Magical Sleep Update

[Stranger]

As you know, Sleep is the least powerful crowd control effect in the game. It ends if any damage is dealt to the victim. Elves are straight-up immune to it. Even the sorcerer perk centered around it is extremely limited by the arbitrary HD cap associated with such spells. Thus, to bring Sleep and Slumber closer to spells like Scare and Fear, I recommend that we change the way they work. After all, we can all agree that Sleep effects are very stylish and criminally underused; there's no harm in creating a renaissance for them.

Sleep should have its HD cap removed entirely, but be changed to a single target spell. It should also benefit from DC increases in the same way that Scare does. Considering that it is completely negated by Ghostly Visage and Clarity, and heavily mitigated by Protection from Alignment, I do not see this as a threat.

[hide=Sleep, Current]
Spell level: bard 1; druid 1; ranger 2; sorcerer/wizard 1
Innate level: 1
School: enchantment
Descriptor: mind-affecting
Components: verbal, somatic
Range: medium (20 meters)
Area of effect: huge (6.67 meter radius)
Duration: 3 rounds + 1 / caster level
Save: will negates
Spell resistance: yes
Additional counterspells: clarity

Causes 4 + 1d4 HD of creatures to fall into a comatose slumber, beginning with those with the fewest HD. Creatures with 5 or more HD are unaffected.

Spell Focus Enchantment: Number of creatures that can fall asleep is doubled.
Spell Focus Necromancy: Instead of peaceful sleep, the creature experiences horrible nightmares and suffers Doom spell for sleep duration + 5 rounds after waking.
Greater Spell Focus Necromancy: Doom's duration after waking is increased to 5 + (1 round per caster level).[/hide]
[hide=Sleep, Revised]
Spell level: bard 1; druid 1; ranger 2; sorcerer/wizard 1
Innate level: 1
School: enchantment
Descriptor: mind-affecting
Components: verbal, somatic
Range: medium (20 meters)
Area of effect: single
Duration: 3 rounds + 1 / caster level
Save: will negates
Spell resistance: yes
Additional counterspells: clarity

Causes a target creature to fall into a comatose slumber.

Spell Focus Enchantment: An additional +1 bonus to DC.
Greater Spell Focus Enchantment: An additional +1 bonus to DC.
Spell Focus Necromancy: Instead of peaceful sleep, the creature experiences horrible nightmares and suffers Doom spell for sleep duration + 5 rounds after waking.
Greater Spell Focus Necromancy: Doom's duration after waking is increased to 5 + (1 round per caster level).[/hide]

Slumber should also have its HD cap removed, and benefit from the same perks that Dream Eater and various spell focuses would give to Sleep. It can remain an AoE spell on account of its higher level.

[hide=Slumber, Current]
Spell Level: wizard/sorcerer 3
Innate Level: 3
School: enchantment
Components: verbal
Range: long
Area of Effect: Colossal
Duration: One round per level
Save: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

Causes a magical slumber to come upon 16 HD worth of creatures caught within the area of effect.[/hide]
[hide=Slumber, Revised]
Spell Level: wizard/sorcerer 3
Innate Level: 3
School: enchantment
Components: verbal
Range: long
Area of Effect: Colossal
Duration: One round per level
Save: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

Causes a magical slumber to come upon a group of creatures caught within the area of effect.

Spell Focus Enchantment: An additional +1 bonus to DC.
Greater Spell Focus Enchantment: An additional +1 bonus to DC.
Spell Focus Necromancy: Instead of peaceful sleep, the creature experiences horrible nightmares and suffers Doom spell for sleep duration + 5 rounds after waking.
Greater Spell Focus Necromancy: Doom's duration after waking is increased to 5 + (1 round per caster level).[/hide]

Speaking of Dream Eater, it would also have to undergo some related changes, in connection to both these changes to how Sleep spells work and to reflect a recent change which allows Phantasmal Killer to be cast as an instant death nightmare upon resting characters.

[hide=Dream Eater, Current]
Level 1
Immunity: Sleep
Sorcerer Token: Nightmare 1 use every 60 seconds.

Level 5
Sleep spell affects 4 + 1d4 HD's worth of more creatures.

Level 8
20% Concealment.
+2 to Sleep spell DC.
Sorcerer Token: Nightmare 1 use every 30 seconds. (Replaces previous token.)

Nightmare
Deals 1d6 / level magical damage to the sleeping target. Heals the sorcerer for half.
Kills a sleeping or slumbering NPC of hit dice 4 or below.
Provides a random boon.[/hide]
[hide=Dream Eater, Revised]
Level 1
Immunity: Sleep
Immunity: Phantasmal Killer
Sorcerer Token: Nightmare 1 use every 60 seconds.

Level 5
On Hit: Sleep (Level 1) on the sorcerer's cloth/armor.

Level 8
20% Concealment.
+2 to Sleep spell DC.
+2 to Slumber spell DC.
Sorcerer Token: Nightmare 1 use every 30 seconds. (Replaces previous token.)

Nightmare
Deals 1d6 / level magical damage to the sleeping target. Heals the sorcerer for half.
Kills a sleeping or slumbering NPC of hit dice 4 or below.
Provides a random boon.[/hide]

[Stranger]

I shall also remind you of the existence of the Rouse spell and how it is commonly possessed as a scroll...

Caster Level(s): Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Innate Level: 1
School: Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
Component(s): Verbal, Somatic
Range: Close
Area of Effect / Target: 10-ft.-radius burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

With a loud snap of your fingers, you cause any sleeping creatures in the spell's area to awaken. This spell has no effect on creatures that are unconscious due to being reduced to negative hit points or that have taken nonlethal damage in excess of their current hit points.

[Bio]

very very good..

this would make dreameater good and not poopy

[SkagHunter]

Making a suggestion for a sleep field spell, at level 4 or 5. Every round/other round make a save or get slept for 1d2 rounds in an aoe

[Richørd]

Okay, I might be the one party pooper here

but this seems like it would make Sleep and Slumber absolutely obnoxious to deal with, especially Sleep due to ease of access.

At least the iteration I see in your suggestion would make it too strong, both in PvP and PvE.


EDIT : Allow me to go into a bit more detail.
Not only would this give every spell casting class except Cleric and Paladin a "make the save or be disabled for X rounds or until you get damaged" spell very early on, with a DC that can be pimped by SF and GSF Enchantment, the Slumber in particular seems quite problematic.
Haste and then throwing two Slumbers into a large crowd of people? Well ... seems like a gamechanger to me.

[Charnelist]

I'm not getting it. The DC increases are pretty minor; it seems the real suggestion is the removal of HD caps to the spells.
This is almost guaranteed to be 'a wash' with Sleep, since you will note it was made single-target only in the suggestion.
As for Slumber, I find that this is still easily overcome with simple PfE (unless you roll terribly) or ignored with blur (for Sleep mbad)/elvishness/clarity.
Not to mention it's still a spell effect that vanishes the moment you take *any* damage.

This is barely an improvement. I wouldn't mind seeing it.

[SunrypeSlim]

Disabling spells besides paralyze are cool. They open up different kinds of counterplay. Sleep is super stylish and deserves some love.

[SamB123]

This sounds like a good change.