Question regarding Spiritual Weapons

Okay, time to De-lurk! I have been playing ToEE on and off since November and just started a new game with the 7.1.0 NC. I have always found answers to any questions about the game/mod that pop up in my bleary mind by casting a quick Search spell on the Forum, but that cantrip has failed me this time around.

I'm trying to find out if there is a problem with Spiritual Weapons or if it's something happening only in my game. I have used the spell with clerics in the 6.1.0 and 7.0.0 versions without a problem, but all of a sudden if my cleric of Pelor casts that spell it always ends in a CTD. At first I attributed it to having too many things happening at the same time, with a large group of enemies and several areas of effect active at the same time, but after testing things out in simpler encounters, it is definitely the Spiritual Weapon. It doesn't happen instantly at the time of casting, the weapon might be there okay for the first round, but when its turn comes again and it tries to attack an enemy the game crashes to desktop.

So... is it just me? aranoid:

 

Well I have used them several times with 7.1 and not encountered a CTD myself. Does this happen every time you cast the spell or just certain battles? Does the CTD happen when the weapon itself attacks or when it itself is attacked?

 

Well, I tried out different things to see if I could find a specific reason for the crashes. Casting the spell itself doesn't produce a crash and it doesn't happen with small or random encounters.

I think I have isolated it to one of my favorite "big battle tactics", where I throw a Web or Entangle to slow down a big group of enemies and then cast a Spiritual Weapon in their midst to keep some of them occupied. The weapon appears okay at that point and nothing bad happens in that round. In the next round of battle, when it's the Weapon's turn and it starts to attack an opponent the game crashes.

Maybe my current team of seven spell-casters has to scale down on bombarding too many spells in small areas. It could be that there are just too many things happening at the same time and the game doesn't resolve the Weapon's movement in relation to whatever AoE spells are active at the same time.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

 

Well glad to help and it well could be the spell effects are the cause. Not sure what else you can try to do. Just to check, does the cod happen more when your in an enclosed space, like a cave/building, or in open country/large rooms?

 

It has happened both indoors and outdoors. The first time was in the Moathouse with the brigands in the corner room, replaying that encounter using Spiritual Weapon crashed the game again, the third time I didn't use the spell and I won the encounter without a hitch. Then I tried it again when battling the ogre resulting in another crash, so I stopped using the spell until after I finished the Lareth battle. I gave it a try again when I got to the ambush outside, got another crash. I tested it in a few random encounters without any problems, but I didn't use area spells then. It may be that having so many stacked spell effects from different casters at the same while also having summoned weapons and creatures is more than the game can handle. I have switched to using charm spells instead of summonings and that has been working fine, so I'll just retire the Spiritual Weapons for the time being.

 

i've had about 3 games (started) with pelor clerics, no problem. seems odd!

 

I had it happen to me before during the fight against Lareth. When my Pelor Cleric summoned it, enemies would try to target and attack it the game would instantly CTD. Never happened in any other case though, just in that one battle alone.

 

I have been having this very same problem, Cleric of Pelor. It has happened multiple times in multiple different locations.

Arena - battle three
Temple Level 4 - common room
Hickory Branch - dire bear encounter

After a while I just stopped using the spell. Mostly I've been using spells like cloudkill, web or even stinking cloud and it will eventually crash. I'm not 100% sure what the NPCs are targeting though.

 

I too have had it happen at various battles.

I know the change in the AI is helpful but it is a pain when I am used to a Spiritual weapon would distract foes as I moved into battle. Now they all ignore it most of the time, and when they do, crashes can happen. Oh well, back to using Summons.

 

Could it be scripted that mobs:
A) alternately flee from Spiritual weapons, or attack them instead of ignoring them; depending on HP of summoned weapon and the HP of the attacker mob (as if the mob is "crossing blades" with the attacking spectral weapon, or running in fear of being struck)
B) Spiritual weapons persue mobs if none are in it's range

i don't know what the CTD symptom described is caused by, but i agree with others that the tactical use of a Spiritual Weapon was very useful before. Now the spell is kinda wasted, as enemies often just move past them, and sometimes the weapon does not even pursue and just sits there wasting its turn... nerfing the usefulness of the spell. I don't even cast it anymore! it's just not very useful.

