Spellfire--Is it too powerful?

[AeroDm]

Not completely true that it doesn't scale up. For one, con is likely to increase. For two, at first level you and your companions are unlikely to have many spells to charge up your spellfire wielder. Once you get to higher levels, it's far easier to charge up.

AND people don't seem to realize that spellfire needs lots of stats to work well. You need high con, high dex, and whatever other stats your normal class needs. It's worse than the monk's or the paladin's.

It does scale up to a degree, but not really *that* much. I would be suprised to see a Con score increase by more than 4 in an average campaign (assuming it peaks around the 12 range). Having a 16d6 at 1st level and 20d6 at 12th isn't that huge a difference.

Dexterity isn't a huge requirement in that you are making touch attacks to deal damage, and the damage aspect is at best 50% of what makes it good. Not to mention that neither Dex nor Con are dump stats to begin with.

As for the flavor of Spellfire I guess I was wrong. I only know what I've heard from others as I haven't read the novels. Although I seem to recall that in the FRCS they talk about some barmaid who has the powers randomly activate or some such.

In defining hostile, I guess that isn't as clear as I thought it was. In oru campaigns it is usually quite clear what is hostile and what is friendly. If you have companions that occasionally target you, that is weird. If that was sarcasm and I didn't catch it (it is late here), then you are trying to get around a rule which teh DM *should* be smart enough to laugh at you and make it backfire in some malicious and pseudo-evil way. I know I would.

 

[Hypersmurf]

If you have companions that occasionally target you, that is weird.

Well, so is Inspector Clouseau

-Hyp.

 

[Celtavian]

re

I had a houserule a la Hyp smurf, but I said one level per hour gets lost...

The last Spellfire wielder got killed by a fireball while he had readied to absorb a spell

That is why I don't think Spellfire is all that powerful. Shandril would have been dead if a stupid fireball or lightning bolt could kill her. She was absorbing dragonbreath in the books, and they reduce Spellfire to a pathetic, semi-useful feat. The Spellfire Wielder in our group had fun at low levels, then grew board because if you're no facing hoards of wizards and clerics stupid enough to launch single target spells against you, Spellfire is useless unless your own players charge you up.

 

[rhammer2]

It is a decent feat, not overpowered. I do want to point out, it is a supernatural power so SR doesn't apply. In our game we changed it to a fortitude save instead or a reflex save, you do have to succeed with a touch attack to deliver the effect.

Actually, in the novel that Spellfire is introduced, Shandril Shessair's lover Narm Tamariath is trained as a wizard not only to further his skills, but also specifically so that he can charge up Shandril when she needs him to.

As a feat, it's not that bad, because

1) you have to charge up before use.
2) it's a readied action to intercept someone's spell.
3) it's a ranged attack roll, and spell resistance AND saving throws apply.

Its abilities are pretty spiffy, but it takes levels in a prestige class to really make it sing.

 

[Norfleet]

I play a spellfire wielder in a campaign. We're at 2nd level. It's a pain in the butt to recharge levels, I'm telling you. I have 20 con, with 15 spellfire levels stored. True, I could do 15d6 damage, but then, if I missed, I'm outta luck. I'm pretty much just going to use it as a compliment to my Clerical spellcasting until I get spellfire wielder, at which point I buy lots of wands of light and start using it a lot. It's not REALLY overpowered till 5th level fo Spellfire wielder where you get drain permanent item. Just buy 10-20 Quaal's Feather Token (I forgot which one it was, but the cheapest is 50 gp for 12 caster level) and drain em whenever you need more energy. And if you're using 3e, it's even easier, with dull grey ioun stones (25 gp, 12 caster level).

People who purchase these sorts of items quickly become suspicious if spellfire wielders are being hunted. I can't even recall what these items *DO*, so they can't be that useful, and if somebody is buying a lot of normally useless magic items for which the demand is relatively low, as evidenced by the low price, something fishy is happening.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I can't even recall what these items *DO*, so they can't be that useful...

Well, the Feather Token (Anchor) isn't all that useful. But the Tree was one of the coolest items in 3E. Oak-tree-in-your-pocket, for 100gp.

In 3.5, they've upped the price to 400, so they're less cool.

Fortunately for the Spellfire Channeler, 3.5 has introduced the free Bead of Karma, so he can pick up some CL9 permanent items at no cost.

The traditional Spellfire Channeler power-up, of course, is the Pearl of Power (L1) : 1000gp for a CL17 permanent item.

-Hyp.

 

[Saeviomagy]

It is a decent feat, not overpowered. I do want to point out, it is a supernatural power so SR doesn't apply. In our game we changed it to a fortitude save instead or a reflex save, you do have to succeed with a touch attack to deliver the effect.

Have you compared it with other feats? It far outstrips them.

If it was broken down into multiple feats (one for absorbing, one for blasting and one for healing), then it might be of the same sort of level as the average feat, but as is, it's just way too good.

 

[EricNoah]

It didn't turn out to be any big deal in the FR campaign I concluded about a month ago. The character in question was a sorcerer/spellfire channeller, and it did end up working out pretty well. He never ended up doing it more than once a battle or so, and usually saved it for a big, bad spell-resistant foe at an appropriately climactic moment. But there were many times when it was more effective to cast sorcerer spells. I don't think he was ever able to time it right to absorb an incoming spell from an enemy spellcaster.

I gave him, as found treasure, the ability to use his spellfire levels as a defense: he could, as a free reaction once per round, create a spellfire shield vs. a chosen energy type (gain a certain amount of energy resistance by burning spellfire levels), or create a general spell defense shield (gain a certain amount of spell resistance by burning spellfire levels), and he could extend it out to 10' around him by burning more. It was a neat way to get him to use his ability without him feeling like he needed to save it up for that inevitable big bad guy.

 

[Celtavian]

re

I don't think he was ever able to time it right to absorb an incoming spell from an enemy spellcaster.

This was my experience as well. The spell absorption was almost never effective. More often than not enemy casters just drop AOE spells or cast at people other than the Spellfire Wielder. They need to make spell absorption reactive or work against area of effect spells. Its pretty useless from a practical standpoint.

 

[Darklone]

This was my experience as well. The spell absorption was almost never effective. More often than not enemy casters just drop AOE spells or cast at people other than the Spellfire Wielder. They need to make spell absorption reactive or work against area of effect spells. Its pretty useless from a practical standpoint.

If you play with only one player, it's lots more effective. Enemies would tend to target you with single target spells rather than fireballs...