Rule question about Bond Conservation

[pheres]

The wizard feat Bond Conservation allow a wizard to cast more spell, but for me, what can be done with it is not really clear.

"
Bond Conservation:
prerequisite: arcane bond
requirements: the last action you used was Drain Bonded Item

By cararefully manipulating the arcane energies stored in your bonded item as you drain it, you can conserve just enough power to cast another, slightly weaker spell. If the next action you uses is to Cast a Spell using the energy from Drain Bonded Item, you gain an extra use of Drain Bonded Item. You must use this extra use of Drain Bonded Item before the end of your next turn or you lose it, and you can use this additionnal use only to cast a spell 2 or more levels lower than the first spell cast with Drain Bonded Item.
"

A written it's seems to be clear, but one of my friend tell me that you can use this feat on the extra use of Drain Bonded granted by the feat. If we says it legit, then a level 17 wizard, that have one use of drain bonded item each day can cast a level nine spell with it's drain bonded item ability, then, using bond conservation, a level 7 spell, and after that, still using bond conservation, a level 5 spell, and finzlly a level 1 spell
So a level 17 wizard could cast 4 more spell with this feat! That's amazing but not game breaking, i guess, because specialized wizard have only one basic use of Drain Bonded Item.
But if what is foolish is if we look at the universalist wizard, that have, at level 17, 9 use of drain bonded item, he can do this 9 times and could launch a very huge number of free spells each day (14 bonus spells if i have well count).

For me a FAQ is needed in order to detail more this feat.

[Malk_Content]

It seems powerful but in practice it is a relatively restricted tactic. It means you have to stand still every turn for several turns in a row casting progressively weaker spells. In reality I don't see a Wizard getting more than 2 uses out of this before standing there casting Max Spell -6 is a tactically sound idea.

[Cyouni]

The requirement that you don't move is a particularly dangerous one. If something with AoO walks up to you...enjoy the fun times.

[Xenocrat]

It works the way you think. Beyond the can’t move restrictions, it depends on having already cast a specific chain earlier in the day and that exact progression being useful. Buffs mostly don’t last long enough to make it a plausible prefight buffing routine, and offensively it’s hit and miss with declining spell levels as the fight goes on. You’ll rarely get more than 3 spells out of it, and a fourth is going to be very low level.

[Reckless]

Actually, that would be 9th level, followed by 7th, followed by 7th, followed by 7th, etc. as the feat specifically calls out the FIRST spell you used drain bonded item for.

It's useful for one fight, but as others have stated, you're a sitting duck while using this.

EDIT: they could have tagged it with a "frequency:once per day" if they didn't intend it to be spammed multiple times in the given encounter.

[Lightning Raven]

Wait... Did the designers really wanted to say "First spell cast" or previous spell cast?

Because the difference is kinda huge.

[Xenocrat]

I think "first" is functionally equivalent to "previous" here. "First" in this particular chain (1, 2) of Bond Conservation. If you use it again, you've got a new use, and the "first" is spell 2 in your overall chain, but (2, 3) in this particular chain/use.

[Lightning Raven]

I kinda understand it's this way purely because I've seen the ability being described as such before... But I think it wouldn't hurt at all to call it "previous" rather than first to be clearer on the intention of a downward trend in power. Otherwise, it seems like only the first ever spell is the condition, specially because it's hard to conceptualize (at least for me) each use of the Bond Conservation as each separate instance that is different from the previous and it's because of the the chain of effect has its power reduced.

At least that was my understanding of how it's supposed to be and why it's "first" rather than previous".

[mrspaghetti]

Reckless wrote:

Actually, that would be 9th level, followed by 7th, followed by 7th, followed by 7th, etc. as the feat specifically calls out the FIRST spell you used drain bonded item for.

It's useful for one fight, but as others have stated, you're a sitting duck while using this.

EDIT: they could have tagged it with a "frequency:once per day" if they didn't intend it to be spammed multiple times in the given encounter.

I know I read a post from Mark Seifter (sp?) on this very subject. If someone could find it and post a link that would be great.

My recollection was that he discussed it as a chain of declining-level spells.

[mrspaghetti]

Also, to further assuage the OP's concerns about this being overpowered, recall that the arcane focus (or bond, or whatever the final rules are calling it) only works for spells that you've previously prepared and already cast that day. So setting up an effective chain of more than a couple uses would be a miracle.

[pheres]

Thanks all for all replies.

[AnimatedPaper]

Lightning Raven wrote:

But I think it wouldn't hurt at all to call it "previous" rather than first to be clearer on the intention of a downward trend in power. Otherwise, it seems like only the first ever spell is the condition, specially because it's hard to conceptualize (at least for me) each use of the Bond Conservation as each separate instance that is different from the previous and it's because of the the chain of effect has its power reduced.

I agree that it wouldn't hurt to say "previous" instead of "first", but I think you have to conceptualize it as several discreet event chain reacting into the next rather than one long process. Otherwise it would end after the first drain bond, since each use of this ability technically only gives you one additional use. That the additional use also qualifies as a triggering event for the ability is happily intended, but each use is triggering its own mini-event.