Irrisen Icemage + Umbral Strike -- convert negative energy to cold?

[outshyn]

A player is using the Irrisen Icemage power to convert a spell to cold damage. The spell is Umbral Strike, doing negative energy. I thought you could only convert the elements from one to the other. So fire to cold, or acid to cold, etc. But not bludgeoning to cold, not negative energy to cold. The players say yes it does work. Correct?

[outshyn]

Add-on: IF "Irrisen Icemage" does convert anything, I'd just want to double check: if they cast inflict wounds, it can be converted to cold, and if they cast Bestow Curse, even the -6 to an ability score can be converted to cold (a bad choice, as -6 HP is must weaker than -6 to a stat, but still, I want to be sure there are no limitations)?

[I grok do u]

The feat requires an energy descriptor, which is a specific term. Umbral strike has the darkness descriptor, but not an energy descriptor.

So your thought is correct RAW; I think only acid, electricity, fire, sonic, and force should work for conversion.

[Azothath]

Irrisen Icemage feat
... Three times per day you may alter a spell you cast to deal cold damage instead of its normal damage; ...
if it's not [cold] the spell is at -1 CL. The +1 CL would just bring this back to CL.
If it is a normal energy descriptor is makes the conversion easy. But it could convert Enervation to 1d4 [cold] damage by parsed RAW which would be rather disadvantageous.
GM Caveat: It would make sense to require a normal energy descriptor for this feat to work, it's implied(it's all about energy descriptors so why take one segment to mean everything?) but RAW was not explicit. It is a clear example of over-parsing the text. Class abilities are more powerful than a feat.

Some stuff is not damage, so it gets tricky in the wide interpretation.

[Diego Rossi]

outshyn wrote:

Add-on: IF "Irrisen Icemage" does convert anything, I'd just want to double check: if they cast inflict wounds, it can be converted to cold, and if they cast Bestow Curse, even the -6 to an ability score can be converted to cold (a bad choice, as -6 HP is must weaker than -6 to a stat, but still, I want to be sure there are no limitations)?

Irrisen Icemage wrote:

Benefit: All of your spells with the cold descriptor are cast at +1 caster level. Any spell with a different energy descriptor is cast at –1 caster level. Three times per day you may alter a spell you cast to deal cold damage instead of its normal damage; your +1 caster level for this feat applies to this variant casting.

Bestow Curse doesn't deal damage, decreases, or penalties aren't damage.

Inflict wounds (like most conjurations) is tricky; it doesn't cause damage directly, it conjures negative energy that damages living creatures and heals undead. If it does damage is completely dependent on how the negative energy interacts with the target, not on the spell per se. I wouldn't allow it to be changed.

I agree with the others, to avoid having to adjudicate every spell the Icemage tries to convert on the fly, limit it to spells with an energy descriptor.
That is almost certainly the RAI of the feat.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Half the damage of Umbral Strike is already cold damage. So, while the spell lacks the cold descriptor it’s kind of already is a cold spell. It seems to me that RAI this spell should have the cold descriptor.

As a GM I would have no problem with the feat affecting Umbral Strike, but all it would do would be to boost the caster level by one. It would not in my opinion convert the negative energy to cold because it is already doing cold damage.