Cabral said:
2. I did also want to restrict extend spell. I could always say in the description that the duration of this spell cannot be extended.
Why restrict extend spell? If it's balanced at one round at whatever level you pin it at, it should be balanced at two rounds one level higher. If you leave it at third level, that's the difference between giving up a fireball and giving up a dimension door. If you put it at 6th level, it's the difference between giving up a chain lightning or giving up an empowered cone of cold/delayed blast fireball. Two rounds is good, but if one round doesn't break the game, two rounds won't either--not even if it lets you get off three whirling blades (one quickened) or two full attacks and a quickened whirling blade.
Extend spell would screw with balancing it via a move action casting time, but that's a hurdle that is created by the move action casting time and is not unique to this spell. (You might add a text into Extend Spell that says it's +2 caster levels for move action spells instead of +1 caster level).
3. Mage Armor and Shield, as well as bracers of armor. It's not too uncommon versus NPCs. Versus monsters it is fairly rare.
I don't know. Mages and monks will often have mage armor or bracers of armor. For most everyone else, it's a waste. (I know my fighter/mage would regularly cast mage armor on all of his companions at the end of each day using pearls of power, but that is different in two ways: first, the pearls' daily uses were going to waste anyway, and second, I only started doing that at level 15-18. Before that, even first level slots were too scarce to waste on the odd chance that we might face incorporeal touch attacks. NPCs who don't regularly travel in a small and balanced party probably won't have the same priorities.
So, I guess it would depend on how many mages and monks you fight. IME, that's not a whole lot.
4. I wanted to tie it to True Strike. I thought about making it a crystal target that costs x gold
Other than the functionality though, I don't see any tie to true strike. It's a bit like lightning bolt and fireball--they're both third level evocations that blow stuff up, but that doesn't mean you'll want to make sulphur a component for lightning bolt.
btw, in my impletation of it, since I'm going for a unification of spell points and psionics, the spell will probably look more like:
Casting time: 1 move action
Augment: +6 spell points, cast as a swift action
Not too bad. There's a world of difference between a swift action spell and a move action spell (in this case, that difference is spelled "full round attack with Power Attack"). So, converting it to a normal D&D magic system, that would be a 3rd level spell as written for the move action version and a 6th level spell for the swift action version. (It would also be a "don't bother with Quicken Spell; find another feat to use" sign).
It would still be a little low level in some applications and creating the "move action" casting time would raise a few questions of its own (for instance, does it count as a normal spell, a swift spell, or neither for the purpose of whether you can cast spells--can I cast the move action ghost strike, a standard action whirling blade, and a quickened whirling blade? Can I cast the move action ghost strike, attack, and cast a quickened whirling blade? (if it counts as the standard action spell) Or can I cast the move action ghost strike and then cast a standard action spell but not follow that up with a swift spell? (if it counts as a swift spell).
