Help Designing a 9th level Bubble of Force?

[Cedric]

My character is a highly customized level 21 sorcerer (caster level 20) who specializes in Force Spells and Force Missiles.

The obvious choice for my third 9th level spell is Maw of Chaos (to go with Time Stop and Wish - which both makes oodles of sense for my character...).

However, rather than do the obvious, I would like to create a customer spell - something akin to a Wall of Force, only make it a Bubble of Force (sort of like the power from a Cube of Force).

I'm toying with the idea of ...

Immediate Action, 1 round/2 levels, not automatically destroyed by Disintegrate, but Disintegrate does get a Dispel Magic Chance to knock it down...

Thoughts?

Oh, and for what it's worth, our spells are largely closer to 3.0 than 3.5, and this is definitely a High Magic game.

Thank you! (Oh, also, I wasn't sure if I needed to put this in Homebrew or here, so if I need to move it, just let me know).

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I'm toying with the idea of ...

Immediate Action, 1 round/2 levels, not automatically destroyed by Disintegrate, but Disintegrate does get a Dispel Magic Chance to knock it down...

Thoughts?

Oh, and for what it's worth, our spells are largely closer to 3.0 than 3.5, and this is definitely a High Magic game.

Thank you! (Oh, also, I wasn't sure if I needed to put this in Homebrew or here, so if I need to move it, just let me know).

If you have access to Arcana Evolved/Unearthed, I would steal the Eldritch Sphere spell. Admittedly it's lower level but it works pretty well.

The spell that you're using would block line of effect for a lot of spells, so your spell attack options would be limited. Is that what you want? (A wizard cannot hurl a Lightning Bolt or throw a Fireball through their own sphere. Even a Magic Missile should be blocked, if the wall blocks all available paths.)

The spell should be transparent, like a Wall of Force.

The spell should have hit points, unlike a Wall of Force, and could be broken down. Eventually. I wouldn't give it hardness like the Pathfinder variant, but I would certainly give it lots of hit points.

Because it's a 9th-level spell, the sphere should not just move with you, but let you fly, much like Telekinetic Sphere (but better, as Telekinetic Sphere is only 8th-level). Okay, I'm channeling the comic book version of Magneto.

 

[Cedric]

Unfortunately, those are two books I don't have, and I'm not familiar with Eldritch Sphere.

What I was thinking was...

Immediate Action to cast.

1 round / 2 (or 3) levels duration.

Disintegrate gets a dispel check - rod of cancellation, rod of negation, or sphere of annihilation automatically take it down.

Can cast spells out of it with the [Force] descriptor, but each spell you cast reduces the duration by 1 round.

Is that too much?

Edit: Oh, and Personal only...

 

[Cedric]

Here's what I'm thinking...

Quarterling’s Quick Impediment
Evocation [Force]
Level Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 Immediate Action
Range: 10’
Target: 10’ Radius Spherical Emanation, Centered on You
Duration: 1 round/2 level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Creates a translucent bubble of force which is immune to damage of all kinds, and is unaffected by most spells, including Dispel Magic.

A Rod of Cancellation, Rod of Negation, Sphere of Annihilation, or Mordenkainen’s Disjunction spell cancels it immediately. A Disintegrate gets a Greater Dispel Magic Check -4 to destroy it.

Only spells with the [Force] descriptor may be cast out of the bubble, at the cost of 1 round of duration per spell.

As a Swift Action, the bubble can be dismissed into two Magic Missiles per round of duration remaining. The missiles dissipate into thin air without striking any targets.

As a Standard Action, the bubble can be dismissed into two Magic Missiles per round of duration remaining. The missiles act entirely as the Magic Missile spell, striking one or more targets within range.

 

[Greenfield]

The "Greater Dispel -4" check seems wrong. A 9th level spell requires a 17th level caster minimum. So a Dispel has exactly zero chance of taking down the weakest version (you'd need to roll a 21), even if the spell was allowed.

I'd lose the -4.

There's a Psionic power that creates a force bubble. Coupled with the feat called "Burrowing" (I believe) it becomes an impenitrable fortress.

Let's look at the spell itself. You want something like Telekinetic Sphere, as an Immediate Action cast, that you don't have to concentrate on, can cast out of, and which can't be taken down by the most commonForce Effect breaker: Disintegrate.

Simply Quickening the Telekinetic Sphere (which isn't quite as nice as Immediate Action, but in the neighborhood) would make it 12th level, i.e. Epic.

It seems like maybe you're asking for too much, right off the bat.

 

[Cedric]

The "Greater Dispel -4" check seems wrong. A 9th level spell requires a 17th level caster minimum. So a Dispel has exactly zero chance of taking down the weakest version (you'd need to roll a 21), even if the spell was allowed.

