Dragonlance Does Black Robe Life Channel work with Wratful Smite and Searing Smite?

[Redwizard007]

I am not saying you can damage someone for free every round but I think you can use it every time someone fails a save and spend the hit dice to get damage. I think you can use it more than once on a single creature if it fails a save more than once. I also think if you use it with fireball you need to spend hit dice for everyone you want to target with Life Channel, since it targets "a creature". So if you fireball a bunch you can Life Channel multiple creatures that did not save but you spend hit dice on each one of them individually. It does not add damage to the fireball itself, it adds damage to a single creature based on the hit dice you spend against that creature.

I think that is RAI.

I am not as sure that Wrathful Smite or Searing Smite are RAI uses.

I get where you are coming from, and it's a perfectly logical interpretation. It's just not the same interpretation I'm coming to. If we assume that your rulling is correct, the game isn't broken, and I wouldn't have a problem running it that way as long as the whole table is in agreement, but it rubs me the wrong way and gives casters another leg up over martials that they don't really need. Still, the cost could be a MFer in games where the squishies get targeted regularly, and that could prove an interesting cost/benefit calculation.

 

[Stormonu]

I would rule no. Life channel takes effect when you cast a spell, on the subsequent rounds the Searing Smite has already been cast, and isn't being cast again, its effects are just continuing.

Otherwise, this opens a whole can of worms, Witch Bolt included.

 

[ECMO3]

I get where you are coming from, and it's a perfectly logical interpretation. It's just not the same interpretation I'm coming to. If we assume that your rulling is correct, the game isn't broken, and I wouldn't have a problem running it that way as long as the whole table is in agreement, but it rubs me the wrong way and gives casters another leg up over martials that they don't really need. Still, the cost could be a MFer in games where the squishies get targeted regularly, and that could prove an interesting cost/benefit calculation.

I don't think it really favors casters because the casters have smaller hit dice, so that is less damage to deal out over the course of a day. I think it actually favors martials that also have damaging spells with saves.

The 4th level Paladin build I am working on (or any 4th level martial with the feat and at least one 1st level spell slot) will be able to deal 4d10 (22) extra damage a day, while a Wizard will only deal 4d6 (14).

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

I don't think it really favors casters because the casters have smaller hit dice, so that is less damage to deal out over the course of a day. I think it actually favors martials that also have damaging spells with saves.

The 4th level Paladin build I am working on (or any 4th level martial with the feat and at least one 1st level spell slot) will be able to deal 4d10 (22) extra damage a day, while a Wizard will only deal 4d6 (14).

If they can cast a spell, then they are a caster

 

[ECMO3]

I would rule no. Life channel takes effect when you cast a spell, on the subsequent rounds the Searing Smite has already been cast, and isn't being cast again, its effects are just continuing.

Otherwise, this opens a whole can of worms, Witch Bolt included.

The trigger is the save, so there is no Witch Bolt can of worms because there is no saving throw on Witch Bolt. Witch Bolt is an attack roll and the damage after the first attack is automatic. This absolutely would not work with Witchbolt at all.

Wrathful smite has a save when you hit with a melee attack, which is usually the same turn you cast it. But future rounds are checks, not saves so it would only work once on Wrathful Smite.

With Searing Smite the guy would keep repeating the save every round until he made it though.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Why? It is very underpowered as a feat if that is the case. Uses are limited by your hit dice and I think it is a nice boost to lingering damage effects.

It's free!

And the additional spell (with a free cast) might be meh for a wizard, but for sorcerers, warlocks, EKs and the like it's pretty good.

Wither and Bloom and Tasha's Mind Whip* look like the strongest choices for black robes.


*Should proably just call it Mind Whip since Tasha isn't in Dragonlance.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I hear the Towers of High Sorcery are not admitting paladins. Problem solved.

The queue for the Solamnic Knights is over there =>

 

[ECMO3]

It's free!

And the additional spell (with a free cast) might be meh for a wizard, but for sorcerers, warlocks, EKs and the like it's pretty good.

Wither and Bloom and Tasha's Mind Whip* look like the strongest choices for black robes.

It is not free to use, you need to spend hit dice on it, so it is extremely limited how much extra damage you pass out over the course of a day, especially on a Wizard or Sorc with small hit dice.

Of course the feat is free, maybe that is what you meant?

The spell is nice, but other feats that give you a 2nd level spell also give a 1st level spell and a half ASI. There is no half ASI.

I actually think the feat itself and the free spell are best for clerics. It lets them dip into the Wizard spell table and their d8 hit dice are going to outpower the Wizards and Sorcerers. I think it is going to work well on my Paladin too and he is going to need the free cast to have

Strixhaven won't be permitted at the table I am playing on so it will be Tasha's Mind Whip.

For my Paladin I am going to get Hex and Dissonant Whispers at 1st level, pick up mind whip at 4th along with Cause Fear from Shadow Touched and boosting Charisma to 18.

I will have Dissonant Whispers, Mind Whip and the aforementioned smites to use it with LC (if my DM allows it).

One thing about the feat is it appears to be limited by the spell level, not the slot level so upcasting something like DW would not let you use 2 or more hit dice. This makes it a little tougher to use for multiclass characters I think.

 

[Weiley31]

Here comes da Divine Smiting Black Robed Paladins!

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Wither and Bloom

I thought hexblade/paladen was broken before... but a wither and bloom black robe mixed with it... my god