08-19-2016, 01:54 PM
There are some aspects, like
- haste being close range while SSM is medium plus burst radius
- haste restricting distance of any two to 30ft while SSM burst radius 20' implies it may affect allies up to 40 ft away
- haste having a limit of one target creature per level while SSM cast on a tightly packed squad may affect up to 44 S/M creatures (up to 176 tiny ones...)
but most of all I am concerned about bringing stuff out of sequence. Someone may build upon a strategy where only one person can attack and giving an extra attack to that one person (e.g. the party mage with lowest BAB is the only one whose multiple-use ranged touch spell can affect the opponent) and it would be completely imbalanced by the casting of a first level spell. And yes, this is why I have not decided about the non-mass version either.
as a side note; I've considered allowing 3.0 version of haste for a long time in my 3.5 DM'ing career as an alternative to the 3.5 version (i.e. them being two completely independent spells, the 3.0 version being called "Greater Haste". There are still other spells which I consider having multiple variants; like fly or ability enhancers (both having 'combat' and 'overland' variants)
- haste being close range while SSM is medium plus burst radius
- haste restricting distance of any two to 30ft while SSM burst radius 20' implies it may affect allies up to 40 ft away
- haste having a limit of one target creature per level while SSM cast on a tightly packed squad may affect up to 44 S/M creatures (up to 176 tiny ones...)
but most of all I am concerned about bringing stuff out of sequence. Someone may build upon a strategy where only one person can attack and giving an extra attack to that one person (e.g. the party mage with lowest BAB is the only one whose multiple-use ranged touch spell can affect the opponent) and it would be completely imbalanced by the casting of a first level spell. And yes, this is why I have not decided about the non-mass version either.
as a side note; I've considered allowing 3.0 version of haste for a long time in my 3.5 DM'ing career as an alternative to the 3.5 version (i.e. them being two completely independent spells, the 3.0 version being called "Greater Haste". There are still other spells which I consider having multiple variants; like fly or ability enhancers (both having 'combat' and 'overland' variants)
