New feat: Empower Illusion

[Rary the Traitor]

Empower Illusion [Metamagic]

Your illusions are more difficult to disbelieve and to see through by using magical means.

Prerequisites: Spell Focus: Illusion, Greater Spell Focus: Illusion.

Benefit: This feat has two benefits:
- A spell caster or creature using True Seeing or similar spell does not automatically see through your illusions. Instead, he/she must succesfully roll a saving throw against the spell's DC (all bonuses included). However, she automatically sees through the illusion if she interacts with it. All spells that benefit from this effect use their normal spell slot.
- Empowered Illusions are considered as being 3 levels above their actual spell level in regard to their DC, but the resulting spell level cannot exceed 9. An illusion that benefits from this effect uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.



What do you think? Is this feat too powerful? Can anyone think of a better name?

 

[Rary the Traitor]

Well, this is humiliating.

 

[Jeremy]

I think this is a very well done feat, though I might lower the spell slot cost to +2. I'm not sure...

BTW, this is why I fear to post prestige classes/feats/items. Not for fear of being shot down, laughed at, or decried, but for fear of getting absolutely no response.

Very useful, especially for someone already so focus'd in illusions to use greater spell focus.

 

[silasfly]

I think it could be better

I don't really get excited about this feat, mostly because part of it's benefit is just a higher DC. The player has already taken two feats that just raise the DC's of their illusion spells, and personally I would be ready to take a feat that actually does something interesting. Feats that only give me a numeric bonus really bore me.

The True Seeing part is cool though. Just a thought: since no other metamagic feats are limited to one school, and since this feat has tough pre-req's, what if you combined several other metamagic feats into one. But just for illusion spells. Something like,

Empower Illusion

You may cast Illusion spells as if you had any of the following metamagic feats: Empower Spell, Enlarge Spell, Extend Spell, Heighten Spell. Each time you cast a spell you may use only one of these feats at a time, unless you actually have that particular feat. You may also cast an illusion that is not automatically seen through by True Seeing or similar spells, etc., by spending a spell level slot one higher than normal. This ability cannot be combined with other Empower Illusion abilities.

 

[Rary the Traitor]

Thank you both for your replies.

When I made up this feat, my idea was to give mid to high level wizards a chance to use illusions effectively against powerful monsters and NPCs.

Frankly, I always thought True Seeing was broken when it came to illusions. Should a 6th level spell be able to instantly negate a high level illusion? I certainly don't think so. The way I see it, Empower Illusion makes up for an inherent flaw in the D&D rules, which is why that particular effect doesn't take a higher spell level slot.

I know where you're coming from about feats that only give a numeral bonus being boring. The idea of combining several metamagic feats only for the illusion school is a good one, but I'm not sure it would be all that useful. Empower Spell would be mostly good for the Shadow Evocation line of spells. Heighten and Enlarge Spell are nice, but it seems to me a clever caster could achieve the same effects without having to use this feat.

Anyway, those are good suggestions, and I'll talk about it to my DM. Thanks for your help!

 

[Rary the Traitor]

Anyone else want to suggest something? I'm still not sure my feat and silasfly's version aren't too powerful.

Feedback! I need feedback!

 

[Crothian]

Througfh the requirements they get +4 to all illusions, and your tacking on an additional +3? That's Heightened spell only you are making the cost much less. I'd flat get rid of the DC bonus and make this an anti true seeing feat