|
I had an idea for a new caster feat.
Deadly Caster
Prerequisites: Ability to cast 2nd level spells
Benefit: When you cast a spell that deals hit point damage, you can add the ability score modifier of the stat used to cast the spellto each die of damage.
Special: Cure and Inflict spells that are used to heal gain no benefit from this feat. This feat may be taken multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time it applies to a different casting stat.Is it balanced?
Will it work as is or should it be a metamagic feat instead.
Will it break my game?
thats extremely powerful.
at 10th level, a wizard with "only" 20 int gets a free 50 damage to fireball or lightning bolt. thats better than empowered by a lot. thats almost a free extra maximized fireball at that point. a fireball and a
letting them add casting mod to damage (once, total) is more inline with the games expected power
example:
at 10th level with a 20 casting ability: 10d6+50 fireball+ 5d4+25 quicken burning hands is an average of 122.5 damage to most of a group in 1 turn. considering an average hp for a 10th level wizard is 45 (assuming +1 con mod), or a rogue/cleric/bard 65 hp (with +2 con mod), thats wiping a party even if they pass the saves (unless they have evasion)
magic missile becomes 5d4+30, no save. thats a lot to have no defense against (except a shield spell or SR).
plus if they have a higher casting mod it gets higher damage, making it worse. Optimized characters can get a 26 (or higher) ability score without much work by then, making the above examples 10d6+80, 5d4+40 (167.5, 83.75 if both saves are passed), or 5d4+45 magic missile.
in short: dont do it.
edit: partially ninja'd
|
I had an idea for a new caster feat.
Deadly Caster
Prerequisites: Ability to cast 2nd level spells
Benefit: When you cast a spell that deals hit point damage, you can add the ability score modifier of the stat used to cast the spellto each die of damage.
Special: Cure and Inflict spells that are used to heal gain no benefit from this feat. This feat may be taken multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time it applies to a different casting stat.Is it balanced?
Will it work as is or should it be a metamagic feat instead.
Will it break my game?
Might want to limit it to casting modifier for every X damage dice, in which X would be at *least* 2 if not 3 or possibly even 4.
Alternatively you may want to make this a metamagic feat allowing you to add your casting modifier once (or again per some multiple of damage dice) for a bump in spell level.
Something to keep in mind is that spellcasters for the most part are already quite powerful, and needn't a boost in standard campaigns.
Far too high.
Either I'd make it flat +stat to damage for a whole spell, or +flat spell level to a whole spell.
Okay, very good points. I wanted damage spells to be a little scarier, but not like THAT! How can I give a slight damage boost that makes it a bit tougher without blowing the game all to hell? None of my players ever choose casters, I want to give them a bit of incentive.
Your players are new aren't they? I have to point you to the Treantmonk's guide to Wizards (I'm sure you can google it) which gives you great insight into the strengths and weaknesses of arcane casters. Blasting is definitely a weakness.
If you're set on trying to make them strong, let the feat add +1 damage per die and 1 to the save DC. Or just put a metamagic rod of empower in the treasure drop and watch them squee.
Okay, very good points. I wanted damage spells to be a little scarier, but not like THAT! How can I give a slight damage boost that makes it a bit tougher without blowing the game all to hell? None of my players ever choose casters, I want to give them a bit of incentive.
Note that spellcasters are already scary as hell - not because they blast you with a fireball, but because they turn you into stone, put you to sleep only to slice your throat with a ritual knife, or hit you with rays of negative energy untill you're a drained husk.
Casters are already dangerous, so you have to be careful with what you give them.However, there are some methods to make blasting effective, especially now with the new Advanced Player's Guide if you have it. The feat Intensify Magic is really nice - it ups the maximum dice of dice/level spells by 5, increasing spell slot by 1 (so a 14th level caster casting an intensified fireball cause 14d6 damage for a 4th level slot!).
There's also rays, and especially scorching ray can be dangerous if you metamagic it with rods and the like (metamagic rods are really your friend). They often don't allow a save, so they can be useful against rogues and the like.
So to blast succesfully:
1. Incapacitate your enemies so they can't move about too much. Grease, Sleet Storm, Color Spray - any spells like this, preferably with a quite large area.
2. Blast away, preferably with a few metamagic rods available.
At low levels though, blasting is generally not worth it, but having a feat that adds caster attribute to damage once will probably solve that. There's a huge difference for a first caster between a 1d4+1 magic missile, and a 1d4+5 magic missile (bringing it in line with a fighter that does 1d8+3 damage)
However, there are some methods to make blasting effective, especially now with the new Advanced Player's Guide if you have it. The feat Intensify Magic is really nice - it ups the maximum dice of dice/level spells by 5, increasing spell slot by 1 (so a 14th level caster casting an intensified fireball cause 14d6 damage for a 4th level slot!).
