Ray specialists?

[killem2]

I could have sworn there was a walkthrough someone made that did everything possible to make a blaster wizard class. One that focused on nothing but single target rays and stuff.

I just can't seem to find it on here and I just know I saw one. I have a wizard now, that I want to only be good at one thing and one thing only, single target destruction by way of rays, and possibly line spells.

The wizard is already a focused specialist evoker,with enchantment and illusion banned. Going master specialist in another level.

:smallsigh::smallsigh:


EDIT: Corrected my typo!!

[Snowbluff]

Split Ray, Spellwarp Sniper (CS) might help. Incantatrix and MSP (If your DM thought it would be funny to allow BoEF). Having Evo cut out means missing alot of Damage spells, but you still can Enervation and Disintegration. With conjuration, you have Orbs, but I think those are tricky due to not being rays.

[Heliomance]

Uh... you want to be a ray specialist and you banned Evocation? :smallconfused:

That's where the vast majority of ray spells are.

[zimmerwald1915]

Uh... you want to be a ray specialist and you banned Evocation? :smallconfused:

That's where the vast majority of ray spells are.
Well, Necromancy has many and Transmutation has a few, but neither is exactly "blasting," barring a few spells.

[killem2]

Split Ray, Spellwarp Sniper (CS) might help. Incantatrix and MSP (If your DM thought it would be funny to allow BoEF). Having Evo cut out means missing alot of Damage spells, but you still can Enervation and Disintegration. With conjuration, you have Orbs, but I think those are tricky due to not being rays.

Oh sorry that is a bad use of commas on my part, he is a specialist evoker with enchantment and illusion banned!

[Heliomance]

If you're a focused specialist, you need to ban 3 schools.

[Snowbluff]

Oh sorry that is a bad use of commas on my part, he is a specialist evoker with enchantment and illusion banned!

Oh, lol. :smallbiggrin: Much better. Spellwarp Sniper will let you make you AoE spells like Fireball or Lightning Bolt rays as well.

[killem2]

Oh right, yeah necro is also banned. I'm really off it today.

:smallfrown:

That sniper thing looks pretty sweet.

[Pilo]

Banning necromancy is a mistake.

You should bane Abjuration instead.

Necro has Enervation, which is one of the best ray spell, and a lot of other rays.

[Otomodachi]

Ocular Spell (Lords of Madness?) is a metamagic feat to turn a wide variety of stuff into rays.

[killem2]

Yeah I already am level 3 :( set in stone on the banned choices.

[Feralventas]

I think it might be a sorcerer build, but you might want to look up the Mailman combos to see if they'll work for what you have in mind.
(Mailman delivers damage)

Additionally, Conjuration has the Orb of (element) spells that are fine for a ray-specialist.

Spell-warp sniper is fine for ray attacks, or for making your AOE's focused, but it might also be worthwhile to consider Arcane Trickster for the extra sneak-attack damage to progress with Sudden Raystrike.

Also check out the Force Missile Mage from Dragon Compendium.

[killem2]

Question, when you fire a ray, if an ally is in the way does it block line of sight or hit them instead?

[nedz]

The Orb spells are excellent; but the're not rays, so they are not eligible for Split Ray. Most of the direct damage rays are Evocation so are eligible for the usual tricks here. The best rays though, IMHO, are Necromantic: Ray of Enfeeblement, Ray of Exhaustion and of course Ennervation. There are a couple of Transformation based ones as well: Ray of Clumsyness and Rust Ray.

[nedz]

Question, when you fire a ray, if an ally is in the way does it block line of sight or hit them instead?

Its a ranged attack so they may give cover. You might want to consider PBS and Precise Shot too.

[Jeff the Green]

Its a ranged attack so they may give cover. You might want to consider PBS and Precise Shot too.

If you don't want to spend the feat, you can get them instead of Scribe Scroll/5th-level bonus feat via this ACF (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#wizard). If you've already chosen Scribe Scroll and can't get a fighter bonus feat at 5th, you can trade out your bonus feat for a domain power. Elf gives you PBS.

[Laniius]

One thing to recall about the Spellwarp Sniper is that area spells that normally allow saves no longer do once they're converted into rays, though I think this is only true for reflex saves.

[kardar233]

One thing to recall about the Spellwarp Sniper is that area spells that normally allow saves no longer do once they're converted into rays, though I think this is only true for reflex saves.

This is brutal if you're using a Sorcerer entry. Wings of Flurry for uncapped d6/CL force damage plus a No Save Just Daze? I'll take ten.

[Zombulian]

Ocular Spell (Lords of Madness?) is a metamagic feat to turn a wide variety of stuff into rays.

Ocular Spell isn't even mm! I love this feat so much. Store 2 spells in your eyes (with your choice of cheesy mm stacked on top) and BOOM. Doesn't even have to be a ray, IT IS NOW. Also shooting Lazors from your eyes...

[Dairuga]

Ocular Spell isn't even mm! I love this feat so much. Store 2 spells in your eyes (with your choice of cheesy mm stacked on top) and BOOM. Doesn't even have to be a ray, IT IS NOW. Also shooting Lazors from your eyes...

