UltimaGabe
First Post
Hey, everyone. I'm playing a Wu Jen in an upcoming campaign (from Complete Arcane, it's basically an oriental Wizard) and there's just a couple things that struck me as odd (at least, there's only a couple that I can remember at the moment).
First, the only 2nd-level Buffs that Wu Jen get are Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, and Bear's Endurance. No Eagle's Splendor? No Owl's Wisdom? No Fox's Cunning? Heck, they use Intelligence for their spells, and they don't even get Fox's Cunning? Not only are core wizards the only spellcasting class that gets all six buffs, the whole animal motif fits the oriental flavor of the Wu Jen perfectly, in my opinion. And yet, they only get those three?
The other day, I was choosing spells for my Wu Jen's spellbook (who's planning on specializing in metal). When looking at 1st and 2nd-level spells, I noticed there's a 2nd-level Metal spell called "Rain of Needles". It's a targeted spell with no save that deals damage to one creature per level with close range, requiring a ranged attack roll against each target. The damage it deals, however, is somewhat uncustomary- you roll 1d4 per level (up to 5d4), and divide the damage up among the targets (so, maximum, you could do 20 points of damage to one person, or less to more targets). Alright, I suppose it's a decent 2nd-level spell. Then, I noticed there's a 1st-level Earth spell called Hail of Stone. This spell, on the other hand, creates a 10-foot diameter, 40-foot tall cylinder where every creature within takes 1d4 per caster level (maximum 5d4), with no save. And it requires a Material Component costing 5 gp.
My question is this: Since Rain of Needles really isn't any more powerful (in fact, in some ways, it's less powerful), why is it a higher level than Hail of Stone? Hail of Stone can hit less targets, but has potential to do much more damage than Rain of Needles. The only real balancing factor is that it costs 5 gp to cast. However, it's a lower level spell. If they were the same level, that would be one thing- more damage to less targets with a cost, or less damage to more targets with no cost. But Rain of Needles, despite the lowered capacity for damage, is a higher level. Not only all of that, but Rain of Needles requires an attack roll against each target, whereas Hail of Stone simply hits everyone in the area. What gives?
I'd suggest either increasing the damage cap for Rain of Needles (possibly to 10d4), increase the damage die (making it 1d6 per level, up to 5d6), or do something else to make it more powerful. Or, of course, if the issue isn't with Rain of Needles being too weak, but rather with Hail of Stone being too powerful, either allowing a save for Hail of Stone, or make Hail of Stone 2nd-level.
Any thoughts?
First, the only 2nd-level Buffs that Wu Jen get are Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, and Bear's Endurance. No Eagle's Splendor? No Owl's Wisdom? No Fox's Cunning? Heck, they use Intelligence for their spells, and they don't even get Fox's Cunning? Not only are core wizards the only spellcasting class that gets all six buffs, the whole animal motif fits the oriental flavor of the Wu Jen perfectly, in my opinion. And yet, they only get those three?
The other day, I was choosing spells for my Wu Jen's spellbook (who's planning on specializing in metal). When looking at 1st and 2nd-level spells, I noticed there's a 2nd-level Metal spell called "Rain of Needles". It's a targeted spell with no save that deals damage to one creature per level with close range, requiring a ranged attack roll against each target. The damage it deals, however, is somewhat uncustomary- you roll 1d4 per level (up to 5d4), and divide the damage up among the targets (so, maximum, you could do 20 points of damage to one person, or less to more targets). Alright, I suppose it's a decent 2nd-level spell. Then, I noticed there's a 1st-level Earth spell called Hail of Stone. This spell, on the other hand, creates a 10-foot diameter, 40-foot tall cylinder where every creature within takes 1d4 per caster level (maximum 5d4), with no save. And it requires a Material Component costing 5 gp.
My question is this: Since Rain of Needles really isn't any more powerful (in fact, in some ways, it's less powerful), why is it a higher level than Hail of Stone? Hail of Stone can hit less targets, but has potential to do much more damage than Rain of Needles. The only real balancing factor is that it costs 5 gp to cast. However, it's a lower level spell. If they were the same level, that would be one thing- more damage to less targets with a cost, or less damage to more targets with no cost. But Rain of Needles, despite the lowered capacity for damage, is a higher level. Not only all of that, but Rain of Needles requires an attack roll against each target, whereas Hail of Stone simply hits everyone in the area. What gives?
I'd suggest either increasing the damage cap for Rain of Needles (possibly to 10d4), increase the damage die (making it 1d6 per level, up to 5d6), or do something else to make it more powerful. Or, of course, if the issue isn't with Rain of Needles being too weak, but rather with Hail of Stone being too powerful, either allowing a save for Hail of Stone, or make Hail of Stone 2nd-level.
Any thoughts?
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