i'm currently playing a level 2 wizard whose main offensive spells are magic missile and scorching ray (i was able to obtain this pre-lvl 3 through some cool magic nonsense), which are both very solid spells, BUT i realized recently that force manipulation's lowest result is potentially fairly OP.
the lowest result (12-13 spell check) on FM:
the lowest result (12-13) on magic missile:The caster creates an apple-sized sphere of force that can be hurled as a weapon. It can be hurled immediately or remain in the wizard’s hand for up to one round per caster level. It inflicts 1d6 damage per caster level with a range of 25’ per caster level.
lowest result (14-15) on scorching ray:The caster throws a single missile that does 1 point of damage. He must have line of sight to the target.
The missile never misses, though it may be blocked by certain magic (e.g., magic shield).
my wizard is currently rolling with a +4 bonus to his spell checks (level 2 and +2 int. modifier), which means for the lowest result on a level 1 spell i need to roll an 8, and if i roll anything higher with force manipulation i can CHOOSE the lower result. clearly, 2d6 damage at level 2 is no joke, and it goes up a full d6 every level while the spell check goes down. totally amazing/insane!One target takes 1d6 + caster level damage. Additionally, it must make a Reflex save vs. spell check or catch fire. Each round thereafter it suffers an additional 1d6 damage until it succeeds on a DC 15 Reflex save to extinguish the fire. Flammable objects on the target (e.g., scrolls or tomes) have a 75% chance of catching fire unless protected.
the one way that i can see it being slightly less broken is in the language used: "...that can be hurled as a weapon". this could imply that the caster needs to make an additional attack roll after making the spell check, since other spells like MM clearly state that it is unerring, and that's slightly less clear on FM.
what are yall's thoughts on this? any experience with it? was this maybe an intentional exploit? maybe i shouldn't say anything and just party on, blasting away with my force spheres?
