Vampiric Touch

[Knight of Roses]

Vampiric Touch
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous/1 hour; see text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

You must succeed on a melee touch attack. Your touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two caster levels (maximum 10d6). You gain temporary hit points equal to the damage you deal. However, you can’t gain more than the subject’s current hit points +10, which is enough to kill the subject. The temporary hit points disappear 1 hour later.[/b]
Note this is the same level a Wizard/Sorcerer is getting Fireball and Lightning Bolt which hit multiple targets, at range, for 1d6 per level (still max 10d6 though).

For my campaign, I am thinking of having the effect be the following:
You must succeed on a melee touch attack. Your touch deals 1d8 points of damage per two caster levels (maximum 10d8) with a bonus equal to your spellcasting ability (Intelligence for Wizards, Charisma for Sorcerers, and so on). However, you cannot inflict more than the subject’s current hit points +10 in damage, which is enough to kill the subject.

You gain the hit points inflicted as damage, this has two effects: First, you heal any damage you current have at the rate of each for two points inflicted, you heal one point of damage. You must heal as much damage as you can up to the amount of damage inflicted.
Second, any remaining damage becomes temporary hit points equal to the remaining damage. The temporary hit points disappear 1 hour later.

[colonialbob]

Seems balanced enough to me... unless you're about to unleash it on us poor unsuspecting folks caught up in a terrible war, in which case it's horribly overpowered.

But seriously, I like the addition that it heals you first, then you gain temporary hit points.

[Knight of Roses]

It is for my tabletop game actually, one of the characters is a necrourgist and I wanted to have her "signature 3rd level combat spell" be both cool and effective. Unfortunately, VT as written is neither.

[Barrok]

Its one of the major flaws of VT that it is a weak choice when compared to fireball or lightning bolt. I almost never coose in my reportoire of spells, but you have just given it a very balanced way of making it a better choice, there are another few of ways of upping its stength (I'm just tossing some ideas around here)

1) Increase the duration its stays with the caster - so he could say have 5 rounds of vampiric touches......

2) The vampiric touch as well as causing damage saps the strength of the target creature doinf 1d4 STR damage

3) The vampiric touch causes your fist to turn as black as night absorbing all the light from around you. You are in darkness (as spell) which you can see through - this is until used... (wow over power)

4) When vampiric touch causes damage the target is also dazed for 1d3 rounds as they feel icy touch of the Plane of Shadow...etc

Just a few other suggestions KoR in case you want to choose something different than upping the hit point damage wrought upon something.

[Knight of Roses]

Interesting ideas there, maybe something for a Greater Vampiric Touch but part of what I like about VT is its ability to steal life-force from a victim and give it to the caster.

[Barrok]

Yeah I like that idea too - I think I must be wearing my over powered wizards hat today

[CountFalchiezVander]

Another nifty addition to the spell, if you want it to be signature, is that you can apply the spell to any weapon instead of your own hand, and stays until discharged, up to a maximum of 12 hours. Thus you can gain the benefit of the hit point drain while the guy with an uber attack discharges it (note the spell still functions the same, touch attack, but using the warriors attack rolls and modifiers, for those pesky deflection enemies I tend to build), adding the spell damage to his own weapon damage (note the weapon damage does not combine with spell for draining hit points or gaining temp ones, two separate damage sources)

[Barrok]

I'm sure there are weapons (in D&D - not real life.. thought I should claify that) out there which store such spells.. but I like your thinking.

[Knight of Roses]

An interesting idea, but different enough to merit another spell, say Life Drinking Weapon as a title. Maybe I will play around with building it, say at 4th lvl, until someone else want to give it a shot?

[CountFalchiezVander]

Blade of Hunger
Necromancy
level:Wiz5, WarMage 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 rd.
Range: Weapon touched
Duration: 1 rd./level
Saving Throw: none
SR: none

You imbue a slashing or piercing weapon with the powers to drain the blood of whatever it strikes. Whenever the weapon makes a successful hit against a living creature, it deals normal damage plus an additional 1d8+1 for every 2 caster levels (maximum of 10d8+10). The wielder of the weapon receives half of this damage as temporary hit points (this spell does not heal any existing wounds). This drain is not considered damage and can only be healed through magical means (fast healing will not restore these lost hit points). Should the caster imbue another party member's weapon, then the temporary hit points gained are split between the caster and the wielder of the weapon.
Materials: A drop of blood and a tooth.


Here is what I came up with off the top of my head, please feel free to modify for balance or coolness factors.

[Knight of Roses]

After some discussion on ENWorld, I modified the spell yet again, and here is the current version that I am using:

Vampiric Touch (Alternate)
Necrourgy
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous/1 hour; see text
Saving Throw: None (see below)
Spell Resistance: Yes

You must succeed on a melee touch attack. Your touch deals 1d8 points of damage per two caster levels (maximum 10d8) with a bonus equal to your spellcasting ability (Intelligence for Wizards, Charisma for Sorcerers, and so on). However, you cannot inflict more than the subject’s current hit points +10 in damage, which is enough to kill the subject.

Creatures protected from death magic receive a Will save for no damage and only suffer half damage on a failed save. Undead only suffer half damage from this spell, as it cannot properly strip their life energy away. Constructs decay and corrode from the loss of energy (they still take half damage) but do not provide anything usable to the caster.

If the target was a living creature (i.e. not a constuct or undead), you gain the hit points inflicted as damage, this has two effects:

* First, you heal any damage you current have at the rate of each for two points inflicted, you heal one point of damage. You must heal as much damage as you can up to the amount of damage inflicted.

* Second, any remaining damage becomes temporary hit points equal to the remaining damage. The temporary hit points disappear 1 hour later.

[lithuse]

I think this is a vast improvement over the standard spell, and more appropriate.

Also, I have just a slight rewording, to make it sound more like the WOTC D&D standard. What do you think?

If the target was a living creature (i.e. not a constuct or undead), you gain the hit points inflicted as damage, this has two effects:

* First, you heal any damage you current have at the rate of each for two points inflicted, you heal one point of damage. You must heal as much damage as you can up to the amount of damage inflicted.

* Second, any remaining damage becomes temporary hit points equal to the remaining damage. The temporary hit points disappear 1 hour later.
[/b]
paraphrased into:
"If the target was a living creature (i.e. not a constuct or undead), you heal a number of hit points equal to half the amount of damage inflicted, up to your maximum hit point total. Any amount over your total is considered temporary hit points that fade away after one hour."