Oberron
2019-04-19, 12:34 AM
While the Metamagic feat Fell Energy spell (from Dragon Compendium) is sometimes talked about, mostly for increasing HP to undead, I notice it isn't listed in some of the more popular Necromancer guides for buffing your army of undead. I'll also add personal buffs later for those who play undead PCs who want to be the rock-star instead of the band manager.
What is it?
Fell Energy Spell - Any numerical bonus granted by a spell modified with this feat increases by +2 for all undead creatures it affects. This increase does not apply to factors such as range, save DC, healing, or other numerical factors relating to a spell. Only effects described as bonuses gain this benefit. A fell energy spell takes up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.
In short this takes the numerical bonus listed on a spell that would affect an undead creature and gives it a +2, but the effect has to be listed as a bonus in the description.
Why is it good?
If you don't want to spend most your wealth on gear for your undead and if the DM isn't giving you great bodies to turn into undead, this is a good way of providing extra to-hit, damage, AC and the most popular use HP/HD, but the spell you use pretty much has to use the word 'bonus' for it to work, and there are some spells that work better than others with this.
You can also use DMM if you want to make this "free" since it is just a +1 if you're a cleric or other cheese, its still good even if you don't decrease the cost.
There are also a lot of different types of bonuses out there, enhancement, AC bonuses (of different kinds), save bonuses, profane, sacred, etc. Any of these, is pretty much fair game for Fell energy spell as long as the undead is able to gain some bonus from the spell either directly as the target, or indirectly from other spells.
Why don't other big necromancer guides mention this?
The source is from dragon magazine and this can be found in the Dragon compendium. Some DMs allow stuff from this book others do not. DM allowance will vary.
Not all spells are equal, some are more equal than others.
So you want to use this on things that buff their stats right? Well not so much. Lets take bull's strength as an example, it goes from +4 str to +6, which translate to +3 hit and +3-+4 melee damage depending if two-handing weapon or not. Its a 2nd level spell and last 1min/lvl. Now take a look at magic weapon, first level spell and last same amount of time. It goes from +1/+1 to-hit/damage to +3/+3, for the same spell level of bull's strength normally you get. Now if you don't have corpsecrafter bull's strength is alright, but you better have corpsecrafter and the str bonus from it is enhancement so a fell energy bull's strength is only giving you a +2 bonus making that +3/+3-+4 into more of a +1/+1-+2, while magic weapon still rocking the +3/+3 and makes the weapon count as magic.
Okay, so what spells are good with this?
For this section we will talk about typical spells that will be used in your early necromancer life for buffing undead. I'll be going through a few common necromancers base classes, uncommon necromancer base classes that can buff well and their spell list starting with the SRD and will add more through different and more obscure sources deeper into the guide when i get the time. All the spells with refer to what lvl they are normally (lvlx) and will talk about their effects as if fell energy spell was used with it.
But some spells don't target the undead! This means FES doesn't work right?
FES will work regardless of what the target is as long as an undead creature is gaining a bonus from the spell. There has already been a thread focusing on this point and aside from arguments that boil down to "nu-uh because I said so" there has not been any RAW argument that works against it. As for proving that it does work with spells that don't target the undead but still affects them we just have to look at the spell desecrate as proof. The target of the spell is an area and the area grants many bonuses for undead that are made in it or standing in it. It is a very popular choice to use with fell energy even though it doesn't target. We can even look into the RAW for FES to show that the spell doesn't have to target. Any numerical bonus granted by a spell modified with this feat increases by +2 for all undead creatures it affects. No where in the feat does it say the spell has to target the undead, but it does say the bonus has to affect the undead. If you have any arguments or RAW that shows otherwise please use either the thread that was made HERE (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?587007-Rules-discussion-on-Fell-Energy-Spell-Do-bonuses-on-items-affect-wielders&p=23880361#post23880361) or make a new thread and PM me about it.
Cleric SRD spell list:
Lvl 1:
Magic weapon - +3/+3 to-hit/damage.
Magic stone- 3 magic rocks/sling bullets with +3/+3 that deals 1d6+3 damage or 2d6+6 vs enemy undead. Last 30 mins, this is fantastic for early game range undead.
Protection from xxx - +4 deflection and +4 to saves vs the alignment type is really solid but it being 1min/lvl can be a trouble at early levels.
Shield of faith- +4 deflection AC an additional +3 to the bonus for every six levels.
