My PF - Most Useless Spells List

[Lukterran]

Here is my list of the most useless or underused spells in Palladium that I have learned over the course of playing the game for more than 25 years.

Wizard Spells
- Death Trance: Appearing to be dead for a few melees really isn't that useful of a power
- Ventriloquism: Never once used this spell or seen a player use it. One time I had a character use this skill to fool a guard
to look into an different room while the thief snuck past him.
- Detect Concealment: The problem is that usually you have to suspect that their is something mystically concealed first
then you cast this spell. Needs a much longer duration. Would be more useful if it went off like an alarm when something was concealed and revealed it. Than you recharge the spell and it persists until another concealment was detected.
- Faerie Speak: Very situational and limited. Tongues is better and most wizards have tongues. It is more likely that the mage would have the skill Language Faerie Folk than have this spell.
- Fingers of the Wind: Never been cast in any adventure by anyone. Probably due to the limited amount of useful actions it can preform. Telekinesis overshadows this spell greatly.
- Float in Air: Should be called Free Fall because that is the only time it is useful is when you are falling and during most of those situation the mage doesn't have enough time to weave a spell. Floating 1 foot above the ground or on the water with awkward movement isn't something that is called for in most situations. Other spells work better to do the same function.
- See Wards: This is a very limited situational spell. It has the same problem that Detect Concealment.
- Fool's Gold: Would be a useful spell for tricking merchants and getting goods for almost free. However, the two draw backs are obvious. One most merchants and traders can recognize precious metals and even if they do not. You have a very angry person hire the guards to come hunt you down as a thief as soon as the spell elapses.
- Ley Line Transmission: Very situational. Mage and the person he wants to speak with both have to be located at a Ley Line for this spell to work. Very rarely do you have to talk with someone along the same ley line you are located on that isn't near your character in the first place.
- Energy Disruption: This is Palladium Fantasy. Might be useful in Rifts and other worlds but in Palladium not that great. The addition of reducing one or two other spells effects minutely just isn't worth it.
- Memory Bank: Too situational to be useful.
- Witch Bottle: Only useful to sell to witch hunters or if you are actively hunting witches or just paranoid of witches.
- Sense Dimensional Anomaly: Same problem with Detect Concealment. The mage has to already suspect that their are dimensional changes happening before he would cast this spell.
- Spoil: Ruining someone food and water supply isn't all that useful during the course of a normal game session.
- Transferal: Same as Memory Bank
- Close Rift: Too situational. Player characters don't often have the astronomical alignment in place where they have a open rift that they needs to be closed in PF.
- Id Barrier: First Insanely unusably high PPE cost to cast. 600 PPE. Only creatures of magic or supernatural can cast it. This is more useful as some kind of permanent warded in version of the spell. But for normal player use it is worthless.

Elemental Magic
- Create Air: Completely useless (doesn't even work underwater where it might be useful). I guess it might be useful in space or if you are trapped inside a cave without any breathable air left but normal game scenarios this isn't a spell a player would choose.
- Darken the Sky: I suppose if you were a vampire this might be a good spell. Or perhaps in the baalrog wastelands and the heat beating down on your. However, other than to impress the locals with your PCs power this spell doesn't actually do much anything useful.
- Vacuum: It seems like a good spell. But actually it takes to long (two minutes) to choke out any persons to be useful. The speed the spell moves at is too slow to keep it on anyone. Almost everyone, except my grandpa can outrun a speed of 8.
- Rainbow: Other than creating warm fuzzy feelings in all around it is a completely useless. I suppose you could use it as an PPE expensive signaling method.
- Wither Planets: Only useful if you are trying to clear a field or get rid of those hard to kill weeds in your yard.
- Create Mound: Other than getting a good vantage point or creating a high position players will find this spell coming in second to others that are more useful.
- Cocoon of Stone: A very good way to get your warlock killed is to cast this spell. Makes you a sitting duck and completely helpless to defend yourself. My character that had a item that cast this spell once found themselves at the bottom of the ocean with the duration elapsed.
- Close Fissures: Too situational of a spell. Only works on non-magical fissures.
- Cap Volcano: The ultimate situational spell! Because there are so many volcanoes in PF. I am sure there are hundreds of warlocks that journeyed to Mt. Nimiro and Nimrod in hopes of casting this spell just once.
- Color Water: A warlocks version of Coolaid.

