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Blighted Critical (page 143): What are the prerequisites for this feat? The table doesn't match the feat entry (page 144).
The text on page 143 is correct. Likewise, the text for Blighted Critical Mastery (page 143) and Greater Blighted Critical (pages 151-152) shouldn't list Critical Focus as a prerequisite, nor should the table entry for all three feats on page 144.Update: Page 143, Blighted Critical Mastery, remove "Critical Focus" from the Prerequisites. Page 151, Blighted Critical, remove "Critical Focus" from the Prerequisites on page 152. Page 144, Blighted Critical/Greater Blighted Critical/Blighted Critical Mastery, remove "Critical Focus" from the Prerequisites.
—Sean K Reynolds, yesterday
If I'm not mistaken, the Blighted Critical Feats inflict spellblight effects without allowing the target a save (normally spellblights allow a save based on method they're acquired - via someone using a Feat on you isn't listed). So, basically, this Feat tree allows you to inflict open-ended duration, no-save, curses on people for zero cost to yourself. Acid splash and ray of frost never looked so good! This Feat tree obviously has the Magus in mind, and now it's a 'must have' for that particular class (and a darn good option for any other casters too).
Some (most) of the spellblight effects really mess a caster up, so they're pretty powerful stuff. By caster level 9 a character can have the Blighted Critical Mastery Feat and choose the minor spellblight he inflicts on a critical - such as 'Ritualistic Obsession' which nerfs the target's action economy into the ground... Once you hit caster level 12 and start looking at the major spelllblight effects, well, game over...
Before the Critical Focus requirement made this a hard Feat chain to buy into, but now it's as simple as being a caster.
So... balanced or not? It's true the Magus probably needed some love, but the lack of a save is a bit of a dealbreaker for me...
Thoughts?
But the character has to actually score a crit ... even optimized using the spellstrike feature for a magus and a high threat range keen weapon it will not happen that often.
Yeah.
That seems a bit overpowering to me.
But it also seems like the kind of thing you have to build a character around - an arcane duelist who already gets some mage-mashing feats would probably get a lot of mileage out of this.
And a ray-chuckin-sorcerer could be pretty nasty with these feats too.
But spellblight is circumstantial because of its potential targets. Even if you always gun for the npc spell-chuckers (which are usually far fewer in number than non-spell-chuckers anyway) I would think a monk would still be more effective at taking out the casters.
I would also think these feats would be better in the hands of the bad guys, especially creatures like dragons and the like that have natural casting abilities, but even then, how do these effects really compare to the effects of added damage in 'd20 tag'?
I'd like to see some stats on the subject.
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But the character has to actually score a crit ... even optimized using the spellstrike feature for a magus and a high threat range keen weapon it will not happen that often.
Threat range of 15-20 for a keen scimitar would seem pretty standard for a Magus by level 5 (when he qualifies for the Blighted Critical Feat) - and he can spellstrike every single round if he spams cantrips... 30% of your possible die results threatening a critical isn't gonna make it an uncommon occurance.
But the character has to actually score a crit ... even optimized using the spellstrike feature for a magus and a high threat range keen weapon it will not happen that often.Threat range of 15-20 for a keen scimitar would seem pretty standard for a Magus by level 5 (when he qualifies for the Blighted Critical Feat) - and he can spellstrike every single round if he spams cantrips... 30% of your possible die results threatening a critical isn't gonna make it an uncommon occurance.
I guess it is what it is and I can't really say anything about the specifics of your games but I still don't see it as an issue.
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But spellblight is circumstantial because of its potential targets. Even if you always gun for the npc spell-chuckers (which are usually far fewer in number than non-spell-chuckers anyway) I would think a monk would still be more effective at taking out the casters.
Spellblights can effect '... spellcasters, including creatures that use spell-like abilities...' (Ultimate Magic, page 94, emphasis mine), so the number of potential targets is huge, and gets more as you go up the levels (not many higher CR monsters lack spell-like abilities completely).
I guess it is what it is and I can't really say anything about the specifics of your games but I still don't see it as an issue.
I'm not sure how the specifics of my games come into it - a keen scimitar has a threat range of 15-20 in pretty much all games, doesn't it?
Besides, the real issue, for me, is the lack of a save against the effect. Most spellblight effects allow a Will save to ignore - two characters both with spell turning and suffering a resonance field is one exception which doesn't, as is botching the job when crafting a magic item - both incredibly rare situations in most games, I'd hazard a guess.
With Blighted Critical your target can have all his saves in the +50s (or whatever) and a host of other protections and bam! none of it matters, 'cos you have the Feat.
It's a zero-cost extra (and potent) effect which doesn't allow a save - that always seems a broken combination to me.
Put another way, it usually takes a bestow curse spell to inflict a minor spellblight, or a major curse spell to inflict a major spellblight - and you get your normal saves in those cases. So for the cost of one Feat you have the ability to tack a level 3 or 4 spell onto a variety of other spells for free, and with no save, and for the cost of two Feats you can tack on a level 5 or 6 spell. How is that not overpowered?
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