I read Sitra Achara's fix was intended to bring the spell more in line with the PnP rules description, right?

 

No i wasn't saying prioritize as before... Gaear your explanation makes perfect sense. It just seems it gets almost totally ignored now. From my perspective i would think if a spectral Hammer was trying to pound me on the head, i'd either swat it away, or run

As the spell was before, it seemed to have a luring effect, so you could control the flow of the battle, and force mobs into a spot, and then blast them with a fireball and or Stinking Cloud them, etc. i'm not saying it needed to go back to that, though it WAS fun. it WAS overpowered, and especially late game as the weapon gained in strength with the caster.

I meant, having the weapon just sit there now if no mob is in range kinda defeats the purpose of casting it ... could the weapon itself be more aggressive? even if enemies still ignore it/ flee from it it would still then be RAW as mobs would not be "targeting" it ... i don't know if that's possible...??

 

from http://www.d20srd.org

Could the weapon have an effect added to "target" a specific mob? as stated below...

Spiritual Weapon
Evocation [Force]
Level: Clr 2, War 2
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Magic weapon of force
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

A weapon made of pure force springs into existence and attacks opponents at a distance, as you direct it, dealing 1d8 force damage per hit, +1 point per three caster levels (maximum +5 at 15th level). The weapon takes the shape of a weapon favored by your deity or a weapon with some spiritual significance or symbolism to you (see below) and has the same threat range and critical multipliers as a real weapon of its form. It strikes the opponent you designate, starting with one attack in the round the spell is cast and continuing each round thereafter on your turn. It uses your base attack bonus (possibly allowing it multiple attacks per round in subsequent rounds) plus your Wisdom modifier as its attack bonus. It strikes as a spell, not as a weapon, so, for example, it can damage creatures that have damage reduction. As a force effect, it can strike incorporeal creatures without the normal miss chance associated with incorporeality. The weapon always strikes from your direction. It does not get a flanking bonus or help a combatant get one. Your feats or combat actions do not affect the weapon. If the weapon goes beyond the spell range, if it goes out of your sight, or if you are not directing it, the weapon returns to you and hovers.

Each round after the first, you can use a move action to redirect the weapon to a new target. If you do not, the weapon continues to attack the previous round’s target. On any round that the weapon switches targets, it gets one attack. Subsequent rounds of attacking that target allow the weapon to make multiple attacks if your base attack bonus would allow it to. Even if the spiritual weapon is a ranged weapon, use the spell’s range, not the weapon’s normal range increment, and switching targets still is a move action.

A spiritual weapon cannot be attacked or harmed by physical attacks, but dispel magic, disintegrate, a sphere of annihilation, or a rod of cancellation affects it. A spiritual weapon’s AC against touch attacks is 12 (10 + size bonus for Tiny object).

If an attacked creature has spell resistance, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against that spell resistance the first time the spiritual weapon strikes it. If the weapon is successfully resisted, the spell is dispelled. If not, the weapon has its normal full effect on that creature for the duration of the spell.

The weapon that you get is often a force replica of your deity’s own personal weapon. A cleric without a deity gets a weapon based on his alignment. A neutral cleric without a deity can create a spiritual weapon of any alignment, provided he is acting at least generally in accord with that alignment at the time. The weapons associated with each alignment are as follows.
Chaos

Battleaxe
Evil

Flail
Good

Warhammer
Law

Longsword

 

Friggin' ToEE...

I'll look into it, but odds are the fix will have to be unmade.

Also, I'd appreciate if someone could post a savegame (include all 4 files *.gsi, *.co8, *.tfaf, *.tfai) with the party about to go into battle where the problem is expected to manifest itself.