| Kazejin |
Honestly, let me start off by saying that I personally don't take much issue with Dazing Spell metamagic. To briefly explain why...
2) High-level wizards and sorcerers already have a billion other ways to break an encounter. Is one more really changing the game that much? Hell, even a level one wizard can break a level-appropriate encounter by just casting Color Spray.
3) It lets casters with less direct control be able to hold a candle against wizards and sorcerers in that department, thus opening up and expanding the role to other classes... which is probably a balance concern to some, but I never minded it all that much. Why let the kingpin arcane casters have all the fun?
4) I gave up on the idea of any game built from the 3.5 ruleset ever being balanced a long time ago. The core of the system is just too broken by its own inherent mechanics, and explaining why would take more effort than I plan to give today. Pathfinder is leaps and bounds better than 3.5, but it can't patch every hole. There's just too many. One has to accept a certain number of them to actually enjoy playing it. That's not to say that I don't still want balance wherever it's possible to achieve it, just that I've learned to accept that the system is hilariously far from ever being perfect.
With that said... Dazing Spell is pretty high on the power curve, and this is undeniable. As such, its found itself in a troublesome spot at our table. Some of our DMs don't mind if it's used (such as myself), others are in a tricky spot where they kind of don't want to ban it, but feel it's a bit too good as it is.
So, I'm proposing a house rule for that particular metamagic feat -- and by extension, the appropriate metamagic rods. I want to allow the feat to still grow into a powerful ability, but limit how powerful it can become, especially in the earlier levels. I believe that it's fine for Dazing Spell to wreck a few creatures, but perhaps we should consider how many a "few" is.
You can daze creatures with the power of your spells.
Benefit:
You can modify a spell to daze a creature damaged by the spell. When a creature takes damage from this spell, they become dazed for a number of rounds equal to the original level of the spell. If the spell allows a saving throw, a successful save negates the daze effect. If the spell does not allow a save, the target can make a Will save to negate the daze effect. If the spell effect also causes the creature to become dazed, the duration of this metamagic effect is added to the duration of the spell. Spells that do not deal damage do not benefit from this feat. This feat adjusts the spells total level by +3.
Addition:
This metamagic feat can only affect a maximum number of creatures equal to the original level of the spell. For example, a Dazing Fireball can only daze up to 3 creatures that were affected by the Fireball.
In the case of spells that apply damage across a duration, you may choose which moments to apply the dazing effect, up to the maximum allowed. For example, when using Call Lightning, you may choose which lightning strikes will apply Dazing Spell, bearing in mind that no more than 3 total creatures can be affected by this use of Dazing Spell (because Call Lightning is originally a 3rd level spell). This feat does not allow you to modify a spell after it was already cast.
I feel the best way to weaken the feat, without making it useless, is to address the number of uses you get out of the effect in a single cast. Though, I do fear that my given example may cause the feat to be too weak to be worth taking when it initially becomes usable.
So, if anyone has any feedback on this idea, or other ideas for it, by all means, reply and let me know.