[kiralon]

Carpet of Adhesion and Vacuum are a nasty combo.
Darken the sky: you can pull a Gandalf - Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks
Float: The warlock version is better but its cast on enemy. no save and reduce their speed by half and #attacks strike and parry by half and 30ft per lvl range.
the wizard version is same except #attacks strike and parry are only -1 and range is 30ft. still halves speed though and still no save

[Bill]

Useless? Or a missed opportunity? How difficult would it be to design challenges and scenarios that can be solved with these spells?

[eliakon]

I find the idea of "well that spell is useless since I cant use it every time" leads to a feature that I loathe in games (specifically spell lists that have fifty fireballs and a dozen ways to summon up killer monsters from beyond space and time....but no way for a wizard to do their housework with magic. )
I really love the idea of spells that are useful in specialized situations. Especially since it allows for wizards to have both a large spell book AND not be able to solve every problem with the same ten spells. In my games I have a habit of handing out all sorts of specialized spells all the time. It encourages role play, and the players tend to be a lot more creative if they have a wide range of specialized tools to work with.

[Lukterran]

I find the idea of "well that spell is useless since I cant use it every time" leads to a feature that I loathe in games (specifically spell lists that have fifty fireballs and a dozen ways to summon up killer monsters from beyond space and time....but no way for a wizard to do their housework with magic. )
I really love the idea of spells that are useful in specialized situations. Especially since it allows for wizards to have both a large spell book AND not be able to solve every problem with the same ten spells. In my games I have a habit of handing out all sorts of specialized spells all the time. It encourages role play, and the players tend to be a lot more creative if they have a wide range of specialized tools to work with.

Ok....then I challenge you to make a wizard character next game you play in with these spells I listed and tell me how many of them you end up using successful.

I think some spells in this game work better as lore spells or spells designed with NPCs specifically in mind. But in regard to players characters usefulness some are nearly worthless. Which means if a player is given a chance to pick an alternate spell they normally will. If they stumble upon one of these "lemons" they might have it in their spell knowledge but that actual times it gets cast I am guessing can be counted on a cartoon characters hand with half their fingers missing.

[Lukterran]

Useless? Or a missed opportunity? How difficult would it be to design challenges and scenarios that can be solved with these spells?

The problem is that no GM ever designs a adventure to allow any of these spells to shine? Then they still would only be useful for that 1 adventure.

My issue with spells like these is that they make your available spell selection look larger than is really what is available. Like there are 12 spells available to choose from at 1st level but really there is only 7 valid options for a wizard when you remove common knowledge and these spells. Same thing goes for warlock that has even less spells to choose from.

[Bill]

I still think your complaint is pointless. Particularly for classes that can learn spells from tutors there is no disadvantage to having these spells.

[ShadowLogan]

"Death Trance", its use ability is limited to situations where you need the character to appear dead. This I can agree on, but depending on the situations the PC finds themselves in it might be useful.

"Ventriloquism", "Detect Concealment" can be replaced by Skills. Ventriloquism skill vs power when used, the Spell proficiency is beyond Level 15 (assuming no skill bonuses are in play). So if it is used, it is better than the skill. However, "Detect Concealment" spell is no better than the skill in giving an advanced warning, so it "See Wards" and "Sense Dimensional Anomaly" aren't useless per say because you need some inkling. "See Wards" allows one to determine if a Ward is real or fake, or if it is even energized, and since a ward is basically a symbol it can be very useful (so if you see literal writing on the wall, you might want to check for wards).

"Faerie Speak", while it is not as versatile as Tonuges in which languages are covered. It should be noted it is cheaper and can be cast on two others instead of the mage by touch (Tongues is limited to one by touch). Faerie Speak is also a skill, and does apply to several races which may be encountered. So I wouldn't call it useless unless you don't use any of the Faerie speaking races (like Goblin, Hob-goblin).