In addition to that I was hoping to see something like the Explosive Spell metamagic feat from Complete Arcane. It has been remarked that Evocation is a bit of a weak specialty in comparison to Conjuration (see the Treantmonk guides). I'm thinking secondary effects are the key: stunning explosions, deafening blasts, knocking people around etc.
However, there are some methods to make blasting effective, especially now with the new Advanced Player's Guide if you have it. The feat Intensify Magic is really nice - it ups the maximum dice of dice/level spells by 5, increasing spell slot by 1 (so a 14th level caster casting an intensified fireball cause 14d6 damage for a 4th level slot!).In addition to that I was hoping to see something like the Explosive Spell metamagic feat from Complete Arcane. It has been remarked that Evocation is a bit of a weak specialty in comparison to Conjuration (see the Treantmonk guides). I'm thinking secondary effects are the key: stunning explosions, deafening blasts, knocking people around etc.
Secondary effects are awesome for the caster but a nightmare for the DM.
Once your caster has thrown around a few AE spells and 5 of the trolls are Shaken and 4 are deafened and 6 are nauseated (maybe some overlap; some trolls might have all three of those conditions), and some of those saved for partial effect or shorter duration. And the DM is tracking all that junk in addition to tracking initiative, moving the bad guys, tracking damage, etc. - it's a serious PITA.
Worse, it's a PITA in every fight. All of them. 100%. The PTA never ends.
I know, I've been there. Just Blistering Spell was annoying enough...
I advise against adding secondary effects onto spells, especially lingering effects.
Everyone seems to think that Metamagic rods are the key to success as a caster.
I say this is extremely unrealistic.
First and foremost, most casters have to survive being low-level. Maybe your campaign started at (e.g.) level 8, but for all those campaigns that begin at level 1, it's probably going to be a long time before any casters have any Metamagic rods. Learn to live without them.
Next, Metamagic rods are expensive Even the little cheap ones cost a fair penny, and the really useful ones can bankrupt even a high-level caster. And while you're buying these Metamagic rods, what coin are you spending on your defense (bracers, robes, rings, etc.)? What coin are you spending on scrolls/potions to deal with the weird stuff? What coin are you spending on acquiring new spells for your spellbook? What coin are you spending on miscellaneous stuff, like a magical staff or a bag of holding or Ioun stones? The more of that stuff you get, the fewer Metamagic rods you have.
Furthermore, not all GMs have convenient stores around town where PCs can just walk in and buy Metamatic rods off the shelf. Or even made to order. And not all campaigns are going to give every spellcasting PC the necessary weeks and months between adventures to whip up his own Metamagic rods. So there could very easily be many PC spellcasters out there who never really have access to Metamagic rods, unless they find one in treasure hoards from time to time.
Finally, discussing spellcaster efficiency is not only about the player characters. People often seem to forget that. As for me, during the course of a campaign, I might throw 30, 40, maybe 50 spellcasters at my players. Am I truly supposed to have all of them wandering around with Metamagic rods? At higher levels, those enemies might have 3 or 4 rods each, so my players could end up looting a couple hundred Metamagic rods during a campaign? Really? Because if Metamagic rods are the primary solution to optimizing spellcasters, then all the bad guys should know this too. Frankly, after the PCs kill an enemy caster, I don't want the first words out of my players' mouths to be "Sweet! Let's loot that guy and see how many Metamagic rods he has. I wonder if I'll need another bag of holding to carry them all?"
All that said, reliance on Metamagic rods to solve any of the real or perceived issues with spellcasting is not always a practical solution.
Sure, it sounds good on paper. Yeah, it's awesome if you're building a brand new 10th level PC from scratch and you have umpteen thousands of GP to spend on any equipment in the book. Absolutely, it's great when you whip up an optimized, properly geared caster as a "build" so that you can come onto these forums and show off your "build" mastery.
But if you actually play a spellcaster from level 1, in a campaign that doesn't allow him to buy or craft with extensive resources in time and/or cash, you might find the whole "fix it with Metamagic rods" becomes a tad cumbersome.
Now, for me, I'm all for feats that improve certain aspects of spellcasting.
