Going Through the Spells: Resist Cold

Wow, Am I tired. Getting back into swing of having other people around, opening the doors to the crowds, and the general chaos that is a constant of my job. But we are not here to speak about such nonsense. I have one more spell in the 1st level cleric spells in OSE to cover. The all important Resist Cold! A it anti-climatic, but here we are. Grab a coat and a hat.

Old School Essentials Mechanics
Duration: 6 turns

Range: 30'

All creatures within this range are protected from cold, as follows:

Normal Cold: Unharmed by non-magical freezing temperatures. 

Save Bonus: Gain a +2 to all saving throws vs. cold-based magical or breath attacks.

Cold-based damaged: Is reduced by 1 point per die damage rolled. (Each die inflicts a minimum of 1 hit point of damage.)

So there it is. One of the first things that popped out at me is I didn't realize it was a radius spell. So everybody who huddles around the cast, within 30', gains the bonuses of the spell. That makes the spell more interesting. More useful. While the cold-based attacks, I did a quick search through OSE Monster book, only a white dragon, frost giant, and frost salamander do that kind of damage. Magic items include Wand of Cold, Staff of Wizardry, and the spell of Cone of Cold. 

But I think of it more as an environmental spell to help survive arctic-like conditions. And 6 turns won't get you too far so it could add some urgency to the game. "The next village is an hour away so we've got to move fast." Then the dread GM rolls a random encounter, giant flying frost worms with laser eyes! This is going to slow down the party. While they may hide to let the giant flying frost worms with laser eyes pass, they've used valuable time as the spell is now going to end one or two turns before they reach the village. That's good stuff right there. 

AD&D Mechanics
Duration: 1 turn/level
Range: Touch
When this spell is placed on a creature by a cleric, the creature's body is inured to cold. The repentant can stand can stand zero degrees Fahrenheit without discomfort, even totally nude. Greater cold such as that produced by a sword of cold, ice storm, cold wand, or white dragon's breath, must be saved against. All saving throws made against cold are made with a bonus of +3, and damage sustained is one-half (if the saving throw is not made) or one-quarter (if saving throw is made) of damage from that attack form. The resistance lasts for 1 turn per level of experience of the caster. A pinch of sulphur is necessary to complete this spell. 

Whew. Got to love those AD&D spell descriptions. The simplicity of OSE version shines when sitting next to this version. 

Let's take a look at what I think works in the spell. 

• I'm always a fan to have a spell increase in use/power as a mage gains levels, so the duration advancement is a welcome option. 
• While it's not going to be much good for exploration it'll have more use in combat in AD&D. More opponents, magic items, and spells use cold based damage. 
• And I always enjoyed the addition of specific spell components even though I never used them in game. I have adopted the components to enhance a spell's performance.

What I'm not a fan of is...

• The overly complicated way the saving throw works. Too much math. 
• I'm not sure why the spell description was so specific about working at zero degrees. Gary lived in Wisconsin, I'm sure he know zero degrees wouldn't do in most location especially if you have some wind. 
• And while I like spell components I don't feel sulphur is the correct one. While I understand is associates with flame and warmth I would lean more toward something like a vial of ice from a glacier. I dunno, just throwing it out there.

Normally I would do another version of the spell to compare it to, but not this time.

This concludes the going through the 1st level cleric spells in Old School Essentials. I haven't decided to move onto the 2nd level of clerical spells or do the 1st level magic-user spells.