(Feat) Fire in the Hole! (P.E.A.C.H.)

[DracoDei]

Fire in the hole!
Prerequisite: Must be capable of casting at least one area of effect spell that could cause you harm.

You gain a +8 on all saving throws against spells you cast.

(Useful both for dropping a Flamestrike on yourself when surrounded, and in case of Spell Turning.)

[nonsi]

.
How about this:

Eye of the storm (Metamagic)
Prerequisites: Able to cast any damaging spell with an AoE of Burst/Spread/Cylinder.
Benefit: You may cast a spell as noted above with you as the focal point. The effect starts 1 foot away from your person and continues outwards, leaving you and your equipment unscathed.
A spell so modified uses up a spell slot two levels higher than the spell’s actual level.

[rferries]

I love the idea and the current version seems fine, but I humbly suggest either:

a) Adding the evasion/mettle special qualities against your own spells (as it is, a squishy wizard still couldn't afford to be in the area of their own fireball, even with a +8 bonus),

or

b) Upgrading it to a blanket immunity to your own spells (just as you automatically succeed when dispelling your own spells).

[Elves]

For a feat you should be able to choose to be immune to them, IMO.

Maybe fair in its current form if you extend half the bonus to allies.

[Zarrgon]

Never really had this come up much in my games. Guess because I do the "tons of spells" option.

But a metamagic feat that cost two spell levels should just make you immune to the spell really.

And a plus +8 to a save is just saying "immune" anyway.

Huummm...what might be a good idea is to make this an Abjuration feat, like:

Safe Spellcasting (General)
Prerequisites: Greater Spell Focus(Abjuration)
Benefit: You are immune to the effects of your own spells.

So that makes it an "obvious" thing for Abrures to take, but still leaves it open to everyone.

[rferries]

Never really had this come up much in my games. Guess because I do the "tons of spells" option.

But a metamagic feat that cost two spell levels should just make you immune to the spell really.

And a plus +8 to a save is just saying "immune" anyway.

Huummm...what might be a good idea is to make this an Abjuration feat, like:

Safe Spellcasting (General)
Prerequisites: Greater Spell Focus(Abjuration)
Benefit: You are immune to the effects of your own spells.

So that makes it an "obvious" thing for Abrures to take, but still leaves it open to everyone.

Thematically that makes sense, but since the feat mainly benefits evokers it might be impractical.

[nonsi]

But a metamagic feat that cost two spell levels should just make you immune to the spell really.


Unless I misspoken, that's exactly whet the feat says - in practice if not formally.
The intent was to make it happen without rewriting the "physics" of D&D.
I view immediate-damage area spell effects (blasts basically) as the physical result of a magical process.
Analogy: Regard the casting of the spell as a detonator going "click" and the spell effect as "boom". Once you pull the pin and let go of the handle - from there on you've forfeited your control over the blast.
That's why I'm ok with you (the caster) serving as focal point (contrary to just standing anywhere within the AoE) where everything rushes away from you so that you don't get caught in the path of the blast.
Btw, I'm open to opinions if people think that +2 SL modifier for being the eye of the storm is too much.





And a plus +8 to a save is just saying "immune" anyway.


Not exactly.
A squishy caster that takes only 1/2 damage still usually suffers a tremendous loss of HP.
For this approach, seems like evasion is badly needed.





Safe Spellcasting (General)
Prerequisites: Greater Spell Focus(Abjuration)
Benefit: You are immune to the effects of your own spells.

So that makes it an "obvious" thing for Abrures to take, but still leaves it open to everyone.


3 feats for this specific purpose seems like a heavy burden of feat tax to pay.

[Zarrgon]

3 feats for this specific purpose seems like a heavy burden of feat tax to pay.

Yea, well I'm a DM that thinks "Feat Taxes" are just for whiny players that want to take "cut the moon in half with my awesome Star Cutter Slice" at first level.

Though it's NOT a "feat tax" to an abjurer......

[RecordedChaos]

Seems a bit to good. It just encourages them to drop it on their parties heads all day

[paddyfool]

Something that blanket makes spells better should probably be a metamagic, no?

Would giving you and your allies Evasion and a +2 to saves vs area effect spells that you cast be a +1 metamagic, perhaps?

[rferries]

A good comparison is the Archmage's Mastery of Shaping (which benefits not just yourself but your allies too). I'm inclined to think that equates to one feat.