worse -4 Priest Cause Blindness -4 4 worse 2 worse DMG Darkness -4 4 worse (to a limit of 10) -4 -4 The Wizard Blindness spell says the enemy gets +4 to attack instead of the defender getting 4 worse amor class. You might think there is no difference here, either way the attack gets a 4 point better chance at hitting, but there is a caveat. The DMG p. 160 states that Armor Class cannot be worse than 10. This is important to avoid a Blind and Deaf wizard ending up with AC 20 and becoming a pincushion. Deafness is similarly described different in various spells Source Surprise modifier Spell failure Initiative modifier Wizard Deafness -1 20% Wizard Shout -1 20% Priest Cause Deafness -1 20% 1 worse DMG Silence / Sage Advice 256 p. 28 -2 These effects has been been generalized to the following text: I chose to leave out the priest specific adjustment to initiative for Cause Blindness and Cause Deafness as these were not included in any other description of the blindness and deafness effects. It is up to the individual DM to decide if they want to include the initiative penalty generally, only for these specific priest spells (touch spells are harder to land after all), or not at all. (For reference, the 2E retro clone, For Gold and Glory, has added the initiative penalty to all instances of blindness and deafness) Invisibility and detection Invisibility is one of those effects that is described a little in the PHB, the DMG, the Invisibility spell, and the Improve Invisibility spell. The rules for detecting invisibility was also slightly changed from 1E to 2E. Due to all this confusion there is also many Sage Advice questions on the topic of Invisibility. I have tried my best to combine everything into two descriptions. One for being invisible and one for detecting invisibility. Continuing damage I went down the rabbit hole of how continuing damage from spells like, Melf’s Acid Arrow interact with spell casting. The rules are different depending on if you use the combat rules from the Player’s Handbook or Player’s Option: Combat & Tactics: Magical Aging The effects of magical aging had a bit on it. Mainly a bunch of rules lawyers trying to game the system with logic. Charm and Breaking Charm Similar to Invisibility, Charm has a bunch of rules spread out over different books, spells, and Sage Advice. What exactly happens, what you can do, and what happens after the charm is lifted / broken are vague at best. I have tried my best to consolidate the various descriptions in a single place to help DMs make rules accurate judgements. Even with all this, there are still unknowns, like how Charm and Protection from Evil interact. I have tried to dive into it myself on reddit here: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/adnd/comments/1edlg0o/vampire_mental_charm_vs_protection_from_evil/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/adnd/comments/1edlg0o/vampire_mental_charm_vs_protection_from_evil/</a> , but with all other Charm-related rulings, it is up to the DM to make the final call. Touch attacks Touch attacks also have a few caveats and different rules depending on if you use the Player’s Handbook or Player’s Option: Spells & Magic. Both rule sets have been summarised. Spell updates Back in May of 2023 I made this post stating that I wanted to update all spells with errata <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/11459088/" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/11459088/</a> I have been going through the Player’s Handbook Wizard spells, level 1 - 3. It might not sound like much, but each spell takes about an hour to completely check, on the low end. Spells like Invisibility, Dispel Magic, or Charm have been taking multiple weeks to get through. Spell buttons To add the necessary information to spells that have any of the Special Conditions outlined with the DM buttons above, without completely rewriting spells to be 2x or 3x longer, I have added buttons to spells that use any of the conditions, so you can easily click and see the rules related to the Special conditions that a spells creates. Dispel magic Dispel Magic has gotten a completely new version as it became too different from the description in any book. I present to you Dispel Magic Extended! (I rewrote Dispel magic 3 times before ending up on this version!) Dispel Magic (from Player's Handbook) Dispel Magic Extended The extended version has gotten its own button specifically for rolling Dispel Magic checks. Some people prefer to roll a separate check for each effect and potion that is being checked, and this button helps speed up that process significantly. The initial roll ask if the result should be posted to all or only the GM. All subsequent rolls are posted to the chat in the same way. Public To GM Psionic notes The Psionics Handbook has notes for individual spells and how they interact with Psionic abilities. If The Complete Psionics Handbook is active on the sheet, then these notes will be visible on the spells (wizard level 1-3). Spell Errata checkbox On the Sheet Settings page you can check a box to add the errata to a spell’s reference section. If anyone out there wants to double check my work, I have made my sources easy to find. Spell without errata Spell with errata General spell errata I have also been going through the spells, and keeping track of what changes I made to each spell. The list is almost comprehensive of all changes. A few minor stylings or commas has been added without noting it in the list. I highly recommend that you remove and re-add any spell on the list! 1st level spells Armor - Duration