Irradiate spell from technology guide - clarification request

[aaron Ellis]

Hello all. I have concerns about the Irradiate spell. The spell's entry seems to be incomplete as written. Specifically regarding what happens on a successful save and to a lesser extent what happens on a failed save. The spell says the save is Fortitude partial - see below, but the spell description never actually details the partial save effects.

As a player, my last party got wiped out by a couple of Druids spamming the spell. As played at the table, targeted creatures who made their saves against the spell still took half damage from it. At CL 10 spells we were looking at between 1d4 and 2d4 CON *drain* every time the spell hit us.

After the TPK, I started GMing Iron Gods for the same group of players. I will likely be throwing Irradiate spells at the PCs in the near future and would like a bit of clarification before I use the spell in my game.

So my multiple-choice question to the community and/or the devs is as follows:

What are the Irradiate spell's effects if targeted creatures succeed on their saving throws against it?
A) targeted creatures take no CON drain and no STR damage
B) targeted creatures take full CON drain but no STR damage
C) targeted creatures take no CON drain but full STR damage
D) targeted creatures take half CON drain and half STR damage
E) targeted creatures take half CON drain and no STR damage
F) something else happens _________________________

On paper, Irradiate looks overpowered when compared to other spells at the same level (Fireball, for example). There is no easy remedy for the ability score drain and no good defense against it.

Ideas? Suggestions?

[nicholas storm]

radiation

[aaron Ellis]

The radiation environmental effect description implies that a successful save negates the CON drain and the STR damage. If the spell completely follows the environmental effect, It seems to me that the Irradiate spell should have said "Fortitude negates" rather than "Fortitude partial".

[nicholas storm]

successful save negates all drain and damage.

[nicholas storm]

It could be the developers intended for there to be a partial effect, but since they left it out, it is effectively the same as fortitude negates.

[Claxon]

Yeah, they may have intended partial save of some sort but currently it doesn't do anything but negate. Wouldn't be the first time a spell description was wrong or unclear.

[pad300]

Actually, how I think it works goes like this:

Initial Fort save against con drain; if successful, no con drain, else, con drain.

Later secondary Fort saves, against Str Dmg; if successful, no Str DMG, else, Str DMG. The subject makes these saves 1/day thereafter, starting day after exposure, until 2 consecutive successful saves/being dead

The reason it is not save negates is because you will need to make the secondary saves vs Str Dmg

"For poisons without an onset, failing the initial save causes you to suffer the initial effect of the poison. The subsequent saves are made against the secondary effect."
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/afflictions/poison

PS Irradiate is indeed overpowered at high caster levels (esp 17+). The save DC can get nasty when combined with large con drain...