Talk:Eldritch Riverflow (3.5e Invocation)

Strange Area

The idea behind this invocation is that it makes your eldritch blast (or fire bolt or wind bullet) flow downhill like a stream. As a result, it doesn't really have a set area; what squares it does and doesn't effect are totally affected by the terrain. Just like water, it is pulled by gravity and flows down to the lowest point; it flows downhill and can be more-or-less contained by trenches. Essentially, it follows the contours of the terrain.

My problem is that I can't find a way to say this that isn't either so vague and simplistic as to fail to define how it actually works, or so elaborate and complicated that it elicits cries of "TL;DR!". I have no idea where the happy medium lies. --Luigifan18 (talk) 02:49, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

Looks pretty solid as is personally. If it bothers you, consider cloudkill. It is defined as "filled X area" and "flows downhill when it can" which is the only two qualifiers you need. Looks like you have both, you're fine. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 02:53, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

*looks over article again* Do I have the "fills X area" bit? I describe how fast it travels and how long it lasts, but that's about it. --Luigifan18 (talk) 03:32, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

Touche, I misread "120 feet line" which it wasn't. Simple enough, add "X ft area". I recommend a line, or a moving square ala cloudkill. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 03:51, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

It's only a line if it travels down a perfectly straight hill. If the hill curves, or it flows into a winding trench, it's going to follow that. And the area is more along the lines of "whatever squares it happens to be traveling through this round". --Luigifan18 (talk) 04:31, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

You want a square then of whatever size. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 04:42, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

Again, that fits on perfectly level ground or a straight-down incline. Not for a complex-slope hill, a trench, or an area with lots of differences in elevation. --Luigifan18 (talk) 04:44, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

I don't think you understood what I meant. The area (width and length) is a square. The elevation of the ground will determine the other axis. That doesn't change the width and length. Unless you want to employ realistic gas physics. In which case... there is a reason why they dropped that from fireball from 2e to 3e, it's not worth that level of detail. -- Eiji-kun (talk) 04:56, 6 November 2015 (UTC)