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Let's look at a 5th level witch with a CL 2 wand of wand of hex vulnerability vs a regular ol' CL 1 wand of cure light wounds. Obviously the witch has the Healing hex.
CL 1 Wand of Cure Light Wounds
Cost: 750 gp
Amount Healed Per Round: 1d8+1 damage, average 5.5
Total Average Health Healed: 275
Price in Gold Pieces Per Hit-Point Healed: 2.72gp
CL 2 Wand of Hex Vulnerability
Cost: 1500 gp
Amount Healed Per Round: 2d8+5 damage, average 14
Total Average Health Healed: 700
Price in Gold Pieces Per Hit-Point Healed: 2.14gp
It only gets better as the Witch levels up, especially if she takes Major Healing Hex as well. At 20th level:
CL 2 Wand of Hex Vulnerability
Cost: 1500 gp
Amount Healed Per Round: 4d8+20 damage, average 38
Total Average Health Healed: 1900
Price in Gold Pieces Per Hit Point Healed: 0.79gp
Yup, it actually drops to under a gp per hit point healed. Expressed differently, you heal 1.27 hit points per gp. Talk about cost effective! But wait, it gets even better! Hex vulnerability is one of the few wands that actually gets more cost effective as its caster level increases. This is because it allows you more rounds of healing per charge; the numbers are as follows:
CL 20 Wand of Hex Vulnerability
Cost: 15000 gp
Amount Healed Per Round: 4d8+20 damage, average 38
Number of Rounds of Healing Per Charge: 19
Total Average Health Healed: 36,100
Price in Gold Pieces Per Hit Point Healed: 0.42gp
Assuming you can get in all 19 rounds of healing per charge, you heal 2.41 hit points per gp spent on the wand. Now obviously that's an idealized situation but it does show that as you raise caster level the cost per hit point decreases, so a CL 3 wand will be better than a CL 2 wand and should still see enough use to warrant the extra 750 gp. The additional cost does make it more prohibitive in the lower levels though.
Interesting! Let's see how this compares to the popular wand of Infernal Healing:
CL 1 Wand of Infernal Healing
Cost: 750 GP
Amount Healed Per Use: 10
Total Health Healed: 500
Price in Gold Pieces Per Hit Point Healed: 1.5 gp
I think Infernal Healing is the better option for the witch at low levels, but Hex Vulnerability is a good alternative if the party is squeamish (alignment issues) or on a rush schedule - Infernal healing can take a fair bit of time when you reach the mid levels and have triple digit HP pools.
Why do the rounds of healing are one lower than the wand's CL? Remember that it doesn't have to be YOU who casts the spell. Another spellcaster, or even your (improved)familiar could do the trick (or a summoned thing)
But, now that I read the spell, it says "you" many times, so it *may* be designed so it only works on the caster's hexes.
Have you tried extending the spell? As with infernal healing, it does wonders.
a 2nd level wand is 4500, not 1500Right, and minimum caster level for a 2nd level spell is 3rd level caster, so 3 x 2 x 750 = 4500
Hex vulnerability is a 1st level spell. They are saying make it at caster level 2.
Hex Vulnerability
School necromancy [curse]; Level shaman 1, witch 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a drop of your blood)
Range close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
The targeted creature becomes susceptible to a repeat use of your hexes, even if you could not otherwise target that creature with a particular hex for a certain time period. For example, normally after you target a creature with a charm hex, you cannot target it again for 1 day. But after casting this spell on a creature, you could try the charm hex repeatedly as long as the spell persists. The end of this spell has no effect on any active or ongoing hex on a creature. Fox example, if the creature failed its save against a second use of your charm hex, it remains charmed for the normal duration, even if the spell expires before the hex does.
Each subsequent casting of this spell on a target within a 24-hour period gives the target a +4 bonus on its save against the spell and imposes a –4 penalty on your caster level check to overcome the target's spell resistance with this spell.
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Or you can always get boots of the earth for 5000 gp. Its a great out of combat healing item, You get fast healing 1 as long as you dont move.
Boots of the earth run into the same problem that wands of infernal healing do at higher levels, if you're trying to heal up a notable amount of health it takes significant time. Sometimes it's better to blow 3 charges from a 1500gp wand and heal 100 health in 6 rounds than to wait around for 10 minutes to heal the same amount from a 5000gp item that won't run out of charges. Plus I guess you don't have to worry about landing if you've just finished aerial combat or swimming to the bottom of the ocean if you're out on the high seas, but those are pretty corner cases.