"Fingers in the Wind", yes Telekensis has advantages, but it has less range, costs more, has a shorter duration, and allows a saving throw. So depending on what you want to do, FitW might be better.

"Float in Air", 1/2 walking speed for a lower PPE cost than typical flying spells (so you save some PPE you might need later). Duration is a bit low, but it is hardly useless since you can use it to avoid setting off all/most floor traps. Use it to cross a fluid body (water, lava, etc). It can be as horizontally useful as Levitation is vertically useful (which isn't on your list).

"Fool's Gold", who says that you have to use the spell only for transactions. You could use it as part of a deception. You could cast it and give it to bandits as "loot" to get them to leave instead of fighting them off.

"Ley Line Transmission", yes it is very situational and limited value, but still potentially useful as you could communicate with others buildings located on the Ley Line like two guard towers/posts, or use it as part of a courier service to cross distances faster (the smallest Ley Line on the Random Ley Line Table can be is 1 mile), etc. Its more of an NPC thing I think than a PC thing.

"Energy Disruption", I grant you is better for Rifts or other tech settings. Though is main value would be in disabling fire based lightsources. Which could help with sneaking around for a group.

"Memory Bank", "Transferral", "Witch Bottle", and "Close Rift" yes they are highly targeted and could be useless depending on the story.

"Spoil" it can be potentially useless depending on how the products gets used, and if you have the reversal spell ("Purification").

[Lukterran]

"Death Trance", its use ability is limited to situations where you need the character to appear dead. This I can agree on, but depending on the situations the PC finds themselves in it might be useful.

"Ventriloquism", "Detect Concealment" can be replaced by Skills. Ventriloquism skill vs power when used, the Spell proficiency is beyond Level 15 (assuming no skill bonuses are in play). So if it is used, it is better than the skill. However, "Detect Concealment" spell is no better than the skill in giving an advanced warning, so it "See Wards" and "Sense Dimensional Anomaly" aren't useless per say because you need some inkling. "See Wards" allows one to determine if a Ward is real or fake, or if it is even energized, and since a ward is basically a symbol it can be very useful (so if you see literal writing on the wall, you might want to check for wards).

"Faerie Speak", while it is not as versatile as Tonuges in which languages are covered. It should be noted it is cheaper and can be cast on two others instead of the mage by touch (Tongues is limited to one by touch). Faerie Speak is also a skill, and does apply to several races which may be encountered. So I wouldn't call it useless unless you don't use any of the Faerie speaking races (like Goblin, Hob-goblin).

"Fingers in the Wind", yes Telekensis has advantages, but it has less range, costs more, has a shorter duration, and allows a saving throw. So depending on what you want to do, FitW might be better.

"Float in Air", 1/2 walking speed for a lower PPE cost than typical flying spells (so you save some PPE you might need later). Duration is a bit low, but it is hardly useless since you can use it to avoid setting off all/most floor traps. Use it to cross a fluid body (water, lava, etc). It can be as horizontally useful as Levitation is vertically useful (which isn't on your list).

"Fool's Gold", who says that you have to use the spell only for transactions. You could use it as part of a deception. You could cast it and give it to bandits as "loot" to get them to leave instead of fighting them off.

"Ley Line Transmission", yes it is very situational and limited value, but still potentially useful as you could communicate with others buildings located on the Ley Line like two guard towers/posts, or use it as part of a courier service to cross distances faster (the smallest Ley Line on the Random Ley Line Table can be is 1 mile), etc. Its more of an NPC thing I think than a PC thing.

"Energy Disruption", I grant you is better for Rifts or other tech settings. Though is main value would be in disabling fire based lightsources. Which could help with sneaking around for a group.

"Memory Bank", "Transferral", "Witch Bottle", and "Close Rift" yes they are highly targeted and could be useless depending on the story.

"Spoil" it can be potentially useless depending on how the products gets used, and if you have the reversal spell ("Purification").

All your points are valid. But have you or anyone playing a spellcaster in your group ever cast any of these spells more than once (if at all)?

