Epic Feat Intensify Spell question

[SolitonMan]

I've generally only considered the effect of damage dice or summoning limits when using the intensify spell feat, but rereading it I'm wondering if it should increase duration too. So that, based on the text of the feat, in addition to causing twice the max damage, healing twice the max hit points, affecting twice the max number of targets, it would cause spells with a variable duration to last twice the max duration. Seems like it should, but I've never really thought about it, so I was wondering - does anyone have any experience with this aspect of the feat?

And for that matter, would it double a variable area? Like for Fire Storm, would it result in an effect over four ten-foot-cubes per level instead of two?

Seems like this feat might be much more powerful than I'd been giving it credit for. Thanks if you can help enlighten me!

 

[the Jester]

Well... yes, but not how you seem to think.

"1 round per level" or "two ten-foot cubes per level" aren't variable durations or areas of effect.

"1d6 rounds" or "1d4 5' cubes in range" are variable durations and areas of effect.

EDIT: Here's a fun one for 3.0: an intensified simulacrum.

 

[delericho]

The wording of the spell is the same as for Maximise Spell: all "variable, numeric" values are adjusted.

The 'variable' bits are anything involving a dice rolls: 5d6, 1d4+1, whatever. These are maximised and then doubled - 5d6 becomes 60 (5 x 6 x 2), 1d4+1 becomes 10 (((1 x 4) + 1) x 2).

Things like range (often expressed as "X + Y feet per level") or number of targets ("1 creature per level") wouldn't be affected, because these aren't variable in the same sense - Maximise Spell doesn't affect these, and so neither should Intensify Spell.

At least, that's how I think it works. Other interpretations are possible. And the major weakness of my interpretation is that it means Intensify Spell is really not worth it, especially if you combine Empower, Maximise, and Arcane Thesis.

 

[SolitonMan]

While I appreciate that interpretation - and have held it myself in the past - anything that changes based on level is variable. Mind Blank, for example, has a non-variable duration of 24 hours.

This whole train of thought kicked off for me because of the "affects twice the maximum number of targets" bit of the feat description. That's when I realized "variable" applies beyond just the randomly variable bits to the linearly variable ones. I'm just wondering what's considered an effect of a spell in relation to my original question about the area.

 

[eryndel]

I have to side with delericho and Jester here. In my perspective, Intensify Spell is essentially a souped up Maximized+Empowered spell. The wording of Maximize spell specifies "all variable, numeric effects..." as well as stating, "Saving Throws and opposed rolls are not affected, nor are spells without random variables" (emphasis mine). Same wording is in Empowered Spell as well. True, this last part is left out of the Intensify spell description, so a case could be made that the omission is intentional. In my perspective, clearly Maximize & Empower spell would not affect a spell whose only "variable-ness" is linear with level. I would rule the same would hold true for Intensify Spell and that the omission of wording wasn't intentional.

If it did get that additional perk above maximize/empower, I would think it would be clearly called out.

 

[delericho]

While I appreciate that interpretation - and have held it myself in the past - anything that changes based on level is variable.

The PHB would appear to disagree. Under "Empower Spell", it uses the same wording as Intensify Spell: half again as much damage, half again as many targets... It then gives the example of magic missile, and indicates that the damage (1d4+1) is multiplied by 1.5 for each missile but does not say that the number of missiles is increased.