PDA

View Full Version : Essentials for mid to high level play



WarKitty
2011-01-20, 03:52 PM
With my RL group, I'm DMing a game starting at level 11 and running up to levels 20+. They're a pretty melee heavy bunch, with only one full caster in the group (might be getting another). We have a sorc, a bard, a fighter, a ranger/arcane archer, and a rogue.

What essential things may they be missing with the limited number of casters? I'm quite willing to drop magic items that help with these needs.

Gnaeus
2011-01-20, 03:55 PM
Status healing. Things like Restoration for ability drain/level loss, or stone to flesh (unless the Sorc gets PAO). Of course, you could just not use monsters that have unhealable effects. I assume that they will probably get some scrolls of raise dead...

WarKitty
2011-01-20, 04:00 PM
Status healing. Things like Restoration for ability drain/level loss, or stone to flesh (unless the Sorc gets PAO). Of course, you could just not use monsters that have unhealable effects. I assume that they will probably get some scrolls of raise dead...

I've given the bard most of the healing abilities as SLA's, with in-universe justification. Couple of gems of true resurrection as well (I was being nice, they have 3 of them).

Will they need stuff like fly or teleport?

Keinnicht
2011-01-20, 04:00 PM
Yeah. Healing is really the main thing you're missing. Leave some wands of Cure Critical Wounds lying around that the bard can use. The bard also has break enchantment, remove curse, and neutralize poison, which probably don't come up often enough for the bard to bother taking more than one of them.

I'd suggest encouraging one of them to take leadership so they have a cohort who can cast remove disease, raise dead, restoration, and other useful spells they don't have access to.[


QUOTE=WarKitty;10201343]I've given the bard most of the healing abilities as SLA's, with in-universe justification. Couple of gems of true resurrection as well (I was being nice, they have 3 of them).

Will they need stuff like fly or teleport?[/QUOTE]

Sorcerer, dude.

Plus unless you're running a premade campaign, you can work around what they don't have. Plus some DMs would pay money to have players who can't cast teleport.

Dreadn4ught
2011-01-20, 04:01 PM
The very obvious thing that comes to my mind is healing in battle. I was fighting a stone golem, and the paladin couldn't survive two hits. Our cleric had to heal him every turn just to keep him alive while the sorcerer got the golem down.

The cleric is the ideal class, with his ability to instantly switch any spell to a healing spell, but it can dull down things if you fight a lot of undead. These battles usually end before they start.

An easier way than getting a cleric is have someone with UMD get a wand of healing spells.

Edit: Wow, TWO people posted pretty much the same thing while I was typing my post? FAIL.

WarKitty
2011-01-20, 04:05 PM
Yeah. Healing is really the main thing you're missing. Leave some wands of Cure Critical Wounds lying around that the bard can use. The bard also has break enchantment, remove curse, and neutralize poison, which probably don't come up often enough for the bard to bother taking more than one of them.

I'd suggest encouraging one of them to take leadership so they have a cohort who can cast remove disease, raise dead, restoration, and other useful spells they don't have access to.[



I've given the bard most of the healing abilities as SLA's, with in-universe justification. Couple of gems of true resurrection as well (I was being nice, they have 3 of them).

Will they need stuff like fly or teleport?

Sorcerer, dude.

Plus unless you're running a premade campaign, you can work around what they don't have. Plus some DMs would pay money to have players who can't cast teleport.

Unfortunately, last time they decided to use teleport they burnt out all the sorc's spells slots and then he got bored the rest of the day. And I think he might be re-rolling into an alchemist, which would take that out as well.

Gnaeus
2011-01-20, 04:33 PM
Well, an alchemist could still make potions of fly. I think in that party, given the lack of high level casting, I would allow Brew Potion to go up to level 4. Then, people could be packing their own potions of restoration, Cure Critical, greater Invis, etc. I don't think that would be game breaking. Of course, if the alchemist isn't the type of personality that enjoys crafting, that might not help.

Coidzor
2011-01-22, 09:54 AM
Well, you might want to be either more generous (possibly giving them some manner of minor discount) with utility runestaves/staves/wands/scrolls or give the spontaneous casters an allowance for covering utility spells so they don't have to choose quite so parsimoniously between their combat abilities and their general adventuring ones.

Or increase skill point allowances for better ability to tackle mundane solutions to obstacles.

And encourage that fighter to PrC out...<_< >_>

WarKitty
2011-01-22, 10:21 AM
Well, you might want to be either more generous (possibly giving them some manner of minor discount) with utility runestaves/staves/wands/scrolls or give the spontaneous casters an allowance for covering utility spells so they don't have to choose quite so parsimoniously between their combat abilities and their general adventuring ones.

Or increase skill point allowances for better ability to tackle mundane solutions to obstacles.

And encourage that fighter to PrC out...<_< >_>

Eh, the fighter's actually doing pretty well for himself. Pathfinder's increased feats really seem to help - he's turning into a damage monster with enough feats to make himself difficult to avoid.

Ernir
2011-01-22, 10:32 AM
Flight, Mind blank, True Seeing (or at least See Invisibility), protection from negative energy effects, dispel magic, miss chances, stun immunity, Freedom of Movement.

Can be taken care of with a Winged Mask (Magic of Faerūn) or one of the 1000 other flight items, a Third Eye Conceal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalitems.htm#conceal) or Cortical Armor (Underdark) or a Cowl of Warding (Magic of Faerūn) or a Ring of Mental Fortitude (DMG2), a Scout's Headband (Magic Item Compendium) or the deluxe version that is the Hathran Mask of True Seeing (Unapproachable East), a scarab of protection (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicitems/wondrousitems.htm#scarabofProtection), (Greater) Dispelling weapons (Magic Item Compendium) or a Third Eye Repudiate (Magic Item Compendium) or a Ring of Spell-Battle (OK, not really dispelling for most purposes, but still, awesome) (Magic Item Compendium), a Ring of Blinking (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/rings.htm#blinking) or cloaks of displacement (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#cloakofDisplacementMinor) or Displacement armors (Magic Item Compendium) or Smoking weapons (Lords of Darkness), Banner of the Storm's Eye (Magic Item Compendium) or Third Eye Clarity (Magic Item Compendium), and a ring of freedom of movement (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/rings.htm#freedomofMovement) or Vest of Free Movement (Magic Item Compendium) (or the Cowl of Warding, too!), respectively.

I'd add poison immunity too, but these guys presumably already have a juiced-up Fort save. And fear immunity, but that's covered by Mind Blank (although if you're not at a very high level yet, the Mind Blanks are way too expensive) - notably, the Banner of the Storm's Eye effectively takes care of that too.