Help with Original Spell Research

[Yorae]

One of my characters is wanting to engage in some original spell research, and I was hoping to get some feedback on these spells:


Delphyre's Dweomershift
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 10 minutes or full-round action, see text.
Range: Touch
Target: Magical weapon touched
Duration: 1 hr./level or 1 round/3 levels, see text.
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless) (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Take the target weapon's total enhancement bonus, plus the equivalent enhancement bonuses of any enhancements upon that item. For the duration of this spell, the target loses all of its normal enhancement bonuses and weapon enhancements. Instead, it gains a combination of enhancement bonus and weapon enhancement(s) whose total equivalent enhancement bonus is equal to this number. For example, a 16th level caster that cast this spell upon a +2 Holy Greatsword could replace these bonuses, making it a +1 Speed Greatsword. If the weapon's preexisting enhancement bonuses or weapon enhancements would be lost for any reason other than the effect this spell, Delphyre's Dweomershift ends immediately.

If you choose to cast Dweomershift with a casting time of 10 minutes, it lasts 1 hour per level. If you instead choose to cast it as a full-round action, it lasts only one round per three levels. You may not use this spell to imbue an item with an enhancement from a school of magic which is prohibited to you.

Material Component: A handful of ash from a smith's forge

Compare to:
Greater Magic Weapon (3rd, SRD)
(Personal/Lesser/Greater) Weapon Augmentation (1st/2nd/4th/6th, ECS)



Delphyre's Terra Breaker
Transmutation [Earth, Fire]
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, F
Casting time: full-round action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: One or more fissures totaling up to 10ft. long/level
Duration: 1 round/2 levels
Saving Throw: Reflex partial
Spell Resistance: No

You heft the hilt of the weapon into the air and begin an incantation, white spellfire rushing up through your body and infusing the steel. The weapon glows with a brilliant luminescence and you complete the spell, shouting the final harsh syllable as you strike the ground with the weapon, discharging the stored power. There is a rumble and then an enormously loud cracking noise as you split open the earth with the force of your spell.

When you cast this spell, the ground undergoes violent tremors as chasms open in the earth. Each fissure you create begins in a square adjacent to your space and extends further as you choose in 5 ft. increments. Fissures may branch apart or merge together as you choose, but must be contiguous. These chasms are all created at the same time. Molten rock rushes up through the fissures, creating a serious hazard to those nearby.

Creatures passing through squares with a fissure or within them when you cast the spell and at the start of your turn take 1d6 fire damage/level and are knocked prone. A successful reflex save halves this damage and negates falling prone, but a Large or smaller creature that fails this save by 5 or more falls into the widening chasm. They may take a full-round action on their turn to attempt a DC 25 climb check to escape, though they must be standing in order to do so. Creatures within 10 feet of a chasm, but not in the same square are knocked prone and take 2d4 +1/level fire damage. A successful reflex save negates falling prone.

Due to the buckling of the earth, squares within 10 feet of a fissure are difficult terrain and remain so after the spell has ended. Squares within 10 feet of the origin of the spell are unaffected by either tremors or lava, but may still be considered difficult terrain. The caster has no special immunity to the effects of the spell. When the spell's duration ends, the fissures grind shut, killing any creatures still inside.

Focus: A two-handed magical weapon worth at least 2000 gp.

Compare to:
Local Tremor (2nd, Races of the Dragon)
Wall of Fire (4th, SRD)
Maw of Chaos (9th, Spell Compendium)

What do you think? Do they look alright?

[dextercorvia]

Delphyre's Terra Breaker needs a range greater than zero. I would change the effect to 1 10' fissure/level. You also shouldn't refer to the area of effect, since that doesn't exist. I would allow the fissures to be placed anywhere in the range of the spell (probably Medium) so that they don't have to be right on top of the caster. I'd get rid of the Concentration, and just make the Duration 1 round/level -- that is fairly normal for a BFC effect.

For Delphyre's Dweomershift, I would make it 4th level and let it only reallocate the effective enhancement bonus inherent to the weapon. Not more than +5 or +5 effects. And it should leave a minimum of +1 to the actual enhancement bonus. Then, it could still be combined with the standard GMW. Duration should be 10min/level -- long enough to be useful over a couple of battles, but not long enough that you never need to buy another magic weapon.

[Yorae]

Delphyre's Terra Breaker needs a range greater than zero. I would change the effect to 1 10' fissure/level. You also shouldn't refer to the area of effect, since that doesn't exist. I would allow the fissures to be placed anywhere in the range of the spell (probably Medium) so that they don't have to be right on top of the caster. I'd get rid of the Concentration, and just make the Duration 1 round/level -- that is fairly normal for a BFC effect.


