Just a precautionary measure...

[Drakevarg]

Well, that and I'm in quasi-insomniac mode right now, so I need something to do. This latest party in my DnD campaigns marks the first time when I'm had to deal with a legitimate arcane full-caster. Sure, I've dealt with clerics and druids and warmages before, but the horror stories I've heard on this board tell me that Sorcerers and Wizards are the ones I really need to watch out for. I've got the former on my hands.

The subject is a Drow Sorcerer 3. Unlike most of the previous casters I've had to deal with, this one is an archetypical robe-wearing-prissy type, so he won't be mistaking himself for a melee fighter. (So far, every caster I've worked with keeps fighting on the front lines, only using their magic as a support option. Hell, the first boss I sent against the last party was slain in melee by the cleric in a 2v2 duel.)

As such, this is probably the first time I've had to deal with a spellcaster that will consistently remember to cast spells. So, understandably I'm a bit worried that I may be thrown for a complete loop here. Obviously it'll get worse as he continues to level, but for now I'd just like to worry about the next few sessions.

Here's his list of known spells. Any shenanigans that I might need contingencies for? For the most part I've only bothered to design my dungeons like hack-n'-slashers because that's all my party ever remembers to do. I may need to expand my bases, so that's what I'm checking for here. It might be as simple as needing to add side notes in case he casts some detection spells and realizes the place is built out of cardboard and masking tape, or it might be something as major as some trick that could serve as an instant dungeon bypass.

Level 0-
Detect Magic
Acid Splash
Daze
Ghost Sounds
Message
Read Magic

Level 1-
Backbiter
Burning Hands
Jump
True Strike
Chill Touch
Feather Fall

Level 2-
Protection From Arrows
Scorching Ray
Spider Climb

[Kefkafreak]

That's not a very good selection of spells and Drow is a really bad race for spellcasters, so you should be ok.

[Greenish]

Yeah, it looks like a blaster. Drows are eww, but if you can stomach that, you'll probably survive.

Though I don't know why you're worried, doesn't casting spells in your game result in summoning the great old ones, turning into an eldritch abomination, exploding your friends etc., or am I thinking of some other poster? :smalltongue:

[Drakevarg]

Though I don't know why you're worried, doesn't casting spells in your game result in summoning the great old ones, turning into an eldritch abomination, exploding your friends etc., or am I thinking of some other poster? :smalltongue:

That was me, yes. But in another campaign setting. This one is just straight classic DnD, because I was feeling nostalgic. :smallamused:


That's not a very good selection of spells and Drow is a really bad race for spellcasters, so you should be ok.


Yeah, it looks like a blaster. Drows are eww, but if you can stomach that, you'll probably survive.

What exactly makes Drow so "ew" as a caster race? Isn't +2 INT/CHA and spell resistance a good thing? Though I suppose Aasimar get pretty much the same deal for less LA if you can stomach the stick-up-the-ass that comes with the package.

[mootoall]

2 caster levels > +2 to primary casting stat. Even then. Plus, Jump as a first level spell, and not a lesser orb? True Strike on a non-gish? I'm almost offended ...

[Greenish]

What exactly makes Drow so "ew" as a caster race?1st, it's an elf.
2nd, Drizzt.
3rd, +2 LA.

And aasimar don't need to have stick-up-the-ass, it's not like you can fall from being the race you were born as.

[Rogue Shadows]

And aasimar don't need to have stick-up-the-ass, it's not like you can fall from being the race you were born as.

Plus, aasimars make great villains. Simply say "aasimar" and everyone thinks "oh, he's descended from the good guys, so he must be a good guy, too!"

The paladins never bother casting detect evil on them, and then they act all surprised when the aasimar uses Death Strike on them in their sleep.

"What? *laughing* I've been Neutral Evil since the day I was born, baby!"

Yes...

---

On Drizzt and drow. God damnit I hate Drizzt sometimes. My first D&D character was CG drow rogue named Iliira, and I still run a version of her whenever possible - I think of her as my "default" character. I had never heard of Drizzt before making her. I've spent a lot of effort distinguishing Iliira from Drizzt (they really aren't alike, at all), but whipping her out, no one ever looks any further than "CG" and "drow."

[The Glyphstone]

Whatever happened to your desert nomad campaign?

[Drakevarg]

Whatever happened to your desert nomad campaign?

Everyone died when they were in that buried city of magic thing. Happened when I failed to consider that DR 10/Magic is going to play hell on a monster's CR when you pit it against an entirely nonmagical party.

After that I offered two options: Continue the desert nomad campaign after a timeskip, or switch to a more straightforward DnD campaign where I throw whatever I damn well feel like at them. They chose the latter.

