Make the cleric/bard spell, "Sound Burst" scale with Caster Level

[Hoihe]

The spell as it is currently has no reason to be taken. It does 1d8 sound damage, and a 2 round stun. Now, the stun may be nice however being a circle 2 spell, its DC is unlikely to be of much relevance when it comes to higher level content.

The spell as it currently is in-game:



The proposed change:

Make the damage scale with caster level. While this goes against P&P, other damage spells had been given increased scaling. This scaling could be capped like the Lesser Orbs are capped.
The scaling could follow orb patterns:" For every two caster levels beyond 1st, your orb deals an additional 1D8 points of damage: 2D8 at 3rd level, 3D8 at 5th level, 4D8 at 7th level, and the maximum of 9D8 at 17th level or higher."



As it currently stands, after around level 3 there is no reason to ever pick this spell whether as a cleric or a bard. Especially as a bard as you cannot swap it out except for level up or the djinni.

I do not believe this change would make either bards or clerics significantly more powerful. Better alternatives, even with the scaling damage, exist. However, it would introduce variety and viability to blaster bards/clerics.

[artemitavik]

As a note, most other spells have things like reflex or fort saves for half damage or whatever.

This does not. It would just be raw damage. The fort save is just to not be stunned, not to not die.

[Hoihe]

As a note, most other spells have things like reflex or fort saves for half damage or whatever.

This does not. It would just be raw damage. The fort save is just to not be stunned, not to not die.

Other spells exist without saves for half. Namely, the level 1 orb spells that can crit.

[artemitavik]

I'm fairly sure I avoid the orb spells pretty regularly. Sound burst is not avoidable.

I ultimately don't care one way or the other, just point stuff out.

[DaloLorn]

As a note, most other spells have things like reflex or fort saves for half damage or whatever.

This does not. It would just be raw damage. The fort save is just to not be stunned, not to not die.

Other spells exist without saves for half. Namely, the level 1 orb spells that can crit.

Magic Missile would be a more apt comparison, since orbs can miss. (Even then, you need a level 7 spell to block a Sound Blast, versus level 1 to block a Magic Missile.)

[EasternCheesE]

As a note, most other spells have things like reflex or fort saves for half damage or whatever.

This does not. It would just be raw damage. The fort save is just to not be stunned, not to not die.

Other spells exist without saves for half. Namely, the level 1 orb spells that can crit.

Lesser orbs do fall into conjuration school of magic. Conjuration spells often don't have saves/SR check because their projectiles are conjured matter, not energy.

[Hoihe]

As a note, most other spells have things like reflex or fort saves for half damage or whatever.

This does not. It would just be raw damage. The fort save is just to not be stunned, not to not die.

Other spells exist without saves for half. Namely, the level 1 orb spells that can crit.

Lesser orbs do fall into conjuration school of magic. Conjuration spells often don't have saves/SR check because their projectiles are conjured matter, not energy.

Whether or not the damage gets halved, 1d8 damage flat for a spell that's used almost exclusively by a class that has limited spell slots, and limited casts/day with no scaling does not really make much sense if one wishes for a diversity of builds.

A muscle bard that relies on Requiem won't pick this spell, there's many others that are better at this circle.
A bard dip usually doesn't get the 2nd circle of casting (stops at 3 with minimal charisma), or if they do will use it on Heroism/Mirror Image/zoo spells.

So, letting this spell scale with CL would enhance bard gameplay without boosting the power of the strong bard builds. You could make it so that it halves on a fort save, but even without that I doubt it'd be a massive power boost.

Clerics may benefit more from it, especially with their ability to swap spells on the fly.

[EasternCheesE]

I just clarified why orb spells do not suffer saves or dmg reduction, not that i'm against your proposal. With our mob hp, many spells need higher ceiling so they actually are worth using, especially since offensive spellcasting is already limited by number of possible spellslots.