Is that how the range entry works? I thought that a range of 0ft. would mean that the fissures couldn't start out X distance away from you, since they need to begin adjacent to you. I wanted the targetting to work like a wall spell, but be required to start right next to you. I also figured that 1 round/lvl would be too powerful.
(Removed reference to "area of effect")



For Delphyre's Dweomershift, I would make it 4th level and let it only reallocate the effective enhancement bonus inherent to the weapon. Not more than +5 or +5 effects. And it should leave a minimum of +1 to the actual enhancement bonus. Then, it could still be combined with the standard GMW. Duration should be 10min/level -- long enough to be useful over a couple of battles, but not long enough that you never need to buy another magic weapon.
Hmm ... I think that may work. So you'd take your +2 Holy Greatsword and make it a +1 Speed Greatsword, then cast GMW and have a +4 Speed Greatsword... (since the enhancement bonus doesn't stack) I'll think on it a bit .

[bloodtide]

Delphyre's Dweomershift sounds like a good spell on paper....but trust me you don't want this spell in your game. The problem is that it can make any magic weapon. Lets look at the problems there:

1.Any time anyone encounters anything, they can always have the perfect weapon. It's bad enough if the simply make 'Bane vs enemy', but you can go down the list of all sorts of weapon abilities. And for a group to have every single magic weapon ability in the universe is a bit much.

2.It's bad enough that 'Bane' is a cheep ability to add to a weapon, but dozens of D&D books are full of dozens upon dozens of other problematic and or broken effects.

3.As written this spell can make Epic weapons right.....

If you really want to have this spell, it will need drawback to stop the abuse. Such as:

1.The Dweomershift destroys the weapon at the end of the spell. This would prevent a lot of characters from risking their 'special weapon' for this spell.

2.The spell has a costly material component.

3.The caster can only Dweomershift a weapon ability that they know of, either by having created a weapon of that type or touching and studying a weapon of that type.




Delphyre's Terra Breaker looks a bit weak for 9th level. It just breaks the ground and does 20d6 damage? (Or does the spell not have a damage cap?) Even so fire damage is quite boring and easy to protect from. And a 20th level caster would get a whole 200 feet of chasms?

1.And ok...so does the ground heal after the spell or not? Your description says both. The ground is 'difficult terrain' and the chasms close?

2.The spell makes a point about 'falling into the chasms', but then what? If you fall in do you take damage each round? How deep are the chasms anyway? How hard is it to get out?

3.The duration is concentration plus a couple rounds....that can make this spell last a long while.

4.Just to make it clear, this spell only opens the chasms once, right? The caster does not get to make new ones every round as they concentrate, right?

5.Is the caster effected by the chasms at all? Sure they are safe if they don't move, but what if they do? Can a caster fall into their own chasms?

6.Why no Spell Resistance? This sure fits the mold of an energy attack spell.

[Hirax]

For Delphyre's Dweomershift, I think you should require the caster to know the spell involved in the enchantment being placed upon the weapon. So to shift a weapon to having the speed enhancement, you'd need to know haste, or plane shift if you wanted to give something ghost touch. I think it should also have the option of both a 10 minute casting time and hours/level duration, or 1 full round casting time and a round/3 levels duration.

[Yorae]

Updated and clarified spells after reading responses so far and going over it with the DM a bit more. May still not be final versions, though.


Delphyre's Dweomershift sounds like a good spell on paper....but trust me you don't want this spell in your game. The problem is that it can make any magic weapon. Lets look at the problems there:

1.Any time anyone encounters anything, they can always have the perfect weapon. It's bad enough if the simply make 'Bane vs enemy', but you can go down the list of all sorts of weapon abilities. And for a group to have every single magic weapon ability in the universe is a bit much.

2.It's bad enough that 'Bane' is a cheep ability to add to a weapon, but dozens of D&D books are full of dozens upon dozens of other problematic and or broken effects.

3.As written this spell can make Epic weapons right.....

1) A level 1 artificer can do that. Sure, you could get Bane(whatever you are fighting) or Ghost Touch when you find some ethereal creatures, or seeking if you encounter something with a miss chance, but I don't think taking a round out of combat to get that is too powerful.

2) If something is overpowered enough that you wouldn't allow it as a permanent effect on an item, why would you allow this spell to put it on the item?

3) It couldn't give weapons the ability to overcome DR/Epic in its previous iteration (couldn't raise enhancement bonus over +5 unless the original weapon already was +6 or greater). It could add weapon enhancements whose totals were over +10. I liked Dextercorvia's suggestion, however, as did my DM - the new iteration of the spell can't do that anyway.


1.The Dweomershift destroys the weapon at the end of the spell. This would prevent a lot of characters from risking their 'special weapon' for this spell.