changed from Special to actual value. Audible Glamer - Spell description now matches the book more exactly Chill touch - Added level scaling for undead fear effect. Added clarification saying you can attack with it multiple times, but only once per round. Color spray - Explanation of for the area of effect added. Added effects of blindness. Detect Magic (both) - Made it clear that it can detect the magical aura of an invisible creature but no the exact location. Clarified that it cannot detect through a Wall of force. Capped level scaling at 100%. Made it clear that cursed items reveal what they imitate to be. Added notes for interaction with psionics Enlarge - Added level scaling for how large a target can be. Added level scaling for damage multiplier. Added level scaling for reduce. Added sage advice about abilities not changing area of effect due to size changes. Erase - Change duration from Permanent to Instantaneous. Success chance can no longer go above 90%. Feather Fall - Updated effect with clarification from DMO: High-level campaigns about missiles and falls. Find Familiar - Added description that imps, quasits, and pseudodragons can become familiars Hold Portal - Added level scaling Identify - Added description clarifying that contact other plane or commune is used to reveal exact bonuses or cursed items. Added description that the wizard might need to wear / wield the item as intended. Light - Added additional information about the effects of being blind. Removed Reversible note Magic Missile - Added 10 foot cube restriction. Added psionics note. Mending - Added notes about more stuff that can be mended from the wizards handbook. Mount - Added missing levels for saddles. Added sage advice for mount fraud detection Protection from Evil (Wizard) - Added geometry spell school. Clarified that it does not hedge out undead creatures. Clarified that the entire spell ends on attacking hedged out creatures. Added psionics notes Protection from Evil (priest) - Clarified that it does not hedge out undead creatures. Clarified that the entire spell ends on attacking hedged out creatures. Added psionics notes Shield - Added notes about bonuses being cumulative with magical items and Dexterity. Shocking grasp - Does not work as a defibrillator Spook - Fixed level scaling on odd levels. Unseen servant - Added notes about permanent versions of the spells Ventriloquism - Fixed level scaling for range to not always show 10 yards. Changed saving throw to from negate to special. Wall of Fog - Corrected level scaling to be linear instead of exponential following the example for stone shape from Sage Advice #264 p. 26 2nd level spells Blindness - Corrected the penalties to align with the DMG. Now gives 4 worse AC instead of +4 to enemy attack rolls. Continual light (wizard) - is no longer listed as being revisable. Added information about the effects of blindness Continual light (priest) - Added information about the effects of blindness Darkness 15’ radius - Added notes for the effects of blindness Deafness - Standardized the effect of being deaf. Detect Invisibility - Area of effects level scaling changed from 10 yards per level to 10 feet per level. Added notes that it also work against psionic invisibility and the likes. Detect Evil (wizard) - Added note that the spell can be reversed Detect Evil (priest) - Level scaling no longer goes above 100%. ESP - Added notes about the thought and how accurate the location is. Also gave notes for DM’s to determine modifiers Fog Cloud - Added level scaling Fools’ gold - Added level scaling for the saving throw modifier Glitterdust - Added more information on being blind. Deafness - Added more information about being deaf Invisibility - Added more information about being blind. Added a lot of Sage Advice clarification Knock - Corrected level scaling from feet to square feet. Undetectable alignment - Added duration Leomund’s trap - Added missing material components Levitate - Added notes on height, underwater, and zero gravity use. Locate object (priest) - Duration changed from 8 hours to 1 round per level Obscure object (both) - Added duration of 8 hours Melf’s acid arrow - Added description that the acid can be washed of and how to handle spell interrupt from the continuing damage Mirror image - Added notes that area of effect spells do not dispel mirror image. Added note that images can fly with the caster. Misdirection - Added suggestion that it also work on some nonweapon proficiencies Pyrotechnics (wizard) - Added level scaling. Added reference to the effects of blindness. Improved formatting highlighting the two version of the spell, similar to the priest spell. Added note that it does not work under water from the priest version. Pyrotechnics (priest) - Added missing area of effect from the wizard version for the target fire source. Added reference to the effects of blindness. Fixed broken level scaling and rolls. Rope Trick - Fixed spelling error, spell is now called “Rope Trick” instead of “Rope Tricks”. Added notes for weight, air, underwater, and using it to cross barriers. Shatter - Added Song as spell school. Added more level scaling Spectral Hand - Added option for delivering healing spells with the hand. Stinking cloud - Added notes about the cloud not being flammable. Added details for a permanent stinking cloud. Strength - Added notes for dual-class characters Summon swarm - Corrected level scaling to be 1 damage per 3 levels instead of 1 damage per level Web - Changed area of effect to Special. 