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Channeling two extra dice seems really bad. Sure, you can get the channeling staff. But I think I would much prefer a dispel scroll, staff of sorcery, or book of ashur.... The book of ashur would cost pretty close to harmonic convergence + channeling staff and just be better.

Also why does share the same exact name with that Lore of Heavens spell...

Channeling 3 times on a 5+, means that on average you gain a power die and dispel die every phase. Average being the key; I've had magic phases where I pick up 3 dice, and phases where I get none. Take a book of ashur (70 points) and count how often that +1 to cast/dispel pays off.
On the other hand, with additional dice, you can potentially cast another whole spell.

Dispel scroll/Cube of darkness can be packed by a 65 point skink. It's wasteful to use the slaan for those.

Now, if I was going a non-channel slaan, I would take the power scroll with lore master high magic, and a forbidden rod skink.
+D6 power dice and reducing the whole lore of high magic to casting values of 10 or less is pretty sweet.

-Matt

HawaiiMatt wrote:

On the other hand, with additional dice, you can potentially cast another whole spell.

Well... yeah... but with book of ashur you could cast another spell because you can use less power dice on your spells.

 LordHamshire wrote:
Well... yeah... but with book of ashur you could cast another spell because you can use less power dice on your spells.

I doubt that. You take the Book; now you have a +5 to cast/dispel. Most people will throw enough dice at a spell so that they stand a better than 50-50 shot of casting the spell. Which amounts to (casting value)/3.5 +1 = dice rolled.

So for casting values from 1-10, most lvl4's will throw 2 dice. For 11-14, 3 dice. 15-17, 4 dice. 18-20, 5 dice. And 19+, 6 dice.

With an extra +1 to cast, all you're really doing is making that window shift down one number (1-11 for 1, 12-15 for 2, etc.). It can save the day on a bad roll, or give you just that little leg up over your opponent, but the odds of your Lore having the right casting values, and then you deciding to cast those specific spells...it's just not very likely.

Another way to look at it, I guess: the HC+staff Slann has an average of +7 extra to cast and dispel each turn, usable in two 3.5 increments. The Book Slann would have, assuming he cast every spell with two dice and had 12 to work with, +6 to cast. To dispel, assuming there are 5 other wizards and all 6 channel on a turn that you get 6 dispel dice, it's the same thing.

So, for more points, you get a slightly smaller maximum overall benefit, and it's forcibly spread thinner throughout your phase.

Wait. So you aren't capped at generating just a single dice? I've totally been playing that as a "three dice to try and channel once" kind of affair.

I too was on the edge between book and channel. But that was believing it was capped at +1 dice. The potential for 3 (even if rare) is a MAJOR boon for the cheaper harmonic + channel staff

of course your not capped at one.

Channeling states you roll one dice for every wizard and get an extra dice for EACH 6 rolled.

Channel slann gets 3 dice that produce extra dice on a 5 or 6.