BTW- It is "Fingers of the Wind" not in the wind. I think if your warlock is fingering the wind that is a completely different scenario

[Veknironth]

Well, I did use "Fool's Gold" at a game in the Open House. It turned a smooth surface into a quasi-mirror once it became gold. That was a very useful trick at the time. However, I wouldn't take that spell on my personal mage unless it were offered for free.

-Vek
"Maybe the spell should be used to fool gold."

[ShadowLogan]

All your points are valid. But have you or anyone playing a spellcaster in your group ever cast any of these spells more than once (if at all)?

BTW- It is "Fingers of the Wind" not in the wind. I think if your warlock is fingering the wind that is a completely different scenario

We don't normally have spell casters, psychics yes, but not spell casters. A lot of it though will come down to what the GM presents in a given situation, and how creative the player(s) might be in using a given spell/power. Some times you will have to take some of the spells because you can't bank them for later and the available pool of "good ones" are all used up.

[Damian Magecraft]

I find the idea of "well that spell is useless since I cant use it every time" leads to a feature that I loathe in games (specifically spell lists that have fifty fireballs and a dozen ways to summon up killer monsters from beyond space and time....but no way for a wizard to do their housework with magic. )
I really love the idea of spells that are useful in specialized situations. Especially since it allows for wizards to have both a large spell book AND not be able to solve every problem with the same ten spells. In my games I have a habit of handing out all sorts of specialized spells all the time. It encourages role play, and the players tend to be a lot more creative if they have a wide range of specialized tools to work with.

Ok....then I challenge you to make a wizard character next game you play in with these spells I listed and tell me how many of them you end up using successful.

I think some spells in this game work better as lore spells or spells designed with NPCs specifically in mind. But in regard to players characters usefulness some are nearly worthless. Which means if a player is given a chance to pick an alternate spell they normally will. If they stumble upon one of these "lemons" they might have it in their spell knowledge but that actual times it gets cast I am guessing can be counted on a cartoon characters hand with half their fingers missing.

I have used every one of the spells listed quite frequently and successfully.

[Whiskeyjack]

Spoil can be a VERY nasty spell. If your group is being pursued by a larger group, a stealthy casting of it can render their food and water useless. If the environment doesn't produce food (think Balgor Wastelands or on a ship) they will be in trouble quickly while you run away with good food and water. You simply have to outlast their waning endurance.

[kiralon]

I like ventriloquism but wish it actually changed the location of your voice rather than just gave you the skill at %90

[Reagren Wright]

Float on Air is an awesome spell. No weight limit on the person and no SAVING THROW!
You can cast Float on Air on an Ogre and he's weightless. He'll flail around trying to
figure out what happen while you do whatever you need to do.

[Lukterran]

Float on Air is an awesome spell. No weight limit on the person and no SAVING THROW!
You can cast Float on Air on an Ogre and he's weightless. He'll flail around trying to
figure out what happen while you do whatever you need to do.

That spells doesn't really make the person "weightless" they still have their mass and weight they just float a 1 foot off the ground.

It only gives them a -1 to their combat bonuses. The best you get out of it would be to halve their speed. But I wouldn't say this spell fully disable an Ogre.

[Lukterran]

Well, I did use "Fool's Gold" at a game in the Open House. It turned a smooth surface into a quasi-mirror once it became gold. That was a very useful trick at the time. However, I wouldn't take that spell on my personal mage unless it were offered for free.

-Vek
"Maybe the spell should be used to fool gold."

I like the creative use of the spell. Never thought about using it that way. Still wouldn't pick it up like you said unless it was a free boon.

[kiralon]

Float on Air is an awesome spell. No weight limit on the person and no SAVING THROW!
You can cast Float on Air on an Ogre and he's weightless. He'll flail around trying to
figure out what happen while you do whatever you need to do.

That spells doesn't really make the person "weightless" they still have their mass and weight they just float a 1 foot off the ground.

It only gives them a -1 to their combat bonuses. The best you get out of it would be to halve their speed. But I wouldn't say this spell fully disable an Ogre.

for its cost and the extra oomph with it the warlock gets and the range of 30 ft per lvl makes it one of the longest range combat spells for a warlock, and the no save makes it perfect for use against dragons and the like.


