Fissile Creation. How to use well?

[SangoProduction]

I was in the middle of a sleep haze, when I happened upon a feat that I found to be rather pointless when I first saw it some years ago. And never looked at it again.
Now, still in the haze, I am trying to imagine the uses for it.

Prerequisites: Creation sphere, Destruction sphere (Explosive Orb (blast shape)).

Benefit: You gain the ability to alter or create objects with highly explosive properties. As part of altering or creating an object, you may spend a spell point to cause any object you alter or create to explode either when it hits a target for the first time (if used to make an attack), when it takes damage for the first time, or when the spell effect ends. This explosion deals damage as your destructive blast with the Explosive Orb shape, and you may treat it as a normal Explosive Orb for any effects, talents or feats interacting with destructive blasts. You may choose whether or not the altered or created object takes damage from the Explosive Orb. The object remains fissile for as long as the alter or create effect lasts. You may only have one fissile creation active at a time, plus an additional fissile creation for every 10 caster levels you possess. If you exceed the limit,
one fissile creation of your choosing ends immediately.

If two fissile creations explode during the same round, creatures in the overlapped area suffer diminished results from every fissile creation after the first one, dealing only 1d6 additional damage, +1d6 per 5 caster levels for each overlapping creation.

Basically: When you create/alter an object, it can explode on any of the 3 conditions
1) hits a target for the first time
2) takes damage for the first time
3) when the spell effect ends

So. The first thought is to make it part of a weapon. Well congratulations, you are now either loosing your arrow with your spell points, betting on a Normal AC hit rather than touch AC. (Or more accurately no AC, because the shape's only a reflex save.) Or you're swinging a primed, enriched uranium rod. Which doesn't sound particularly healthy. But maybe you actually simply enhance your ally's weapon well before combat rather than use it yourself, and in so doing, you add a potential rider effect to one of their hits. You know, instead of making the choice of using an inferior delivery method with your own actions.

The idea of it happening when the spell effect ends is not that appealing. Unless your creations are facing counterspell. So, not only do they pay the action cost for dealing with your creations, but now they might be caught in an explosion for their efforts. OK might's a bit of a strong word. Also it's not like the blast type is a friendly AoE. But still, depending on how it's used, there are consequences for counterspelling it, which might not be favorable for them.

Now. What really got the gears turning was for when it takes damage for the first time. Walls, nets, and anything else which is more conveniently busted through than avoided suddenly becomes detrimental to bust through... at least in melee range, where all the adamantine weapons tend to be. (This is especially the case when you give them no choice but to spend their time attempting to bust through, because they are surrounded by the [created object], or their only access to [desired destination] is blocked by [created object], or a multitude of very annoying things you can do with the infinite flexibility of the creation sphere.)
And now, you aren't simply trading your turn away to waste a couple of people's turns. You are also (potentially) progressing the HP state of the combat.

Any interesting use cases you guys can think of?

[Beni-Kujaku]

Targetting a square is an AC 5. Against creatures with really high touch AC or at low level where even touching an AC 10 is not a given, it may be better to just create an arrow and shoot it at the ground. Arrows are destroyed when they hit something, so it would explode and damage your opponent.

Alternatively, I'm not good with SoP spheres. Can you alter an item held by an opponent (maybe with a Reflex save or a touch attack)? You alter their armor for one round, then the spell ends, and boom! One armor less enemy who also took your Orb damage!

[SangoProduction]

Targetting a square is an AC 5. Against creatures with really high touch AC or at low level where even touching an AC 10 is not a given, it may be better to just create an arrow and shoot it at the ground. Arrows are destroyed when they hit something, so it would explode and damage your opponent.

Alternatively, I'm not good with SoP spheres. Can you alter an item held by an opponent (maybe with a Reflex save or a touch attack)? You alter their armor for one round, then the spell ends, and boom! One armor less enemy who also took your Orb damage!

On the first point, Explosive Orb is just (target area - reflex save) no attack normally required. So. If you give it to a swift-attacking ally, they could actually do that, because your blast might deal more damage than one of their normal attacks, and they want the guaranteed AoE.

As far as altering opponent's stuff, it's pretty expensive and allows a save to negate. But boy, turning someone's armor into orange juice does just send a message.
As for having the effect only last for one round for the purposes of damage. Rather pointless, as again, the destructive blast could have simply been used directly rather than through a round-about way like that.

[icefractal]

I have this feat for one character, and the reason is two-fold:
1) Make them ahead of time using CL boosts that would be impractical in combat.
2) Able to set them off with less than a standard action in many cases, frex by dropping them from 10' up or using them as weapons (I have evasion and a very high Reflex save).

The small limit to have at once would be a problem as a primary strategy, but I'm mainly a melee character who uses this against swarms or groups of weaker foes.

Also, this would allow triggering 15 full-strength blasts at once (using TK the spell), though you'd need multiple minions creating them. Never used that in practice, but hypothetically very strong.

[zlefin]

An interesting concept; I'm only mildly familiar with spheres content. As to possible uses:

If you don't have range extenders yourself; then making ammo for a long ranged ally would let the effect apply at a distance you couldn't otherwise reach. I'm not sure how hard it is to get an ally who can shoot a bow farther than what you can get with long range;

You could use them as a sort of land mine, especially if fighting in dungeons/narrow corridors. You set one up, then any foe who tries to advance through you hit with an aoe, so they get hit with both your aoe spell and that sets off the mine for even more damage.

It may not be a practical use; but you can use it to play like you're using a conventional explosive with a timed detonator, setting a bomb that will go off once you clear the area.

You can drop them from very high in the air, like 3000 feet up, beyond the range of basically all attacks and spells, and still have them potentially cause some damage.

You can give a very weak ally (eg lvl 1 commoner) a dangerous desperation move they could use when faced with tough opponents.

If you have lengthened creation, then it's basically making dangerous ammo for a siege defense/attack.

If you have an ally with a matching elemental immunity; then they could have a handy source of defense that will explode if they get in trouble, but won't harm them because of damage type.

It allows you to make ammo that can be used without exposing the caster directly.

[SangoProduction]

An interesting concept; I'm only mildly familiar with spheres content. As to possible uses:

If you don't have range extenders yourself; then making ammo for a long ranged ally would let the effect apply at a distance you couldn't otherwise reach. I'm not sure how hard it is to get an ally who can shoot a bow farther than what you can get with long range;

You could use them as a sort of land mine, especially if fighting in dungeons/narrow corridors. You set one up, then any foe who tries to advance through you hit with an aoe, so they get hit with both your aoe spell and that sets off the mine for even more damage.

It may not be a practical use; but you can use it to play like you're using a conventional explosive with a timed detonator, setting a bomb that will go off once you clear the area.

You can drop them from very high in the air, like 3000 feet up, beyond the range of basically all attacks and spells, and still have them potentially cause some damage.

You can give a very weak ally (eg lvl 1 commoner) a dangerous desperation move they could use when faced with tough opponents.

If you have lengthened creation, then it's basically making dangerous ammo for a siege defense/attack.

If you have an ally with a matching elemental immunity; then they could have a handy source of defense that will explode if they get in trouble, but won't harm them because of damage type.

It allows you to make ammo that can be used without exposing the caster directly.

Actually pretty good suggestions, on the whole.