LordotheMorning
2012-01-26, 12:51 AM
When I started playing DnD, the first character concept I wanted to make was basically what I would now call an agile gish that uses Light magic almost exclusively, maybe with some fire thrown in. Fast forward about a year, now that I've got decent mastery of the game and gone through almost every book there is looking for a way to make it a reality. I still don't have any good ideas to make it work. I've compiled a list of spells with the fluff I'm looking for. Most of them are cleric, others are from domains or the sor/wiz list (marked with a w):
1- Dawnburst (w), Handfire, Nimbus of light, Lantern Light, Ray of Hope
2- Sunbolt, Body of the Sun (w), Ayailla's Radiant Burst, Luminous Armor
3- Body Blaze (w), wreathe of flames (w), Celestial Aspect, Soul of Light (Combine with Soul of anarchy/law)
4- Nchaser's glowing orb, searing exposure (w), Wall of moonlight, sun mantle, Celestial Brilliance, Diamond spray, Radiant Fog
5- Blistering Radiance, Crown of Flame, Emerald Burst, Heavenly Lightning, Opalescent Glare (or Righteous Glare)
6- Crown of Brilliance, Sun Sceptre, Fiery Vision, Fires of purity, Bolt of Glory (glory), Storm of shards, Vengeance Halo
7- Rejuvinating light, Sunbeam (sun), Phoenix Fire, Channel Celestial, Tomb of Light
8- Sunburst, Righteous burst, Unearthly beauty
9- Deadly Sunstroke (w), Moonfire (moon), Blinding Glory (glory)
Most of these spells are horrendously underpowered. There were ones that were even worse, but I omitted them because I wasn't willing to take them. It's seriously irritating to see a LEVEL SIX light spell that does the same thing as Glitterdust.
Master of Radiance is the only class I've found with the flavor I'm after, but the Sunbeam mechanic seems kind of broken. A level 5 Master of Radiance gets to cast Sunbeam as a full-round action, and the attractive synergy is supposed to be that she gets increased caster level on light spells. But Sunbeam gives additional rays on following turns after casting anyway, so what's the point of casting Sunbeam at will, or even casting it at an increased caster level? Is it possible to use this class and still be a viable character?
I'm in desperate need of ideas. Perhaps I've overlooked something. Ideally the concept should be:
-Decent BAB/Combat ability
-Casts almost exclusively light spells, which are the major source of his damage.
-Melee, but uses some rays.
-Offensive, something whose entire purpose is not to buff.
-Sunblades, Brilliant Energy Weapons, etc.
-Originally wanted to be a Two Weapon Fighter, but I'm willing to admit that doesn't seem very optimization.
-Probably a cleric, but I'm open to other suggestions.
EDIT: -The ability to manifest a weapon via spell or class ability.
Thoughts?
1- Dawnburst (w), Handfire, Nimbus of light, Lantern Light, Ray of Hope
2- Sunbolt, Body of the Sun (w), Ayailla's Radiant Burst, Luminous Armor
3- Body Blaze (w), wreathe of flames (w), Celestial Aspect, Soul of Light (Combine with Soul of anarchy/law)
4- Nchaser's glowing orb, searing exposure (w), Wall of moonlight, sun mantle, Celestial Brilliance, Diamond spray, Radiant Fog
5- Blistering Radiance, Crown of Flame, Emerald Burst, Heavenly Lightning, Opalescent Glare (or Righteous Glare)
6- Crown of Brilliance, Sun Sceptre, Fiery Vision, Fires of purity, Bolt of Glory (glory), Storm of shards, Vengeance Halo
7- Rejuvinating light, Sunbeam (sun), Phoenix Fire, Channel Celestial, Tomb of Light
8- Sunburst, Righteous burst, Unearthly beauty
9- Deadly Sunstroke (w), Moonfire (moon), Blinding Glory (glory)
Most of these spells are horrendously underpowered. There were ones that were even worse, but I omitted them because I wasn't willing to take them. It's seriously irritating to see a LEVEL SIX light spell that does the same thing as Glitterdust.
Master of Radiance is the only class I've found with the flavor I'm after, but the Sunbeam mechanic seems kind of broken. A level 5 Master of Radiance gets to cast Sunbeam as a full-round action, and the attractive synergy is supposed to be that she gets increased caster level on light spells. But Sunbeam gives additional rays on following turns after casting anyway, so what's the point of casting Sunbeam at will, or even casting it at an increased caster level? Is it possible to use this class and still be a viable character?
I'm in desperate need of ideas. Perhaps I've overlooked something. Ideally the concept should be:
-Decent BAB/Combat ability
-Casts almost exclusively light spells, which are the major source of his damage.
-Melee, but uses some rays.
-Offensive, something whose entire purpose is not to buff.
-Sunblades, Brilliant Energy Weapons, etc.
-Originally wanted to be a Two Weapon Fighter, but I'm willing to admit that doesn't seem very optimization.
-Probably a cleric, but I'm open to other suggestions.
EDIT: -The ability to manifest a weapon via spell or class ability.
Thoughts?