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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cheiromancer" data-source="post: 3121678" data-attributes="member: 141">For Enhanced I'd make it do double damage; allow the (usually illicit) double-empower factor into an epic spell.  A flat bonus is odd since the base damage might be anything from a few d6s (for a wall of fire or some kind of exotic fire shield) or 40d6 (for a disintegrate based effect).  A fixed multiplier would be better.I didn't employ that chain of reasoning in determining that value, so I'm gratified that there is another route to the same conclusion.  Note that this +6 internal seed factor requires that there be an associated area; e.g. +4 for a 20-ft.-radius sphere.  Off-hand I can't think of any spells that don't require the targets to be grouped somehow.  For one or two targets it is better to use the +4 factor derived from Split Ray.BTW, the geometry of "no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart" tends to duplicate a 20-ft.-radius sphere; consider an equilateral triangle whose sides are 30 ft. long, inscribed in a circle.  IIRC the radius of that circle is 17.32 ft., close enough to 20 ft. as to make no difference.Another passing thought; I notice that we allow all kinds of factors in spell design that are based on metamagic feats, but that we aren't requiring spellcasters to actually know those feats.  I'm not suggesting that we add prerequisites to particular factors; (although in some cases that might be a good idea- like quicken, for example) rather, maybe some feats should be turned into "techniques" that any spellcaster with enough ranks in Spellcraft would know.  I'm thinking especially of obscure feats like Rapid Spell (Complete Divine).  If casters are free to increase and decrease the casting time of an epic spell they should certainly be able to duplicate this feat.  Other techniques would be fiddling with range and duration.But if a spellcaster with 15 ranks in Spellcraft (or whatever) can apply Extend Spell to any spell, perhaps a character who already has that feat could get an additional benefit; increasing the duration category by one step (to a maximum of hours/level).  I think that would be cool. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  Mind you, I'm always on the look-out for ways of getting an all-day buff.****I have a dilemma with the enervation/energy drain suite (is two spells enough to make a suite?) Namely I have a formula for a medium range energy drain kind of spell; SP = 9 + (3 * levels drained).  The base seed would do 5 levels (same as the average from energy drain) and at SP 54 they can do 15.  This progression is intended to parallel what a conventional caster can do with Metamagic Freedom and all the AMC feats he can muster.  The exact formula isn't important; what is important is what happens to a target who gets hit by them.  As I understand it, it will strip away all the highest level spell slots- can you think of a rationale why that would not be the epic slots that get emptied?  Normally I'd say that an epic level character would have a reliable deathward protection.  But I'm wary of absolutes; should an epic energy drain allow an opposed caster level check to see if the death ward is momentarily suppressed?It seems like it would ruin the fun in a high level encounter; the caster with the highest initiative would effectively disarm his spellcasting foe.  I think it would be best if a) epic spell slots were *not* stripped first (for whatever reason the 9th and 8th level slots get stripped first), and b) an opposed caster level check *is* allowed vs epic spells.  Though this nerfs conventional casters; the 33rd level character (with MF and 8 AMC slots) can cast a quadruply empowered energy drain that drains 6-24 levels from an unprotected opponent that would virtually never work (unless preceded by some kind of hefty dispel.)  But his jacobean counterpart would be guaranteed to strip away 5 or more top level spells (SP 24 + 10 for improved caster level check- that's without any AMC boosts.  Heck, it's with a spell that he hadn't updated for 2 levels.)What do you think?</blockquote>

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