New Reserve Feat: Shadow Strike

[Falling Icicle]

I think I've thought of a much better and simpler way of doing it.

Shadow Strike
You can channel shadow energy to strike your foes.
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 4th-level arcane spells.
Benefit: As long as you have an illusion (shadow) spell of 4th level or higher available to cast, you can strike a target with a smoky black stream of shadow energy. This effect has a range of 5 ft. per level of the highest level illusion (shadow) spell you have available to cast and deals 1d6 points of damage per level of that spell. A ranged touch attack is required to hit and the target gets a Will save to reduce the damage by half. Objects are unaffected.

As a secondary benefit, you gain a +1 competence bonus to your caster level when casting illusion (shadow) spells.

This should be alot more balanced. It does about the same thing as acidic splatter, except that it deals untyped damage, has a save for half and can't damage objects. It also has a higher prerequisite spell level.

 

[Nifft]

This should be alot more balanced. It does about the same thing as acidic splatter, except that it deals untyped damage, has a save for half and can't damage objects. It also has a higher prerequisite spell level.

Cool. I dig this.

Object immunity doesn't translate into Undead immunity thanks to the type of saving throw, but it does target their "good" save.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Zurai]

Are you responding to me?

If so, explain how please.

Cheers, -- N

This is irrelevant now, but just for discussion's sake:

Where do you set the fixed % at? If it's low - say, 20% - then the feat becomes absolutely worthless at high levels. 20% of 8d6 is less than 6 points of damage on average, and that's assuming they only pass the Will save. If they pass the Reflex save too, it's 3 average damage. And that's ignoring Invisible Needle, which requires a normal ranged attack to hit (not a ranged touch). A save to essentially completely ignore the feat is overboard when the feat requires a normal ranged attack to hit for a maximum of 8d4 damage.

If you set it high - say, 80% - then it's similarly too strong at low levels. 80% of 4d6 is only 3 less average damage (14 -> 11), and the versatility of the feat would make it an absolute no-brainer for anyone with illusion (shadow) spells.

If you set it in the middle - 50% - then it's still weak at the top end (only 14 average damage if only the Will save is passed), although the bottom end is more reasonable (7 avg).



Frankly, I don't see what the problem is with having two scalar factors, especially when the feat caps out one die lower than the feats it mimics. The double scaling doesn't affect maximum or minimum damage at all, merely the expected damage. All it does is make the expected damage curve steeper as spell level increases than other reserve feats. It's not as if this exact same mechanic doesn't already exist - Shadowcraft Mage can make any image spell into a Shadow version of any evocation or conjuration (summoning/creation) spell of lower level, with a scaling 10%-per-spell-level reality.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

.Example: Mialee has Shades prepared and the Shadow Strike reserve feat. Faced with a troll, she chooses to use Shadow Strike to mimic the effects of Fiery Burst; since Shades is her highest-level illusion (shadow) spell prepared, Shadow Strike allows her to treat it as an 8th level fire spell. Her Shadow Strike deals 8d6 fire damage in a 10' 5' radius, with a DC 18 +int modifier Will save to take 80% damage and a DC 18 + int modifier Reflex save to take half damage. If the troll passes both saves, the damage is reduced twice, as appropriate (to 40%).

As a secondary benefit, you gain a +1 competence bonus to your caster level when casting illusion (shadow) spells. You do not gain the competence bonus to caster level granted by the mimicked feats unless you actually have them.

Sorry to be nit-picky, but fixed the example a little.