Bard Spell PEACH

[Melcar]

Glorious Inspiration
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting, Sonic]
Level: Bard 6
Components: V, S,
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round or special; see text
As Inspirational Boost but convers a +6 bonus.


Is this viable? Too little a bonus or too high?

[Vhaidara]

Way too strong. Two major problems:

1. Words of Creation. Doubles the effect of Inspire Courage. Hello +12 to hit and damage for the entire party. And that feeds into the other one...

2. Dragonfire Inspiration. +(IC bonus)d6 energy damage per hit. For the entire party. Combined with IC optimization, that gives you +4 from bard, +6 from this, +1 from Song of the Heart, +1 from Badge of Courage (or whatever the item is), and +1 from using a horn. That's +13, doubled by Words of Creation to +26. That's 26d6 per attack. Blaster mages struggle to get that per spell (admittedly to an AoE, but this is per hit).

I don't really feel that there needs to be something in this area for this effect. Also, it would result in a massive spike in damage for the party when the bard got 6th level spells.

Basically, it's too strong for the level of optimization where damage is relevant, and in the other ones, it's damage, which is irrelevant.

[Melcar]

But if a level 1 can give a +1 bonus, why cant a level 6 give a +6 bonus? A level 9 healing spell healt more than 9 times a level 1.

What about Shield of Faith, that give a +5 bonus as a level 1 spell?

Im pretty sure the spell is being adeed and not multiplied by Words of creation. I dont read as that.

[jedipotter]

It is fine. The plus is not too high for a high level spell.

[TuggyNE]

But if a level 1 can give a +1 bonus, why cant a level 6 give a +6 bonus? A level 9 healing spell healt more than 9 times a level 1.

Different scaling is different. HP scales naturally, and at a superlinear rate (due to linear HD scaling + linear Con bonus scaling). It's also wildly suboptimal, except for (mass) heal, which is merely suboptimal.

Inspirational boost is arguably rather strong for a first-level spell, and it is such that a sixth-level version is at least as relatively strong, which makes it a seventh-level or better.


What about Shield of Faith, that give a +5 bonus as a level 1 spell?

Again, different scaling. Shield of faith is deflection to AC (which does not naturally scale), as opposed to +X to attack/damage (which both do).

[Melcar]

Different scaling is different. HP scales naturally, and at a superlinear rate (due to linear HD scaling + linear Con bonus scaling). It's also wildly suboptimal, except for (mass) heal, which is merely suboptimal.

Inspirational boost is arguably rather strong for a first-level spell, and it is such that a sixth-level version is at least as relatively strong, which makes it a seventh-level or better.



Again, different scaling. Shield of faith is deflection to AC (which does not naturally scale), as opposed to +X to attack/damage (which both do).

Arguable you could have a level 6 Shield of Faith giving alot more than the level 1 version. I would Ague that if a level 1 can give a +5 bonus, a level 6 can give triple that at least. For a minimum of +15 deflection armor.

Also when you think what can be done with a level 9 spell. I would argue, that if bards had level 9 spells, that +9 attack and damage would not be too much, considering wish, miracle, Ice Assasin, Gate, SHapechange....

[TuggyNE]

The main point I was making is that different numbers require different scaling regimes (save boosters, to give the most obvious example, must scale at a different rate than damage bonuses or HP increases), and a spell that is rather powerful in its most limited form, if multiplied up to a higher level, may become so much more powerful than the norm as to be rather blatant.