I am running a game with a level 6 Words of Power Witch. She and I both only have access to the PRD for the use of Words of Power and so may not have the full knowledge of how to use them.
During the game she used two level 3 Summon Servitor Spells with the Boost Meta word. According to what the Boost Meta word says in the PRD it does not increase the level of the spell it is used on and therefore and got 9 Lantern Archons on the field. Something that can only be done with two 4th level spells as a normal spell caster.
He then had these 9 Lantern Archons form a Gestalt as per their ability. Since this is not stated to be a summoning it is not banned by the summoned creatures cannot summon clause. Thus he has summoned a Large Air Elemental with the Celestial Template. Something that is equivalent to a Level 5 Spell.
This does not seem balanced at all and I was wanting to check if there is a perceived error in the PRD before I house rule it for the future.
The house rules I am thinking of are:
1)That the combining ability of the Lantern Archon does count as a summons and is banned by the summon creatures rule.
2)That the boost Meta Word increases Summon Servitor spells spell level by 1.
These house rules would bring them into balance with other casters but I would like to know if those are already in place and just entered into the online PRD wrong or in a manner that is not easily navigable.
You actually cannot boost the servitor words, you can only boost the target word, selected. Boosting selected increases the level of all effect words in the spell by 3 levels.
Truly? I'd award this witch, with the significant research and creativity of it all... but you're free to houserule otherwise, naturally!
The boost metaword is pretty set in stone. Since it's a metaword, it can only be used a certain number of times per day; For a sixth level spellcaster, the Lantern Archon Gestault is a once-per-day deal. She got lucky with the 1d4+1 per casting, and managed to get 9 out onto the field. She could have easily gotten as few as 4.
...If you're going to houserule Anything, I'd suggest the Gestault rule. Personally, I'd recommend you don't. A single dispel that works against Any of the 9 lantern archons would eliminate the gestault as well.
Anyways. Awaiting input from others, as always.
EDIT: Ah, that's true. Forgive me. Boosting the Selected target word would actually increase the level of all effect words by 3.
Your witch is in hot water.
Personally, I'd send a few vengeful archons on her arse.
Bane Wraith wrote: Truly? I'd award this witch, with the significant research and creativity of it all... but you're free to houserule otherwise, naturally!
The boost metaword is pretty set in stone. Since it's a metaword, it can only be used a certain number of times per day; For a sixth level spellcaster, the Lantern Archon Gestault is a once-per-day deal. She got lucky with the 1d4+1 per casting, and managed to get 9 out onto the field. She could have easily gotten as few as 4.
...If you're going to houserule Anything, I'd suggest the Gestault rule. Personally, I'd recommend you don't. A single dispel that works against Any of the 9 lantern archons would eliminate the gestault as well.
Anyways. Awaiting input from others, as always.
EDIT: Ah, that's true. Forgive me. Boosting the Selected target word would actually increase the level of all effect words by 3.
Your witch is in hot water.
Personally, I'd send a few vengeful archons on her arse.
The entry in the PRD for Summon Servitor says nothing of a boost increasing the level by 3. They also left out in the Meta Word description that some of them increase levels. That would actually solve all of the issues that occurred with the session. It is annoying that such a major line was left out.
To Talynonyx: The summon Servitor Word, specifically does have an entry for the Boost Meta Word to be used on it. It appears that that entry is not complete but it is there. I will have to borrow another DMs hard copy of Ultimate Magic to get a full description it seems.
Ah found it. It is under the Target Word Entry. Thanks for leading me to it.
The fact does remain that the Summon Servitor Entry lists a Boost gain but does not state that the level is increased as the other Wordspell Entries that have a level increase from Boost do.
under servitor III : like servitor I (different summons)
under servitor I:
"A summoned creature cannot summon or conjure other creatures, nor can its use teleportation or planar travel abilities"
and
"If the target word is boosted, a wordspell with this effect word summons 1d4+1 of the chosen creatures."
so no air elemental summon via archons, and no level increase from boost metaword (as you boost effect word, not target word)
to be honest, I don't get the selected restriction for target. what would happen if you "boost selected servitor" (which in this case increase the effect word by 3)
you could have caster level "target" so if you're level 8, you'll summon 8x a creature (ok, it's a creature from summon I in a 4th level slot, so it's not that powerfull at all)?
Vrischika111 wrote: under servitor III : like servitor I (different summons)
under servitor I:
"A summoned creature cannot summon or conjure other creatures, nor can its use teleportation or planar travel abilities"
and
"If the target word is boosted, a wordspell with this effect word summons 1d4+1 of the chosen creatures."
so no air elemental summon via archons, and no level increase from boost metaword (as you boost effect word, not target word)
to be honest, I don't get the selected restriction for target. what would happen if you "boost selected servitor" (which in this case increase the effect word by 3)
you could have caster level "target" so if you're level 8, you'll summon 8x a creature (ok, it's a creature from summon I in a 4th level slot, so it's not that powerfull at all)?
