Now...If You Really Want to Test Your Strength, Stay Right Where You Are! (PEACH)

[NeoSeraphi]

It's depressing when my uber-awesome titles are so long that I can't actually post stuff. A little insight, the titles of threads actually take me longer than the material most of the time, even some of the entire base classes I write. I give a lot of real thought to them, but just posting the name of the class would be boring. (No offense to all my fellow homebrewers out there. I just like snazzy titles)

Anyway, in case you haven't guessed, this is another specialist wizard spell. If any of you got the reference (which I doubt, sadly, it's kind of an unmemorable line for most people), you can probably tell which school this one is.


Destructive Energy Storm
Evocation [Fire]/[Cold]/[Electricity]/[Sonic]/[Force]
Level: Evoker 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Long
Area: 50 ft radius Burst
Duration: Instantaneous, see text
Saving Throw: Reflex Half
SR: Yes

You charge up for a few seconds, then unleash all of your power in a ferocious storm of energy. Not even the wily rogue is able to completely escape your powerful storm of magic.

As you cast this spell, choose a descriptor from the list: [Fire], [Cold], [Electricity], [Sonic], or [Force]. This spell gains that descriptor and deals 1d20 points of that type of energy damage per caster level to all creatures in the area. Each creature is allowed a Reflex saving throw for half damage, but this spell's damage may not be negated by the Evasion or Improved Evasion ability (if gained by a magic item, race or spell) or class feature.

A creature's energy resistance is completely ignored by this spell, and creatures with immunity to the chosen energy instead take half damage with this spell, or a quarter damage if they succeed their saving throw.

[Rapidghoul]

Fire, Cold, Electricity, Sonic, and Force... but no Acid? You have four of the five energy types (plus force), why not have them all (plus force)?

[Siosilvar]

Fire, Cold, Electricity, Sonic, and Force... but no Acid? You have four of the five energy types (plus force), why not have them all (plus force)?

Acid traditionally falls under the purview of Conjuration (Creation).

[NeoSeraphi]

Fire, Cold, Electricity, Sonic, and Force... but no Acid? You have four of the five energy types (plus force), why not have them all (plus force)?

As SioSilvar stated. Evocation does not generally have any [acid] spells, and it certainly doesn't have any in Core. [Acid] is a Conjuration thing.

[Rapidghoul]

Fair enough. I've just been working too long on a homebrew or three of my own that work with the energies. Just wanted to make sure it was intentional and not an oversight or typo or the like.

I do like the spell. Uncapped d20's of area damage that overcomes energy resistance and immunity seems very Evoker-ish.

[bloodtide]

I'm all for a powerful evocation spell that 'breaks' the rules. but why not just do it within the rules?

Why not just make the energy damage untyped? Then it will avoid everything such as resistance or immunity.

Avoiding evasion is a bit odd, and it's still a reflex save and 99% of the time if something has evasion they have a high reflex save too. So why not just make it a fortitude save? Go with the idea that the storm fills the whole area with energy so you can't avoid it, you just have to physically resist it.

[NeoSeraphi]

I'm all for a powerful evocation spell that 'breaks' the rules. but why not just do it within the rules?

Why not just make the energy damage untyped? Then it will avoid everything such as resistance or immunity.

Because that's not how evocation works. Evocation doesn't do "energy damage". It does fire, or cold, or electricity. There's no point in making a spell that epitomizes the school if I go against everything the school stands for.


Avoiding evasion is a bit odd, and it's still a reflex save and 99% of the time if something has evasion they have a high reflex save too. So why not just make it a fortitude save? Go with the idea that the storm fills the whole area with energy so you can't avoid it, you just have to physically resist it.

I'd rather remove evasion than make it Fort and have to deal with Mettle. If I'm playing an Evoker, it's because I want to target the weakest save in the game for most players. And if I am, it means I've spent the past 16 levels putting up with evasion, so it's about damn time I got rewarded for that.

[Yitzi]

A few things:

1. When the subtype is so variable (e.g. summon monster or type-varying powers), it usually just says [see text] rather than listing all the possible subtypes.
2. You might want to consider focusing on having extremely high area (for an army killer) rather than high damage. After all, no matter how impressive you make it, an evoker will still be inferior to other wizards at killing a single strong enemy, so you might as well help him excel at what he's good at (removing huge numbers of minions.)