My Take
3rd level spells need to contend with a lot of others for a wizard's attention. Fireball and lightning bolt are the usual damage spells (with saves for half, large areas, and of course, SR applying). 3rd level also has a lot of great utility spells; it could be considered when a wizard really comes into his own. Since its a cone effect I'll be looking at Burning Hands and Cone of Cold, and since its a damaging conjuration spell I'll be checking melf's acid arrow for damage ideas.
Wilfred´s Sharp Hurricane
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, F
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: 40 feet
Area: Cone shaped burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving throw: Reflex Half
Spell resistance: No
You create hundreds of metal blades that burst out of your hands in a cone, disappearing moments later. The blades do not automatically penetrate material damage reduction; they have the same material property as the focus used for the spell (they do bypass all other kinds of DR though). The blades deal 4d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +10).
Focus: A blood-stained razorblade. Depending on the type of razorblade, the spell will penetrate different types of Damage Reduction (A silver razorblade penetrates Silver DR, etc).
[I added a saving throw. Melf's is balanced by a ranged attack (hence no save and SR), but there is little precedence for making a spell with no save, SR, or any chance of failure (barring Magic Missile, a very special case). In any case, I doubled the damage to 4d6 and added a small variable so it scales. The choice between a 10d6 [fire]ball and a 4d6+10 cone of razors is reasonably balanced. The spell is very competitive when you can first cast it (4d6+5 damage), but slowly the powerhouse level 3 spells overtake it. It retains utility at higher levels because it is unaffected by SR, but requires some legwork getting adamantine razors and such. It would be cumbersome to add a mechanic to hurt big creatures more, so I left it out.]
I hope this helps (just an idea how I would do the spell).
Technik
3rd level spells need to contend with a lot of others for a wizard's attention. Fireball and lightning bolt are the usual damage spells (with saves for half, large areas, and of course, SR applying). 3rd level also has a lot of great utility spells; it could be considered when a wizard really comes into his own. Since its a cone effect I'll be looking at Burning Hands and Cone of Cold, and since its a damaging conjuration spell I'll be checking melf's acid arrow for damage ideas.
Wilfred´s Sharp Hurricane
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, F
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: 40 feet
Area: Cone shaped burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving throw: Reflex Half
Spell resistance: No
You create hundreds of metal blades that burst out of your hands in a cone, disappearing moments later. The blades do not automatically penetrate material damage reduction; they have the same material property as the focus used for the spell (they do bypass all other kinds of DR though). The blades deal 4d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +10).
Focus: A blood-stained razorblade. Depending on the type of razorblade, the spell will penetrate different types of Damage Reduction (A silver razorblade penetrates Silver DR, etc).
[I added a saving throw. Melf's is balanced by a ranged attack (hence no save and SR), but there is little precedence for making a spell with no save, SR, or any chance of failure (barring Magic Missile, a very special case). In any case, I doubled the damage to 4d6 and added a small variable so it scales. The choice between a 10d6 [fire]ball and a 4d6+10 cone of razors is reasonably balanced. The spell is very competitive when you can first cast it (4d6+5 damage), but slowly the powerhouse level 3 spells overtake it. It retains utility at higher levels because it is unaffected by SR, but requires some legwork getting adamantine razors and such. It would be cumbersome to add a mechanic to hurt big creatures more, so I left it out.]
I hope this helps (just an idea how I would do the spell).
Technik