OP is correct in stating that the Air elemental is not really a summon though; It's a gestault, the Combination of nine lantern archons. Nowhere under 'gestault' does it claim it's Summoning an Air Elemental, just that the Gestault has the abilities equivalent of ___
And, (just to clarify, not contradicting you:) There is a level increase. It comes from boosting the Selected Target Word. As the Servitor Effect Word is strictly limited to the Selected Target word, That's the only Target word that can be boosted, and that in turn increases the Effect word's level by 3.
A Wordcaster would absolutely require 2 rounds to perform the entire needed summoning with two 6th level slots, because a wordspell typically can Not have two Effect words of the same group ( So you can't cast a Boost Selected Servitor Servitor wordspell). This would also waste Two metaword uses total.
...Did I get that all right?
To Bane Wraith:
My statement was about there not being a boost penalty was about the entry for Summon Servitor. It also shows that level 7, 8, and 9 Summon Servitor spells can be boosted which is impossible under current rules if the level is increased by 3 because there are no spell slots higher than 9 in pathfinder. You can boost Summon Servitor because it specifically gives an entry for it.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/wordsOfPower/effectWords/s ummoningWords.html#_servitor-i-(summoning)
On the other hand the Burning Flash wordspell does state that it is increased by 1 level if boosted.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/wordsOfPower/effectWords/f ireWords.html#_burning-flash-(fire)
Also the disappear word that is also a selected target word does give a level adjustment in it's boost entry but that adjustment is 2 levels higher.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateMagic/wordsOfPower/effectWords/c oncealingWords.html#_disappear-(concealing)
Why is there wrong information in these publications if the adjustment is suppose to be 3 levels?
Ellessen wrote: Why is there wrong information in these publications if the adjustment is suppose to be 3 levels? Because Servitor IX is only a level 6 Word for a Summoner, hence it can indeed receive a +3 level adjustment.
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The summon words cannot be boosted, you can only boost words that have a listed boost effect. The summon words state if you boost the selected word, then you get 1d4+1 critters. The cost of boosting the selected word is already listed in its entry.
Wordcaster gets standard action summoning, but has a harsh time trying to get more than one creature at a time.
You don't boost the wordspell, you boost individual word(s), targets are separate from effects.
Apotheosis wrote:
Because Servitor IX is only a level 6 Word for a Summoner, hence it can indeed receive a +3 level adjustment.
...One particular effect word I don't quite understand, and find slightly sad, is Dimensional Shift.
In the spell description, it states that the Caster Must be one of the targets of the wordspell. What boggles me, is that only the Cleric or Oracle wordcasters are capable of boosting the Selected target word and still having the wordspell under 9th level...
Weren't Wizards and Arcane casters supposed to be the specialists at teleportation?
Ahwell. Apotheosis is correct.
As for the Burning Flash and Disappear, "Cult of Vorg" hit the nail on the head; If you truly desired you could cast a Boost Selected Boost Disappear as a level 7 wordspell that basically grants Greater invisibility to you and a bunch of your friends. But that would cost Two metawords. (Two Boost Words)
Dear OP
Vrischika111 wrote: under servitor III : like servitor I (different summons)
under servitor I:
"If the target word is boosted, a wordspell with this effect word summons 1d4+1 of the chosen creatures."
I call your attention to the bolded words. Servitor I through IX do not have any boost ability, what so ever.
In case the game goes on to the point it is necessary, Servitor VIII is the highest level spell that can be combined using two effect words, and Sevitor VII is the highest that can be used with two other effect words (for three, in total).
UM wrote:
Effect words are split into groups of similar words. A wordspell typically cannot have more than one effect word from the same group, but there are exceptions. A wordspell can have more than one effect word from the Detection group, but cannot have a wordspell with an effect word from the Detection group and an effect word from any other group.
This segment explains why you cannot make a wordspell made from "Boost Selected Servitor <8 Servitor <8", but you can make a word spell called "Boost Selected Boost Disappear Servitor II", and use a level 8 spell slot for 1d4+1 summons from the level 2 list, which have greater invisibility, for the cost of using two of your precious few meta words/day...
Hey that kinda sounds lame, except in a situation when that'd be perfect.
In sum, using Servitor for mass summons is greatly inferior to Summon Monster/Nature's Ally. Servitor shines when, instead, you summon a single creature, in conjunction with a buffing spell. A single invisible creature from the level 7 list will often serve you better, for the same level 8 spell slot cost, than a harrying from 1d4+1 creatures of the level 2 list, except when it won't.
Vrischika111 wrote:
to be honest, I don't get the selected restriction for target. what would happen if you "boost selected servitor" (which in this case increase the effect word by 3)
you could have caster level "target" so if you're level 8, you'll summon 8x a creature (ok, it's a creature from summon I in a 4th level slot, so it's not that powerfull at all)?
@vris, I'm not sure what you're saying here. I'll agree with you that using 'Boost Selected' has been a terrible idea, and makes Servitor less optimal than other word spells, simply because, but hey, it's versatile enough to give you Invisible Stalker, and/or other weird creations that'll take hits otherwise meant for you, and still stay in the game That alone makes it a serious contender for fine-line balance issues, even if it was just adjusted a little bit, don't you think?
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