I was tossing this idea around the gaming table the other day and thought you all might like it...
Time Stop is a Personal range spell. You don't cast it at someone, nor do you really affect someone else with the spell... you just speed yourself up really fast. As such, there is no area of affect; you are sped up relative to the rest of the friggin plane, if not to other planes as well.
Elminster is immune to this bloody spell. Meaning that no other mages gain an advantage over him. This can mean one of two things:
a) The spell does not function, to dis-allow any other mages to get the drop on Elminster.
b) Elminster is sped up and exists in the same time stream as the Time Stopped mage.
Immunities don't counterspell things that arn't cast against them, so option a) can be thrown out fairly easily. Which leaves us with b). Elminster is sped up when someone else casts Time Stop. But, like I said earlier, a mage is sped up relative to at least the plane of existance they're on, so no matter where this Time Stopping mage is on Faerun, Elminster will be immune to his spell.
Time Stop is a great spell, and I think it's a spell that any 9th spell level caster will want to get his hands on. So what you'd expect is a lot of 17th level and up characters to have this spell on their books. And in Faerun, to say nothing of the rest of Toril, you can't swing a dead cat by the tail without hitting a 17th-level-or-higher caster.
The Thrust: How annoying must it be for Elminster to be going along, minding his own (and everyone else's) business, when suddenly everyone and everything around him stops, and he's standing there, waiting for time to catch up so he can continue his conversation?
Bob the Butcher: Well Mr. Elminster, sir, I have your order ready but I wo--
Elminster: Oh, for crying out loud... some punk is stopping time. Arrgh! *taps foot*
...1d4+1 rounds later...
Bob the Butcher: --uldn't try cooking it until it's been seas--
Elminster: ARRRRRGHHH! Kill the mage already!
Time Stop is a Personal range spell. You don't cast it at someone, nor do you really affect someone else with the spell... you just speed yourself up really fast. As such, there is no area of affect; you are sped up relative to the rest of the friggin plane, if not to other planes as well.
Elminster is immune to this bloody spell. Meaning that no other mages gain an advantage over him. This can mean one of two things:
a) The spell does not function, to dis-allow any other mages to get the drop on Elminster.
b) Elminster is sped up and exists in the same time stream as the Time Stopped mage.
Immunities don't counterspell things that arn't cast against them, so option a) can be thrown out fairly easily. Which leaves us with b). Elminster is sped up when someone else casts Time Stop. But, like I said earlier, a mage is sped up relative to at least the plane of existance they're on, so no matter where this Time Stopping mage is on Faerun, Elminster will be immune to his spell.
Time Stop is a great spell, and I think it's a spell that any 9th spell level caster will want to get his hands on. So what you'd expect is a lot of 17th level and up characters to have this spell on their books. And in Faerun, to say nothing of the rest of Toril, you can't swing a dead cat by the tail without hitting a 17th-level-or-higher caster.
The Thrust: How annoying must it be for Elminster to be going along, minding his own (and everyone else's) business, when suddenly everyone and everything around him stops, and he's standing there, waiting for time to catch up so he can continue his conversation?
Bob the Butcher: Well Mr. Elminster, sir, I have your order ready but I wo--
Elminster: Oh, for crying out loud... some punk is stopping time. Arrgh! *taps foot*
...1d4+1 rounds later...
Bob the Butcher: --uldn't try cooking it until it's been seas--
Elminster: ARRRRRGHHH! Kill the mage already!