Methinks was made with target friendlies only in mind.

[Lukterran]

Float on Air is an awesome spell. No weight limit on the person and no SAVING THROW!
You can cast Float on Air on an Ogre and he's weightless. He'll flail around trying to
figure out what happen while you do whatever you need to do.

That spells doesn't really make the person "weightless" they still have their mass and weight they just float a 1 foot off the ground.

It only gives them a -1 to their combat bonuses. The best you get out of it would be to halve their speed. But I wouldn't say this spell fully disable an Ogre.

for its cost and the extra oomph with it the warlock gets and the range of 30 ft per lvl makes it one of the longest range combat spells for a warlock, and the no save makes it perfect for use against dragons and the like.


Methinks was made with target friendlies only in mind.

I think someone screwed up. Very rarely do you have the same spell listed in warlock and in wizard spells and it have different effects. Sometimes the lvl / PPE cost differ but almost never do the effects differ. I wonder which is the screw up?

This is the Air Warlock spell description from 1st edition.

Float in Air (air level three)
Range: self or other within 30 feet
Duration: 10 melees per level of the warlock
Saving throw: none
This spell creates air currents which hold a person or object aloft hovering about one foot above the ground. It can be used to slow someone's descent from a fall or used to float on top of water. Movement is awkward and slow while in the air. Speed of the floating person is reduced to half, all attacks, strikes, parries, and dodges are at -1.

The Wizard version from 1st edition used to last 2 hours.

[The Dark Elf]

the thing about most of these spells is their situation specific but that is great! Especially the high level ones (such as cap volcano).

The reason I say this is because needing these spells and learning them is such a great adventure opportunity.
Your village is next to a volcano that was supposedly dormant. Tremors start to occur and the village elders believe the volcano will soon erupt destroying everything youve built and planted. The people evacuate but as the only wizard in the village you are sent to the nations capital with the village funds to find a wizard to teach you the cap volcano spell. You estimate you have a month!
Nice little journey encounters there and back, sent of a small quest by the wizard as payment, getting enough PPE to cast it etc etc etc...

Ok once known you might only use it once but without its existence youd miss out on all that fun!

[tmbn]

Cocoon of stone is a very good spell against river of lava and quicksand etc.

[mirithol]

Useless? Or a missed opportunity? How difficult would it be to design challenges and scenarios that can be solved with these spells?

The problem is that no GM ever designs a adventure to allow any of these spells to shine? Then they still would only be useful for that 1 adventure.

If you are a G.M. designing encounters you are totally looking for just such spells. Huge ogre corners a low level party at the edge of a 200' cliff. They can't beat it in a fight. Sure they could "float in air" over the edge or they could be bad asses and float the ogre, run behind him, give him a swift kick over the edge and end the spell. 20D6 splat damage - more than the low level party could have accomplished by themselves. Then they float down and loot the body (since they only have 50' of rope). If the wizard has the spell give them the opportunity of cliffs, bridges, deep holes, etc. when designing your game.

I sometimes leave a scroll of a potentially helpful spell in a loot pile of some defeated villain that foreshadows a need later - just as you might sprinkle potions of healing about.

Finally, good players eventually get tired of min-maxing and power gaming fire balls, etc. (Yes, we've all done it and fun with that). Then, most take on more role-playing adding a few twitchy things to their characters, maybe have an 8 attribute score and even grab a few less utilized spells as a challenge. Great players figure out creative ways to use them in unexpected ways.

[Lukterran]

So other than the float spell being used against ogres. Vek successfully using Fools Gold (good job btw:-) )and Damian Magecraft that claims to have used them all often (without mentioning examples).

How many times have you or player in your gaming group actually had and used effectively any of these spells (other than Float in Air and Fool's Gold)? "Effectively" meaning; that it wasn't just cast because you had the spell on your and you cast it, but it actually helped the characters and party achieve a goal or get some kind of positive result from the spell.

I don't really care about theoretical or possible scenarios where they could be used. I am interested in hear about actually player experiences with this spells. Did people in groups out there playing PF actually use any of these spells? It would seem Damian is the only one.

