Homebrewed Spell: True Critical

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

I'm still thinking about this one. The concern about dipping into an arcane class for a single level to get this spell is interesting. Definitely a concern.
I'm wondering if the limited spells per day an arcane dipper would have would balance this out? Especially since True Critical doesn't guarantee getting the critical in the first place.

I like the swift action to cast, even in the middle of an attack that's a critical threat. Very nice.

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Colour me slightly unhappy about the possibilities for abuse. I'm wondering about how it would combine with anything that automatically threatens a critical.

I'm not to familiar with things that automatically threaten a critical. Any examples?

Or how it would combine with high-level spells.

Unknown. I haven't played higher level 3.5. Nothing beyond 12th level. And, that was only a one shot that proved I wasn't ready to DM high level 3.5. It's a lot different than AD&D.

Putting the spell at L2 will prevent dipping to get it. Think of a Paladin who dips into Sorceror to get True Strike and how much worse it would be if said Paladin got this True Critical as well all for a 1-level dip.

True. Though, I'm thinking that the balancing factor might be the limited castings a one level arcane dipper would have. I could be wrong, though.

Further, unlike True Strike, this can be cast as a buffing spell pre-combat.

Interesting. That sounds like a definite argument for reducing the duration down to 1 round per level.

Remember too that True Strike doesn't really come into its own until 9th level when it can be Quickened.

Perhaps, that's a reason that this spell's casting time shouldn't be 1 swift action...

I'm thinking that I'm needing to revise the spell much more. I'm thinking of keeping it at second level (or even third level) and and combining it with the effects of true strike. In other words, True Critical would work pretty much exactly like True Strike, but would give a +20 bonus to the critical confirmation roll, too. So, it would have to be higher level than True Strike.

Any thougthts?

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Seems rather weak for a second level spell - could be fine for a first level, but even then it's rather more situational than True Strike.

Interesting.

True Strike applies to any attack. It only lasts for one round, but it's not hard to make an attack during that round. Note that it also applies to the critical confirmation, if that one hit happens to be a critical threat.

OK. That rules out making it function exactly like True Strike, but with +20 on the confirmation roll. No reason to do that if True Strike already does that. Thanks.

So just to match that, the chances of getting a critical threat during this spell's duration should be as likely as making any attack during True Strike's duration. For that purpose, a minute per level should work fine.

However, since it requires you to hit the enemy in the first place, you can't effectively use it against extremely hard to hit foes, and of course, it doesn't work on anything immune to critical hits.

So I'd go with the following:
Level 1
Swift action to cast (can be cast in response to a critical threat), gives +20 to confirm.

Hmmm... I'm not sure about the swift action to cast. I need to think about it, some more.

Thank you!

 

[Quartz]

I've been thinking about this and wonder if there isn't a simpler solution: if you want the spell to be first level, simply have the spell last 1 round and have the attack automatically threaten a critical? Following the example of True Strike, it should have the same casting time. At 9th level, it can be Quickened, and at 21st level, it - when Quickened - can be combined with a Quickened True Strike and an attack spell when the epic mage takes Multispell.

 

[White Whale]

So I'd go with the following:
Level 1
Swift action to cast (can be cast in response to a critical threat), gives +20 to confirm.

Imo, this is the way the spell should work.

The duration 1 round/lvl makes it a lousy 1st level spell.
The duration 1 min/lvl opens for pre-fight buff abuse.

 

[Nifft]

1st level spells shouldn't give that much functionality as a Swift action. Why? Because Swift action spells don't suffer from Arcane Spell Failure, and that means they're too good for dippers.

As a 2nd level Swift spell, it's not subject to dipping abuse.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Nifft]

Pesky double-posting.

 

[Quartz]

1st level spells shouldn't give that much functionality as a Swift action. Why? Because Swift action spells don't suffer from Arcane Spell Failure, and that means they're too good for dippers.

Ooh! I hadn't spotted that little rule. That actually makes a 1 level dip into Sorceror actually useful for many fighters to take Feather Fall.

Hmmm.... does that mean that Quickenned spells aren't subject to ASF either?

 

[Nifft]

Ooh! I hadn't spotted that little rule. That actually makes a 1 level dip into Sorceror actually useful for many fighters to take Feather Fall.

Feather Fall and also True Strike. Those are the two best spells for the classic Paladin 9 / Sorcerer 1 / Dragon Disciple 10, who loves his Fullplate.

Hmmm.... does that mean that Quickenned spells aren't subject to ASF either?

Maybe... but if you're casting Quickened spells, you did more than just dip. The only thing I can find quickly in the SRD is that Quickened spells don't provoke AoOs.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Quartz]

Maybe... but if you're casting Quickened spells, you did more than just dip.

Or have a Metamagic Rod.