Quellian-dyrae
2007-01-31, 08:22 PM
High-level mages are decked out with an arsenal of spells designed to damage, debilitate, or destroy their foes while defending themselves from threats, and many make use of metamagic feats to enhance those powers (especially in the offensive field). Fair enough. But low-level mages are nigh useless offensively (you have to get lucky to drop an orc with a magic missile, while a greatsword toting fighter will do it every hit...and probably cleave the next orc in line while it's at it), and mage defense in general is really geared more towards preparatory defenses than actual ability to duke it out spell against spell, and frankly, a wizard isn't likely to last more than the round it loses initiative in against another mage of equal level if it doesn't have the right defense on. Me, I like the idea of mages going at it spell against spell, blasting with one hand and dispelling with the other, as it were, and I'd also like for a mage to be able to deal more credible harm at the lower levels.
As a side note, my intention is that psions can also make use of these feats, with appropriate modifications (psicraft rather than spellcraft, for example) and can also select them as if they were psionic feats.
Counterforce:
You are a master of magical defense.
Prerequisites: Improved Counterspell, Spellcraft 6 ranks.
Benefit: You are able to execute a counterforce as a standard action. To counterforce, you must expend a prepared spell or spell slot. You instantly attempt to negate another spell in a manner similar to the casting of dispel magic. You may counter a spell as it is being cast by readying an action, or you may attempt to counter a single spell acting on a duration, provided you can target the target or effect of the spell.
To succeed at a counterforce attempt, you roll a check using 1d20 + your caster level + twice the level of the spell you expended, against a DC of 11 + the caster level of the spell to be countered + twice the level of the spell to be countered. If you succeed, the spell is negated.
You may counterforce as an immediate action (and as such, without readying an action to counterforce) by taking a -4 penalty on your counterforce check. You may counterforce as a free action by taking -6 on the check.
Special: A wizard may select counterforce as one of its bonus feats. A character with Spell Focus or Greater Spell Focus in the abjuration school adds its DC bonus to its counterforce checks.
Counterforce, Improved:
Your defenses against magic almost always have some effect.
Prerequisites: Improved Counterspell, Spellcraft 9 ranks, Counterforce.
Benefit: Even if you fail to perform a counterforce, you still weaken the spell in some way. If you failed by only 1-3 points, all numeric effects of the spell (range, damage, bonuses, and so on) are halved and the save DC is reduced by the spell level of the spell you expended.
If you fail by 4-6 points, you must choose only one of the above effects.
If you fail by 7-9 points, the save DC is reduced by half the spell level of the spell you expended and its numeric effects are unchanged. Spells that do not allow a save are unaffected.
If you fail by 10 or more points there is no effect.
Special: A wizard may select improved counterforce as one of its bonus feats.
Counterforce, Greater: You can manipulate the energy of successfully countered spells to your benefit.
Prerequisites: Improved Counterspell, Spellcraft 12 ranks, Counterforce, Improved Counterforce.
Benefit: If you succeed to execute a counterforce with a high roll, you can turn the energy of the spell to your benefit. If you succeed by 4-6 points, the spell is turned back on its caster (as if through Spell Turning; if the spell cannot normally be turned there is no effect). If you succeed by 7-9 points, you can instead redirect the spell to any legal target (consider yourself to be the origination point). If you succeed by ten or more points, you can use the energy of the spell to cast another spell of the same level without spending a prepared spell or spell slot; you must use the energy on your next turn or the spell is wasted.
Special: A wizard may select greater counterforce as one of its bonus feats.
Focus Power:
You can charge your spells with significant energy.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 4 ranks.
Benefit: You may add your primary spellcasting ability modifier to the total damage inflicted by any spell you cast. If the spell deals damage from multiple simultaneous attacks (as with magic missile) each target sustains this extra damage only once. For example, if a wizard with an Intelligence of 22 shot three magic missiles at one ogre and one at each of two orcs, the ogre would take 3d4+9 damage and each ogre would take 1d4+7. If the spell deals damage over time, this bonus damage applies each time the subject takes damage.
