Anatomy of a Spell: Energy Spheres

[Felon]

Energy Spheres is a spell found in the Spell Compendium. I find it interesting for a number of reasons. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

It's a 4th-level sor/wiz evocation school spell that creates five spheres, one for each of the different energy types (acid, cold, fire, electricity, and sonic). They can inflict 5 points of damage for every five caster levels. The spell is close range (25+5ft/2levels), but within that range the spheres can be directed to attack any number of targets as long as they're all within 30 feet of each other. In addition, each sphere grants energy resistance equal to the amount of damage it deals (5 per five levels), although once a sphere absorbs damage it's destroyed.

In evaluating Energy Spheres, there are a number of things to consider as strengths and/or drawbacks:

• Its damage is fixed. Pretty distinctive for what is basically a blasting spell.
• It has a duration of 1 round/level, with no concentration required to maintain it (although it is a standard to direct the balls to attack).
• Iit has all five energy descriptors (unlike, say, the prismatic/rainbow spells which can inflict multiple types of damage).
• It isn't an area affect spell, it just hits like it had a 15 foot radius (similar to chain lightning, but with no limit on the number of targets that can be hit).
• It allows a Reflex save for half damage, and has to beat Spell Resistance.
• It doesn't cap out until 20th level.

One thing a mage will encounter with Energy Spheres is that it takes you on a real rollercaster ride due to the way the damage scales. Although it could just as easily have been designed so that a sphere inflicts 1 point of damage per level, the designers went with 5 per five levels instead. This means it's a great spell at 10th level, a so-so one at 13th, and then becomes pretty fair again at 15th (particularly compared to any other 4th-level blast you'd be packing at that level).

Another rollercoaster factor to consider is that of foes with multiple energy resistances. Energy Spheres is a lot more useful against the goblins, giants, and dragons in Red Hand of Doom than it is against the fiends in Expedition to the Demonweb Pits.

Then there's the issue of figuring out how to improve it. The base damage total (from all spheres before SR, saves, and resistances) comes out to 5 damage/level, which is ahead of the average damage produced by a 1d6/level direct-damage spell (or even a 1d8/level). However, the typical bread-n'-butter metamagic feats for blasting spells don't apply to Energy Spheres. Empower and Maximize Spell won't improved fixed damage. It doesn't affect an area either, so its scope can't be improved with Sculpt Spell, Widen Spell, or Explosive Spell.

I think the key to milking Energy Spheres is simply getting caster level boosts wherever you can find them. This is facilitated by the spell having so many descriptors, which makes reserve feats a real boon. If you have Fiery Burst, Storm Bolt, and Clap of Thunder, then that's +3 bonus. The effect is reciprocol as well; one Energy Spheres is all you need to keep all them functioning.

Currently, I have an evoker 3/master specialist 5. He's got Fiery Burst, and at 9th level, he'll get a caster level bonus from the Master Specialist's 6th-level class feature. He also uses the evoker alternative class feature from Unearthed Arcana that trades off a familiar for a +1 caster level with one type of energy spell. If I snag Arcane Thesis as my 9th-level bonus feat, I'll have a nice cushy +5. That means at 10th level, the spheres will smack for 15 points each instead of just 10. That's 75 damage before Reflex saves and resistances are applied, and remember a single casting pretty much lasts an entire battle.

So, any thoughts? How does it rate against other 4th-level direct-damage spells?

 

[Plane Sailing]

Hi Felon,

I'm not clear from your description - do the energy balls get *expended* when they attack someone, or do they last for the full 1/r per level doing their zappy thing every round you direct them unless they've absorbed their defensive potential?

 

[Thanee]

Hi Felon,

I'm not clear from your description - do the energy balls get *expended* when they attack someone, or do they last for the full 1/r per level doing their zappy thing every round you direct them unless they've absorbed their defensive potential?

Tirumael's Energy Spheres (stupid Spell Compendium doesn't even have the full name ) last for the entire duration and you are allowed to zap one or more targets (splitting the spheres up between targets) with them every round.

However, the secondary effect of the spell, when the spheres are used to protect against elemental damage, expends the spheres and they dissipate afterwards.


As for the spell itself... its a very powerful single target damage spell (the multiple targets option is not really useful), and great to preserve some firepower, since you only need to cast one spell for multiple rounds of 'fun'. One of my prefered damage spells since several years.

Area effects deal more damage overall, though. It's just different in application.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Felon]

Tirumael's Energy Spheres As for the spell itself... its a very powerful single target damage spell (the multiple targets option is not really useful), and great to preserve some firepower, since you only need to cast one spell for multiple rounds of 'fun'. One of my prefered damage spells since several years.

Hmm. I had a different interpretation than this.

The descriptive text says "on your turn as a standard action you can direct one or more spheres to strike a creature or creatures in range, no two of which are more than 30 feet apart. Each sphere deals 5 points of energy damage per five caster levels (maximum 20 points of damage) to a single creature..."

I didn't interpret that as saying that a sphere may only damage a single target. I read that as saying that each sphere could strike multiple creatures, and the line about how much damage a single orb can deal to a single creature is the simplest way of explaining how much any given creature takes. Now you've got me thinking it's a lot weaker.

 

[Thanee]

Nah, if it would have worked like that, it would have been a psionic power.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Felon]

So, can anyone think of any good metamagic feats that would improve energy spheres?

 

[griff_goodbeard]

Maybe Enervating Spell? Depending on the text of the spell, that could be quite a few negative levels.

 

[Shayuri]

I wonder if Twin Spell would cast Energy Spells on you twice...giving you twice as many spheres... At level 20, that's 200 potential points of damage out of an 8th level spell slot. 40 points of protection against each element...which is admittedly not MUCH at level 20, but nice for an effect that shields against everything at once. It could save your bacon in conjunction with a Protection from Energy and a good save.

I'd also suggest feats like Energy Admixture, Lord of Uttercold, and Born of Seven Thunders (or whatever that sonic/electrical one from Complete Arcane is...). Energy Admixture would double the damage of one of the spheres...which isn't as good as Twin, but hey. The other two give one or more spheres (7 thunders would affect both the lightning AND sonic spheres) two energy types, which can help with resistances.

Repeat spell, perhaps. Casts it again one round later. Cheaper version of Twin Spell if the target is you. And if the two castings "stack."

 

[Felon]

Yeah, Repeat and Twin both should work.

So, I now have to figure out if you can actually use the spheres in the round you create them. It's a standard action to cast, and a standard action to make them attack, so it sounds like you can't.

 

[dirkformica]

Yer gonna need a Quicken-like effect in there, or an extra standard action such as from that Belt o' Battle thing from MIC, or Choker form or something.