The World of Layonara
The Layonara Community => Ask A Gamemaster => Topic started by: Hellblazer on July 08, 2008, 09:33:41 am
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would those two feat improved the max 10d6 of a spell like ball lightning?
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Yes,
Maximize would cause you to do 10*6 = 60 damage guaranteed (before resistances kick in).
Empower would increase damage by 50%, but it's all about the dice you roll. Empowerment takes place after rolls are modified by non-variable effects. For example, an empowered ray of frost does (1d4 + 1) × 1.5 damage; that is rolling a 3 gives (3+1)×1.5 = 6 damage, not 3×1.5 = 4.5, truncated to 4, plus 1 for 5 damage.
So the same applies for Ball Lightning, maximize guarantees damage within the spells original range. Empower makes it a gamble, but hey, you can't do less, so it's worth it if you have the slots.
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Empower could, maximise would just made the spell do max damage which is 60.
Empower would do (10d6)*1,5 damage, so potentially more, just not garrentied more or equal to 60.
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Thanks
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However,
If you intend to use it for vey specific spells you best check the nwn wiki as there are some surprising exceptions:
Empower spell - NWNWiki, the Neverwinter Nights wiki (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Empower_spell)
Maximize spell - NWNWiki, the Neverwinter Nights wiki (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Maximize_spell)
Please remember that while empower raises the required spellslot by 2, maximize raises it by three.
For buffs it is often better to "extend", again various surprises:
Extend spell - NWNWiki, the Neverwinter Nights wiki (http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Extend_spell)
Personally I would choose empower over maximize any day of the week unless I had very very specific reason not to. When it comes to buff spells I would also prefer recasting to maximizing.
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From a wizard stand point, I hardly ever use empower anymore, except if its to juggle a few spells around to fit here and there.
Maximise is mostly used for stat buffs as the garanteed +5 gives the extra egde you need. This is not always the case for clerics as they use their 5th circle spells for alot of other diffrent things than wizards.
But extend, is a favorite, and also either silent or still spell, as it allows -every- spell regardless of whether its a combat/defensive spells to be shifted one higher up. Absolutely nessecary for high level wizardring.
But as I said, that is wizard tactics.
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Silent spell also works wonders for a healer. It allows a cleric with heal domain to cast Heal on level 5-6-7 and Mass Heal on level 8-9.
I know some would argue greater restoration is a better choice for level 7, but unless you spend another feat on eschew III it will cost you 2000 exp to cast.
However, compared to a wizard clerics dont get bonus feats...
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I think Empower is best used for spells with a fixed or level dependant variable attached to it. Like magic weapon at a +2 would be a +3, a +4 would be a +6, etc. I'm not certain if it works this way for bioware as well, but Empowering those types of spells was one of my favorite tactics in PnP. +7 barkskins, +6 Shield spells, +7 Greater Magic Weapons *whistles*
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I believe [lore]empower spell[/lore] only works for variable values, i.e. things that are determined by dice rolls. So I don't think that empowered versions of the things you are talking about would have an effect.... on the other hand, I've never tried them, so...
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Yes, both empower and maximize only works with variable effects(fireballs, statbuffs etc.), not with static effects(GMW, stoneskin etc.).
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There is only one spell for wizards with a static value that also have a dice affected value, that get affected by empower spell, and as Lonnarin implies, that makes these spells a -whole- lot of fun. Unfortuntely these spells are also very volatile and requires some presice aiming.
Try to name that spell *smiles*
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meteor swarm?
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Can't be Meteor Swarm, it's too high level and can't be empowered. I'm going with Evard's Black Tentacles... nasty stuff when empowered.
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The correct answer is [lore]Negative Energy Burst[/lore]
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Then wizards have two spells, because I know for a fact that empowering Evard's works too. The 50% bonus applies not only to the variable amount of tentacles but all of them (including the ones provided by caster levels), and the damage each of them deals.
Either way, all the metamagic feats offer something good.