[EagleWiz]

Without LA buyoff drow is a bad idea, so you dont really have to worry there. And looking at the spell list.... Chill touch? True strike? Spider climb? No prestidigittation? Honestly, this is one of the least broken spell lists I have seen in a long time. Giltterdust and grease are the spells to fear at this level, not jump.

Although, don't expect your pit traps and endless chasms to be effective.

[Drakevarg]

Honestly, this is one of the least broken spell lists I have seen in a long time.

I think I have the fact that this is the player's second character ever to thank for that. His first one was a Human Fighter, aka "Baby's First PC."

[Drachasor]

At this rate, I'd worry more about your caster being too ineffective. +2 LA and horrible spells...not good.

[Drakevarg]

At this rate, I'd worry more about your caster being too ineffective. +2 LA and horrible spells...not good.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's still one of the most effective members of the party. He's what I have to work with:

Wyrmling White Dragon
Flind Gnoll Barbarian 1
Ibixian Druid 1
Drow Sorcerer 3
Kenku Rogue 5

[Drachasor]

I wouldn't be surprised if he's still one of the most effective members of the party. He's what I have to work with:

Wyrmling White Dragon
Flind Gnoll Barbarian 1
Ibixian Druid 1
Drow Sorcerer 3
Kenku Rogue 5

The Flind might not be so bad, but the Kenku is going to own. Ok, the Dragon will do ok for himself too (he'll want to get some magical items for his AC though).

I still say the Sorc needs to pick good spells...or at least not crappy ones. I mean, that's not an OK selection, that's a BAD selection.

[Drakevarg]

I still say the Sorc needs to pick good spells...or at least not crappy ones. I mean, that's not an OK selection, that's a BAD selection.

It started off worse. I actually had him swap out a spell for protection from arrows. The spell he had before that? Familiar Pocket.

[Drachasor]

It started off worse. I actually had him swap out a spell for protection from arrows. The spell he had before that? Familiar Pocket.

He does realize he isn't a stage magician, right?

[SowZ]

Plus, at the lower levels MOST people who play Wizards don't have the crazy combos yet so they are more predictable/easily accounted for. Oh, and he is a sorcerer. So he won't get deadly until later.

[Callista]

Familiar Pocket is quite useful if you're using familiars, actually; but I wouldn't pick it until later--not while the low-level slots are still so important. That little bundle of XP can get very vulnerable; protecting it is a sensible step.

If I were handed this spell selection, I would...

Detect Magic: Very nice cantrip. Turn it on and use it to search for magic, including magical traps, magically hidden objects, and anything with a magic aura (including invisible things--but it is not useful in battle because of how long you have to concentrate to get an exact location). Unless your NPCs have deliberately hidden the magic aura, this will find it.

Acid Splash: Meh. Crossbows are better. But I've used this one to etch a message in some rock for the party to read. Took multiple castings, but it's a cantrip.

Daze: I've never even used this one. Sure, the "take no actions for one round" thing seems nice, but the save is just too easy to make, and the hit die limit means that by third or fourth level most of your enemies aren't even valid targets.

Ghost Sounds: Creative illusionists will use this one to create distractions. I've also used it to whisper confusing things into the ear of a noble giving a speech, so that he seemed distracted and wasn't as convincing.

Message: One of the nicest cantrips out there. Being able to talk silently with your party has a million uses. I used to have my wizards craft magic items for everybody that would let us communicate silently at will. The short range is the major drawback. Count on him using it to talk to his friends to make plans while your BBEG is monologuing.

Read Magic: Useful, but boring. Lets him read magic scrolls and spellbooks that he's found.

Level 1-
Backbiter: Will save, which is good against fighter types; but if they're using magic weapons, the weapon might have a higher will save. The enemy has to be using a wooden-hafted weapon. It's OK, but there are better choices. Too much randomness: first they have to have an appropriate weapon, then they have to fail the will save, then they have to hit their own (probably high) AC.

Burning Hands: Raw fire damage. Meh. Again, better choices exist.

Jump: No idea why he took this one.

True Strike: A very useful spell; expect him to use it in conjunction with Scorching Ray. Spellcasters at higher levels will quicken it and use it with ranged-touch attack spells.

Chill Touch: Touch range? On a spellcaster? And the damage is 1d6... plus a single point of strength damage with a fortitude save (a fighter's best). No, thanks.

Feather Fall: Another boring-but-useful spell. Don't expect to drain their hit points with pit traps. It can also be used to create a magical version of paratroopers or to quickly descend a cliff it would generally take them forever to climb down.

Level 2-
Protection From Arrows: Well, it does what it says: You can't be hurt by non-magical arrows unless they crit and roll high on damage. But if this were me, I'd be picking some other defensive spell, like Mirror Image. This one's just too specific in application to be on a sorcerer's list.

