11 thoughts on “KNOCK – LEVEL 1 – DIVINATION”

  2. I like the formulation of the effects for a system of magic.. “If you could do it in half an hour, then your spell does it instantly”, “If a skilled artisan could do it in half a day, then it’s done”, “If he could be easily provoked by him, then he will go berserk” etc..

  3. I figured divination since it’s like a minor future-telling spell. Like, the sort of fictional effect is that it looks into the future to see if actually knocking on the door would end up with the door opening pretty quickly.

    And then it bypasses that version of events by unlocking the door magically.

    I figured that it steps on the thief’s toes a little (I hate thieves as a class anyway), but it does something different.

    If the thief picked the lock, there’d still be someone on the other side.

  5. Hmm. I’m not sure how much I like it for that very reason.

    Is there not a person on the other side to answer a knock? Well then I guess we’re kicking it in?

    Is there a person on the other side who won’t open the door? Well then I guess we’re kicking it in?

    It seems this spell is useful in the extremely narrow situation of “Quietly Entering Places That Are Occupied – But Not Fortified Or Suspicious – Through Areas That Have People Who Would Probably See You Trying To Enter Quietly”

    Maybe I’m wrong and can’t picture it well in play, but its usefulness just seems very limited.

    I do really like the template of comparing it to a mundane action though.

  6. It doesn’t say the person has to answer the door peacefully. If you knock on a door in a dungeon, someone (or several someones) might answer it with a sword drawn. But this would still work. I love it.

  7. WOULD or COULD? This spell would do nothing for you if you were say, locked in a cell because a jailor COULD open the door for you but WOULD NOT.

    It’s interesting if limited in use. Maybe Greater Knock for a higher level?

  8. Yeah, exactly.

    Yeh, duh, orcs COULD open the door in the dungeon when you knock on it – but unless they’re idiots who open doors for strangers in their lair and then walk through a choke point to their deaths, they WOULDNT open it.

    The would/could distinction is huge on how useful this spell is.

  9. It may need some workshopping. If any of you have ideas for a better wording of it, then go for it.

    As Eric Lochstampfor pointed out, the difference between would and could is important for the GM to keep in mind. A jailor wouldn’t open a cell door if you knocked on it. They’d probably open a slot in the door, or just ignore you.

    Mostly, this would be useful for doors that don’t have a way to see through. No, an Orc isn’t just going to open the door for you and allow you in, but they’d probably have to unlock the door and look out to see who was there.

  10. If the spell requires someone on the other side then the spell is actually some sort of mind-compulsion spell that is cast on them not even the door itself.

    If not then it should just be KNOCK – Will open a door that is not sealed by magic.

    Involving the third party in the caster/locked door equation is what trips the whole thing up, IMHO.

  11. I think if it were just “if this door could be opened from the other side, it opens for you” it would be fine.

    Its cuts out the would could someone open this maybe element, its useful for secret doors that open from there but not here, it opens locked doors like it ought to, and it remains powerless over big giant puzzle doors that only unlock from the room of the dungeon you’re standing in.

Comments are closed.