Lvl 2:
Desecrate - While the common use is for the +6 HP/hd(which is really good), don't be afraid to use this for combat as well (especially when you have a portable altar) because it will give a +6! profane bonus on to-hit/damage/saves for your undead in a 20ft area for multiple hours per level but its in an area. Use this for skeleton archers with compound bows and have fun destroying creatures.
Lvl 3:
Magic vestments- +3 enhancement bonus PER 4 CL and it last 1hour/Clvl. This is fantastic with CL cheese (like reserves of strength) because that simple leather armor/shield (or both!) get into effectively epic lvl bonuses fast.
magic circle against xxx- this one is odd because even though it is a circle on the ground the effect says it has 10-ft.-radius emanation from touched creature. its an AOE protection spell.
Lvl 4:
magic weapon greater - +3 enhancement bonus/4 CL.
wizard/sorcerer SRD spell list:
Lvl 1:
Mage armor- +6 ac at hour/lvl is good for nearly any time and last longer than protection from xxx.
protection from xxx- see above with the cleric but with mage armor at same lvl Mage armor is better for ac bumping.
magic weapon- See cleric entry
Lvl 3:
Haste- Extra attack, +3 on attack rolls, dodge ac, and reflex saves is nice most effective for range undead unless they are already in combat so you don't waste a round of extra attacks but still good on melee.
magic weapon,greater- See cleric entry
Magic circle against xxx- See cleric entry.
Dread necromancer:
Aside from the special spells the dread Necromancer gets to add to their list the DN gets nothing from the base kit to buff their undead. Unless I missed something which i might have. A bit of a shame but not a total loss as DNs are still really good.
Artificers
Note: While artificers are already really dang good at whatever they want by breaking the WBL their infusions are also perfect targets for FES since most of them are buffs and some unique ones at that. While they aren't normally necromancers they can fake it enough to make it or if you are an undead artificer make yourself even more beefy. Being able to make any wand/staff of XXX spell then adding fell energy MM with an infusion means the artificer can do anything and everything all the other list can do.
Infusions:
Lvl 1:
Magic stone- See cleric.
Magic vestment- See cleric. But notice its a lvl1 infusion instead of lvl3 which makes it come online a lot sooner.
Magic weapon- See cleric.
Metamagic scroll- This is a special mention since this can apply FES to a scroll, not a bad way to circumnavigate the +1 spell slot.
Resistance- +3 to saving throws to start with another +3 per 4 caster levels. And at 10mins/CL This will last a good while if you think your minions will need this.
Shield of faith- See cleric.
Lvl 3:
Magic weapon, greater- See cleric but note it is a lvl lower than the cleric gets it at.
Metamagic Item- This gets a special note since it can apply to any spell trigger item not just scrolls. Eternal wands or staffs of buffs anyone?
Lvl 4:
Shield of faith,mass- See Cleric entry under the Spell Compendium secton.
Going into the Spell Compendium we get a lot more juicy spells!
Cleric:
Lvl 2:
Fuse arms- If you have Undead that have multiple sets of arms/tentacles normally, this spell can be a powerhouse. Giant Octopus for instance will gain +18 str with all its limbs fused into two tentacles, that is 38 str with 20ft reach.
Stone bones- +5 enhancement bonus to their natural armor for 10min/lvl really useful buff for AC stacking and makes it one short from iron bones, a lvl 4 spell.
Lvl 4:
Recitation- A AOE +4 luck bonus to AC,attack rolls, and saves and if you have any intelligent undead who worship the same detity as you it is a +5.
Lvl 5:
Shield of Faith, Mass- You get a shield of faith and YOU get a shield of faith! Mass shield of faith, for quick army buffing.
Sorcerer/Wizard:
Lvl 1:Targeting Ray- +3 insight per 3CL on ranged attacks on a target only 1round/lvl though but gets better the higher CL you are. Get em boys!
Nerveskitter- +7 to initiative helps if your DM doesn't just say your undead go at your turn, then you just use it on yourself anyway. Not the best use but is interesting of note.
Lvl 2:
Stone bones- See Cleric.
Lvl 3:
Mage armor,greater- +8 ac with hour/lvl or...
Mage armor, mass- You get a shield of faith mage armor! Mass shield of faithmage armor, for quick army buffing.
