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Crow
2009-06-09, 01:57 AM
Short Question;

What are some ways for a Teifling Paladin to make good use of the Teifling's ability to cast Darkness 1/day?

Gaiyamato
2009-06-09, 02:00 AM
I think there is a spell which allows him to see in magical darkness.
I don't think you need to be evil to cast it either.

May not be on the paladin spell list however.

Gorbash
2009-06-09, 02:47 AM
Ebon Eyes, Assassin 1, Cleric 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1.

Darkness is a crappy ability. At best, use it to protect yourself from Rogues.

BobVosh
2009-06-09, 03:27 AM
Ebon Eyes, Assassin 1, Cleric 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1.

Darkness is a crappy ability. At best, use it to protect yourself from Rogues.

2000 to make a permenant item of this. Googles of EE. (custom item, though.)

*edit* Spell lvl X caster lvl X 2000, 1x1x2000=2000

Ganurath
2009-06-09, 03:39 AM
Or, have the Paladin center it on enemies, then move into position where the Tiefling could AoO anyone who comes out. If you can somehow quicken the darkness ability, you can make a ready action of it to.

T.G. Oskar
2009-06-09, 04:18 AM
Darkness isn't inherently good or bad, so it's nothing your Tiefling Paladin should worry about. He just has a different notion of Light, Good, Darkness and Evil.

Light, after all, isn't the epitome of Good. There's Searing Light, which is every bit as harmful as the touch of negative energy, and can be used just as well by an evil Aasimar Cleric.

You just have to be creative. It can help a lot for when things get rough, perhaps aiding your party Rogue (granted, him having at least a scroll or wand of Ebon Eyes), cover a retreat by unleashing the spell and having the bad guys wondering since when a Paladin can cast Darkness. The spell-like ability has just as every bit of good uses as Daylight can be used for evil purposes (casting it on Drows because of racial hatred? Envious of the other guy's wicked vampires under their control, and you want them to suffer an agonizing death?)

Goatman_Ted
2009-06-09, 07:09 AM
Or, have the Paladin center it on enemies, then move into position where the Tiefling could AoO anyone who comes out. If you can somehow quicken the darkness ability, you can make a ready action of it to.

But Darkness is a buff spell...

Put it on your Wizard/Archers for protection. Put it on your Rogue so he can sneak.
The Paladin might not make the best use of it, except maybe when charging with Awesome Smite.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-06-09, 07:32 AM
2000 to make a permenant item of this. Googles of EE. (custom item, though.)

*edit* Spell lvl X caster lvl X 2000, 1x1x2000=2000

What's the spell's duration again? That multiplies the cost, too.

Crow
2009-06-09, 01:55 PM
I like the idea of using it to cover a retreat, or give the party rogue some cover. Even setting it up to AoO opponents who come out of it is quite neat.

I wasn't talking about making "good" use of the spell alignment-wise, I was just talking about good utility. I guess I made it confusing by mentioning that he was a Paladin (an alignment-charged class). I just wanted to make it clear that he wasn't a rogue or a ninja or something.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was at a loss to actually do something with this ability of his.

Flickerdart
2009-06-09, 02:02 PM
Why a Tiefling Paladin? The CHA hit and increase to two not-too-useful stats helps very little.

Regardless, the Darkness ability is not very good for a Paladin, except in the case of tanking, where enemies already want to attack you (such as a narrow corridor, bad DM, you took their shineys, etc). The miss chance will, in that case, help.

Crow
2009-06-09, 02:17 PM
Why a Tiefling Paladin? The CHA hit and increase to two not-too-useful stats helps very little.

Regardless, the Darkness ability is not very good for a Paladin, except in the case of tanking, where enemies already want to attack you (such as a narrow corridor, bad DM, you took their shineys, etc). The miss chance will, in that case, help.

I built him for the character, not for the stats. With standard point-buy it has been difficult at best, but I hope the character will prove enjoyable to roleplay.

Flickerdart
2009-06-09, 02:35 PM
I built him for the character, not for the stats. With standard point-buy it has been difficult at best, but I hope the character will prove enjoyable to roleplay.
I figured. I'm saying, you can go about the concept with more success. Are you at least a Lesser Tiefling?

Hm...LA on Half-Fiend is a bit excessive and Fiendish sucks. Wow, I guess Tiefling might be the way to go after all. Maybe you could do the Demon or Devil bloodlines instead, but that's still like LA.

Serenity will shift your Paladin abilities from CHA to WIS, if you want to. Your heightened INT score is like a human's free skill point, always nice, and DEX means light armour is slightly more viable until you can afford Full Plate. Plus, you'll be less useless with a bow.

Hat-Trick
2009-06-09, 05:14 PM
You could ready Darkness to cast it at an enemy mage to ruin line of sight.

Goatman_Ted
2009-06-09, 05:30 PM
You could ready Darkness to cast it at an enemy mage to ruin line of sight.

That's... not what Darkness does.
That would just make 1/5 of the party's attacks against the mage miss.
Seriously (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/darkness.htm).

Darkness is a poorly-named spell.
It should be called "Dimness"

...Or "Barely Insufficient Light."
Its focus would be a pitch-spoon.

Flickerdart
2009-06-09, 05:32 PM
You could refluff Fog Cloud (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fogCloud.htm) as making darkness instead of fog and ask to use that.

Leewei
2009-06-09, 05:32 PM
Darkness merely grants concealment, not full concealment. In other words, it won't break line of sight. It will do the following:

-Grant a 20% miss chance to most attacks in its area. If the paladin gets the Blind-fighting feat, it'll make the miss chance pretty negligible.

-Prevent Sneak Attacks in its area (rogues must clearly see their targets, after all).

-Allow characters and creatures in its area to use Hide skill (since they have concealment).

-Snuff out lower level light spells such as faerie fire and light.

In general, darkness is merely a nuisance effect in most situations. It is rarely more trouble for your opponents than it is for the PCs.

Crow
2009-06-09, 06:33 PM
I figured. I'm saying, you can go about the concept with more success. Are you at least a Lesser Tiefling?

Hm...LA on Half-Fiend is a bit excessive and Fiendish sucks. Wow, I guess Tiefling might be the way to go after all. Maybe you could do the Demon or Devil bloodlines instead, but that's still like LA.

Serenity will shift your Paladin abilities from CHA to WIS, if you want to. Your heightened INT score is like a human's free skill point, always nice, and DEX means light armour is slightly more viable until you can afford Full Plate. Plus, you'll be less useless with a bow.


What book is Serenity in? That Cha penalty is making things difficult. I am going with a bow Paladin for the time being. I don't expect things to make it into high levels, so I think he'll be ok.