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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 8720889" data-attributes="member: 907">I want single-target save spells that do significantly more damage than same-level AOE spells, or possibly a little more damage but have some neat debuff at the same time. If I'm using my limited high-level spells, I want the monsters to feel it.I tried using flaming sphere at the early levels, but quickly realized it was a waste of a spell. It would have been cool if the designer hadn't decided that repeatable 3d6 damage was too much, and put in the clause that it deals no damage on a successful save. If it hadn't had that bit, it would have been quite a neat little tool in the box, but as is it's useless.Your math is slightly off, but not by much. The chimera has a 30% chance of a critical success, 50% chance of a success, 15% chance of failure, and 5% chance of a critical failure. That averages out to 50% damage, or an average of 13. That's less than 10% of its hit points, and that's me throwing my biggest spell at it. A spell that has an almost one in three chance of doing nothing. And that's against a monster where Reflex is the middle save.Your example is a wizard, so what is the chance that they have multiple lightning bolts prepared? You have 2-3 spell slots, depending on whether you're a specialist or a universalist, plus Drain Bonded Item. I'd argue that having more than two bolts prepared, plus the Bonded Item, is very unlikely, and if this is a "boss" fight you might very well have spent some before. Paizo loves putting PCs through big 10+ encounter dungeons, wearing casters down before the end.And again, sudden bolt is an uncommon spell that comes from a particular adventure. The chances of any PC having that spell is miniscule, particularly if you're not playing the Extinction Curse. Given that both the Advanced Player's Guide and Secrets of Magic have been released after that adventure, and without any similarly-scaling single-target spells in them, I think it's safe to say that Paizo considers the spell an accident of early development, and really a little more powerful than spells should be.Assuming you have three magic missiles prepared (which means you're an evoker) and unused, that you haven't used your Drain Bonded Item ability before the fight, and that you never need to move in the fight.But magic missile is actually a fairly good anti-boss spell, because it ignores their superior defenses. Too bad my character can't have it.Thing is, overall a level +2 (maybe not +3) fight is "balanced". Taken as a whole, putting in the numbers at one end and getting a result a few rounds later in the other, it works out. The problem is the way it is balanced, by giving the opposition a pretty big chance of ignoring your actions entirely. And that doesn't feel great.</blockquote>

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