Incorporeal Enhancement- Don't leave out those shadows in the rain! This (for 24 hours!) will give 1 incoporeal undead/lvl the following +3 deflection to ac, +1d8+2HP, a +3 bonus to attack and +4 to turn resistance PER every five caster levels beyond 5th. This is the go-to buff spell for incorporeal undead.
What is it?
Fell Energy Spell - Any numerical bonus granted by a spell modified with this feat increases by +2 for all undead creatures it affects. This increase does not apply to factors such as range, save DC, healing, or other numerical factors relating to a spell. Only effects described as bonuses gain this benefit. A fell energy spell takes up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.
In short this takes the numerical bonus listed on a spell that would affect an undead creature and gives it a +2, but the effect has to be listed as a bonus in the description.
Why is it good?
If you don't want to spend most your wealth on gear for your undead and if the DM isn't giving you great bodies to turn into undead, this is a good way of providing extra to-hit, damage, AC and the most popular use HP/HD, but the spell you use pretty much has to use the word 'bonus' for it to work, and there are some spells that work better than others with this.
You can also use DMM if you want to make this "free" since it is just a +1 if you're a cleric or other cheese, its still good even if you don't decrease the cost.
There are also a lot of different types of bonuses out there, enhancement, AC bonuses (of different kinds), save bonuses, profane, sacred, etc. Any of these, is pretty much fair game for Fell energy spell as long as the undead is able to gain some bonus from the spell either directly as the target, or indirectly from other spells.
Why don't other big necromancer guides mention this?
The source is from dragon magazine and this can be found in the Dragon compendium. Some DMs allow stuff from this book others do not. DM allowance will vary.
Not all spells are equal, some are more equal than others.
So you want to use this on things that buff their stats right? Well not so much. Lets take bull's strength as an example, it goes from +4 str to +6, which translate to +3 hit and +3-+4 melee damage depending if two-handing weapon or not. Its a 2nd level spell and last 1min/lvl. Now take a look at magic weapon, first level spell and last same amount of time. It goes from +1/+1 to-hit/damage to +3/+3, for the same spell level of bull's strength normally you get. Now if you don't have corpsecrafter bull's strength is alright, but you better have corpsecrafter and the str bonus from it is enhancement so a fell energy bull's strength is only giving you a +2 bonus making that +3/+3-+4 into more of a +1/+1-+2, while magic weapon still rocking the +3/+3 and makes the weapon count as magic.
Okay, so what spells are good with this?
For this section we will talk about typical spells that will be used in your early necromancer life for buffing undead. I'll be going through a few common necromancers base classes, uncommon necromancer base classes that can buff well and their spell list starting with the SRD and will add more through different and more obscure sources deeper into the guide when i get the time. All the spells with refer to what lvl they are normally (lvlx) and will talk about their effects as if fell energy spell was used with it.
But some spells don't target the undead! This means FES doesn't work right?
FES will work regardless of what the target is as long as an undead creature is gaining a bonus from the spell. There has already been a thread focusing on this point and aside from arguments that boil down to "nu-uh because I said so" there has not been any RAW argument that works against it. As for proving that it does work with spells that don't target the undead but still affects them we just have to look at the spell desecrate as proof. The target of the spell is an area and the area grants many bonuses for undead that are made in it or standing in it. It is a very popular choice to use with fell energy even though it doesn't target. We can even look into the RAW for FES to show that the spell doesn't have to target. Any numerical bonus granted by a spell modified with this feat increases by +2 for all undead creatures it affects. No where in the feat does it say the spell has to target the undead, but it does say the bonus has to affect the undead. If you have any arguments or RAW that shows otherwise please use either the thread that was made HERE (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?587007-Rules-discussion-on-Fell-Energy-Spell-Do-bonuses-on-items-affect-wielders&p=23880361#post23880361) or make a new thread and PM me about it.
Cleric SRD spell list:
Lvl 1:
Magic weapon - +3/+3 to-hit/damage.
Magic stone- 3 magic rocks/sling bullets with +3/+3 that deals 1d6+3 damage or 2d6+6 vs enemy undead. Last 30 mins, this is fantastic for early game range undead.
Protection from xxx - +4 deflection and +4 to saves vs the alignment type is really solid but it being 1min/lvl can be a trouble at early levels.
Shield of faith- +4 deflection AC an additional +3 to the bonus for every six levels.
Lvl 2:
Desecrate - While the common use is for the +6 HP/hd(which is really good), don't be afraid to use this for combat as well (especially when you have a portable altar) because it will give a +6! profane bonus on to-hit/damage/saves for your undead in a 20ft area for multiple hours per level but its in an area. Use this for skeleton archers with compound bows and have fun destroying creatures.
