Meh, is okay for downtime I guess. Permanently cover some defensive lines to your base.
But enemy can do the same, so preferably both sides forget to use it, unless PCs want to check every step if it is mined.
Actually it only triggers on destruction or being read, it's not a mine, more like remotely detonated explosives, you damage or fail to dispel it and boom
Yes. But it is trivial to make it painful - somebody carrying loads of easily destroyable items enchanted with the spell and getting close to PCs in the city, or giving letter with this spell on every letter.
That is my actual dislike with all Explosive runes spells, they are not great to deal with when used in huge quantities.
Another of asshole spells was "Nightmare". Target of this spell had no actual defenses against the spell and would start slowly dying as long as spell on target was cast daily.
I absolutely do not dispute that Nightmare is an asshole spell, but it really isn't that crippling. For one, it allows a Will save *and* SR, so it's highly unlikely to go through absolutely all of the time unless it's buffed up with the connections. Furthermore, for a non-arcane caster you literally just get a Lesser Restoration and a quick Cure spell, both of which are much lower level than Nightmare, and all it's effects are dealt with. Also it's completely, 100% hard countered by a level 1 spell, Keep Watch. Don't sleep, don't get nightmares, easy as. Dream Shield, a Dreamcatcher item, and a few others can be useful, but honestly it's kinda overkill.
Now, **Mythic** Nightmare, that's just downright terrifying. But you're playing in a Mythic game, balance packed it's bags and left for a better life in a different country a long time ago.
While it is indeed not the likely counter to Nightmare, there are in fact quite a few sources for SR for PCs, although often not *massively* worth it, especially for the amount of time you'd need to reliably avoid Nightmare. Hell, ChMonks get SR at 13th as a base class feature. Dream Shield gives it in this instance.
Unlike a lot of more powerful "permanent until discharged" traps, this one is free. You'll still probably want to spring for [Explosive Runes](https://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Explosive%20Runes) when you can, however, as those are stronger and also free. These are mainly used for traps, with the classic being a "this message will self destruct i--**BOOM**" message to prevent someone from messing with forbidden lore books. Other classic traps are to post the sheet of paper with these runes on the bottom of a hatch or on a door next to the handle so people notice it and look at the runes by reflex. Nothing is described about what the runes have to say or how long they have to be, and it's not \[language-dependent\], so the "reader" doesn't even need to know the language, although making a poop emoji with goblin ears and stink lines and writing "goblins stink!" in goblinoid might help get goblins' attention to read it.
Note that there isn't any range requirements on reading these runes listed, so if you make a big enough "scroll" with a large enough font, you should be able to read them from outside the range of actually getting hurt by this spell. (Alternately, just have a summon monster tossed into the area to read the runes on command.) 1d6 fire damage isn't much, but you can just use it as the ignition source for a bomb, especially if you have a bag of holding full of *looooots* of alchemist fire and line a ditch with it encircling the whole area with some dried leaves and kindling thrown atop. This works especially well if the area is a cave or tunnel or part of a building supported with wooden supports, since you can trigger cave-ins if you rig the support columns to burn or be blown away.
I once set this up on a smithy inside a hobgoblin fort we had sacked. I also used Transmute Rock to Mud to hollow out the section of the walls the smithy was next to so it would be unstable but not look so from the outside, had the fighter crush up some coal and throw the dust all around the floor and put into some easily tipped-over baskets put on a tripwire next to the door, and then put Incendiary Runes on a post directly facing the door so that it's the first thing that anybody sees. Open door, dump coal dust as fuel-air-mixture, read runes, BOOM goes the smithy and the weakened wall! Just a little going-away present (alongside the druid throwing up three different overlapping castings of Calistria's Guardian Wasps to trigger if someone walks in the commander's quarters) since we couldn't occupy the fort and there were more hobgoblin patrols that would come, and we didn't want to leave a viable fort behind.
Basically, it's weak if used as directed, but it can be used to Kevin McAlister yourself some traps if you want to get creative and your GM is willing to work with you on ways to build them.
It's just a slightly weaker Explosive Runes, being fire rather than force means fire resistance might ruin your plan.
Still, it's there for you to cast in downtime to make books into magical bombs.
Used it when being chased down a dungeon hallway, had a couple prepared on pieces of tape slapped them on door frames we closed behind us as we ran. Worked to slow down and weaken the pursuing goblins
Meh, is okay for downtime I guess. Permanently cover some defensive lines to your base. But enemy can do the same, so preferably both sides forget to use it, unless PCs want to check every step if it is mined.
