Implosion suffers from excessive lag

[Xiaobeibi]

Description: The spell targetting appears to function as it locks on four targets in a row, one target each round, but the actual effect of the spell seems to suffer from excessive lag.

Every single time I have used the spell it feels as if a lag spike is inserted after the spell targets and before the effect hits. Sometimes the spell has targeted four different victims before the first one has been hit and imploded. Often the victim is killed by something else between the targeting and the the effect kicking in.

A normal spell has the following feel: cast, "normal lag", effect. This feels more like: cast, "normal lag", target, "excessive extra lag", effect.

I am unsure if this makes much sense, but I will happy to demonstrate it. I strongly suspect that this extra lag is connected with how NWN handles the spell as it moves from target to target and that changing the spell to a simple area spell will solve the issue.

Effectively this means the spell is useless in any combat situation.

Location: Great forest on giants and on swampkin in the swamps near Vehl.

Verified:

Reproducable SHould be - certainly demonstrated it to a few people on stunned and held opponents.

[miltonyorkcastle]

I thought this spell took a full round before the effect actually went off? In other words, the first creature to be attacked is supposed to be hit a round after the spell is cast.

[orth]

That's correct milt, the first one is actually a bit weird, you'll target, there's a 2 second lag then the rest of the round you focus (4 more seconds) ... following that you focus on the next one for 6 full seconds.

It's not meant to be an area of effect kill spell, it's meant to be quite similar to how DnD describes it.  

I've had mixed results with it, lag does seem to be a factor, as does people killing your target before you're done. But it has also been very effective for me too. Think you guys (Steel, Acacea, Abiorn, Jaelle, Jennara) saw me use it quite effectively.

Not really sure what can be done about lag and/or people killing your target though.

I'll think on it some more...

[miltonyorkcastle]

Yes, I have seen it used to good effect.

I updated the description in LORE to be a bit more explicit about the duration and timing of the spell.

[LORE]Implosion[/LORE]

Also, if one implosion fails, does that end the chain? or can it keep moving to other targets? I'd like to have that explanation in LORE as well.

[orth]

No it does not milty, if one target makes it's save it just moves on to the next one.  It will not attempt the implosion on the same creature for the duration of the spell.