8,000 cubic feet is mathematically wrong. Added alternative use to break a fall and avoid falling damage. Whispering wind - Cast time changed from 2 to 1 (Matched 1st-11th print of PHB (blue) and WSC. Revised PHB (black) says cast time 2) Wizard lock - Added level scaling 3rd level spells Clairvoyance - Added description that the sensor cannot be moved Clairaudience - Added description that the sensor cannot be moved Dispel Magic (priest) - Aligned the dispel table to match the wizard version. Changed duration from Special to Instantaneous. Dispel Magic (extended) - Added a complete rewrite of the dispel magic spell that includes all errata and other changes for both wizards and priests. Explosive Runes - Added note that the character must be able to read to trigger the runes. Feign Death (Wizard) - Added level scaling. Added notes from the priest version Feign Death (Priest) - Added level scaling. Added notes from the wizard version Flame Arrow - Added the need for a to-hit roll for the second version of the spell. Fly - Added notes about flying while paralysis or caught in rope of entanglement, haste and flying under water Gust of Wind - Limited level scaling to 100% Haste - Added missing page number to PHB. Added clarification that aging happens as soon as the spell is cast. Added notes for fly and magical items. Added notes for psionics Hold Person (Wizard / Priest) - No more randomness! The 1d4 have been removed. The caster chooses how many targets the spell affects. Explained that you cannot freeze someone mid air with the spell Hold Undead - Updated that undead of less than 3 hit dice instead of mindlessness is automatically affected. Changed range to 60 yards from 60 feet. Infravision - Closed parenthesis. Added note that invisible creates cannot be seen with infravision Invisibility 10’ radius - Added buttons for invisibility information Item - Added notes that a shrunken fire is not burning while in cloth form Lightning bolt - Added scaling for how much wood or stone a bolt can break through. Updated the example to reflect that the bolt always reaches a total length of 80 feet, and does not fold over itself. Melf’s Minute Meteor - Added grenade button to the template. Nondetection - Clarified that it does not protect against warding spells. Added notes for psionics Phatom steed - Better format for steed statistics. Added cap to calculated movement speed. Added italics Protection from Evil 10’ Radius (Wizard) - Added psionic notes Protection from Evil 10’ Radius (Priest) - Added psionic notes. Better description for the reverse spell and materials used. Sepia snake sigil - Added duration calculation. Spectral Force - Corrected range to 60 + 10 yards/level matching Phantasmal Force and improve Phantasmal Force. Corrected area of effect to 40-foot cube + a 10-foot cube per level. Suggestion - Added italics Tongues (Wizard / Priest) - Added the reversed spell name. Vampiric touch - added reference to touch attack Water breathing (Wizard / Priest) - clarified that the spell does not allow spell casting underwater. Wraithform - Added italics That is all folks and goodbye! I stated in the start of this post, this will probably be my last update to the sheet. I have been working on this sheet since January 28 2020, over 4 years and I am feeling burned out. The work has gotten more cumbersome and less programmatically interesting. The spells project I started was simply too big. I should have learned from the first time, when I adde the spells from the Player’s Handbook, that trying to tackle the entire Player’s Handbook in one go, is simply too much. Updating the spells has become a never ending task as I keep moving the goal post further away, requires a higher level of perfection from myself. I have earned a much greater respect for the work done by the authors behind For Gold and Glory and Old-School Essentials. I have been playing a lot more World of Warcraft lately which is giving me a lot of intersting problems to code. I have also started DMing which is taking so much more of my time than being a player ever did. I now spend my time doing prep instead of looking up rules or trying to improve the player experience of using the sheet. I hate to leave the spells in this half state, where only the low level wizard spells have been updated with errata, but I have to be honest with myself. I am spending my free time on the sheet, so the work has to be fun. Having the work be a chore that I dread getting to, and instead try to avoid is just not healthy. The sheet itself has become a thorn in my eye with all the design decisions that was made before me, that I want to change with a burning passion, but cannot without breaking your games that you all play. What I really want to do is to create a new 2E sheet from scratch, using all that I have learned with the entirely new infrastructure that Roll20 has been rolling out. This would allow me to design it exactly how I want it, and create all the automations that I so deeply desire. But before I can start such a large scale project I have to stop this one to even have hope of ever getting the time for it. We will see if the day comes where a new 2E sheet is made. I hope it will! Finally I want to say that I am thankful for the time I have spent working on this sheet. I have learned so much about Roll20’s systems, HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Most of all I am so grateful for all of you wonderful people in the 2E community that have all been so supporting of my work. I hope you enjoy this final update and will play 2E long into the sunset, killing Illithids, Beholders, and Red dragons, saving the world and creating a better tomorrow. Goodbye!
