Spellfire feat IS IT Worth Taking?

[Pax]

And quite frankly the presitge class sucks, so don't take it.

I disagree.

If you plan on taking the Channeler prestige class, from first level, you can do some amazing things. A Rogue/Channeler can be very effective, especially at higher levels -- if you get in position to pull off frequent sneak attacks, that spellfire energy can be made to go a loooong way.

I can post the stats for a Rogue(11)/Channeler(10) I made for an Epic Campaign I ended up not playing in after all, if folks are interested. For now, suffice to say: 1d6 spellfire blasts + reliably usable 5d6 (?6d6?) sneak damage against anything vulnerable to criticals ... three times per round ... as a standard action. 28 CON, giving nearly 400hp (294 of them = CON bonus), and, a 140 maximum Spellfire pool. Potentially very ugly.

And 20 wands (10 Detect Magic and 10 Light), 50 charges each, for 1000 charges ... each drainable for 1 point of spellfire pool, between encounters. Not terribly expensive at that level, either.

So, I'd say the Spellfire Channeler PrC is useful, if you plan for it, and know how you will use the abilities gained.

 

[Xarlen]

You and your DM better talk about this, a Lot.

I had a tiny, stupid little campaign, and one powergamer got ahold of Spellfire. I was weak willed, and he wormed his way into casting his *own* spells on himself, to power up.

He ended up killing a stunned dragon by unleashing all his levels on a Touch attack.

Don't Abuse it.

 

[KarinsDad]

I think there are three significant balance problems with the feat:

1) At lower levels, it gives the character a super blast power which can kill individual creatures much higher level than the party with a single attack.

2) It gives non-spell casters the ability to cure and effectively gives spell casters the limited ability to spontaneously cure (i.e. after they cure, they can recharge it with other spells).

3) If the DM actually roleplays this correctly (i.e. as some NPCs should act), once rumors got out about this PC, some extremely powerful NPC should come along and kidnap the PC and there goes the character. I tend to enjoy worlds where cause and effect make some semblence of sense and only throwing NPCs a few levels higher than the PCs at them in this type of circumstance does not make sense. IMO.


Or as Jamie Lee Curtis almost said in True Lies:

"Now let me think, +2 to one skill, or Spellfire? OF COURSE SPELLFIRE!!!"


It's very similar to 1E Psionics in some respects.

 

[Thanee]

Or as Jamie Lee Curtis almost said in True Lies:

"Now let me think, +2 to one skill, or Spellfire? OF COURSE SPELLFIRE!!!"

Hehe, but it's not really fair to compare it to one of the crappiest feats in D&D.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Shard O'Glase]

Hehe, but it's not really fair to compare it to one of the crappiest feats in D&D.

Bye
Thanee

yep.

I think it does a ton, but usually people benefit more form a more class appropriate feat.

 

[Xarlen]

I'll note the only way a person could charge THEMSELF would be that they have to cast a touch spell on their familiar, then have the familiar touch them, while they absorb it.

It takes a readied action to absorb. Thus, you can't cast a spell with a ready action.

 

[Thanee]

What was that delay spell feat again... that might be handy then!

Bye
Thanee

 

[Pax]

You and your DM better talk about this, a Lot.

I had a tiny, stupid little campaign, and one powergamer got ahold of Spellfire. I was weak willed, and he wormed his way into casting his *own* spells on himself, to power up.

He ended up killing a stunned dragon by unleashing all his levels on a Touch attack.

Don't Abuse it.

What level were the PC's?

What was the powergamer PC's Constitution (you can't dump more Spellfire levels than you have CON, even as a Channeler(10))?

What size dragon was this?

At very low levels, YES, it lets you get off a comparatively huge attack. At higher levels, it's not so bad. The Spellfire feat isn't really that much different from the breathweapon of a Half Dragon ...

 

[reapersaurus]

OK, you begged me to ask.

WHY exactly does having the Spellfire feat apparently guarantee that they will be kidnapped by some Arch-Mage and studied or something?

Is this written in the rulebooks, or something?
I presume this is people insisting that whatever happened to Alias (or whoever it was that was in the books) will happen to the PC.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Is this written in the rulebooks, or something?

Yes. What an excuse for a poor feat idea... it should have been a template.