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Plus I guess you don't have to worry about landing if you've just finished aerial combat or swimming to the bottom of the ocean if you're out on the high seas, but those are pretty corner cases.That's why you carry a pot of dirt with you. :)
Okay, so why get it at CL2?
Does hex vulnerability do nothing at 1st level? Duration is 1 round, so does that mean that at CL1 the spell expires before you get a second standard action?
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Yes.Okay, so why get it at CL2?
Does hex vulnerability do nothing at 1st level? Duration is 1 round, so does that mean that at CL1 the spell expires before you get a second standard action?
So - you could use a CL 1 version if you had a party member with UMD use the wand while the witch hexes in the same round?
CL 1 Hex Vulnerability wands are fine if you have a caster familiar like an Imp.
Booo to my less-than-careful reading of that spell. :-p
Thank you! This makes choosing the healing hexes way more valuable for a hexcrafter. And the spell has the curse descriptor so it is added to their spell lists!
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James Jacobs said it is not the intent of the spell, but to each their own if playing homegames.
Here.
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Intent and legal usage are two separate things.
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Intent and legal usage are two separate things.
Yeah, the RAW is pretty clear. It doesn't differentiate between helpful and harmful hexes. So Cao Phen, I'd say you could follow the intent if you where playing a home game but that's not what the actual spell says.
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susceptible: receptive to, easily affected, capable of being affected by a specified action or process.
I'm not seeing how using the English definition/synonyms changes the valid targets by RAW, Cao Phen. This seems be squarely a 'house rule to stop it from working'.
James Jacobs said it is not the intent of the spell, but to each their own if playing homegames.
Here.
James Jacobs' opinions on these matters aren't authoritative. From the same thread that you link to (emphasis added by me):
This is a textbook example of the type of question that I'm not interested in answering, and needs to be asked in the proper forums or messageboards elsewhere on Paizo.com. Whether or not an FAQ applies to an FAQ is kind of meta, but it's not something I'm gonna answer, since that'd probably annoy the design team. I'll let them answer those kinds of questions.
And since there's been too many cases of people mistaking my opinions or rulings as design team rulings, and since I want to respect the design team's role in the company, I'm not gonna be giving out my own opinions here on such matters.
Let's not make the same mistakes that he warns against.
Of course, there might be some GMs that go specifically RAW and say that "susceptible" is not the same as "benefit", and in turn, can not be a valid use of Hex Vulnerability.
Susceptible is not the same as "harm" either.
4500gp = one wand of extended hex vulnerability. One charge equals 6 rounds. That's 5 cure light hexes.
looks like a good spell to go on the pile of "stuff not used in my game." I mean seriously, this seems too overpowered for a 1st level spell, not to mention this useage
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Don't forget the half-elf's racial Arcane Training ability to use spell trigger and completion items for their class at +1 caster level.
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4500gp = one wand of extended hex vulnerability. One charge equals 6 rounds. That's 5 cure light hexes.
Wait... so a wand that is slightly more cost efficient than a cure wand is broken now? Do you ban CLW wand? Our it's it the 0.15 gp per hp that pours it over the top?
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Why do the rounds of healing are one lower than the wand's CL?
Actually, that is not the optimal use for the wand.
Deliver Touch Spells states "If a witch is 3rd level or higher, her familiar can deliver touch spells or hexes for her".
Use the wand as follows:
round 1 - use healing hex and have the familiar deliver it later.
round 2 - use the wand, familiar delivers held hex now
round 3 and later - use healing hex
Also, I think that the casting of the spell at first level should let you use a hex once. Otherwise it has no use for a first level witch.
With that assumption, and the held touch, you get the following:
CL 1 Wand of Hex Vulnerability
Cost: 750 gp
Amount Healed Per Hex: 2d8+5 damage, average 14
Total Average Health Healed: 1400
Price in Gold Pieces Per Hit-Point Healed: 0.54gp
/cevah
Out of curiosity, would it be possible to craft a ring of hex vulnerability to make the wearer permanently susceptible to your hexs?
