Which level for this spell?

Question

I would like to have a review for this spell and in the first place I would like to have suggestions about the possible level.

Aura of cold
Wizard Lvl: 3
School: transmutation (cold)
Components: V, S, M (special dust 50GP)
Casting time: 1 std action
Duration: 1min/level (dismissible)
Range: Touch
Target: Personal
Can be made permanent

Extra material to make the spell permanent: Dust of an adult white dragon scales (at least 10).

The spellcaster is surrounded with an extremely cold aura which freezes everything around him. The aura is visible as a blueish emanation centered on the spellcaster. He gains damage reduction 10 against cold and is immune to cold effects. The first round, every creature within 5 feet takes 2d6 + caster level in cold damage. The second round they become numbed (-4 DEX, -4 to hit, half movement, only one std action possible, fortitude save to not drop held objects) The third round they become frozen (see petrified condition). If a creature is no longer within 5ft of the caster, the effects revert at the same speed (i.e., 3 rounds for the frozen status and another two rounds for the numbed status).

The spell can be made permanent with a very body/mind-debilitating ritual: The spellcaster must lie immersed in a pool of ice for five days and each day successfully make a fortitude save at DC 15 + 1/day. If a saving throw fails, the spellcaster takes 1 point of constitution damage for each day spent in the ice-pool so far and the ritual is broken. Due to the straining process, the ritual can't be repeated until a month has passed. If the five days of saving throws succeed, the spellcaster must spread the scale dust over himself and complete the ritual with a permanency spell with a DC 15 concentration check. After the ritual their skin becomes pale and their hair blue-white. The spellcaster becomes immune to cold and permanently loses 2 point of Charisma. This Charisma loss can’t be restored, even with a wish.

Answer 1

This spell would be level 5 or higher, and the permanent application is as powerful as an epic level spell.

This spell is all-round stronger than the Sorcerer/Wizard level 4 fire shield, which deals 1d6 + caster level to anyone who attacks you in melee, lasts one round per caster level, and you take half damage from cold. It cannot be made permanent with the permanency spell.

Your aura of cold deals 1d6 more damage, affects anyone adjacent, lasts longer, and petrifies opponents with no save after three rounds. Standing next to someone for three rounds as a wizard is quite dangerous, however, so that effect isn't as powerful as it suggests. The 50 gp spell component is trivial. The spell is essentially an improved fire shield, so level 5 would be appropriate. Raise that to level 6 if the freeze effect turns out to be too powerful in play.

Complete cold immunity is worth at least an 8th level spell on its own, and that's if it wasn't permanent. Compare immunity to elements, the 9th level druid spell from Masters of the Wild which makes a target immune to five elements for 10 minutes per level. Permanency doesn't work on fire shield or protection from elements so it's a good bet that it shouldn't work on the new spell either, and two points of Charisma is a meaningless sactifice to a wizard. Such a power would involve expenditure of either gold or XP.

To get permanent immunity to an element, you're looking at around 240,000 gp, the price of the Ring of Elemental Immunity in the Epic Level Handbook. Add to that a permanent item of fire shield, which the item creation guidelines peg at upwards of 112,000 gp, and you're looking at a ritual which would cost half of your gold at level 20.

Answer 2

This seems to me to be quite overpowered for a third level spell. You're combining damage reduction, damage to foes and others around you and ongoing damage/effects, including petrification. As a DM, if this were in my campaign, I would probably make you either significantly weaken the effects or raise the level to be probably around 6th, give or take a level after researching some more and comparing it to other spells of those levels.

Answer 3

If you wanted to keep it 3rd level, and I was your GM, I'd tell you:

• duration 2 rounds / level
• The damage reduction/resistance can stay
• cold damage might be a tad high, perhaps change it to 2d4 + 1/level. But it might be possible to convince me 2d6 + 1/level is ok given that its a small area.
• completely scrap the 'numbing' and 'freezing' (without save apparently). Far too powerful for 3rd level
• completely scrap the permanency. You would need to make it permanent some other way, probably with a much higher level spell.

If you wanted it as-is, I agree with the others, level 6-8th level.