I thought it wasn't supposed to happen anymore that clouds just hang around after everything else has left the room... Walk into a room, instantly stunned, instantly killed by a death cloud. Shouldn't this thing disperse when the creature that created it leaves the room? This is the 2nd time it's happened in 2 days, so starting to become a valid frustration.

[Vornavian Coast, Foggy Valley]
The path slopes slightly downward to the southeast, and upward to the northeast and northwest. Fog completely covers the ground, and occasional short trees and tall bushes poke like islands in the mist. The temperature continues to drop along the descent to the southeast. You also see a dark cloud.
Obvious paths: northeast, southeast, northwest
>
>ne
Suddenly the entire world explodes! You are blinded by intense light and deafened by a tremendous explosion! By some miracle you maintain enough of your mental faculties to realize you've been struck by lightning from that cloud!
... 30 points of damage!
Stunning arc of electricity fuses left hand at wrist.
You are stunned for 3 rounds!
>
You are still stunned.
>
Suddenly the entire world explodes! You are blinded by intense light and deafened by a tremendous explosion! By some miracle you maintain enough of your mental faculties to realize you've been struck by lightning from that cloud!
... 60 points of damage!
Horrifying jolt of electricity fries abdomen to a crisp. Upper torso falls to the ground. Talk about repugnant!
A faint silvery glow fades from around you.
You feel the extra courage wane.
The light blue glow leaves you.
The deep blue glow leaves you.
The layer of protection fades away.
You become solid again.
The shimmering multicolored sphere fades from around you.
The layer of raw elemental energy surrounding you dissipates.
You no longer bristle with energy.
You feel your extra strength departing.
You feel your extra magical awareness leave you.
The glowing specks of energy surrounding you suddenly shoot off in all directions, then quickly fade away.
You feel less confident than before.
The brilliant luminescence fades from around you.
The bright luminescence fades from around you.
The silvery luminescence fades from around you.

It seems you have died, my friend. Although you cannot do anything, you are keenly aware of what is going on around you...

You mentally give a sigh of relief as you remember that the Goddess Lorminstra owes you a favor.

Unfortunately, this is Call Lightning (Minor Spiritual 125).

It doesn't behave exactly like the wizardly or the arcane circle spells. By design, it takes up to 40 seconds to build up, and then delivers 3 to 4 strikes. I don't know that it evaporates earlier.

Doug

KRAKII

It's not Call Lightning.

Call Lightning targets only the item upon which it was cast, though--if the caster is still in the room (like "I want to blow open my own treasure boxes") when it strikes--the bolts can ricochet to hit the caster.

Doug is correct - it is Call Lightning (125). Yes, a target has to be specified, which only means, the spell was cast at the player, they left the room, then re-entered it and were zapped. Since these clouds only affect a specific target and don't roam, they will wait out a target. If you kill the caster of the cloud though, it will cause it to dissipate early.

GameMaster Estild

>>Stun or Death Cloud, I would believe. The severity of those strikes look like Death Cloud.

Yeah, you raise an important point about the targeting, Robert - thanks for the correction.

I suppose we should add in Gas Cloud (no longer castable by PC's, only an NPC). And that particular area is likely overrun by grimswarm, it certainly was yesterday when I walked an escortee down the coast to Solhaven.

I guess I'll have to do some research and find the exact messaging - since the Wiki doesn't have anything like it. I guess a visit to the coast is in order. . .

Doug

ASHRAAM

No, this is a death cloud. A dark cloud should be 1713... 125 is "a churning cloud".

Stun Cloud (1704) and Death Cloud (1713) are always just "a gas cloud". Call Lightning (125) starts out as "a churning cloud", then changes to "a dark cloud" as it builds.

GameMaster Estild

>>Stun Cloud (1704) and Death Cloud (1713) are always just "a gas cloud". Call Lightning (125) starts out as "a churning cloud", then changes to "a dark cloud" as it builds.

Thanks for clearing up the cloud type. Can you clear up why it's allowed to remain active while the caster is not present in the same room and continues to attack?

>>Also, Call Lightning used to be pretty much an "instant death" spell; if it hit a PC, it would kill them. If it was changed--probably with the Lore implementation, and to make it usable as a hunting spell--this is probably when it happened. Forming faster, and having multiple strikes, it was probably changed to be "not necessarily lethal" on any given strike.

I'd say Tree Spirits (probably non-BCS) didn't get that memo!

Doug

>You and your seven hundred closest friends could be crowded around in the room and do anything you want, and be carefree and safe as a ... something that's really safe. No danger. No possibility of danger.

It's been years (maybe 20ish years back) and I might be remembering wrong, but didn't folks used to have a game they'd play with call lightning back in the day?

They'd all gather around and someone would cast call lightning at a box and wait to see if the spell would reflect off the box and strike someone in the room? I could swear they made a game of this....then again, I could just be dreaming it up.

-Drumpel

@Drumpel: You may be thinking of "Firestorm Last Man Standing", with a 100k entrance fee to the guy standing outside the Conversion Chamber (which was just outside the North Gate). He would hold the entry stakes, everyone would go in, the Mage would whistle up a Firestorm and walk out, and--to avoid Abuse Warnings for healing & raising experience--everyone who died would have to eat a Depart.
Lather/rinse/repeat until there is only one person left alive. (I don't recall whether they parked a Familiar ['tell familiar to watch'] inside the room or not.)
Winner gets the stakes, less the host's cut.

.

"It hasn't changed at all in those respects." -- Estild

@Estild: Then I submit that the first clip posted was not Call Lightning, since the first strike only severed his hand rather than killing the PC.

'Severed hand' (in one strike, eventually followed by other strikes) </> 'instant death', not by a long chalk.

I believe when the Lore implementation went in (which is what added the accelerated cloud formation), they made it possible for non-lethal strikes to happen (because they took OUT the "dispel my own cloud to get instant ZAP", which was deemed a bug [even if it cost 17 mana to do], because "spend training points to get Lore benefit, eventually" is less powerful but more game-design desirable than "spend 17 mana to get damage 3 seconds after casting something that's supposed to take a while to form".)
If my recollection is correct, that would both explain the non-lethal crits, and refute "has not changed at all".

However, if the "it would only strike the cast-at target" has "not changed at all in those respects", then the OP must have been the original target. It did not sound like that, from the tone of his post; it sounded like he walked into a room.
* If he was standing there when it was cast, he should know it's there, and know enough to 'peer' and stay the hell out until it disperses, since he knew enough to walk away from it in the first place.
+ The OP struck me as someone who knew what the heck he was doing.

* If he was NOT standing there when it was cast... how did it get cast? Players, at least, cannot cast Call Lightning at a target not in the room.

TLDR: Estild, I find your answer(s) lacking. In regards to several of the spell's facets.

Maybe all clouds should work this way instead of dissipating when the target/caster leaves the room. Much more sporting for those wandering through, and would require more strategy for PCs who can't blow a cloud away. That reminds me, how come fire guardians don't cast firestorm anymore?

>Gem of Fate. (a box will bounce at the caster)

Ditto. Except it's only enruned, mithril or glyph boxes that bounce at the caster.

And since I got my custom 720 prep at EG, I now have a Gem of Fate style 125 custom prep in the works (for the next time I get one in several years) :D