ECL for Spell fire in FR

[EOL]

If someone wants to play a spellfire weilder with the eventual goal of getting into the prestige class, how many equivilant character levels should I add. It seems obvious that giving someone the ability to absorb spells and then fire them back at people would be worth something. Of course since the ability is largely dependant on how many spells get cast at the character I'm thinking that maybe it should only be +1 ECL, has anyone run a campaign where one of the PC's had access to spell fire?

 

[The Sigil]

...

Don't have the FRCS/MOF book in front of me, and not a huge fan of the Realms, but...

IIRC, the ability to wield Spellfire is a Feat.

Therefore, a character who wields spellfire burns a Feat on it.

No ECL because of the way in which it is done (Feat granting extra abilities is structured within class advancement and does not require ECL).

--The Sigil

 

[Shard O'Glase]

well since its a feat, I'm not sure by the rules any ECL is appropriate. Personally, I think its mad over powered for a feat, since every other feat I know of gives a lot less. So yeah an ECL of +1 would work for me, its not as good as being drow, but its better than any other feat.

 

[Crothian]

It is better then any other feat. That's why it specifically says get DM permission to take it. If you feel that a character with this feat needs an ECL give him +1. But that would be a Rule Zero.

 

[EOL]

I realize this strays over to house rules, but would it help balance it, if a cap was put on the amount of spell fire levels that could be used. Right now if someone has an 18 con and maxes out their spellfire storage they could unleash an 18d6 attack at first level. What if instead it was limited to twice a characters level. At that point the most a 1st level character could do would be 2d6 and when you consider what it takes to store a spellfire level that's not bad at all.

I'm at work and so I'm going from memory is the feat in the FRCS or the Magic of Fearun?

 

[Shard O'Glase]

feats in magic of faeron. In the long haul I'd worry more about the healing power than the offensive power of this feat. Both can be absurdly wicked at low levels, and at medium to high levels provide for a feat an incredible punch. I've seen rules for max once a character level, basic theory, spell fire wielder from a feat shouldn't be able to dish out more damage in a blast than a mage in the same party could with a spell, and virtually all damage spells of a wizard are d6 per level.

I doubt this feat will make an appearence in any game I run so I don't envy you your decisions, but heck if any DM I play with wants to allow it I'll be sure to take and break it.

 

[perivas]

Well, spellfire is only really usable when abused in a game. I play a character with spellfire who keeps it a secret...even from his own party (after all, it is the means by which he escaped his imprisonment by the Red Wizards and its secrecy helps keep him alive). As such he's unable to charge up the ability outside of combat. To be honest, I've only ever absorbed one spell, as you basically have to do nothing for a round and be cast at simultaneously. Overall, if your player is not going to be charged up by the fellow players, it's a pretty useless feat. If he is being charged up by the fellow players with unused spells, then it's way too powerful to be allowed into the game, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Jeremy]

Yeah, I wanted to stress that too... Unlike the books or the theory, in 3e in order to absorb anything you have to stand there while someone targets you (not an area, has to be you specifically) and ready an action to absorb a spell.

If he casts at someone else? Wasted your turn. If he casts an area spell? Wasted your turn. If he buffs himself? Wasted your turn. If he does anything other than cast a targeted spell specifically at you...

Well, you get the point.

When it gets really bad is when the spellfire wielder comes out in the open and says, "Hey cleric buddy... You got any juice left? Lemme absorb it before you go to bed." Then goes around blasting people like he was a super hero (ooooo, MAN that makes me wanna play one).

'Cause as soon as his ability gets out, all the creepy scientist mages are going to come outta the woodwork and all the well funded countries that need just a little edge in power for whatever they are doing that they shouldn't be with taxpayer money, and they're all gonna come for him in the night. And none of them are going to be dumb enough to try and capture him by casting targeted spells at him.

Adventuring parties make enough enemies without having a "trouble-magnet". Makes for fun RP though.

Nothing's unbalanced unless the DM can't handle it. If the DM can make his job fun, and make the players have fun, who cares if the guy would blow Tordek's head off? One really good deepwood sniper and he's meat just like everyone else.

 

[EOL]

Yeah I can see your point about it all being in how the feat is played. I'm already leaning towards making it so that spellfire levels dissapate every night, because there is some minimum level of concentration required to hold on to them. This also means that they are lost if the character ever goes unconsious. That way if the character is "out" then you don't have this situation where every unused spell gets absorbed by him every night.

So what do you think about the Spellfire PrC? I get the feeling that it's kind of underpowered. Because I just don't see the character having more than around 30 stored levels which give him a half hour of flight, 3 10d6 attacks, 60 points of healing, or three rounds of the crown of fire, all this and he's given up 10 levels of spellcasting?

 

[kreynolds]

Yeah, I wanted to stress that too... Unlike the books or the theory, in 3e in order to absorb anything you have to stand there while someone targets you (not an area, has to be you specifically) and ready an action to absorb a spell.

Not if you have Reactive Counterspell. Your absorbing the spell is automatic. Granted, your actions for the following round are burned up, but, at least you don't have to ready and you can choose to counterspell even when it's not your turn.