Would this make evocation better?

[Motionmatrix]

My friends and I were considering having aoe evocations deal damage based on the squares it affects. In other words, if a creature caught in a fireball occupies 4 squares, they would have to deal with 4 times the damage.

While I personally feel that a giant ball of fire should be deadly, I am not sure if it is the right direction.

What do you think? How to handle saving throws? Maybe instead a neg to saves (easier to hit)?

[Azaelas Fayth]

Maybe make each square beyond the first adds 50% Damage Dice & Static Damage so your example would be +150% of the Damage.

So a Fireball with 10d6 becomes 25d6 to the target. But the biggest weakness to Evocation is the fact that Conjuration is superior in Damage spells.

[Ascalaphus]

Well, if a level 5 Fireball deals 45d6 damage to a Huge creature, Conjuration isn't so superior any-more. But you might get unfriendly looks from the martial characters who thought that slaying big monsters was their job....

[kyrt-ryder]

Here's an idea if you want to make Evocation lethal again.

Step 1: SR = No for Evocation spells (or at least Evocation blasts, other evocations are rare enough it's not a huge deal either way.) SR vs Evocation was kind of cool in the pre-3E days, when gods were seldom known to have more than 100 HP. Now, SR should be more aligned with preventing magical manipulation/alteration, rather than raw simple firepower.

Step 2: Convert evocation blast spells from dealing '1d6' into '2d4' (so for example, a cl 10 fireball would deal 20d4 [20-80] damage) Allow the various +1 damage per die class abilities to apply +1 to each d4.

Step 2: Reduce Maximize Spell's level adjustment from +3 to +2. If you examine the math on Empower vs Maximize, you'll find the two actually end up being fairly close, and on certain spells empower actually edges over Maximize.

Step 3: Change Maximize and Empower to stack, at least in the case of Evocation spells. If a mage takes both feats and applies them both for +4 spell levels, that spell is dealing maximum damage times 1.5 (So in the case of a maximized empowered fireball at caster level 10, it's 120 fire damage)

Step 4: Smile as wizards once again seriously consider specializing in evocation

Step 5: brace yourself for potential backlash when the fighter realizes the mage is dealing comparable damage on a standard action to his full attack action, and consider ruling Full Attack Actions into Standard Actions, or possibly making doing so a feat which gives you more control over which monsters are capable of making Standard Action Full Attacks.

[bookrat]

Step 5 could also be changed to making certain evocation spells a full action instead of a standard.

[kyrt-ryder]

Hey that's not a terrible idea. Maybe 1d6/level for Standard Casting, 2d4 for Full Round Action.

[Azaelas Fayth]

Give them a variable damage that the Caster can choose... Nice.

Either Lighter Mobile Artillery or Heavy Static Artillery.

[bookrat]

That is a nice idea. Do i want to do a quick spell for a little less damage, or stay in place and focus up a more powerful version.

Great. Now I'm envisioning Dragonball Z. :\

[kyrt-ryder]

"Kamehamehaaa"

"Kaaaa-meeee-haaaaaa-meeeee-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

[Azaelas Fayth]

Though in DBZ the Mobile version is only slightly weaker. So it would be more of 2d3(Standard)/2d4(Full-Action)

[kyrt-ryder]

Pst, 2d3 is only barely better than 1d6, barring +1/damage die abilities. :P

[Azaelas Fayth]

I know but it is better.