Benefit: You can cast a spell with a casting time of 1 full round or less as an ocular spell. An ocular spell does not take effect immediately, but is instead held in one of your eyes for up to 8 hours. You can store only two ocular spells in this fashion, even if you have more than two eyes. Only ray spells and spells with a target other than personal can be cast as ocular spells.

My question is; due to the usage of the "And", clause, people in my group ruled that it had to be ray spells, -and- have a range other than personal to be cast as ocular spells, meaning that only Ray spells could be stored in your eyes, in effect. What are people's thoughts on this?

[killem2]

So I have a new path in the bag because it clearly seems like I didn't take the right path.

Our group will allow 3.0 content as is, as long as it was never updated 3.5.

So here is what I'm going with:
Strongheart Halfling from the forgotten realms book. He starts at level 4 total.

Level 1 Rogue
Level 3 Wizard

Str 13
Dex 20
Con 16
Int 18
Wis 16
Cha 9

I originally had the str and the cha switched but was getting encumbered way to easy.

I am working towards the spellsniper thing. Here is what I have so far:

Point Blank Shot
Precise Shot
Split Ray
Ocular Spell
Improved Familiar (Glacier Snake)

I get a feat from the race, level 1 rogue, two flaws, and level 3 wizard.

I'm thinking the automatic feat I will take instead of Precise Shot with the prestige class will be Deadeye Shot.

The little halfling will also be Focused Specialist on Evocation, and banning Abjuration, Enchantment, and Illusion.

I went this route, or am thinking of going this route because My group is made up of pretty much a dominate melee front line. Fighter, Cleric, Ranger (2WF), Guard Dog, Elven Hound, and soon to be, another Ranger, and another Wizard.

So I am constantly having to fire into crowds.

Thoughts so far?

[Zombulian]

Benefit: You can cast a spell with a casting time of 1 full round or less as an ocular spell. An ocular spell does not take effect immediately, but is instead held in one of your eyes for up to 8 hours. You can store only two ocular spells in this fashion, even if you have more than two eyes. Only ray spells and spells with a target other than personal can be cast as ocular spells.

My question is; due to the usage of the "And", clause, people in my group ruled that it had to be ray spells, -and- have a range other than personal to be cast as ocular spells, meaning that only Ray spells could be stored in your eyes, in effect. What are people's thoughts on this?
1. That's really lame.
2. I don't even understand why they would do that. Except for maybe the whole, making the spellwarp sniper obsolete thing...

[killem2]

1. That's really lame.
2. I don't even understand why they would do that. Except for maybe the whole, making the spellwarp sniper obsolete thing...

The text does read ray spells and spells with.

I know sometimes wizards grammar is flipping stupid, but this is far to big of a mistake even or wizards. I would have rule it is asking for ray spell and then any other spell that has a target other than personal. Otherwise why bother saying spell twice, all rays have targets other than personal, because you don't need a ray to target yourself.

I'm thinking of just about any debuff spell. Maybe it doesn't deal damage but it targets. Like this:

Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Sorcerer 6, Wizard 6,
Components:
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
As teleport, except that you send the targeted creature (and only that creature) and carried objects to a designated destination.
You must have some clear idea of the location and layout of the destination.
The clearer your mental image, the more likely the teleportation works.
Areas of strong physical or magical energy might make teleportation more hazardous or even impossible.
If the destination is "very familiar", the target gets no saving throw bonus.
If the destination is "studied carefully", the target gets a +2 saving throw bonus.
Likewise, if the destination is "seen casually", "viewed once", or "false destination", the target gets a +4, +6, or +8 bonus, respectively.



I would allow that as written unless it has been errata for some reason.


Here is the full detail:

OCULAR SPELL [METAMAGIC]
Your study of the terrible powers of the beholder has given you
insight into new ways to prepare and cast spells.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (dungeoneering) 4 ranks, two
or more eyes.
Benefi t: You can cast a spell with a casting time of 1 full
round or less as an ocular spell. An ocular spell does not take
effect immediately, but is instead held in one of your eyes for up
to 8 hours. You can store only two ocular spells in this fashion,
even if you have more than two eyes. Only ray spells and spells
with a target other than personal can be cast as ocular spells.
When you choose, you can then cast both of the ocular spells
as a full-round action; the spells become brilliant blasts that
shoot out from your eyes. You can choose different targets for
the two ocular spells.
When you release an ocular spell, its effect changes to a ray
with a range of up to 60 feet. If the spell previously would have
affected multiple creatures, it now affects only the creature
struck by the ray. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack
to strike your target with an ocular spell, and the target is still
permitted any saving throw allowed by the spell.
Example: Ferno, an 11th-level wizard with the Ocular Spell
feat, could prepare two scorching ray spells as ocular spells,
casting them at the beginning of the day. In combat, he can
take a full-round action to fi re off both scorching ray spells. He
can fi re each spell at a different target, and he gets all three
rays from each spell.
An ocular spell uses up a spell slot two levels higher than
the spell’s actual level.


Just from the wording alone from lords of madness, seems like you can pick just about anything.


The clear benefit from taking this with spellwarp sniper is that you techincally could warp say a fireball into a ray, split it, and then stick it in each eye.

Full round action for 4 single targets of 1d6/level.

lol