I need peer review on this weapon spell

[jaker2003]

Ok, i've been toying with this idea for a couple of years and this is another try to get it to work.
[sblock=Original Version]WARPRIEST BLADE
Evocation [Force]
Level: Clr 6?
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Effect: Magic weapon of force
Duration: 1 minute /2 levels (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

As the last word echoes in your mind, your fingers curl and you feel the blade of force in your hand.

A weapon made of pure force springs into existence from your hand. The weapon appears as your choice of sword (Short sword, Rapier, Scimitar, Longsword, Bastard sword, Falchion, or Greatsword) and you may wield it in the same manner as a real sword of its form, even applying appropriate feats and class features.
The blade deals 1d8 points of force damage with each hit. It strikes as a weapon, not a spell, so, for example, it cannot bypass damage reduction as a spell usually can. The weapon has an enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls of +1 per four caster levels (maximum +5). The blade’s critical threat range is 20, but it expands by 1 per five caster levels (maximum 16-20). The blade’s critical multiplier is x2, but it can be increased by 1 for every minute the spell’s duration is decreased by. For example, an 11th level caster could wield the blade for 5 minutes, but he decides at casting that he wants a critical multiplier of x5, so he reduces the duration by 3 minutes. Now the caster can wield a blade with critical threat range and multiplier of 18-20/x5 for 2 minutes.
If you are disarmed, you can conjure the blade to your hand as a free action on your next round. A warpriest blade cannot be attacked or harmed by physical attacks, but dispel magic, disintegrate, a sphere of annihilation, or a rod of cancellation affects it.
If an attacked creature has spell resistance, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against that spell resistance the first the warpriest blade strikes it. If the weapon is successfully resisted, the spell is dispelled. If not, the weapon has its normal full effect on that creature for the duration of the spell.[/sblock]Current Revision:
WARPRIEST BLADE
Evocation [Force]
Level: Clr 5?
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Effect: Magic weapon of force
Duration: 1 round / level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

As the last word echoes in your mind, your fingers curl and you feel the blade of force in your hand.

A weapon made of pure force springs into existence from your hand. The weapon appears as your choice of sword (Short sword, Rapier, Scimitar, Longsword, Bastard sword, Falchion, or Greatsword) and you may wield it in the same manner as a real sword of its form, even applying appropriate feats and class features.
The blade deals 1d8 points of force damage with each hit. It strikes as a spell, not as a weapon , so, for example, it can bypass damage reduction as a spell usually can. The weapon has an enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls of +1 per four caster levels (maximum +5). The blade’s critical threat range is 20, but it expands by 1 per five caster levels (maximum 16-20). The blade’s critical multiplier is x2.
If you are disarmed, you can conjure the blade to your hand as a swift action on your next round. A warpriest blade cannot be attacked or harmed by physical attacks, but dispel magic, disintegrate, a sphere of annihilation, or a rod of cancellation affects it.
If an attacked creature has spell resistance, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against that spell resistance the first the warpriest blade strikes it. If the weapon is successfully resisted, the spell is dispelled. If not, the weapon has its normal full effect on that creature for the duration of the spell.

I'm trying to nail down the spell level, but welcome any insights/thoughts.

 

[Nifft]

Comments: if it's hampered by DR, it's not a [Force] effect. I think it'd be better to just allow the character to create a normal blade (of metal) with an enhancement bonus.

The critical multiplier can be made silly. Are those effects integral to the spell?

Cheers, -- N

 

[Tyonisius]

I'm in agreement with Nifft. If all feats can affect is as normal then it could get fairly rediculous. Having a 16-20 crit range then applying the Improved Critical feat so it'd be 15-20/x5, throw in Power critical for good affect and you have yourself a killer fighting Cleric. The spell resistance affect is a nice weakening to it though because after all the work to summon it, attacking the wrong creature could get it dispelled. Personally, I'd probably weaken the the amount by which the critical threat range increases, decrease the amount by which the critical multiplier can be increased, have the force affect overcome DR like a force weapon should as well as having all the other nice affects of force weapons. Other than that I'd probably leave it about the same. A 6th level spell seems appropriate to me.

 

[jaker2003]

Revised and seeking peer review

Ok, it now bypasses DR and I've tied the critical multiplier to CL. As for the threat range, a keen rapier has a critical threat range of 15-20 all the time. A warpriest blade has a duration and the threat range is tied to CL.