Currently the only spells that I have heard of that would make me rethink my judgment about calling these spells useless is Float in Air and possibly Fool's Gold.

[kiralon]

Well surprisingly enough I used ventriloquism this weekend past (you can watch it) on a vote.
The same character has also used witch bottle because one of our opponents was a witch.
Have seen fingers of the wind used to move keys, yes telekinesis would have been better but no one had it.
and colour water was used as a practical joke on someone trying to convince them they were cursed because overnight the water in their flask would turn red, but it was specifically picked to do the joke so it probably doesn't count.
Same with Ventriloquism, one player (my wife) would imitate the voice of a third player, use ventriloquism and tell the second player to wake up its his watch. That was funny too, the second player got so agro that he kept everyone awake for the next few nights.
My players love getting away with practical jokes.

[Veknironth]

Well, I think the main thing that supports Luk is whether someone would choose said spells. I used Fool's Gold because it was a character that was pre-maid. But as I said, I would never take it. There are much better and useful spells. If I were playing my Wizard and he saw it lying around he'd learn it but I'm not going to trade for it, or select it when I level up.

-Vek
"Where's the most useful spells post?"

[Lukterran]

So after being negative about which spells that don't get cast I will give you the list of the primary "go to" spells that are the bread and butter that I use. Listed 4 spells per each level:

1st
Increase Weight - (This comes in handy for disarming an opponent or keeping them held down to the ground, items get no save! )
See Aura - (It has a utility of uses that go beyond just sensing one characteristic)
Blinding Flash - (Initial disabling spell)
Cloud of Smoke - (Good low level spell for quick get aways for to confuse an enemy)
2nd
Chameleon - (No vulnerable to see invisible powers must supernatural dragons/monsters seem to have, still needs get prowl. Can be used on others as buff).
Climb - (Great spell if you lack good climbing skills. If you have climbing skills take Fear spell instead)
Levitation - (Useful from moving large objects, to climbing high cliffs to disabling opponents)
Weightlessness - (Just as useful as Increase Weight and the spells complement one another).
3rd
Armor of Ithan - (First protective spell must have!)
Breathe Without Air - (Reduces danger of some clouds and gases plus allows you to breath underwater)
Energy Bolt - (Initial Damage dealing spell. Would take Paralysis: Lesser if you already have offensive spells)
Telekinesis - (Just too awesome to list possible uses)
4th
Carpet of Adhesion - (Again this spell is just too awesome to list all that can be done with it)
Magic Net - (Good at snaring one or multiple enemies, no strike roll required)
Shadow Meld - (Just like chameleon good at staying unseen where invisibility falls short)
Swim as a Fish - (Any river, lake or sea is nothing when you have this spell. Pairs great with breath without air)
5th
Domination - (This is more of taste thing, but prefer it over Charm mainly due to duration is better. Controlling others is a useful power.)
Fly - (Getting around and moving your loot is no longer a problem with this spell. Flying carpets or bedrolls are the way to go)
Superhuman Speed - (Good buffing spell for the group, plus the combat bonuses are nice as well.
Superhuman Strength - (Same good buff spell plus allows weaker characters to actually inflict a fair amount of damage)
6th
Call Lightning - (No strike, instant hit, offensive weapon is a no brainer)
Fleet Feet - (Severely broken spell. Buff your party and pairs great with other buff spells)
Create Bread & Milk - (Before there was Sustain, there was bread and milk. You or your party will never starve or go thirsty with this spell. Also good for those long stays in dimensional holes)
Time Slip - (Seven of the most valuable 7 seconds you will ever get with this spell. Allows for buffing and reacting to any situation with perfection)
7th
Fly as the Eagle - (The ultimate flying spell. No more dangerous travel on foot needed)
Immobilize - (Great for pushing the pause button on any situation)
Invulnerability - (Better version of Armor of Ithan, plus the save bonuses are nice. Another great buff spell)
Wind Rush - (Saving verses this spell is very difficult plus the ability to push an enemy away and possibly toward another danger is very valuable)
8th
Eyes of the Wolf - (This spell has a lot of utility purposes, however I would probably take another 6th level spell if you had most of these skills)
Locate - (Great spell for finding your lost friend or hunting down a nemesis)
Love Charm - (Perfect almost willing control over others can be ignored)
Negate Magic - (Only one of two spells that can cancel out other magic)