I'd lose the -4.

There's a Psionic power that creates a force bubble. Coupled with the feat called "Burrowing" (I believe) it becomes an impenitrable fortress.

Let's look at the spell itself. You want something like Telekinetic Sphere, as an Immediate Action cast, that you don't have to concentrate on, can cast out of, and which can't be taken down by the most commonForce Effect breaker: Disintegrate.

Simply Quickening the Telekinetic Sphere (which isn't quite as nice as Immediate Action, but in the neighborhood) would make it 12th level, i.e. Epic.

It seems like maybe you're asking for too much, right off the bat.

First, regarding the dispel check. Wall of Force is a 5th level spell, so it makes sense that a Disintegrate, which is a 6th level spell, would take it down. However, Disintegrate also takes down Forcecage which is a 7th level spell. And it can take down Crushing Hand, since it acts like Interposing Hand but doesn't say otherwise regarding vulnerability to Disintegrate. So it makes sense to just say that Disintegrate would take down this bubble immediately - no dispel check required.

As to it being like a Telekinetic Sphere - that's something you can cast on others, it only takes concentration to move it not sustain it, and it lasts for minutes/level. Considering my bubble is self-only, lasts for rounds/2 levels, and only allows you to cast Force spells out (which further reduce the duration)...I think that's reasonable.

But I'm fully prepared for people to tell me that I'm out of my mind...

 

[Dandu]

You are.

 

[Greenfield]

Well, the 8th level version is a movable cage, the proposed one is a fortress, nay, a tank, one that can be thrown up on the opponent's turn, in the middle of a potentially fatal attack, in fact.

That's an incredibly powerful tool right there.

The limit that it blocks all outgoing spells except force effects seems like a non-limitation for your force effect specialist Sorcerer.

The duration, 10 rounds at your level, is also not much of a limitation. In combat 10 rounds is the rest of your life, or the other guys'.

May I ask, why dismis it into Magic Missiles that don't hit anything? Seems like a smoke screen to cover the fact that it can not only be erected as an Immediate Action, it can be dismissed the same way.

Question: Somehow I got the idea that this was a spell that moved with you, or could even carry you. Is it movable? If so, does it limit your speed, the way a Cube of Force does?

 

[Cedric]

Well, the 8th level version is a movable cage, the proposed one is a fortress, nay, a tank, one that can be thrown up on the opponent's turn, in the middle of a potentially fatal attack, in fact.

That's an incredibly powerful tool right there.

The limit that it blocks all outgoing spells except force effects seems like a non-limitation for your force effect specialist Sorcerer.

The duration, 10 rounds at your level, is also not much of a limitation. In combat 10 rounds is the rest of your life, or the other guys'.

May I ask, why dismis it into Magic Missiles that don't hit anything? Seems like a smoke screen to cover the fact that it can not only be erected as an Immediate Action, it can be dismissed the same way.

Question: Somehow I got the idea that this was a spell that moved with you, or could even carry you. Is it movable? If so, does it limit your speed, the way a Cube of Force does?

I had designed it to move with me, but I hadn't considered the possibility of it slowing my movement. As to dismissing it into a cloud of useless magic missiles, I have a customer PrC ability that lets me keep a swarm of Magic Missiles in orbit around me, kind of like Lightning Ring - it acts as a Damage Shield and I can use a Swift Action to direct some basic missiles at a target or a Standard Action to direct some missiles pumped up by my PrC at a target.

I wanted it, thematically, to be something more substantial than just "let me hide behind this bubble for a little bit", but that doesn't mean I want it to be ludicrously OP.

Then again, I think Wings of Flurry is Ludicrously OP, but I've read numerous threads where people defend it.

But back to my bubble, what are some ways to water it down without losing the theme?

I could make it last 1D4+1 rounds, rolled by the GM - and still have Force spells cast out reduce the duration by one.

I could make it hamper movement as was suggested?

I'm open-minded to other ideas.

Keep in mind though, my Character is a 24th level Sorcerer in a mostly 3.0 game. We're still using 3.0 spell durations, damage caps, PrCs, etc. But we liberally borrow from 3.x and 3rd party sources.

This is a VERY high magic game.

 

[Dandu]

Idea:

Spell should be standard action to cast, target: personal, move with the caster, and last 1 round/level.

Perhaps it should be modeled after Force Cage - it can either be in a solid form, which cuts off LOE, or a permeable form, which grants a deflection bonus to AC, and possibly saves to avoid AOE attacks.

Give it the ability of Shield to absorb force projectiles such as Magic Missiles, even if it is in the permeable form.

Switching between the two can be a standard action.