 

[Tyonisius]

Ok, it now bypasses DR and I've tied the critical multiplier to CL. As for the threat range, a keen rapier has a critical threat range of 15-20 all the time. A warpriest blade has a duration and the threat range is tied to CL.

Yeah but a rapier does 1d6 (instead of 1d8). No big problem there... but it's also a x2 multiplier.... not a x5 multiplier. Yeah...

 

[jaker2003]

If you skip up to the first post, i've altered the spell description so that it caps at x4 @ CL20.

Would it be better if it just did 1d8+CL damage like all the other force weapon spells?
That sounds much stronger than 1d8 & 16-20/x4.

 

[Winding Road]

WARPRIEST BLADE
Evocation [Force]
Level: Clr 6?
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Effect: Magic weapon of force
Duration: 1 minute /2 levels (D)

Why not just go with 1 round/level? At the minimum level a cleric would get this, that's 11 rounds. That will be pretty much the entire battle anyway.

Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

As the last word echoes in your mind, your fingers curl and you feel the blade of force in your hand.

A weapon made of pure force springs into existence from your hand. The weapon appears as your choice of sword (Short sword, Rapier, Scimitar, Longsword, Bastard sword, Falchion, or Greatsword) and you may wield it in the same manner as a real sword of its form, even applying appropriate feats and class features.
The blade deals 1d8 points of force damage with each hit. It strikes as a spell, not as a weapon , so, for example, it can bypass damage reduction as a spell usually can. The weapon has an enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls of +1 per four caster levels (maximum +5). The blade’s critical threat range is 20, but it expands by 1 per five caster levels (maximum 16-20). The blade’s critical multiplier is x2, but it increases to x3 at CL 15, and reaches the maximum of x4 at CL 20.

Improving both the range and the multiplier is too much. You end up with a maximum of 16-20/x4, which is way beyond what any physical weapon could get close to. And that's before feats like Improved Critical come into play. Since the spell takes the form of a sword, I'd drop the crit multipler increases, and just leave the range ones. Have that max out at either 17-20 or 18-20.

If you are disarmed, you can conjure the blade to your hand as a free action on your next round.

I'd go with a swift action.

A warpriest blade cannot be attacked or harmed by physical attacks, but dispel magic, disintegrate, a sphere of annihilation, or a rod of cancellation affects it.
If an attacked creature has spell resistance, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against that spell resistance the first the warpriest blade strikes it. If the weapon is successfully resisted, the spell is dispelled. If not, the weapon has its normal full effect on that creature for the duration of the spell.

I'm trying to nail down the spell level, but welcome any insights/thoughts.

Either 5th or 6th sounds fair to me. As is, 6th is more appropriate. If you drop some of the crit increases, I think it'd be fine as 5th.

 

[jaker2003]

Why not just go with 1 round/level? At the minimum level a cleric would get this, that's 11 rounds. That will be pretty much the entire battle anyway.

I referenced Flame Blade, but I'm not opposed to this proposed change.

Improving both the range and the multiplier is too much. You end up with a maximum of 16-20/x4, which is way beyond what any physical weapon could get close to. And that's before feats like Improved Critical come into play. Since the spell takes the form of a sword, I'd drop the crit multipler increases, and just leave the range ones. Have that max out at either 17-20 or 18-20.

I yield, I'll drop the multiplier. But I won't budge on the threat range. The range maxes out at 16-20/x2 @ CL20. What else can you do at 20th level. Is a keen sword for 2 minutes overpowered for a 20th level cleric?

I'd go with a swift action.

Fair enough.

Either 5th or 6th sounds fair to me. As is, 6th is more appropriate. If you drop some of the crit increases, I think it'd be fine as 5th.

Nice.

 

[Kisanji Arael]

Run something by me. The text says that the minimum crit range is 20, but if he's getting this at 10th level, will it ever be worse than 18-20? Or does it start at 20, and hit 16-20 at 31st level? Slightly muddled (as any spell that increases in power by caster level is, but more so), don't you think?

 

[jaker2003]

Run something by me. The text says that the minimum crit range is 20, but if he's getting this at 10th level, will it ever be worse than 18-20? Or does it start at 20, and hit 16-20 at 31st level? Slightly muddled (as any spell that increases in power by caster level is, but more so), don't you think?

18-20/x2 at CL10. I apologize for the wording. Many spells are available at lower levels to certain clases, I was trying to preserve the 'plug and play' quality.