These boots were made for casting? [Daft idea, 3.5]

[Mercenary Pen]

Just had a crazy idea for a wondrous/possibly cursed item, so I thought I'd post it up before I forgot about it:

Metamagic feet
These boots reduce the spell slot needed for a applying a metamagic feat that normally uses a slot three or more levels higher than the original spell by one spell level though metamagic applied by means of a magic item cannot be reduced in this way. Any spell cast by the wearer without the use of metamagic with an effective spell level increase of at least +1 results in damage to the caster equal to the spell level + their CON modifier (minimum of 1 damage, even casting cantrips or orisons with a nonability in CON). The damage done by this effect bypasses all magical damage reduction the caster may have.

EDIT: One or two corrections and clarifications made.

[katans]

Cute idea, but Cooperative Spell gets around the restriction fairly easily (just cooperate with yourself for no change at all in the spell being cast,except that it's now affected by a +0 metamagic). Likewise, Undead casters are going to wuv you vewwy, vewwy much. And it's still pretty little damage for such a nice effect.

I suggest the following change: Any spell cast by the wearer without the use of metamagic with an effective spell level increase of at least +1 results in damage to the caster equal to its own effective caster level for the spell.

[Mercenary Pen]

Cute idea, but Cooperative Spell gets around the restriction fairly easily (just cooperate with yourself for no change at all in the spell being cast,except that it's now affected by a +0 metamagic). Likewise, Undead casters are going to wuv you vewwy, vewwy much. And it's still pretty little damage for such a nice effect.

I suggest the following change: Any spell cast by the wearer without the use of metamagic with an effective spell level increase of at least +1 results in damage to the caster equal to its own effective caster level for the spell.

Good catch, though I'm gonna do the damage as spell level+CON mod damage, with a minimum of 1 damage, even in the case of casting cantrips with CON as a nonability.

EDIT: I'm also stating that this bypasses all magical damage reduction.

[DracoDei]

I might also say something about it requiring Remove Curse to take them off or something....

[Mercenary Pen]

I might also say something about it requiring Remove Curse to take them off or something....

I'm not so certain that I want to go that far... I might however make them take longer to put on/ take off, and have some sort of penalty for taking them off...

I'm not certain exactly what to do with these in that respect. But, just as a thought, what self-respecting caster is going to spend a full-round action or more to take a pair of boots off in the middle of combat? Especially if he suddenly lost 1d4 low level prepared spells in the process?

[DracoDei]

I was more thinking of leaving them OFF most of the time and only putting them on in specific situations that warranted it.

[Mongoose87]

Kind of odd to base damage to yourself off of Con, don't you think?

[Mercenary Pen]

I was more thinking of leaving them OFF most of the time and only putting them on in specific situations that warranted it.

In which case, full round action to put on as well. But I am quite serious about losing prepared spells when you take them off- because that seems to be the sort of situation that would actually give a more meaningful penalty to the caster's use of it.

EDIT:

Kind of odd to base damage to yourself off of Con, don't you think?

Yes, perhaps it is a bit odd. Bear in mind that 3.5 is not my normal system (which is in fact 4e) but I chose to use it as something better able to represent this idea- also I didn't want to be quite so evil as basing it off a primary casting stat.

[DracoDei]

Con makes sense if the goal is to have the damage scale with hitpoints in a very rough way.

[Mercenary Pen]

Con makes sense if the goal is to have the damage scale with hitpoints in a very rough way.

Yeah, that was part of the idea- considering that those who have CON are more able to afford to lose stuff than those without. Also, I didn't see it working off of STR or DEX.