A New Spellfire Feat

[gravyboat]

What would you guys think of a feat that allowed a spellcaster (w/ the spellfire wielder feat) to use his stored spellfire levels to counterspell another casters spell? That is, the spellfire wielder would first have to make a successful spellcraft check and if so, the number of spellfire levels equal to the opponents spell level he is casting would be used up. If the spellfire wielder does not have enough stored spellfire levels to match the opponent casters spell level, then all spellfire levels would be used up but the opponent caster feels a magical resistance due to the expended spellfire and must make a concentration check to allow the spell to go off. The concentration check would be 10 + the number of spellfire levels the spellfire wielder just lost.

Any good?

A working feat name: Spellfire Counter

 

[Vanye]

What would you guys think of a feat that allowed a spellcaster (w/ the spellfire wielder feat) to use his stored spellfire levels to counterspell another casters spell? That is, the spellfire wielder would first have to make a successful spellcraft check and if so, the number of spellfire levels equal to the opponents spell level he is casting would be used up. If the spellfire wielder does not have enough stored spellfire levels to match the opponent casters spell level, then all spellfire levels would be used up but the opponent caster feels a magical resistance due to the expended spellfire and must make a concentration check to allow the spell to go off. The concentration check would be 10 + the number of spellfire levels the spellfire wielder just lost.

Any good?

A working feat name: Spellfire Counter

Disrupt Casting [General]
You can use spellfire to disrupt a spell being cast.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft (5 ranks), Spellfire Wielder prestige class.
Benefit: As a readied action, you can release spellfire into the Weave to disrupt an attempt at spellcasting. Make a caster level check (d20+ Spellfire Wielder level) with a DC equal to 11 + opposing spellcasters level. Success means that you have disrupted the spell; failure means the spell is cast successfully.

Using this ability drains a number of energy levels equal to the level of the spell you are attempting to disrupt.

 

[AeroDm]

Disrupt Casting [General]
You can use spellfire to disrupt a spell being cast.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft (5 ranks), Spellfire Wielder prestige class.
Benefit: As a readied action, you can release spellfire into the Weave to disrupt an attempt at spellcasting. Make a caster level check (d20+ Spellfire Wielder level) with a DC equal to 11 + opposing spellcasters level. Success means that you have disrupted the spell; failure means the spell is cast successfully.

Using this ability drains a number of energy levels equal to the level of the spell you are attempting to disrupt.

Where is that from? It seems really weak in my opinion because counterspelling was for all intensive purposes automatic while this has a great chance of failing.

 

[Vanye]

Where is that from? It seems really weak in my opinion because counterspelling was for all intensive purposes automatic while this has a great chance of failing.

It's something I just made up at the time I posted it. Spellfire, while powerful, is not all powerful. This gives a spellfire weilder the same chance to counterspell a spell as a wizard/cleric with Dispel Magic has.

 

[Tilla the Hun (work)]

Where is that from? It seems really weak in my opinion because counterspelling was for all intensive purposes automatic while this has a great chance of failing.

Counterspelling is by no means an automatic.... You have to a) ready to counterspell and b) id the spell (which, by the way, allows a SKILL USE as a FREE ACTION, quite an annoying little contradiction in the rules mechanics, but regardless) If you do so, AND have a spell prepared of a similar nature - Fireball vs Fireball, etc - then you can counter it.

I'd hardly call that automatic. A good chance of success at higher levels, but not automatic.

Spellfire wielders are already rather extremely powerful, enough so that a GM has to carefully consider their abilities in combats. Adding a counterspell ability to them makes it a little worse.

however, I like that feat as written. I might allow additional levels of spellfire to be expended to gain a bonus on the caster level check, but that's just me.

 

[AeroDm]

Counterspelling is by no means an automatic.... You have to a) ready to counterspell and b) id the spell (which, by the way, allows a SKILL USE as a FREE ACTION, quite an annoying little contradiction in the rules mechanics, but regardless) If you do so, AND have a spell prepared of a similar nature - Fireball vs Fireball, etc - then you can counter it.

I'd hardly call that automatic. A good chance of success at higher levels, but not automatic.

Spellfire wielders are already rather extremely powerful, enough so that a GM has to carefully consider their abilities in combats. Adding a counterspell ability to them makes it a little worse.

however, I like that feat as written. I might allow additional levels of spellfire to be expended to gain a bonus on the caster level check, but that's just me.

True, but my point was that in comparison to core counterspelling this is less likely to succeed. In both versions a readied action was required, and a spellcraft check is much easier to pass than the provided spellfire check. As for the required spell, that is a problem. However, the suggested feat was in fact a feat, meaning you've devoted yourself to it. The improved counterspell feat allows you to select any spell of the same school IIRC, making counterspelling quite easy and, for all intensive purposes, automatic.

 

[Tilla the Hun (work)]

True, but my point was that in comparison to core counterspelling this is less likely to succeed. In both versions a readied action was required, and a spellcraft check is much easier to pass than the provided spellfire check. As for the required spell, that is a problem. However, the suggested feat was in fact a feat, meaning you've devoted yourself to it. The improved counterspell feat allows you to select any spell of the same school IIRC, making counterspelling quite easy and, for all intensive purposes, automatic.

Hmm ... and after thinking about it - what really is the difference between the spellfire counter feat and just spell fire -whacking- the caster? One causes a concentration check, the other a caster level check. I guess it's slightly easier to make the concent check, specially at higher levels. Perhaps you should have an improved spellfire counter as well?

Personally, I like the fact that spellfire counter works more like dispel magic than like countering with a similar spell - it just makes more sense to me, but to define why we'd have to explore the base nature of magic - how one casts and how one counters that casting.


Heh - I could also see making this an detrimental ability when taking spellfire as a feat. Just let it counter 'anything' targeting the caster or the area around the caster... Provided they have enough spellfire levels. Just a thought.


I would strongly balk at handing an automatic spell countering ability to a Spellfire wielder without some retributive cost associated with it. just my opinion...


FYI: Do you mean 'to all intents and purposes' when you say to intensive purposes? It was confusing me.