Scorching Ray: Another fire-damage spell. It's not useless, and it does good damage, but there are better ones. This guy's going to be annoyed with anything that has fire resistance--he'll be down to the Acid Splash.

Spider Climb: Very useful. Maneuverability, and lets you climb too high to be hit by melee enemies. Useful for ambushes, hiding, or getting across difficult terrain. I'd go for slippers of spider climb, personally, but this one's still going to be on my wizards' spell lists.

So... yeah, you haven't got much to worry about.

[The Glyphstone]

Agreed. You might actually be okay throwing CR-appropriate encounters at them with this bunch, considering their rather haphazard builds.

[Dumbledore lives]

I'm a little confused as to how he has 2nd level spells at level 3, or so many known, but even with those spells he's not going to be overpowering anyone.

[Drakevarg]

I'm a little confused as to how he has 2nd level spells at level 3, or so many known, but even with those spells he's not going to be overpowering anyone.

That's a good point, actually. I'll need to talk with him. It seems like he's misunderstood the LA rules and rolled a Drow Sorcerer 5 in a 5th level party...

[Greenish]

Ibixian Druid 1Goatfolk? How are your PCs making their characters, rolling on random race/class tables? :smalltongue:

If that's the case, you need to add Yakfolk to the table.

[Edit]: Given the classes, might give 'em all one LA for free.

[Drakevarg]

Goatfolk? How are your PCs making their characters, rolling on random race/class tables? :smalltongue:

If that's the case, you need to add Yakfolk to the table.

Yakfolk, provided they aren't something you just made up, aren't in any of my books. And no, he genuinely looked at the Goatfolk and said "I want to play as one of those."

[Coidzor]

Well, he's already taken steps to gimp himself by taking an LA & being a sorcerer... So there's that at least.


And aasimar don't need to have stick-up-the-ass, it's not like you can fall from being the race you were born as.

But if it were possible, you'd be darned sure they would. :smallamused:

[Greenish]

Yakfolk, provided they aren't something you just made up, aren't in any of my books.You think one has to make up goofy D&D monsters? Well, yeah, someone had to, those brights minds over at WotC (and TSR before that). The cunning and dastardly race of Yakfolk is found in MMII.


And no, he genuinely looked at the Goatfolk and said "I want to play as one of those."…I mean, all regards to effectiveness aside, how does one just up and declare "why yes, I would very much like it to be a goat"? :smallconfused:

[Drakevarg]

…I mean, all regards to effectiveness aside, how does one just up and declare "why yes, I would very much like it to be a goat"? :smallconfused:

I can understand a Half-Fiend Goatfolk, but for vanilla goat you've got me, man.

[Gorgondantess]

Frankly, I'd let the poor fellow keep his levels. With what he has there, nothing's going to be a problem.
Also: I'd say that, right now, the most powerful character in the party is going to be the barbarian. So long as he put his highest stat in strength and is using a two handed weapon, he should be able to kill most enemies in a couple of hits. Assuming a 16 in strength, he gets up to 26, which is +8 to hit and +12 to damage. At that point he can power attack for 2, and be reliably doling out an average of about 22 damage per hit, nothing to sneeze at for sure, especially at 5th level.

[Coidzor]

They wanna freak people out with their square-to-hexagonal pupils?

[Drachasor]

Frankly, I'd let the poor fellow keep his levels. With what he has there, nothing's going to be a problem.
Also: I'd say that, right now, the most powerful character in the party is going to be the barbarian. So long as he put his highest stat in strength and is using a two handed weapon, he should be able to kill most enemies in a couple of hits. Assuming a 16 in strength, he gets up to 26, which is +8 to hit and +12 to damage. At that point he can power attack for 2, and be reliably doling out an average of about 22 damage per hit, nothing to sneeze at for sure, especially at 5th level.

The White Dragon has his charms. He can fly for one, but yeah, not a mainline fighter. Also, dragons are cool. The Kenku should be pretty good.


…I mean, all regards to effectiveness aside, how does one just up and declare "why yes, I would very much like it to be a goat"? :smallconfused:

You can eat anything.

[Greenish]

FI'd say that, right now, the most powerful character in the party is going to be the barbarian. So long as he put his highest stat in strength and is using a two handed weapon, he should be able to kill most enemies in a couple of hits.Flindbar!


You can eat anything.So can a kobold, and it gets to mini-dragon.

[Gorgondantess]

Flindbar!

2-H flindbar is the way to go.:smallbiggrin:

[Drachasor]

So can a kobold, and it gets to mini-dragon.

Yeah, but a Kobold won't want to.

[Callista]

Maybe they looked at it, laughed out loud, and then figured, "Hey, why not?" because it was just too weird not to try. Not everybody has to play serious epic-style characters. Sometimes, you wanna play a goat that can wildshape into a goat. :smallbiggrin: