I am looking for some feedback on a feat I am considering for my wife's Elemental Earth Wizard. She envisions her character manipulating rocks and earth, and using them to damage her opponents. She is not keen on "the earth is acid" idea. I have the old Arcana Unearthed by Monte Cook and we both love how he separated elements from energy. There are feats that let you substitute the original element type for one you specialize in. The Elemental Spell feat in APG is not what we are looking for, as it raises the spells level and uses the "earth is acid" concept.
Here is what I am proposing.
Feat: Elemental Master
Prereqs: Elemental Specialization, Spell Focus (element of specialization)
Benefit: An Elemental specialist Wizard who meets the prereqs. and selects this feat can substitute the element type of any spell she knows when preparing spells for the day. When the spell is cast, it deals damage based on the chosen element instead of the original.
For example: an earth wizard who prepares a fireball spell can choose to prepare it so that it will do earth damage instead. She will effectively create and explosive ball of earth and stone. Burning Hands would shoot out shards of rock, etc.
Complications: I realize there is no damage type [earth] when considering Damage Reduction/Vulnerability.
Note: We are casual, non-competitive gamers who see the rules as guidelines for communal story telling.
How about...
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/feat name
Prereqs /prereqs
Benefit When preparing a damage-dealing spell, an elementalist with this feat can choose to replace the damaging component of the spell with a manifestation of her element. The spell's school changes to conjuration, and the damage type changes to a type determined by the elementalist's element.
Air School: mundane slashing damage.
Earth School: mundane bludgeoning damage.
Fire School: fire damage.
Metal School: mundane piercing & slashing damage.
Water School: mundane bludgeoning damage.
Wood School: mundane piercing damage.
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Spells cast by a fire elementalist do normal fire damage, as you can see, so a fire specialist's fireball function normally. A metal elementalist's fireball, however, would not be subject to SR but to DR instead. It would bypass DR/piercing or DR/slashing, but because it's physical damage from normal metal, it wouldn't bypass other DRs. Your wife's fireball, with this example, would mechanically be the same as a really powerful AOE mace blow, and imagining it as an explosion of conjured earth is pretty easy, yeah?
I dunno how balanced my proposition is or isn't, but it would certainly add more flavor to an elementalist's spells.
Your feat is simpler, obviously, but my suggestion would get around the issue of "earth" not being a damage type. Anyway food for thought. Cheers!
Both look fine to me. Though for balances sake Flaks is a bit more balanced.
@ Flak: Thanks for the feedback. I like your idea and will incorporate the damage type change into the feat.
@ Cliff: Thanks for you support.