die_kluge said:
Ice Storm sucks for a 4th level spell. I house ruled it. Here is my version:
Hail falls for one round every 4 levels, dealing 3d6 points of bludgeoning damage and 3d6 points of cold damage to creatures in the area.
I thought that it totally sucked as well when I first read it as well, but then I decided to compare it to other spells and decided that it was a bit on the weak side, but not devastatingly so.
It has no save and no spell resistance.
It does 5D6 total damage, the exact same damage if you saved versus a Fireball (without Evasion or Spell Resistance).
It lasts for an entire round which means that anyone, regardless of AC, regardless of protections (with the exception of cold protection), regardless of spell resistance, regardless of Evasion, will be taking damage and so will anyone attempting to pass through it.
This spell is a bit unique in that it doesn't do a lot of damage, but it creates an "extremely short term minor damage barrier" that virtually nothing in the game protects against (and cold protections only help versus part of the damage).
If a caster were to Extend the spell duration and/or Empower it and cast it in an area where opponents had a difficult time of getting away, it could be very devastating as to the total damage it does.
When you compare it to Blade Barrier at two levels higher, it averages slightly less damage and lasts a lot less time, but it guarantees that you will damage opponents (whereas Spell Resistance or Evasion might prevent that with Blade Barrier).
Having said that, I might add a house rule that it protects versus attacks within or through it just like Blade Barrier does.
