Grayhawk
First Post
I'm playing a houseruled mix of 3e and 3.5 and trying to decide what to do with the Shield spell.
I find the 3.5 version too bland, as it grants the same +4 bonus to AC as Mage Armor. I'm aware that it's a different kind of bonus and that it negates Magic Missiles, but it also comes with a much shorter duration.
Now, I'm not saying that the 3.5 Shield is unbalanced or anything like that, I'm just kind of nostalgic and want it to work more like it did in previous editions, only protecting from one side but giving a higher AC bonus.
The 3e version got errata'ed to not be granting any Ref save bonuses, but I kind of like the idea of a Shield helping you out against effects like breath attacks. (I think you can visualize how that would look...)
I'm guessing that the reason for that errata was that the Shield spell was too powerful with it, so I was thinking about reducing it's power somewhere else.
I think that 1 minute per level is a pretty long duration (doubling the duration of 1e and 2e), and I like the idea of the spell being something you put up just before - or maybe even in the middle of - combat, so I've reduced it's duration.
Shield
Abjuration[Force]
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Comp: V,S
CT: 1 SA
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 min
Grants a +7 shield bonus to AC and a +3 shield bonus to Reflex saves. Negates Magic Missiles. Only protects against attacks from one direction (choose one side of your square, or a diagonal). Direction can be changed once per round as a free action.
Do you find this version worthwhile, too good or not good enough?
I find the 3.5 version too bland, as it grants the same +4 bonus to AC as Mage Armor. I'm aware that it's a different kind of bonus and that it negates Magic Missiles, but it also comes with a much shorter duration.
Now, I'm not saying that the 3.5 Shield is unbalanced or anything like that, I'm just kind of nostalgic and want it to work more like it did in previous editions, only protecting from one side but giving a higher AC bonus.
The 3e version got errata'ed to not be granting any Ref save bonuses, but I kind of like the idea of a Shield helping you out against effects like breath attacks. (I think you can visualize how that would look...)
I'm guessing that the reason for that errata was that the Shield spell was too powerful with it, so I was thinking about reducing it's power somewhere else.
I think that 1 minute per level is a pretty long duration (doubling the duration of 1e and 2e), and I like the idea of the spell being something you put up just before - or maybe even in the middle of - combat, so I've reduced it's duration.
Shield
Abjuration[Force]
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Comp: V,S
CT: 1 SA
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 min
Grants a +7 shield bonus to AC and a +3 shield bonus to Reflex saves. Negates Magic Missiles. Only protects against attacks from one direction (choose one side of your square, or a diagonal). Direction can be changed once per round as a free action.
Do you find this version worthwhile, too good or not good enough?