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Out of curiosity, would it be possible to craft a ring of hex vulnerability to make the wearer permanently susceptible to your hexs?
Yes. Cursed item I say. Wearer cannot take it off. He is forever more doomed to get constant healing from you. I could see a NE witch chaining up people in her dungeon with these rings... and go Kathy Bates / Misery on them... very eeeeeeeeeevil!
looks like a good spell to go on the pile of "stuff not used in my game." I mean seriously, this seems too overpowered for a 1st level spell, not to mention this useage
It's not a bad spell. Looks over powered on paper. In actual use it's nice for both the players and GM. What you will find as GM is that the spell keeps the hit points up and leads to longer work day. Basically an extra encounter, 2 if they easy. Player like any healing they can get. As the game progressed I found the spell got less and less use. When you get Heal you don't really use it that often.
On a wand it works good but not too good just a bit better than wand of Cure light wounds x2. Turns out to be 2D8+5 for 2 CL wand. One's 2D8+2 the other 2D8+5. Both take 2 rounds to do. Not a big deal. You can spend more gold for better wand but really you don't need to.
I'm playing this a game right now. Hex vulnerability was the most power at level 2 I found. Now I'm level 5 and while it gets some use not very often. Haven't had chance to get wand yet.
Don't forget the half-elf's racial Arcane Training ability to use spell trigger and completion items for their class at +1 caster level.
How does that help? My inderstanding was that wands, unlike staves, can't use the caster level of the user.
Two notes on the subject:
Hex Vulnerability has the [curse] descriptor, so is also available to Hexcrafter Magi.
If you are playing PFS, you cannot acquire a wand or scroll of Hex Vulnerability higher than caster level one. Thus, hex vulnerability must be one of your spells prepared for the day to be of any use for healing. In which case I recommend pearl(s) of power. These are not deal-breakers; rather just things you might want to know.
Two notes on the subject:
Hex Vulnerability has the [curse] descriptor, so is also available to Hexcrafter Magi.
If you are playing PFS, you cannot acquire a wand or scroll of Hex Vulnerability higher than caster level one. Thus, hex vulnerability must be one of your spells prepared for the day to be of any use for healing. In which case I recommend pearl(s) of power. These are not deal-breakers; rather just things you might want to know.
Or you take 2 rounds to deliver the cure via the Familiar method described above. Depending on the out-of-combat needs, this could be fine or terrible.
Don't forget the half-elf's racial Arcane Training ability to use spell trigger and completion items for their class at +1 caster level.How does that help? My inderstanding was that wands, unlike staves, can't use the caster level of the user.
it simply means Half Elves can use magic items of any arcane casting class as if they had 1 more level, meaning they can use an item that has a requirement of 10th level at 9th level without rolling, or use a 1st level witch wand without witch levels or UMD. because their effective witch level for item use is 1. it doesn't boost items, it increases options for single classed characters. using consumable items with a higher caster level than your own requires a caster level roll of DC 10+caster level. for example, you can use a scroll of a 6th level wizard spell as a 10th level wizard without a DC21 roll. or your 10th level wizard can use CL1st wands from the bard, witch, summoner and magus lists. or any arcane class, really. without a roll.
it simply means Half Elves can use magic items of any arcane casting class as if they had 1 more level, meaning they can use an item that has a requirement of 10th level at 9th level without rolling, or use a 1st level witch wand without witch levels or UMD. because their effective witch level for item use is 1. it doesn't boost items, it increases options for single classed characters. using consumable items with a higher caster level than your own requires a caster level roll of DC 10+caster level. for example, you can use a scroll of a 6th level wizard spell as a 10th level wizard without a DC21 roll. or your 10th level wizard can use CL1st wands from the bard, witch, summoner and magus lists. or any arcane class, really. without a roll.Don't forget the half-elf's racial Arcane Training ability to use spell trigger and completion items for their class at +1 caster level.How does that help? My inderstanding was that wands, unlike staves, can't use the caster level of the user.
Gotcha. Yes using Arcane Training to expand your spell list for wands, scrolls, and staves is a good trick. Costly, since you give up your favored class bonuses, but it is worth it for some builds.
Also, a Minor discovery: Your Familiar can deliver hexes for you. So no need for a CL2 wand. Just have your familiar deliver the hex while you use the wand.