Other notable mentions
Invisibility: Superior
Heal Self
Globe of Silence
Dispel Magic Barriers
Agony
Impervious to Energy
Fire Ball
Size of the Behemoth
Horrific Illusion
Eyes of Thoth
Fire Bolt
Charismatic Aura
Blind
Fuel Flame

[kiralon]

I would add
globe of daylight (for those that cant see in dark, vamps and very cheap)
cloud of slumber (lvl 2 version, not lvl 7 version)
See Invisible (Not an common thing to have)
Invis simple (Because see invis isn't common across big groups of people)
Shadow meld (2 people where one was)

[Lukterran]

I would add
globe of daylight (for those that cant see in dark, vamps and very cheap)
cloud of slumber (lvl 2 version, not lvl 7 version)
See Invisible (Not an common thing to have)
Invis simple (Because see invis isn't common across big groups of people)
Shadow meld (2 people where one was)

I didn't add the common knowledge spells since I was working off the wizard spell list. But yes those.

[Axelmania]

- Wither Planets: Only useful if you are trying to clear a field or get rid of those hard to kill weeds in your yard.
.

That sounds like a pretty badass spell to me.

[Veknironth]

Well, Axel bumped this post and I think that the spell Wither Plants could be VERY useful depending on the interpretation. For example, what if the spell is Wither Plants(?)? Knowing the location of plants is handy.

-Vek
"Like I was going to help!"

[Library Ogre]

Wither Plants is a cobbler spell. I figure some cobblers use it in extortion schemes.

"Really nice antique rosebushes you got there. Be a shame if someone killed 'em."

[Marcethus]

I commonly use Detect Concealment when I play a spell caster. With the range of 30ft Area it pretty much covers most rooms and if something is concealed magically it will reveal it.

Fingers of the Wind is also very useful roleplay wise when the damned bar wench is too busy to bring you your drink.

[Axelmania]

Having just beginning to watch the film Riddick (sequel to 2000 film Pitch Black and 2004 film Chronicles of Riddick) I have a new appreciation for Death Trance.

[Veknironth]

Well, the problem with death trance is the person with great attention to detail. He or she sees a body which appears dead but stabs it in the throat just in case. It would work much better if you use the spell while in the middle of a bunch of bodies, or in a situation in which you were expected to be dead.

-Vek
"I sure wouldn't pay for that spell or use my level up free spell on it."

[tuvermage]

every spell has its use, just as every tool has a purpose. While you may have not encounter a situation where it had a use, it's more the GM's fault than the spell.

Death Trance: it's a first level spell first off. but it could be used to stop the affects of poisons or venoms. if you are in the aftermath of a battle and want to blend in a little better it could help. Are there better options? not at level one.

- Ventriloquism: personally I love this one. making it seem like the tree is talking to someone. "You must bring offerings to the great tree or your village will starve! the great tree has spoken." thrown in a thunderclap. great for level one character to create problems.

- Detect Concealment: Really? this is on the list? seriously? in my groups this is on one of the most valuable spell list. Granted you need to know when you use it, but then again, try being in a situation where you know you need to use it but don't have it.

- Faerie Speak: Yes, yes, yes. Tongues is better. Tongues is also level 6, while this is level 3. 'But how often do you encounter Faeries?" again look at your GM. I had a player who encountered fairies so much, he learned to speak it. Not his character, him the player. Because I actually had a faerie language that I would use when he forgot to use the spell, he not only had enough times to use the spell, but enough times he forgot to learn the language. It's all down to the GM tho.

- Fingers of the Wind: Yes TK makes this one look like a bad choice, but it has two things over TK 30 extra feet of range and cost less. Again, a good GM would make it where the extra 30' makes all the difference in the world.

- Float in Air: Great spell, yes levitate can affect others too, but again, it's down to your GM. levitate has a weight limit float on air doesn't. if you need to run away from a big bad guy who is 300lbs levitate won't cut it, but float of air will.