Actually it only triggers on destruction or being read, it's not a mine, more like remotely detonated explosives, you damage or fail to dispel it and boom
Yes. But it is trivial to make it painful - somebody carrying loads of easily destroyable items enchanted with the spell and getting close to PCs in the city, or giving letter with this spell on every letter. That is my actual dislike with all Explosive runes spells, they are not great to deal with when used in huge quantities. Another of asshole spells was "Nightmare". Target of this spell had no actual defenses against the spell and would start slowly dying as long as spell on target was cast daily.
I absolutely do not dispute that Nightmare is an asshole spell, but it really isn't that crippling. For one, it allows a Will save *and* SR, so it's highly unlikely to go through absolutely all of the time unless it's buffed up with the connections. Furthermore, for a non-arcane caster you literally just get a Lesser Restoration and a quick Cure spell, both of which are much lower level than Nightmare, and all it's effects are dealt with. Also it's completely, 100% hard countered by a level 1 spell, Keep Watch. Don't sleep, don't get nightmares, easy as. Dream Shield, a Dreamcatcher item, and a few others can be useful, but honestly it's kinda overkill. Now, **Mythic** Nightmare, that's just downright terrifying. But you're playing in a Mythic game, balance packed it's bags and left for a better life in a different country a long time ago.
SR is pretty much irrelevant since no PC and few NPCs have it
While it is indeed not the likely counter to Nightmare, there are in fact quite a few sources for SR for PCs, although often not *massively* worth it, especially for the amount of time you'd need to reliably avoid Nightmare. Hell, ChMonks get SR at 13th as a base class feature. Dream Shield gives it in this instance.
Unlike a lot of more powerful "permanent until discharged" traps, this one is free. You'll still probably want to spring for [Explosive Runes](https://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Explosive%20Runes) when you can, however, as those are stronger and also free. These are mainly used for traps, with the classic being a "this message will self destruct i--**BOOM**" message to prevent someone from messing with forbidden lore books. Other classic traps are to post the sheet of paper with these runes on the bottom of a hatch or on a door next to the handle so people notice it and look at the runes by reflex. Nothing is described about what the runes have to say or how long they have to be, and it's not \[language-dependent\], so the "reader" doesn't even need to know the language, although making a poop emoji with goblin ears and stink lines and writing "goblins stink!" in goblinoid might help get goblins' attention to read it. Note that there isn't any range requirements on reading these runes listed, so if you make a big enough "scroll" with a large enough font, you should be able to read them from outside the range of actually getting hurt by this spell. (Alternately, just have a summon monster tossed into the area to read the runes on command.) 1d6 fire damage isn't much, but you can just use it as the ignition source for a bomb, especially if you have a bag of holding full of *looooots* of alchemist fire and line a ditch with it encircling the whole area with some dried leaves and kindling thrown atop. This works especially well if the area is a cave or tunnel or part of a building supported with wooden supports, since you can trigger cave-ins if you rig the support columns to burn or be blown away. I once set this up on a smithy inside a hobgoblin fort we had sacked. I also used Transmute Rock to Mud to hollow out the section of the walls the smithy was next to so it would be unstable but not look so from the outside, had the fighter crush up some coal and throw the dust all around the floor and put into some easily tipped-over baskets put on a tripwire next to the door, and then put Incendiary Runes on a post directly facing the door so that it's the first thing that anybody sees. Open door, dump coal dust as fuel-air-mixture, read runes, BOOM goes the smithy and the weakened wall! Just a little going-away present (alongside the druid throwing up three different overlapping castings of Calistria's Guardian Wasps to trigger if someone walks in the commander's quarters) since we couldn't occupy the fort and there were more hobgoblin patrols that would come, and we didn't want to leave a viable fort behind. Basically, it's weak if used as directed, but it can be used to Kevin McAlister yourself some traps if you want to get creative and your GM is willing to work with you on ways to build them.
It's just a slightly weaker Explosive Runes, being fire rather than force means fire resistance might ruin your plan. Still, it's there for you to cast in downtime to make books into magical bombs.
Used it when being chased down a dungeon hallway, had a couple prepared on pieces of tape slapped them on door frames we closed behind us as we ran. Worked to slow down and weaken the pursuing goblins
Great way for NPCs to give importation to the players and highlight that this was sensitive information.