Energy Transformation Field?

[CIDE]

I'm reading this spell and trying to figure this out; does this spell also absorb enchantments such as flaming burst on a sword when used within the spell's radius? The limit seems to be "effects".

Looking for both RAW and what you'd do as a DM with this spell.

[Irk]

It only affects spells, Sp abilities, and Su abilities. Magic items are not affected:

Ongoing magical effects that enter the area, including spells cast from outside the area into the field or continually functioning items such as a +1 mace, are often visibly reduced, but do not have their actual effects hindered.
For example, a continual flame would dim slightly, but its overall magic would not be affected.
Once the field has absorbed enough spell levels, it casts the spell it was keyed to. For example, if that spell was fireball, one could cast magic missile three times within the field with no result, and a fireball spell would target the nearest creature on the third attempt, since each magic missile provides a single level towards the creation of the third level fireball. Hope this helps.

[Jack_Simth]

I'm reading this spell and trying to figure this out; does this spell also absorb enchantments such as flaming burst on a sword when used within the spell's radius? The limit seems to be "effects".

Looking for both RAW and what you'd do as a DM with this spell.
As a DM: Just ban the silly thing. It's way too abusable. 5,000 gp, 250 xp, and you get a buff you can activate whenever in a fortress of any kind? Cast it several times in an enveloping pit, and you can have several buffs effectively at-will (open the pit, cast fly, fly down, trigger your item enough to activate each segment; link them to beneficial spells; have the lowest end be something useless, and it also makes a handy impromptu prison).

RAW, though? As far as I can tell, checking Spell Compendium (pages 80-81):

Take a +1 Flaming Burst Greatsword:
If the flaming burst property is active when you enter, it is unaffected (under the continually functioning items/effect clause). As there is rarely any downside to leaving such a blade on, and plenty of reason not to turn it off, this is the clause you'll get under most circumstances. If you try to turn it on the flaming burst property while inside it (the Flaming Burst property inherits a command-word from the Flaming property), however, the energy transformation field would absorb the energy from turning the flame on, and it wouldn't ignite... and the field would pick up two, three, four, or five charges depending on who made the sword and how they did so (requirements are flame blade, flame strike, or fireball... Flame Blade is Druid 2, Fireball is Sor/Wiz 3, and Flame Strike is Druid 4, Cleric/War/Sun-5; so a Druid built blade would add either 2 or 4, a Cleric built blade would add 5, and a Sorcerer or Wizard built blade would add 3). The blade would maintain it's +1 property, however.

Edit: That does beg the question, though: What's the cheapest at-will magic item that would provide at least one charge to the ETF that anyone can trigger? +1 Flaming Arrow? Hold it as an improvised dagger, turn it off, then turn the flaming on repeatedly? If you never actually fire it, it never gets used up. Provides somewhere between 2 and 5 charges each use, and the arrows cost... what, 166.05 gp/each, market? Have a cleric make it, and it gives 5 charges per use to the ETF that way.

[Sith_Happens]

As a DM: Just ban the silly thing.

This. Energy Transformation Field is just the right combination of overpowered and confusing to be one of the most bannable spells in the game.

[CIDE]

It only affects spells, Sp abilities, and Su abilities. Magic items are not affected:

Once the field has absorbed enough spell levels, it casts the spell it was keyed to. For example, if that spell was fireball, one could cast magic missile three times within the field with no result, and a fireball spell would target the nearest creature on the third attempt, since each magic missile provides a single level towards the creation of the third level fireball. Hope this helps.

It mentions "effects", though. Even specifically references things like rods that don't actually cast a spell and uses the level of the spell that enchanted it for the absorbed value instead. Don't think that counts?


As a DM: Just ban the silly thing. It's way too abusable. 5,000 gp, 250 xp, and you get a buff you can activate whenever in a fortress of any kind? Cast it several times in an enveloping pit, and you can have several buffs effectively at-will (open the pit, cast fly, fly down, trigger your item enough to activate each segment; link them to beneficial spells; have the lowest end be something useless, and it also makes a handy impromptu prison).



Yeah, seems like a good idea. A viable replacement for some of the automatically resetting traps. Especially since you can spam unlimited use items as well to power the spell in question without any sort of penalty.


This. Energy Transformation Field is just the right combination of overpowered and confusing to be one of the most bannable spells in the game.

thanks.

[Phelix-Mu]

It was funny when I discovered that Sp and Su can power this abomination spell. Of course, it already was an epic campaign, but it really is useful when your wyrm rod can use its breath weapon to fuel an unlimited repetition of any of a bunch of spell. I think we mainly used it ETF as a kind of factory for modifying regular materials.

Yeah, I think this spell probably goes on my ban list. The rewrite would be very confusing, and practically result in a totally different spell.