Is craft contingent spell to powerful?

[DarkJester]

Craft contingent spell from Complete Arcane allows you to have multiple contingencies in effect on your person at one time at the cost of some gold and experience at a rate a 100 gold x caster level x spell level. You are limited to a number of contingencies on your person equal to your caster level.

Does this seem unbalanced for the cost of a feat? Obviously the cost is prohibited but for a relatively small amount of money you can pretty well ensure that you will have something prepared for nearly any situation. I'm not sure what to think.

I ask because I took this feat in a short-term game for my character without really putting much thought into it. Now, looking at it a couple sessions in I could really see how I could be using this a ton if the campaign were to be a continual one (Which it isn't, so this is just theoretical).

 

[bestone]

yes, Absolutely too powerfully. It should not exist

Add thought bottle *which i think is complete arcane? i coudl be mistaken* to the list of things from that book never to exist

 

[DarkJester]

What is so bad about the thought bottle? I can't remember all of it's abilities but didn't it allow you to negate level loss associated with death? I seem to remember the cost being kind of prohibited until higher level.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Craft Contingent Spell is very powerful, although it does cost both a feat and some small amount of xp to create a contingency in such a way.

Whether ornot it is too powerful really depends a lot on how strict or lenient the DM is with your contingency triggers. And on whether or not the contingent spell is treated as a spell or as a magic item for the purposes of dispel magic and disjunction.

Later
silver

 

[FireLance]

If availability is your only concern, consider that it's eight times the cost of an equivalent scroll. The fact that you have to burn xp is usually painful, too.

I think some DMs may have problems with the auto-casting (including the ability to avoid AOOs and Concentration checks), and the possibility of unleashing several spell effects simultaneously in a single round. If those are your concerns, you might consider imposing the following restrictions:

1. A maximum of one contingent spell can trigger in any round. In addition, if the spellcaster had the Quicken Spell feat, you could allow him to trigger a second contingent spell in a round if he had crafted it a quickened contingent spell (at +4 spell level).

2. In the same round that a spellcaster triggers a contingent spell, he cannot cast another spell, or activate a spell completion or spell trigger magic item.

 

[bestone]

I could point you to a dozen optimization threads using craft contingincy in ways that would just make you shake your head in disgust.

Same with thought bottle

What is so bad about the thought bottle? I can't remember all of it's abilities but didn't it allow you to negate level loss associated with death? I seem to remember the cost being kind of prohibited until higher level.

It lets you "store" your level of experience, so you pay 500, it remembers your level 15. You then go and loose some levels, and later on can restore yourself back to 15. Only good for level drain? no

Theres a build that uses it with some ritual from savage species to apply multiple racial templates to your character *something along the lines of turning yourself into a shade, ritual of vitality to turn into a pc race, then using thought bottle to get your levels lost this way back*

Anyways, it just has some awful uses

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I don't think that the fact that an option can be exploited or optimized is a good indicator of it being too powerful. Lots of things can be optimized or exploited, whether or not your players are going to chooce to attempt such or you (the DM) will allow such exploitation is up to you and your players.

Later
silver

 

[bestone]

Yes but some items just ooze exploitation. And for me, its easier to dis-allow a few items of feats altogeather, than have to argue with the player why he cant do something cheesy

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I find that pessimistic method to be overly restrictive (I mean that from a permissions perspective, rather than from an attitide perspective). I much prefer to work with my players to ensure that we all get the game that we want.

Later
silver

 

[charlesatan]

yes, Absolutely too powerfully. It should not exist

Add thought bottle *which i think is complete arcane? i coudl be mistaken* to the list of things from that book never to exist

Craft Contingency - it costs XP so I think that's a deterrent enough for trying to be prepared for everything.

Thought Bottle - A simple example is a 20th-level Wizard who casts Wish 3 times to get a +3 inherent bonus to his stat of choice at only a 500 XP cost.

Honestly, a lot of things in the game can be abused when used in certain conjunction with others. Craft Contingency under certain specific conditions. Thought Bottle has a wider spectrum for abuse.