Doctor Awkward
2020-02-23, 03:07 AM
I was reading about an alleged dirty trick involving Shadowcraft Mage, the Dark creature template, and the spell planar bubble.
Supposedly it works like this:
A Shadowcraft Mage's Shadow Illusion ability changes certain illusion spells from the figment descriptor to the shadow descriptor.
The Plane of Shadow's Enhanced Magic trait states that spells with the shadow descriptor cast there are automatically Maximized, as though they were prepared with the feat at no increase in spell slots
The Dark template makes you a native to the Plane of Shadow.
The planar bubble spell causes the environment around you to mimic your native environment, which is the Plane of Shadow.
Thus preparing your spells effectively gives you Maximized spells for free.
Here are my problems:
1. The Shadowcraft Mage's Shadow Illusion ability is unclear to me as to exactly when it replaces the figment descriptor with the shadow. If it happens when you cast the spell, then preparing such spells there wouldn't get this supposed benefit.
2. I cannot find a definitive piece of text that indicates that Wizards gain this benefit for merely preparing their spells. On page 14, under the Planar Traits section, the text explaining Enhanced Magic contains the quote, "For example, spells with the fire descriptor are maximized and enlarged on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Wizards can prepare maximized, enlarged versions of their fire spells even if they don't have the Maximize Spell and Enlarge Spell feats, and they use the same spell slots they would to cast these spells normally (not maximized or enlarged) on the Material Plane."
But this seems to contradict the text under Enhanced Magic on page 60, which states, "Such spells are cast as though they were prepared with the Maximize Spell feat, though they don’t require the higher spell slots. Based on that reading, it's only shadow spells that are cast on the Plane of Shadows that are Maximized, not prepared there.
Any thoughts?
Supposedly it works like this:
A Shadowcraft Mage's Shadow Illusion ability changes certain illusion spells from the figment descriptor to the shadow descriptor.
The Plane of Shadow's Enhanced Magic trait states that spells with the shadow descriptor cast there are automatically Maximized, as though they were prepared with the feat at no increase in spell slots
The Dark template makes you a native to the Plane of Shadow.
The planar bubble spell causes the environment around you to mimic your native environment, which is the Plane of Shadow.
Thus preparing your spells effectively gives you Maximized spells for free.
Here are my problems:
1. The Shadowcraft Mage's Shadow Illusion ability is unclear to me as to exactly when it replaces the figment descriptor with the shadow. If it happens when you cast the spell, then preparing such spells there wouldn't get this supposed benefit.
2. I cannot find a definitive piece of text that indicates that Wizards gain this benefit for merely preparing their spells. On page 14, under the Planar Traits section, the text explaining Enhanced Magic contains the quote, "For example, spells with the fire descriptor are maximized and enlarged on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Wizards can prepare maximized, enlarged versions of their fire spells even if they don't have the Maximize Spell and Enlarge Spell feats, and they use the same spell slots they would to cast these spells normally (not maximized or enlarged) on the Material Plane."
But this seems to contradict the text under Enhanced Magic on page 60, which states, "Such spells are cast as though they were prepared with the Maximize Spell feat, though they don’t require the higher spell slots. Based on that reading, it's only shadow spells that are cast on the Plane of Shadows that are Maximized, not prepared there.
Any thoughts?