epic spell seeds

ok, i have a several questions here.

i was curious about how the saves are calculated on the epic spell seeds that allow saves. are they different for each spell seed, or are they all calculated on a common formula? if so, how are they calculated?

about the mitigating factors that decrease the spellcraft dc for a given spell, are they applied only during spell research, or systematically every time the spell is cast as well? [i'd hate to throw an epic spell during a battle and have it drain 90% of my hitpoints away... ]

finally [or at least quasi-finally ], given that some seeds are available only to certain classes, does the caster have to be an epic caster in that class, or just an epic caster with that class? for example, suppose you have a wiz/cle 21/11 -- would the blue seeds also be available to this character?

Saves.. I'm not sure about...

Reduction factors... everytime the spell is cast.... so that the massive area destroying spell you just created will drain 90% HP each cast (easily recovered by chugging an Asis Full Heal potion)... you basically want spells with that reduction to reduce the entire area around you to dust, so you have the time to recover... ....

Seed Access... only counts the FIRST class that character went EPIC MAGIC with.... whichever class granted you the epic magic feat is the class that PC will use for ALL epic magic stuff... ... and that class is also set in stone.. no re-leveling to get access to both (ie a wiz21/clr11 will be an epic WIZ mage always, even if later they re-lev to be a wiz11/clr21).... ... ... ... I think .... ...

gracias for the info, señor! you are a gentleman and a scholar!

now i have more questions about how some of the epic spell seeds function...

- afflict. do these stack? i.e., if i cast an epic spell w/a str afflict and cast the same one on the same creature the following round and it fails its save both times, will it be doubly afflicted, similar to how spells like energy drain work?

- slay [negative levels]. do these stack? [similar to above]

- slay [kill]. i'm assuming the creature has to be 'alive' for this to work, right? i.e., no creature immune to death magic / effects, undead, constructs, etc., would be affected by spells based on this seed? whereas the 'destroy' seed is not so picky?

- compulsion [remove armor]. is this effective when the target is in combat? i.e., it circumvents the nwn proscription against taking off / donning armor in combat?

- banish. is the banished creature effectively destroyed [i.e., do you get xp], or is it just 'removed from play'?

- transform. is this a 'visual' polymorph, or does it actually make the target into the new form? i.e., a dragon transformed into a penguin would still have 36 str and 220hp, or would it have 3 str and 4 hp?

- fortify [SR]. will this actually add to the existing SR already on a character? if so, in what way? [for example, 'natural' SR like from drow and bright gnomes is boosted by x, but monks are not affected, etc.]. i already figure monk SR won't be affected, because 'they're special'...

thanks!

- afflict. do these stack? i.e., if i cast an epic spell w/a str afflict and cast the same one on the same creature the following round and it fails its save both times, will it be doubly afflicted, similar to how spells like energy drain work?

They should. They're just ability reduction effects.

- slay [negative levels]. do these stack? [similar to above]

They should.

- slay [kill]. i'm assuming the creature has to be 'alive' for this to work, right? i.e., no creature immune to death magic / effects, undead, constructs, etc., would be affected by spells based on this seed? whereas the 'destroy' seed is not so picky?

Correct. It's death magic, and immunity to it protects even from this type of epic spell.

- compulsion [remove armor]. is this effective when the target is in combat? i.e., it circumvents the nwn proscription against taking off / donning armor in combat?

I'll have to check, but it should work in combat.

- banish. is the banished creature effectively destroyed [i.e., do you get xp], or is it just 'removed from play'?

I don't remember. I think you should get xp, but I'll have to check the coding to see if it kills the target or just destroys them outright.

- transform. is this a 'visual' polymorph, or does it actually make the target into the new form? i.e., a dragon transformed into a penguin would still have 36 str and 220hp, or would it have 3 str and 4 hp?

It's a polymorph, not just an appearance change.

- fortify [SR]. will this actually add to the existing SR already on a character? if so, in what way? [for example, 'natural' SR like from drow and bright gnomes is boosted by x, but monks are not affected, etc.]. i already figure monk SR won't be affected, because 'they're special'...

It should add. It's just a spell resistance increase effect.

do epic spells have spells schools associated w/them, and if so, do the various feats associated w/spell schools [e.g. spell focus, arcane defense, etc.] apply to epic spells?

If I recall correctly, they're all classed as Divination, simply because there has to be a school listed in the spells.2da file (and nothing is immune to divination). The various school-specific feats aren't taken into account for epic spell scripting.

I was actually going to inquire how the scripts determine the DCs and ask if it would be possible to have the script in the conjunction check for the spell focus feats and set a variable that the epic spell script could check for when certain seeds are used...

more questions! [just when you thought it was safe... ]

- compulsion [stand still] or [sleep]. do these work like uncapped versions of the various lower-level hold and sleep spells? this would mean, specifically, that the compulsion to 'stand still' would apply a paralysis effect to the target and damaging the target would not break the spell ; and the compulsion to 'sleep' would apply the sleep effect regardless of hit dice [save dependent], but if the creature took damage, it would wake up.

- modifier [area of effect]. if there is no 'hostile-only' mitigator on a spell whose a-of-e has been modified, and the spell is centered on the caster, will the caster also be subject to the effects, or will seeds modified by these adjustments work like [e.g.] firestorm or earthquake, where everyone except the caster is affected?

I believe you are correct in your thinking on the compel seed.

As for the aoe concern, yes. The caster will be affected if hostile-only is not chosen.