I have a chain of homebrewed feats that add three more layers to Augment Summoning, each one stronger than the last (with higher level requirements) so that summoners (with or without the capital S) can bring out better critters onto the battlefield (I got tired of the only really beneficial summons being to whip out magical critters so they could heal you, or teleport you, or use other magical stuff - sometimes, you just want to summon something that can handle itself in a fight).
I have a low-level feat that adds +1 HP/damage die to any spell that does damage. I have a mid-level feat that replaces that with +2/die.
And I have feats that make Metamagic feats more appetizing by reducing the costs of applying Metamagic (with limits) and also by allowing Metamagic to be spontaneously applied.
Arguably, any of those are "must-have" feats for the right build, but by the time I was done, there are a couple dozen "must-have" feats for casters, way more than any one caster can take. Especially considering some other really useful feats, like some that reduce the price or the time for crafting magic items, and some that increase the number of spells known or spells/day (limited of course, but very handy).
The problem my spellcasters faced wasn't "Gosh, there just isn't any feat I need". It became "Dang it! There are 50 feats I need! I'll never get all of them. How do I figure out which ones I need the most?"
And when all was said and done, it very nicely answered the problems of direct damage spells being massively underwhelming, metamagic feats being almost useless, casters being shunted into support or battlefield control roles because nothing else is remotely useful, and pigeonholing summon spells into summong creatures for support or BFC roles.
And I did it without making casters (PCs and bad guys) dependent on expensive, rare, and highly-lootable Metamagic rods.
And now back to the OP.
I concur with the others who have said that your idea is way too powerful.
Try these:
Improved Evocation
You have improved your ability to deal raw damage through magic.
Prerequisites: Must be able to cast at least three damaging spells of first level or higher, of any school.
Benefit: All spells you cast that deal HP damage are improved. You add +1 HP for each damage die that is rolled.
Special: Despite the title, this feat can be applied to all damaging spells of any school.
Mastered Evocation
You have mastered the art of dealing raw damage through magic.
Prerequisites: Improved Evocation, Must be able to cast at least seven different damaging spells of any school, at least one of which must be fourth level, two of which must be third level, two of which must be second level, and two of which must be first level.
Benefit: All spells you cast that deal HP damage are improved. You add +2 HP for each damage die that is rolled.
Special: Despite the title, this feat can be applied to all damaging spells of any school. This feat replaces Improved Evocation.
Yes, I know these are pretty much mandatory for any blaster build. But so is Spell Penetration, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, etc. Two more "mandatory" feats for the build just add some variety as to which mandatory feats they take in which order.
And besides, blasters really really need some love.
Everyone seems to think that Metamagic rods are the key to success as a caster.
No no, of course not! However, they are part of the solution to being an effective blaster
At low levels, you really can't blast very well and there's nothing to do about it. Color spray and sleep is your friend there. That's why I thought an "add casting ability modifier to damage once" would be a nice feat, because it would add 3-5 damage when you're low-level.
Of course it only works if you can get access to the rods - but if you want to blast effectively within core, you really need that rod. If your DM wants to allow you to blast, he really has to let you get your hands on a rod, either as part of treasure or via ye ol' magick shoppe.
And this is just about blasters, which should be a rare kind of caster. Metamagic rods would probably be common among high-level spellcasters, since they are awesome anyway (at least the cheaper ones - lesser extend and silent are wonderful) if they can craft or otherwise get their hands on them, but not every wizard has to walk around with a lot of them. Generally, they are too expensive for a NPC to have since NPC's have much lower wealth than PC's.
I'm absolutely not advocating everyone should optimize and create their character in a vacuum, I'm just saying that without the rods, blasting won't be that effective within RAW. Controlling, buffing and debuffing will still work fine - you don't need them to be a good wizard.
Nice feats you created though, seems far more balanced than the OP's. They still don't solve the problem of low-level blasters which will still blow, and that's not gusts of wind.
Okay, very good points. I wanted damage spells to be a little scarier, but not like THAT! How can I give a slight damage boost that makes it a bit tougher without blowing the game all to hell? None of my players ever choose casters, I want to give them a bit of incentive.
Generally, I find that people who don't play casters don't care how powerful caster's are. Every player I've seen that refused to play a caster did so because casters were too complicated. They didn't want to look at a dozen or so spells they knew and decide which to memorize. They didn't want to learn how metamagic feats made the spells more effective. They just wanted a sword that had a few at will powers they didn't have to think about.
Not that there's anything bad with "I don't want to learn all those rules.", but if that's the reason nothing you do to casters will encourage your players to play them.