That's definately far too harsh a drawback. Lose a 4000 gp +2 sword just so I can make it +1 Ghost Touch for awhile? Heck no.



2.The spell has a costly material component.

Considered this, especially since the similar artificer weapon augmentation infusions require salves that costs 50-250-ish gp per casting. I don't think the revised version merits that cost, though



3.The caster can only Dweomershift a weapon ability that they know of, either by having created a weapon of that type or touching and studying a weapon of that type.

A little much, imo, but see Hirax's suggestion.






Delphyre's Terra Breaker looks a bit weak for 9th level. It just breaks the ground and does 20d6 damage? (Or does the spell not have a damage cap?) Even so fire damage is quite boring and easy to protect from. And a 20th level caster would get a whole 200 feet of chasms?

It's a damage / BC spell. It's damage is uncapped. It behaves similarly to Maw of Chaos.



1.And ok...so does the ground heal after the spell or not? Your description says both. The ground is 'difficult terrain' and the chasms close?

Sorry, my spell description wasn't descriptive enough. Within 10 feet of the fissures, the terrain is difficult due to the buckling and rippling tearing up the ground. The fissures DO grind shut at the end, but the ground is still all torn up. Made sure to clarify this in the description.



2.The spell makes a point about 'falling into the chasms', but then what? If you fall in do you take damage each round? How deep are the chasms anyway? How hard is it to get out?

Yeah, you're right, I needed to add more here. I'll add consequences to falling in here shortly. I'm thinking you need to make a full round action to attempt to climb out, though I'm not sure what the climb DC will be. And obviously they will still be taking damage and possibly falling prone while this is happening.



3.The duration is concentration plus a couple rounds....that can make this spell last a long while.

That's kind of the opposite of what dexter said... maybe I should remove the concentration part of the duration and extend the normal rounds.



4.Just to make it clear, this spell only opens the chasms once, right? The caster does not get to make new ones every round as they concentrate, right?

Yep, that's right. They all show up at once. This is supposed to be targeted similarly to a Wall of Fire spell, except that the fissures start next to you. Basically, you are transmuting the earth such that it forms cracks starting from your location and spreading out.



5.Is the caster effected by the chasms at all? Sure they are safe if they don't move, but what if they do? Can a caster fall into their own chasms?

If they move into the area where the fissures are, they are just as vulnerable as anyone else. The first few feet of the fissures aren't dangerous, but the rest is. If they happened to stand in the same space as one and fail their reflex save, they'd fall in the same as anyone.



6.Why no Spell Resistance? This sure fits the mold of an energy attack spell.
[/quote]
The same reason that instantaneous conjurations don't allow SR. You transmute the stone into molten rock. It's not magical fire or composed of magic at all, it's literal, real molten rock that you released from the depths of the earth. You get hurt by it just as if you were standing near / coming into contact with actual superheated magma.



For Delphyre's Dweomershift, I think you should require the caster to know the spell involved in the enchantment being placed upon the weapon. So to shift a weapon to having the speed enhancement, you'd need to know haste, or plane shift if you wanted to give something ghost touch. I think it should also have the option of both a 10 minute casting time and hours/level duration, or 1 full round casting time and a round/3 levels duration.

hmm.. I think I might like the first idea. I'm not sure that the second wouldn't overly complicate it and 10 min./lvl may be sufficient, though I'll talk about it some more with the DM.

Edit: Don't think I'm using the "caster must know the spell involved in the creation of the enhancement" requirement. I was fine with it, until my DM pointed out that it makes the spell extremely difficult for a sorcerer to use. She did suggest that the enhancement must not be from a prohibited school, however, and she liked the split durations.


Edit: Updated Terra Breaker with consequences for falling into a fissure. The DC of 25 was determined from the Climb skill description for "A rough surface, such as a natural rock wall or a brick wall." Also made it somewhat more likely that a creature will fall into the chasm, on DM's advice (fail by 5 or more rather than fail by 10 or more. Also adjusted the duration of Terra Breaker for twice as many rounds of duration, but no concentration. I'm not sure whether to change the duration for Dweomershift, though.

Edit: Made some additional edits based on feedback from my DM.

How does it look now?

[dextercorvia]

Is that how the range entry works? I thought that a range of 0ft. would mean that the fissures couldn't start out X distance away from you, since they need to begin adjacent to you. I wanted the targetting to work like a wall spell, but be required to start right next to you. I also figured that 1 round/lvl would be too powerful.
(Removed reference to "area of effect")

That is one effect of the range -- setting the targeting distance, but there is also a clause that any effect of the spell that is outside of the Range is wasted. A surprising number of canon spell writers missed that little bit in one spell or another.