How far can a spell be pushed?

[a-d]

Questions
Spells have verbal, somatic, material, casting time, etc. components to them. (Variables.)
If you were to pile them all together in the creation of a new spell, how far would it go?

Also, is a Level 1 spell less powerful than a Level if they're both being done at Caster level 20?

Reason
Am looking for a way my Factotum can research and create a version of the Level 8 de-aging spell, "Steal Life" that can be done from their classes spell level limit of 7 until gaining enough levels in Artificer to use the original.

And a way to remove the interplanetary and land components of the spell.

Secondary Request
I know that such things are probably not supported by the rules so please keep any comments of that sort down to:
Confirmations about whether or not such things are supported by the rules.
Whether or not you'd allow it.
Explanations about why you would or wouldn't allow it and why you might suggest caution about which spells such a method would work for.

Presently Known Variables
Verbal (Oh Wah Ta Goosh Siam.)
Somatic (Hand waving, maybe even total body movement.)
Material (Items destroyed in the casting of the spell.)
Casting Time (Instantaneous, standard action, or over a day long.)
Focus (Material component which isn't destroyed when casting the spell. (Or, if you focus your creation of spells around a specific focus, a collection of spells that require that focus to be able to cast them, aka Harry Potter's wizarding wand.))
Location (Stonehenge, mountaintop, etc.)
Planetary Alignment (High noon, full moon, solar/lunar eclipse, and multiple planetary alignments.)
Spell's Range (Affect self to long range.)
Spell's Effect (Ugh. Let's say single effect to likely multiple effects.)

Are any variables missing?

Casting Time is usually at most a standard action (Six seconds.) so that can be extended easily enough. And a Focus item merely requires a suitably pointy stick. Sorry, a suitably Expensive pointy stick or other desired item since the creation of focus spells would be more convenient if they all used the same focus.
In truth, it would be the same as the Feat, "Eschew Materials" though it would probably require the focus item to cost a hundred times or more whatever materials were being eschewed, otherwise it would just end up being at most a price reduction of the materials destroyed when casting the spell.

Adding Verbal and Somatic(Hand waving.) don't seem likely to comparatively do much to increase the perceived difficulty in the eyes of GM's since it doesn't seem like it would be to difficult to argue that spell casters are actually singing and dancing when casting spells instead of merely flicking their wrists and shouting "Fireball!"

Adding Material components as well seems simple enough. Just up the price to increase power.

Technically Location seems so close to what Focus Item does to make me wonder about it a little, but requiring a mountaintop or open meadow is different enough from needing a focus item worth over five thousand gold that it seems likely to provide a noticeable power boost.

Planetary Alignment seems likely to be another noticeable power boost, even a somewhat acceptable one from the views of convenience and practicality so long as the benefit is great enough.
Multiple planetary alignments would probably add an incredible power boost, but aren't practical except in cases where such alignments occur multiple times a year.

Spell Range would probably gain the most if limited to Self (For buffing.) or Touch. (For attacking.)

Spell Effects...seem likely to be confusing to work with, so at present I'll just ask you how far you think a Level 1 touch attack fire spell could be pushed and still be practical.
Especially since I'm told that a touch attack spell can be held onto indefinitely so long as you don't attempt any other spell casting. (Or are knocked unconscious most likely.)

Additionally
If you use the Craft Wondrous Item Feat pricing as an example of the difference between Level 1 and Level 9 spells, you come up with something like this:
L1 x CL20 = 20
L9 x CL20 = 180

And Looking into it further:
Earliest time a spell of a specific level can be cast.
L1 x CL1 = 1 (CL20 = 20)
L2 x CL3 = 6
L3 x CL5 = 15
L4 x CL7 = 28
L5 x CL9 = 45
L6 x CL11 = 66
L7 x CL13 = 91 (L7 x CL20 = 140)
L8 x CL15 = 120 (CL16 = 128, CL17 = 136, CL18 = 142, CL19 = 150, CL20 = 158)
L9 x CL17 = 153 (CL20 = 180)

If you use this it seems likely that it should be possible to reach Level 8 spells with Level 7's if enough variables are added and that even Level 1 spells could reach Levels 3, 4, and possibly even 5 if they had something like an entire solar system planetary alignment behind it.

Recap
Are there Read As Written or Read As Intended rules that would enable a lower level spell to create the effect of a higher one?

Is a Level 1 spell less powerful than a Level 9 if both are at Caster Level 20?

What other Variables could be added to raise a spells' power?
Oh yeah, Spell's Duration. (How long the spell lasts.)

Would you allow such a thing in your games?

 

[Herzog]

I'm confused.

Are you asking how to add restrictions to a high level spell to be able to reduce it's level (as part of researching the spell)?
or
Are you asking how to remove restrictions from a low level spell te be able to create a higher level spell (as part of researching a spell)?
or
Are you asking how spell level and the various mechanical components relate to eachother?

I can answer one question: other variables related to spell level: caps.
Lower level spells often have (1d8 per caster level, max 5d8) or (+1 per two caster levels, max +5) effect caps.
These caps are higher (15d6, +15) for higher spell levels.

 

[Sekhmet]

I'm about as confused as [MENTION=25696]Herzog[/MENTION]. Your questions(?) aren't very clear, and the bulk of your post doesn't seem to have anything to do with them. Perhaps you could try to be more clear?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Questions
Spells have verbal, somatic, material, casting time, etc. components to them. (Variables.)
If you were to pile them all together in the creation of a new spell, how far would it go?

I don't understand the question.
Some spells have some of these components, some do not. I have not noticed a formula for something like "This strength/level spell has this many components"

Also, is a Level 1 spell less powerful than a Level if they're both being done at Caster level 20?

Level 1 spells by definition have weaker effects than level 9 spells. Some spells scale in power with caster level increase, but Magic Missile will never compare with Time Stop.

Are there Read As Written or Read As Intended rules that would enable a lower level spell to create the effect of a higher one?

not that I am aware of. Heighten Spell Metmagic can sorta do this.

What other Variables could be added to raise a spells' power?
Oh yeah, Spell's Duration. (How long the spell lasts.)

Metamagic feats.

Would you allow such a thing in your games?

A level 7 spell doing what a level 8 does? Maybe if it was made into a ritual instead of a spell.

Might I suggest an additional question for you to ask?
"What ways could a Factotum with access up to level 7 spells extend his own lifespan?"

 

[jefgorbach]

Unfortunately D&D doesnt provide any conclusive behind-the-scene suggestions asto how existing core spells were developed, let alone guidance regarding how todo independent research ... beyond the catch-all to compare your desired effect vs known spells for suggested idea of what might be possible for a given level.

Since the 8th level Steal Life is already rather strict (works ONLY if cast within the range of an Unhallow spell during a full moon), the only suggestion I can think of off-hand would be for the 7th level version to essentially rearrange the caster's OWN life energy (ability-score to age) using the argument the 8th level improvement made the spell safer by targeting someone else to fuel the age reduction.

an alternative would be to calc the original spell via McWod's variant rules then reduce as needed to derive an acceptable 7th level variant.