My Improved Scalable Fireball Spell

[ren1999]

I'm looking for suggestions on how to improve this. The spells I was designing did increase damage by 1 dice every 5 levels but the characters were really decimating the monsters. Now one damage dice is added every 10 levels. 1st, 11th, and 21st level. Other suggestions for scalability?



Fire Ball | available at 1st level | requires Light Bright, Burning Hand | pryokinetic assault | standard ranged at-will | target +1 foe/10 levels within a cone| +1 square/level | intelligence versus reflex | +1d6 damage/10 levels + ongoing intelligence modifier fire damage | save ends the effect
Light Torch | non-combat ritual at-will | the caster can light candles, torches, wood, etc. at a distance of +1 square/level


-------------------------------------------
General scalable aspects I'm working on. Suggestions?


no dropping spells or retraining is required, casters chose daily, encounter and utility spells when they need them but are subject to the same 4th Edition daily and encounter restrictions

Amplify Effect:
At 1st class level, expend an encounter power and add +1d to the damage roll or expend a daily power and add +2d to the damage roll of any attack spell below.

Control Effect:
At 5th class level, limit the damage -1d8, -2d8, etc. or the squares, speed, duration -1, -2, etc. of the effect.

Trigger Effect:
At 10th class level, delay an effect. For example, mark a square when entered triggers the effect.

Share Effect: at 15th level,+1 ally/10 levels may be given a utility such as Feather Fall by line of site or Teleport Portal by touching the caster which grants combat advantage +2 to foes

Permanent Effect:
At 20th class level, you can chose to make an effect permanent.

 

[Mentat55]

Is there a particular reason you want scaling spells? Doesn't the replacement of powers that starts at 13th for encounter powers and 15th for daily powers already address this issue?

I am not criticizing, just trying to understand your particular motivation. It seems, to me, that simply creating a series of thematically similar powers at different levels, each successive power doing more damage and/or having extra effects, would accomplish much the same thing. And avoid the need of creating a generalized subsystem, instead relying on specific balancing of powers on a case-by-case basis.

 

[ren1999]

However, in the player's handbooks the replacement powers don't suggest scalability.

Now the extra effects is one more way to scale these powers. I'll have to look into that.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I guess I'm not sure what you mean by "don't suggest scalability". If you want a nastier fireball-like power you take one at higher level. If you like having LOTS of fireball type spells, you keep the lower level ones and get the higher level ones too.

There are also a good number of ways to scale spells in general with feats (war wizardry, explosive spell casting, arcane admixture, etc).

Its not to say there couldn't be even other ways to scale things, but how many do we need is the question. It doesn't seem to me there is a lack of ways to do it now.