Improved shield?

[CanadienneBacon]

While I can create a setting and items, I'm not that great at ruling on or creating new spells. I have a player, a good player, who has a wizard in my tabletop game. The player wants to do original spell research. No problem there; in fact, I commend him for the effort and interest. He wants to create an improved version of the standard 1st-level wizard/sorcerer shield spell. Again, no problem there.

My problem is deciding what level to assign the spell and/or adjusting the spell to make it the level he desires. I'll start by detailing the original version of the spell crafted by the player, which he has named improved shield:

Improved Shield
Abjuration [Force]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)

Improved shield creates an invisible, tower shield-sized mobile disk of force that hovers in front of you. It negates magic missile attacks directed at you. The disk also provides a +7 shield bonus to AC. This bonus applies against incorporeal touch attacks, since it is a force effect. The improved shield has no armor check penalty or arcane spell failure chance. Unlike a normal tower shield, you can't use the improved shield spell for cover.

As DM, my immediate thoughts on this new spell were that while it functions EXACTLY like the 1st-level shield spell in all aspects save for it being +7 to AC and 1 hr/lvl vice +4 to AC and 1 min/lvl, it seems like an awfully powerful 3rd level spell. While at the table, I therefore asked the player to locate and show to me a v3.5 PHB 3rd-lvl Sor/Wiz spell equivalent in defensive capability. The best either he or I could come up with was magic circle against evil, which for Sor/Wizards is a 3rd-level spell that offers +2 to saves and AC vs evil, and comes with a 10 minute per level duration and a 10-foot radius that works on others inside the radius...and other benefits as well...particularly, that it hedges out outsiders, domination, etc, etc.

Still, the player and I agreed that, comparatively, for a 3rd-level spell, perhaps a +7 shield bonus to AC with a duration of one hour per level is too uber. I told the player that I needed to digest his idea and that by next week we would have it worked out. For last night's session, I said that my gut feeling was that +7 to AC and a duration of an hour per level was too much. I therefore offered him a choice of one of the following three compromises so that he could put his new creation in play for last night's session:

Choice A: +7 shield bonus to AC, duration 1 min/level
Choice B: +6 shield bonus to AC, duration 10 min/level
Choice C: +4 shield bonus to AC, duration 1 hour/level

The player said he thought Choice B was his best bet, so that's what we agreed could be used in the interim until I finalize my thoughts on the issue. For what it's worth, he never actually had to cast the new spell last night because most of the session was devoted to social roleplay.

My questions to you all are:

1.) At what level should his original version of improved shield be set?

2.) For a 3rd-level spell, which choice among Choices A, B, or C do you find most viable?

3.) If you find you don't care for either his original version or my compromise Choices, how would you do up an improved shield spell?

4.) Does improved shield already exist in a published sourcebook? If it does, what is the sourcebook name and who publishes it?

Thank you for your kind help. Any off-the-cuff suggestions or ideas would be most welcome.

 

[Quartz]

The player has created a spell that's essentially two time steps better (a lot better than two applications of the Extend Spell Feat) and had the Empower Feat applied to the AC bonus. So that's +4 levels at a minimum, by the rules. And at high levels 1 hr /level essentially becomes always on, so C is right out. So for third level, choice A would be more appropriate. Make it 4th level and you could give the player the choice of A or B (q.v. Ice Storm).

 

[Infiniti2000]

I find myself agreeing with Quartz. Also, take a look at greater mage armor. It's only an increase to +6 from +4 and is also 3rd-level, and now has a material cost (50gp) like mage armor did in 1e. (all this in my best recollection)

Does that mean greater mage armor sucks? Possibly. I hate the material cost, but the improvement of only +2 is telling.

The key in the duration is the immunity to magic missiles. At 1H/L, it's basically a persistent spell (+6 modifier), and with a higher bonus and immunity to magic missiles, it's too much. If you want to use another comparison, choose magic vestment. But, to do it properly, you'd have to use the same +1/4 levels, which is already violated by the original shield.

 

[Staffan]

As a point of comparison, the psionic equivalent of shield, force screen, also gives +4 to AC when manifested at 1st level. In order to improve it, you need to spend an additional 4 PP per extra point of AC, which is essentially the same as two spell levels. The psionic version of mage armor, inertial armor, only costs 2 PP per AC point to improve though (the equivalent of one spell level).

Neither one can have its duration improved by augmentation, either.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

I think that all the options prestented are all a bit too powerful for a third levels spell for many of the reasons presented above.

How about this idea: A third level spell that grants a +4 bonus plus an additional +1 for every 5 caster levels. Thus +5 at 5th, +6 at 10th, +7 at 15th and +8 at 20th. (1 minute duration). (Every 4 levels might also be acceptable).

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Thank you for the replies.

As it currently stands, I discovered the comparative spell greater mage armor in the Spell Compendium. I don't own that book, but someone was kind enough to point out to me that they've created a spell that grants +6 armor bonus to AC with a duration of 1 hour per level. I hadn't, however, known about the 50 gp material component cost...what is the material component for that, if you don't mind my asking?

As an equivalency, I am currently considering allowing improved shield at a +6 shield bonus to AC with a duration of 1 minute per level. Sor/wiz 3rd level. That would make it analogous to greater mage armor.

As it turns out, however, the player has stated that an increased duration is more important to him than the increase in AC. He would like to know what level the spell should be were it +4 shield bonus to AC and a duration of one hour per level. And I'm assuming that if that turns out to be too high, that he'd be willing to lower the AC bonus to +3 as long as he could somehow get the hour/level duration. Do you all have thoughts on this latter suggestion?

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I'd probably either go with as shield but +6 AC and 3rd level, like you suggested, or for the increased duration variants, as shield but 3rd level and 10 minutes/level duration.

For hour a level duration either a much higher level or a much reduced benefit would be necessary. I think I'd go with: as shield but +2 AC, 3rd level, 1 hour/level duration. Which is still a good buff.

 

[Quartz]

There are two main problems here: firstly, the duration of 1 hour per level means that the character becomes essentially immune to Magic Missiles. Secondly, the long duration also obviates a class feature, lack of armour. Suppose a monk had this in a Ring of Spell Storing, constantly replenished by the party mage? Or a fighter?

So a long duration is completely out.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Just wanted to say thank you for the input. I game with friends who do not tend to abuse rules and in the spirit of generosity and friendship, I have elected to allow the spell as 3rd level, shield AC of +2, duration of an hour per level. The many "what ifs" posed here (namely the wearing of a ring of spell storing by a monk, fighter, or ther PC) isn't at all relevant to my tabletop game given our spectrum of PCs and their feats. I realize there's no way you could know that, though. And so while it's a great idea to strive for balance if I were putting this feat out to the entire world for use, for our own small and relatively out-of-the-way tabletop game amongst friends, I think an extra allowance here and there are fine. We hardly ever stray from core rules anyway, making this new spell all the more special.

Just wanted to say thanks.