Please rate Widen Spell

[smetzger]

Widen Spell [Metamagic]
REQ: none

You can alter a burst, emanation, or spread spell to increase its area by 50%. Spells that do not have an area of one of these sorts are not affected by this feat. Any numeric measurements of the spell’s area increase by one-half. A widened spell uses up a spell slot three levels higher than the spell’s actual level. Tome and Blood, pg 42.

 

[Cloudgatherer]

I think +3 levels is much to high. Considering most of the other "doubling" feats (Extend, Enlarge) only require +1, I find it very odd that Widen is +3 for only a 50% increase....

Consistency! It's important!

 

[AuraSeer]

I think +3 levels is much to high. Considering most of the other "doubling" feats (Extend, Enlarge) only require +1, I find it very odd that Widen is +3 for only a 50% increase....

A 50% increase in radius is usually more significant than a 100% increase in range, because area is proportional radius squared. On a flat map, widening a spell will more than double the number of spaces it affects. A spell with 10' burst normally affects 12 spaces; a 15' burst affects 24 spaces.

If you're fighting in three dimensions the difference is even larger, because volume is proportional to radius cubed. Widening a spherical burst more than triples its volume.

(Even considering this, Widening a burst may be inferior to Enlarging a cone, but IMO Enlarge Spell is overpowered for cones anyway.)

 

[Celebrim]

The real question is how often is it worth it to waste one of your better spell slots getting rid of mere mooks.

 

[zorlag]

-

Too high adjustment, +2 or +1 is more like it in light of other metamagic feats. There are very few spells or powers I would consider using this on.

Z.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Way too high an adjustment.

If you mostly fight indoors, a large area is just as likely to be a liability as an advantage.

This feat would not be overpowered with a +1 adjustment.

I gave it a '2'.

 

[Pax]

I have to agree, the cost is just a shade too high. Great effect, nice concept really ... but the cost trips it up.

 

[Al'Kelhar]

The Enlarge Spell feat has a much better cost/benefit ratio for spells whose area of effect is dependent upon range, specifically, those with conical areas of effect. A Enlarged cone area covers an area 4x as large as the normal cone area for only +1 spell level increase, the same increase in area of effect as Widen Spell, which has a +3 spell level increase.

Cheers, Al'Kelhar

 

[Luis Figoo]

With the War mage of Cormyr, its pretty cool. Otherwise its of limited use

 

[Madfox]

I have to agree with the other posters: +3 levels is too high a cost. Especially since I rarely have observed a situation where the question was whether the area could enclose all opponents. More often then not the question was whether all opponents could be affected without allies getting in the way and that is even more difficult with this feat.