- See Wards: Again, in my circles it's a must. But it comes down to the GM. if you have a good GM this should be on the must have list.

- Fool's Gold:You can fool bandits as said earlier. or make yourself look more important than you are. You are going to meet the mayor of the town. use fool's gold to make your cloths appear to be made from gold. The mayor will assume you are rich and important and treat you much better than showing up in wool. GM can also use it to fool players.

- Ley Line Transmission: Again it's down to the GM. setup camp on a ley line and sent out a scout with this spell. Use to setup ambushes. use it to make a more advance beacon system.


- Energy Disruption: lets see, it reduces magical fire damage, point, it can turn off the lights, point. turning out the lights is very, very useful. you know how long it would take to get the campfire going again if they don't have a wizard with them?

- Memory Bank: People like to point of that this is situational, but I point out you can create those situations yourself. Any situation where you need to get detailed knowledge through but will be search for papers. think of the things you can pull off with this.

Close Rift: But if you need it and don't have it.

- Id Barrier: while some point out how high the cost is. I have something to say. Ritual.

Honestly the problem most have on these spells is that they are too situational. That is more of a problem with the GMs than the spell. GM should be thinking about these things and how and where to use them. Also expand how you play. Create a challenge where you use a spell you have that you think is useless in every game. See if you can do a game where you use every spell you have at least once.

[Goliath Strongarm]

I think the problem isn't the spells. The problem is lack of creative-thinking amongst your spellcasting players and poor planning on the GM part.


Wizard Spells
- Death Trance: Scouting the necromancer's/witch's lair, and hear someone else? Hide among the bodies. Need to get into the undertakers/temple? Have the PCs carry you in, and drop you off... (2 1/2 minutes per level... so, 4th level is already 10 minutes.)

- Ventriloquism: Wizards have spells so they don't need to use skills. Also, I've used this (and a few other spells) as a wizard who was pretending to be a travelling "entertainer" (not bard), and did "magic tricks"

- Detect Concealment: Yes, I've been the guy who cast this in room after room after room. Just in case.

- Faerie Speak: You missed the key part of this spell- self OR OTHERS. If fae are around, you can let the ENTIRE PARTY in on the conversation.

- Fingers of the Wind: Sure, TK is a bit more useful- in COMBAT. Look at what I said for ventriloquism. Much more useful that way.

- Float in Air:

- See Wards: If this hasn't been useful, either you ALWAYS have a diabolist in the party, or the GM has under-used wards.

- Fool's Gold: Great spell for a TRAP. Need to bait thief/greedy monsters? Have the PCs carrying around huge chunks of "gold" will help.

- Ley Line Transmission: Agreed. This is one of those "it looked good in Rifts, so we copied it over" spells.

- Energy Disruption: It has "parlor trick" usefulness. But, by and large, same as LLT- "well, it's cool in RIFTS!"

- Memory Bank: If you're fond of committing illegal activities, this spell can be VERY useful.. especially if you use guards to store the information.

- Witch Bottle: Actually, a great way to make money. Especially in smaller towns, where they don't have an alchemist available.

- Sense Dimensional Anomaly: For use about rifts, some key indicators are eclipse, alignment, noon, midnight, solstice, etc. For other uses, really, if you're chasing a mage, it's nice to know if he did a portal, or if searching someone for stolen goods, or documents, or whatever, they could easily have a dimensional pocket that you would want to find.

- Spoil: Well, we just broke that siege in a single session...

- Transferal: "Im sorry officer, but I clearly cannot be the one who cast the fireball in the middle of the square... have the psychic verify my aura!"

- Close Rift: Much more useful in Rifts, yes, but, if you have someone who's opening a rift to let through something big, nasty, ugly, and man-eating, it's nice to have. Most GMs I know also let it apply to "dimensional portals"

- Id Barrier: It's not great for one-on-one against the big bad. But, when the mage is dealing with a crapload of minions who are low level (or mid-level, if like some GMs I know, the mages spell strength applies to those HF saves as well), can keep them off of him, and otherwise engaged.




Im not going to get into the elemental spells, but, I think you see the point... there's creative ways to use these spells more often