Inspired by
posts in
this thread.
This post records the outrageous?? results of a side conversation between myself and MetroMagic about dastardly devastatingly delicious uses of
Energy Transformation Field.
I'll put the
tl;dr first: ETF and its coupled effect(s) can be made into an infinite loop that fills infinite space completely and instantaneously. Possibly even the entire Multiverse of connectable Planes.
And now the full explanation of the simple... well, not that simple... method:
---Consider that the ETF can be made into a cube instead of a sphere by Sculpt Spell. (If there's a reason why this doesn't work, then the method overall does not fail but it does not fill space fully unless another solution can be found.) Picture eight cubic ETFs adjacent to a point; that's space being completely filled by a 2 by 2 by 2 array of cubic ETFs.
---The designation of the "point" within the ETF where the coupled spell triggers can be anywhere within the ETF's radius, including close enough to that central point so that the AoE of that spell falls into each of the eight ETFs. Since the ETFs don't overlap, they don't compete for the spell energy; instead each one receives the total absorption levels from it.
---If each of the eight ETFs is set up this way, there can be plenty of spell energy generated so that all of them trigger each other over and over again.
---The triggered spell could itself be an ETF. The point where it is cast within its ETF must be specified carefully by using a frame of reference within each ETF that spreads the effects outward from the first 2x2x2 block into another adjacent 2x2x2 block of space. Add a ladder-like twist to the frame of reference to get the ETF block creations marching around the expanding surface like stacked building blocks.
As a side note, MM has the opinion that frame of reference is the single most powerful and flexible and underutilized tool of a spellcaster. Wouldn't you like your stationary Wall of Force wrecking ball to be travelling at near-c speed as it smashes into the somewhat unbreakable door in the thread referenced above? If so, add a little sidereal motion... OK, there may not be sidereal motion in all Planes, but there are other uses for frame of reference.
---Given the foregoing, the triggered spell could be a
Chain Contingency specified as loaded with an ETF and your two other favorite spells, whatever they may be; now the ETFs spread throughout space and bring other spells along with them.
---If you don't like the idea of pre-loaded Chain Contingency, but want the loaded spells to be cast into it, this might be accomplished by a dimensionally higher order hypercube of ETFs projecting multiple effects into 3D space, assuming proper frame of reference specifiers. There is no restriction on ETF that says its radius is limited to be a 3D spell.
---Three side issues, briefly: (1) Why instantaneous? The ETF's spell triggers as soon as the conditions are met; no delay. There is no mention of casting time. Therefore the entire structure of ETFs generates without delay. (2) Can my other favorite spell be Fireball to fill the Multiverse? Sure. The Contingency spell requires only that the chained spell must be no higher than 6th level, and person-affecting, which a Fireball certainly is. (3) ETF is 6th level and affects the caster if inside it, for example if the caster tries to use SLAs.
We think it's best to stop here and let others comment, and let even more others solve the objections raised by the first batch of others.
In that way, these ideas about ETF will spread to fill the Multiverse, in a perfect demonstration of the idea itself... how delightfully recursive!
FITS and MM
PS. No wonder Magic doesn't seem to work in our own Prime Material Plane - it's been filled with blank ETFs...