Special: A wizard may select focus power as one of its bonus feats.
Focus Power, Improved:
You can charge your spells with incredible energy.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 4 ranks, Focus Power.
Benefit: The bonus damage you deal from focus power is increased by spell’s level.
Special: A wizard may select improved focus power as one of its bonus feats.
As a side note, my intention is that psions can also make use of these feats, with appropriate modifications (psicraft rather than spellcraft, for example) and can also select them as if they were psionic feats.
Counterforce:
You are a master of magical defense.
Prerequisites: Improved Counterspell, Spellcraft 6 ranks.
Benefit: You are able to execute a counterforce as a standard action. To counterforce, you must expend a prepared spell or spell slot. You instantly attempt to negate another spell in a manner similar to the casting of dispel magic. You may counter a spell as it is being cast by readying an action, or you may attempt to counter a single spell acting on a duration, provided you can target the target or effect of the spell.
To succeed at a counterforce attempt, you roll a check using 1d20 + your caster level + twice the level of the spell you expended, against a DC of 11 + the caster level of the spell to be countered + twice the level of the spell to be countered. If you succeed, the spell is negated.
You may counterforce as an immediate action (and as such, without readying an action to counterforce) by taking a -4 penalty on your counterforce check. You may counterforce as a free action by taking -6 on the check.
Special: A wizard may select counterforce as one of its bonus feats. A character with Spell Focus or Greater Spell Focus in the abjuration school adds its DC bonus to its counterforce checks.
Counterforce, Improved:
Your defenses against magic almost always have some effect.
Prerequisites: Improved Counterspell, Spellcraft 9 ranks, Counterforce.
Benefit: Even if you fail to perform a counterforce, you still weaken the spell in some way. If you failed by only 1-3 points, all numeric effects of the spell (range, damage, bonuses, and so on) are halved and the save DC is reduced by the spell level of the spell you expended.
If you fail by 4-6 points, you must choose only one of the above effects.
If you fail by 7-9 points, the save DC is reduced by half the spell level of the spell you expended and its numeric effects are unchanged. Spells that do not allow a save are unaffected.
If you fail by 10 or more points there is no effect.
Special: A wizard may select improved counterforce as one of its bonus feats.
Counterforce, Greater: You can manipulate the energy of successfully countered spells to your benefit.
Prerequisites: Improved Counterspell, Spellcraft 12 ranks, Counterforce, Improved Counterforce.
Benefit: If you succeed to execute a counterforce with a high roll, you can turn the energy of the spell to your benefit. If you succeed by 4-6 points, the spell is turned back on its caster (as if through Spell Turning; if the spell cannot normally be turned there is no effect). If you succeed by 7-9 points, you can instead redirect the spell to any legal target (consider yourself to be the origination point). If you succeed by ten or more points, you can use the energy of the spell to cast another spell of the same level without spending a prepared spell or spell slot; you must use the energy on your next turn or the spell is wasted.
Special: A wizard may select greater counterforce as one of its bonus feats.
Focus Power:
You can charge your spells with significant energy.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 4 ranks.
Benefit: You may add your primary spellcasting ability modifier to the total damage inflicted by any spell you cast. If the spell deals damage from multiple simultaneous attacks (as with magic missile) each target sustains this extra damage only once. For example, if a wizard with an Intelligence of 22 shot three magic missiles at one ogre and one at each of two orcs, the ogre would take 3d4+9 damage and each ogre would take 1d4+7. If the spell deals damage over time, this bonus damage applies each time the subject takes damage.
Special: A wizard may select focus power as one of its bonus feats.
Focus Power, Improved:
You can charge your spells with incredible energy.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 4 ranks, Focus Power.
Benefit: The bonus damage you deal from focus power is increased by spell’s level.
Special: A wizard may select improved focus power as one of its bonus feats.