Need some help polishing my spell

[Marik Whiterose]

Hey everyone, in a previous (2nd Ed.) campaign one of our player's came up with a new spell which I'm trying to update for the modern age and I need some help fleshing it out.

Spell Jar

School Evocation; Level sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Component V, S, F (a 3” diameter crystal sphere worth at least 250 gp)
Range 0 ft.
Duration 1 day/level or until discharged
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

You imbue a crystal sphere with arcane energy which you can later use to power a known or prepared spell.

Once cast you can use, as a swift action, the energy stored inside a spell jar to power any arcane spell you know or have prepared without expending the spell or spell slot, you can use no more than one spell jar per level of the spell being cast.

You can have no more than one spell jar active per arcane caster level.

If destroyed each active spell jar (hardness: 1, 3 hp’s) explodes dealing 1d6 points of arcane damage to anyone within a 5’ radius (Reflex save DC:16 for half).

So, please take a look and let me know what I should tweak.

[ShroudedInLight]

Spell Jar seems to be a temporary Pearl of Power for a greatly reduced cost.

Now, Pearls of Power are a tiny bit different. For one, they last forever and can be used 1/day. They take a Standard Action to use. You can purchase multiple of them for each spell level. They can only restore spells you have prepared. Finally, they cost more.

I think the concept is pretty good, but I would change them to be more in line with a disposable Pearl of Power. AKA, it takes a Standard Action to absorb a spell. The spell should be one you have previously prepared that day. Lastly, I would increase the cost based upon the spell level being used.

My first instinct is going for the price of purchasing a spellcast modified because you'll be casting the spells at your current level. So the price of the material component is a Crystal worth (Character Level x Spell Level x 10). You could choose to increase the price as you see fit, based upon the prices of Pearls of Power.

[Pizza Lord]

I think it needs to be cleaned up a bit. Some of the wording is confusing. As I read it, it looks like you cast the spell and then, as a swift action place the energy of a spell you have into a crystal. You can then later use the crystal to cast a spell of that level. But then I read more, and it's like you instead create the crystal... but then use up an equal number of crystals to the spell level being cast?

It's probably just some wording issues. I at first read ' you can use no more than one spell jar per level of the spell being cast' as meaning you could only have one 1st level crystal, one 2nd level crystal, etc. prepared as a limited to the build up of a spell battery or storehouse. But then I read that you could have a number equal to your caster level later, so I had to go back and reorganize my reading.

At first I was worried about a magical stockpile of crystal that could be detonated with an AoE for extra damage, but the cost is pretty significant, so that's not a problem. I think just rewording and clarifying (obviously what's obvious to you the spell creator is not so much for others.)

So probably just changing 'Range 0' to 'Target: crystal' or 'the spell's focus'. and changing the first part to 'As a swift action when casting a spell, you can expend a number of prepared spell jars equal to the spell's level instead of expending the spell or spell slot.' or something like that.

[Cevah]

I would suggest either each spell jar holds a single level's worth of magic, and to cast a 3rd level spell you need 3 of them.
or
Each spell jar can hold X levels (capped by the price/250), and can be used to cast a spell of up to level X.

To prevent cheese, you could use any of the following limits:
1) Max number of jars = 1/caster level.
2) Max number of jars = 1/highest spell level.
3) Max number of jars = 1/casting mod.
Further capping might be like:
1) Max total X = caster level (highest spell level) (casting mod)
2) Each spell jar cannot hold the same as another possessed.
3) Max X fillable in a jar = casting mod.
4) Each jar can only be used to power the same spell as cast into it.

A way to add a vulnerability would be to make the highest level jar automatically dispel when subject to an area dispel, in addition to whatever might usually go.

This spell as originally written is closer to a ring of spell storing than a pearl of power.
Staves also give added spell power, but at the price of having to refill them.

Another huge problem is the swift action use. Does this mean you cast the powered spell in that swift action? That would mean a Quicken like effect, and changes the action economy.

If I can use the 4th level spell to fill a jar and use it to power a 9th level spell, that is a major upgrade to power. I would fix that to the 4th level spell plus an X level spell sacrificed to make an X level jar.

This is a potent spell, giving a huge advantage to a caster, who is already very powerful compared to a martial.

In addition to the grammar issues, this spell is easy to abuse for powergaming, and you need to figure out how you will handle that.

/cevah

[Marik Whiterose]

There seems to be some confusion as to the write up. My friends and I came up with this spell several years ago (probably 15-20) and there used to be a complete write up for it which has been lost in time. The description is me just hitting the highlights of what I can remember, adjusted to fit with Pathfinder.

Indeed each sphere can only power one level of spell (a 4th level spell would drain 4 sphere's to cast).

You can only have as many powered spheres as your caster level (A 7th level caster can only have seven sphere's active at any given time).

It's a swift action to drain the spheres, still a standard action to cast the powered spell.

[Cevah]

3.5 has the spell Spellstaff you can use for comparason.

/cevah