Re: OOC Chat
Evocation is widely considered the weakest of the eight schools of magic because it scales very badly. The iconic Fireball spell, for example, deals 1d6 damage per level, up to 10d6. In 2e, most creatures did not gain HP after level 10, or gain only a tiny amount of HP for each level above that. In 3e and in 3.5, HP scales indefinitely, with monster HD scaling faster than their challenge rating increases. Whereas 2e monsters would have 100, 200 HP at most for the most extreme cases, monsters in 3e and in 3.5 can easily go beyond 300, 400, even into the thousands.
The most powerful blasting spell in Core 3.5, Meteor Swarm, deals 32d6 damage if all four fireballs are aimed at the same target. That is an average of 112 damage on a failed save, or a measly 56 damage on a successful save (and monsters at that high level will save more often than not). A well-built fighter, one that isn't uber-twinked, just one that made smart feat and weapon selections, can easily do hundreds of damage per round. All day long.
Perhaps a better example would be spells at the same level as Fireball. At level 5, the earliest level you can cast Fireball, you will be dealing 5d6 damage. That's 17.5 damage on a failed save, or 8.25 damage on a successful save. On the other hand, if you cast Haste on the party (five targets at caster level 5), you can pretty much double the damage output of the warriors in your party, resulting in more damage overall than if you simply blasted those goody-two-shoes paladins with your Fireball.
When I say that Evocation is the weakest school, I'm not saying that it is useless. It's just that, compared to the more efficient magic at the disposal of the other schools, it ends up being somewhat underwhelming. Remember, context is everything. In a vacuum, Evocation is good. Compared to the out-of-combat and HP-bypassing capabilities of the other schools, it feels underwhelming.
That's my two copper coins. :D
P.S.
I assumed Minmorc was a divine caster based on his character description. Now that I know he is a barbarian, I know he will outdamage me for sure. Fortunately, I can stand safely in the back and snipe at the enemy, so I'll get hurt less often. :D