Potent Enchantment Feat for Necromancy

[Estradus]

In Dragon Magazine 325, there is a feat called Potent Enchantment (https://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/feat/Potent_Enchantment) that raises the maximum number of HD affected for Enchantment spells that only effect a certain number of Hit Dice by 3, like Sleep could effect 7 hd of creatures. Would it be reasonable to make a similar feat for necromancy spells like Cause Fear? Are there any horrific side effects or fringe cases I would need to be aware of in phrasing the feats effects so it doesn't cause some unforeseen catastrophe?

[Thurbane]

I don't think it would be too out of line with the existing feat. Would it allow you to animate and control more undead?

[Estradus]

I don't think it would be too out of line with the existing feat. Would it allow you to animate and control more undead?

I wouldn't want it to - the intention is to effect more people with fear spells, or like... theres a third party spell called despair that's basically sleep but round/level instead of minute/level and stun instead of sleep. If there is a spell that only affects an undead of a certain value of HD, it would theoretically effect them?

But yeah, animate dead is the sort of case I'm looking for in the wording (it might allow you to raise zombies from 13 hd bodies and skeletons from 23? but not greater control.) Other considerations: prevent Trap the Soul from being affected, and make sure there isn't something like Holy Word or Cloudkill that can just "instant kill, its dead" based on hd in Necromancy

[Silly Name]

Honestly, I've always found it pretty dumb that all those spells causing fear are classified as Necromancy rather than Enchantment.

That said, a feat that increases the number of HD you could affect with Necromantic spells causing fear effects wouldn't be significantly more powerful than Potent Enchantment. If the feat included all spells from the Necromancy school, however, it would definitely be a very powerful feat.

[Estradus]

Honestly, I've always found it pretty dumb that all those spells causing fear are classified as Necromancy rather than Enchantment.

That said, a feat that increases the number of HD you could affect with Necromantic spells causing fear effects wouldn't be significantly more powerful than Potent Enchantment. If the feat included all spells from the Necromancy school, however, it would definitely be a very powerful feat.

I think that the fear spells being necromancy was more to give necromancers something to *do* that isn't just raising the dead and sucking out people's souls all the time, and there is a bit of logic to it - Enchantment is more about controlling people's emotions, fear is "i put a dash of negative energy in the part of the brain that freaks out in a crypt and just let normal brain chemistry take it from there."

I do like that take on the feat though, limits the amount of ludicrous nonsense potential.

[Blackhawk748]

I don't think it would be too out of line with the existing feat. Would it allow you to animate and control more undead?

Even if it does, it's only 3 HD which is a lot at low levels, but it very, very quickly becomes a fat lot of nothing at around, oh level 5 or so?

I mean, sure animating 3 more HD per cast of Animate dead is neat, and having Control Undead have 3 more HD is neat, but it's hardly crazy.