Personal Enhancement
Have you ever found yourself cursing fate that your boosts to AC just weren’t quite high enough the one time it really counted? Or wishing that you could just get one extra turn, out of nowhere, to bring the fight to a close? These spells are all variations on classic “buff” spells that allow you to cash in the spell’s normal benefit at any time in order to gain a temporary benefit that it much greater, so you can make sure that the spell delivers when you really need it. Enjoy.
DISPOSABLE SHIELD
School abjuration [force]; Level alchemist 1, magus 1, sorcerer/wizard 1, summoner 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level or until discharged
You create an invisible shield of force that hovers in front of you and deflects incoming attacks. You gain a +3 shield bonus to AC. This bonus applies against incorporeal touch attacks, since it is a force effect. Additionally, at any time during the spell’s duration, as an immediate action, you can expend the spell’s remaining energy as a final burst of defensive power. If you do, the shield bonus to AC increases to +8 until the beginning of your next turn, after which the spell ends automatically.
ELDRITCH ARMOR
School abjuration; Level alchemist 5, cleric/oracle 5, inquisitor 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level or until discharged
You gain spell resistance equal to 10 + your caster level. Additionally, at any time during the spell’s duration, as an immediate action, you can expend the spell’s remaining energy to ward yourself completely against a single spell. If you do, then eldritch armor’s effect automatically ends, but you can render yourself completely unaffected by a single spell that is subject to spell resistance, as though the caster had failed to overcome your spell resistance. You must use this ability before determining if the spell will overcome your spell resistance.
SURGING SPEED
School transmutation; Level alchemist 3, bard 3, magus 3, sorcerer/wizard 3, summoner 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level or until discharged
You act and move more quickly than normal, and can expend the spell’s energy for one truly impressive burst of speed. This functions as the spell haste, with a few exceptions. You do not gain the normal bonuses to attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves. Additionally, at any time during the spell’s duration, as an immediate action, you can expend the spell’s remaining energy as a final burst of speed. If you do, then you may immediately take an additional round’s worth of actions (such as a full-round action, or a standard action and a move action, etc). You can’t cast spells with these extra actions, and do not gain surging speed’s benefits during these extra actions, because as soon as you expend the spell in this way (before the extra actions are taken), the spell ends.
THICK SKIN
School abjuration; Level alchemist 4, druid 5, inquisitor 4, magus 4, sorcerer/wizard 4, summoner 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (gravel and dragon scales worth at least 250 gp)
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level or until discharged
Your skin hardens to a consistency like rock. You gain DR 8/adamantine. Once the spell has prevented a total amount of damage equal to 8 points per caster level (to a maximum of 120 points at 15th level), the spell automatically ends. Additionally, at any time during the spell’s duration, when a creature successfully confirms a critical hit against you, you can expend the spell’s remaining energy in order to negate that critical hit, causing you to be affected as though it were a normal hit, instead.