Gloves of Blood Casting

[TheLe]

Here's a little baby I wrote last night for my new book 17 Magic Gloves. Once again, sorry I do not have a market cost / creation cost (I hire someone else to do that after the writing is complete)


Gloves of Blood Casting
These gloves are always dark red in color, and warm to the touch. If the wearer of these gloves is an Arcane or Divine spellcaster, he will realize that he can channel his own life force through the gloves to enhance his own spells. If the wearer casts a spell that deals damage, he can sacrifice his own hit points to increase the spell’s damage. For each 5 points of life he sacrifices this way, the spell deals an additional 1d6 points of damage. This damage type is the same as the spell’s damage type, and he must use this ability before casting the spell. The wearer cannot use this ability to take his current hit points to below 1.

GM’s option: The wearer may only use this ability once per 3 rounds.


hooah!

Thoughts?

~Le

 

[Wystan]

A very big price at lower level and a very low price at higher levels....

I would change the hitpoint loss to a percent of the max damage rolled on the spell when this is used. So 1d4 per die of damage? (so a 4d6 fireball infused with 4 extra d6 would do 8d6 to target and 8d4 to caster?)

Or even better 1d4 temp con damage? (per die added, not per total die, so the above fireball would be 4d4 con damage) Or just a straight 2con Damage per die added. (ex. 8 for the above fireball)
(make it special so that all damage heals overnight)

 

[yennico]

If the wearer casts a spell that deals damage, he can sacrifice his own hit points to increase the spell’s damage. For each 5 points of life he sacrifices this way, the spell deals an additional 1d6 points of damage.

Can this ability be used with a maximized spell, so the wearer get a bonus of +6xY points of damage?
Can this ability be used to increase the damage of a spell beyond it´s maximum damage e.g. for a fireball beyond 10d6?

GM’s option: The wearer may only use this ability once per 3 rounds.

Normal fights last longer than 3 rounds so the wearer can use the glove more than once in this fight.

I dislike the ability because clerics can increase their spell and cast healing spells on themselves in their next turn.

 

[Bront]

Can this ability be used with a maximized spell, so the wearer get a bonus of +6xY points of damage?
Can this ability be used to increase the damage of a spell beyond it´s maximum damage e.g. for a fireball beyond 10d6?

Normal fights last longer than 3 rounds so the wearer can use the glove more than once in this fight.

I dislike the ability because clerics can increase their spell and cast healing spells on themselves in their next turn.

I would say as read, no. The gloves work and add 1d6 no matter what. So it could be 1d6 extra damage to a magic missile, or a fireball, or a ray of searing light, and any metamagic is applied before the additional 1d6.

Some fights do, some fights don't, but the point is they can't use it EVERY round.

If a cleric has to heal himself the next turn, it's a disadvantage because it wastes one of his actions.

I think it's pretty severe cost at any level compaired to what you gain, though you do hit multiple targets with some spells. I might suggest that instead it allows a wearer to recall and cast an offensive spell you cast earlier durring the combat at a cost of 5 HP per spell level, usable 3 times per day. So instead of boosing your fireball by 3d6, you get a second one for 15 hp, but only if you cast it durring that encounter. And if you're talking arcanist, that's still a stiff penalty. Average arcanist has 2.5 hp per level, so you're sacrificing 2 levels worth of hp to cast one spell (per spell level). It becomes almost a 1/1 for divine casters (4.5 average hp per level), but their offensive spells tend to be less exciting, so it's a fair trade off.

 

[TheLe]

Thanks for all the comments. I actually have a second pair of Gloves already that allows you to recast a spell in the same encounter.

As for the Gloves of Blood Casting, I realize that spellcasters have a low hit die. When I wrote it, I was more envisioning it to be used with Fighter/Mage multi-classes.

Spellcasters have plenty of other ways to boost their spells. I wanted to give a little love to the multi classers.

And yes, it is open for abuse, to cast one round and heal the next. But is that really the best use of your actions?

That is also why I threw in the GM's option. I like giving GMs some say in how a magic item can work or not work.

~Le

 

[yennico]

I would say as read, no. The gloves work and add 1d6 no matter what. So it could be 1d6 extra damage to a magic missile, or a fireball, or a ray of searing light, and any metamagic is applied before the additional 1d6.

To avoid confusion Thele can write this in the description.

If a cleric has to heal himself the next turn, it's a disadvantage because it wastes one of his actions.

That is true.

I think it's pretty severe cost at any level compaired to what you gain, though you do hit multiple targets with some spells.

I agree with Bront.
For an increase of 1d6 damage to a fireball spell a wizard normally needs to advance a level in which he gains 2.5 hps. Perhaps you consider different costs for arcane and divine spells.

A proposal:
A wizard has to pay 2 Hps for each +1d6 damage if the spell targets only one potential target.
The cost for +1d6 damage is increased by an additional 2 HPs for each potential target beyond the first target e.g a spell targeting four potential targets and an damage increasement by +2d6 costs (2+3x2)x2=16 hps.

The cost for +1d6 damage of a divne spell can be 5 Hps.

I might suggest that instead it allows a wearer to recall and cast an offensive spell you cast earlier durring the combat at a cost of 5 HP per spell level, usable 3 times per day.
So instead of boosing your fireball by 3d6, you get a second one for 15 hp, but only if you cast it durring that encounter.

Then the glove is similar to a pearl of power.
I dislike the limit of "cast earlier during the combat". 1st round of a combat: wizard casts a spell.
2nd round the wizard can only recall the spell casted in the first round.
3rd round or any further if he does not recalled a spell in the second round and cast a spell the wizard can now choose to recall one of the these two casted spells.
I would limit the ability to recall a spell to the recalled spell must be cast that day.

 

[Bront]

To avoid confusion Thele can write this in the description.

There's a reason I don't publish my own PDFs (And not just from lack of material)

Edit: or perhaps it's because I misread what you said too (doh)

 

[Bront]

Thanks for all the comments. I actually have a second pair of Gloves already that allows you to recast a spell in the same encounter.

As for the Gloves of Blood Casting, I realize that spellcasters have a low hit die. When I wrote it, I was more envisioning it to be used with Fighter/Mage multi-classes.

Spellcasters have plenty of other ways to boost their spells. I wanted to give a little love to the multi classers.

And yes, it is open for abuse, to cast one round and heal the next. But is that really the best use of your actions?

That is also why I threw in the GM's option. I like giving GMs some say in how a magic item can work or not work.

~Le

I didn't think about the multi-class angle. Interesting idea. I like it.

You might want to lower the cost by 1 point though, so it's slightly above average on the D6. Also, word it so that the damage is applied after all other metamagic effects (so it's not maximized, or enhanced).

The GM's option is good, but not likely to be used, since a player sacrificing HP to increase damage is fairly balanced, given the number's we're talking about.