Lvl 3:
Magic vestments- +3 enhancement bonus PER 4 CL and it last 1hour/Clvl. This is fantastic with CL cheese (like reserves of strength) because that simple leather armor/shield (or both!) get into effectively epic lvl bonuses fast.
magic circle against xxx- this one is odd because even though it is a circle on the ground the effect says it has 10-ft.-radius emanation from touched creature. its an AOE protection spell.
Lvl 4:
magic weapon greater - +3 enhancement bonus/4 CL.
wizard/sorcerer SRD spell list:
Lvl 1:
Mage armor- +6 ac at hour/lvl is good for nearly any time and last longer than protection from xxx.
protection from xxx- see above with the cleric but with mage armor at same lvl Mage armor is better for ac bumping.
magic weapon- See cleric entry
Lvl 3:
Haste- Extra attack, +3 on attack rolls, dodge ac, and reflex saves is nice most effective for range undead unless they are already in combat so you don't waste a round of extra attacks but still good on melee.
magic weapon,greater- See cleric entry
Magic circle against xxx- See cleric entry.
Dread necromancer:
Aside from the special spells the dread Necromancer gets to add to their list the DN gets nothing from the base kit to buff their undead. Unless I missed something which i might have. A bit of a shame but not a total loss as DNs are still really good.
Artificers
Note: While artificers are already really dang good at whatever they want by breaking the WBL their infusions are also perfect targets for FES since most of them are buffs and some unique ones at that. While they aren't normally necromancers they can fake it enough to make it or if you are an undead artificer make yourself even more beefy. Being able to make any wand/staff of XXX spell then adding fell energy MM with an infusion means the artificer can do anything and everything all the other list can do.
Infusions:
Lvl 1:
Magic stone- See cleric.
Magic vestment- See cleric. But notice its a lvl1 infusion instead of lvl3 which makes it come online a lot sooner.
Magic weapon- See cleric.
Metamagic scroll- This is a special mention since this can apply FES to a scroll, not a bad way to circumnavigate the +1 spell slot.
Resistance- +3 to saving throws to start with another +3 per 4 caster levels. And at 10mins/CL This will last a good while if you think your minions will need this.
Shield of faith- See cleric.
Lvl 3:
Magic weapon, greater- See cleric but note it is a lvl lower than the cleric gets it at.
Metamagic Item- This gets a special note since it can apply to any spell trigger item not just scrolls. Eternal wands or staffs of buffs anyone?
Lvl 4:
Shield of faith,mass- See Cleric entry under the Spell Compendium secton.
Going into the Spell Compendium we get a lot more juicy spells!
Cleric:
Lvl 2:
Fuse arms- If you have Undead that have multiple sets of arms/tentacles normally, this spell can be a powerhouse. Giant Octopus for instance will gain +18 str with all its limbs fused into two tentacles, that is 38 str with 20ft reach.
Stone bones- +5 enhancement bonus to their natural armor for 10min/lvl really useful buff for AC stacking and makes it one short from iron bones, a lvl 4 spell.
Lvl 4:
Recitation- A AOE +4 luck bonus to AC,attack rolls, and saves and if you have any intelligent undead who worship the same detity as you it is a +5.
Lvl 5:
Shield of Faith, Mass- You get a shield of faith and YOU get a shield of faith! Mass shield of faith, for quick army buffing.
Sorcerer/Wizard:
Lvl 1:Targeting Ray- +3 insight per 3CL on ranged attacks on a target only 1round/lvl though but gets better the higher CL you are. Get em boys!
Nerveskitter- +7 to initiative helps if your DM doesn't just say your undead go at your turn, then you just use it on yourself anyway. Not the best use but is interesting of note.
Lvl 2:
Stone bones- See Cleric.
Lvl 3:
Mage armor,greater- +8 ac with hour/lvl or...
Mage armor, mass- You get a shield of faith mage armor! Mass shield of faithmage armor, for quick army buffing.
Incorporeal Enhancement- Don't leave out those shadows in the rain! This (for 24 hours!) will give 1 incoporeal undead/lvl the following +3 deflection to ac, +1d8+2HP, a +3 bonus to attack and +4 to turn resistance PER every five caster levels beyond 5th. This is the go-to buff spell for incorporeal undead.