I'm looking at heart of the metal (ACG), and it looks a lot like versatile weapon (APG), except that it affects 1 weapon/level instead of just 1 weapon, and it can make the weapons penetrate DR/adamantine (rather than DR/bludgeoning, slashing, piercing) -- but if you do make them adamantine, they also bypass hardness </= 20. Duration is the same.
Is it really intended that these spells should be the same level (sor/wiz 3rd)? Or am I missing something?
True, but it's fairly cheap. A 5th level character can cast it daily and while adventuring and just take it out of his share of the loot and barely notice the expenditure.
I'm not sure that 20 gp (or even 100 gp) makes up for a (nominally) 4 level increase in spell level -- imagine if mass charm monster were only 4th level, instead of 8th, but cost 500 gp? Balanced?
Ofc not but that doesn't seem like a fair comparison, 4 spell levels lower for an incredibly powerful spell. This us a difference of one spell Level, maybe.
The comparison is exact. That's why I chose that example. In each case, the standard version affects 1 target; the mass one affects 1 target/level. Charm monster is a 4th level spell; except for the additional targets, mass charm monster does the same thing, but is 8th.
Also maybe versitike weapon is just garbage, and this new one is a not garbage version of it? Makes you think.
It makes me think it would be more honest to simply errata the original, rather than writing a new one to stealth-supersede it -- but then again, that's what they did with the ranger vis-a-vis the slayer, so I guess it would be consistent.
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On first read, I'd say that versatile weapon adds the enhancement bonus like greater magic weapon, but it also lets you change the damage type. That would make it a much more useful spell.
Yes it seems intended that they be the same level. True adamantine bypasses hardness <=20, but that won't affect the many, many creatures that have DR over come by any of the specific damage types.
On first read, I'd say that versatile weapon adds the enhancement bonus like greater magic weapon, but it also lets you change the damage type. That would make it a much more useful spell.
I never read it that way before, but now I think you are correct. That makes it a very nice little spell.
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I've used versatile weapon a lot - it's a great spell.
Hero Lab always applied the enhancement bonus... this thread was my first clue that people read it any other way. ^_^
Yeah, I definitely misunderstood it. Now I'm very excited about it. I'm happy to see that it is on the spell lists for some of my current favorite classes: Magus, Occultist, and Psychic Detective. The last is especially nice since they don't get access to Greater Magic Weapon. I also like that it works on Natural Weapons or Unarmed Strikes.
Heart of the Metal is also a nice spell. I've used it a few times with my Staff Magus. Being able to treat your wooden staff like it was made of various metals, and even ignore Hardness, can be a lifesaver. Plus you can give your teammates' weapons the same ability.
On first read, I'd say that versatile weapon adds the enhancement bonus like greater magic weapon, but it also lets you change the damage type. That would make it a much more useful spell.
I can't read "except that it..." to mean "except it also...," but YMMV.
There would be no need to refer to greater magic weapon if it didn't 'also'. Sometimes context matters more than precision.
I really wish Paizo would do less of that sort of thing. Unless it is a 'mass' or something like that, I would prefer they have the text of the spell say what the spell does rather than referring you somewhere else. It can't save all that much space in a printing, and avoiding that practice would keep everything much clearer.