Highest spellcraft modifier at 21st level

[mattsdelf]

I was looking into epic magic in D&D 3.5, and i was wondering what the highest optimized possible spellcraft modifier is at combine class level 21. ECL can vary from 21 only by level adjustment, and a maximum LA of 6. The character must be capable of epic magic development. You can have any magic items you want, It can be either arcane or divine spellcasting. You may take some prestige classes only if it grants all of the caster levels of the regular class. You may use any feats from any published 3.5 D&D book, or dragon magazine. 62 can be a starting goal because i want to be able to cast Nailed to the Sky as soon as i go epic.

[Gavinfoxx]

Uh. Infinite?

You dont actually need high spellcraft. Just get your spellcasting followers, your planar bound spellcasting angels, your simulacrums of yourself, etc. etc. to combine spell slots to cast an epic spell of whatever spellcraft you need, with as much mitigation as you could possibly want (from all the contributed spell slots).

[Lateral]

So... you want us to build your entire character for you.

[Dumbledore lives]

23 ranks, +10 intelligence, +30 custom item. Those are all entirely non-epic, and very reasonable, so getting 62 is not difficult at all.

[Slipperychicken]

You're thinking about it backward. You don't want to boost your Spellcraft check and blow loads of gold to power Epic Magic, you want to abuse mitigating factors so you don't need a high Spellcraft or lots of gold.

For example, get every spellcaster/summon you can to donate spell slots to drop the DC down as far as you can. Also, if it has permanent/instantaneous duration, increase the casting time as much as you can cram into your backstory.


EDIT: For your build, it doesn't really matter as long as you get full casting progression. PrCs are mostly for grabbing class features anyway. Pick whatever flavor of fullcaster you like best, and take a prestige class like Loremaster or Archmage if you really want more class features.

[ericgrau]

Uh, instead of abusing the system, how about getting a high modifier like he asked? I mean he isn't even asking to cast a poorly put together self-made spell, he's trying to cast one of the sample spells.


There's a rod of epic spellcaster which gives you a +10 insight bonus to spellcraft to cast epic spells. 245,000 gp.
18 int + 5 (levels) + 6 (item) + 5 (tomes) = 34, for a +12 modifier. Last I checked you can get about +2 int per LA (variety of options, take your preference), 2 more from a grey elf race, so that's 14 more for +7 more to the modifier. Total of +19.
24 ranks
Skill focus and magical aptitude feats for +5
Epic skill focus at level 21 for +10
Stone of good luck for a +1 luck bonus to all skill checks, among other things. 20,000 gp.
Pale green prism ioun stone for a +1 competence bonus to all skill checks, among other things. 30,000 gp.
If the epic spell is from your favored school you get a +5 to the spellcraft to cast it.

Total: +75, and no shennanigans.

You could cast nailed to the sky without the xp cost.

[Alleran]

I remember pushing a Spellcraft modifier to about +145 or so at 20th level. It doesn't really matter in the end. If you've got Epic Spellcasting, you can just cycle through INT boosts with an infinite loop and have +N to Spellcraft, where N is the necessary modifier to cast whatever world-ending spell you want.

EDIT: Scratch that, it was +249 before the d20 roll, but used artifacts as well as regular items (of course, a 21st level character should probably have some artifacts anyway). Here's what I got.

Several artifacts can give you bonuses (of various types). The Nether Scrolls from Lost Empires of Faerun are the big ones, because the Arcanus Fundare scroll provides a +30 untyped bonus. You can also stack it with an item of +30 Spellcraft (about 90k gp, I think), and use different types of bonuses (for a slight price increase) to stack them. A good list would be:

+30 morale
+30 luck
+30 sacred
+30 competence
+30 insight

Granted, the morale one is a bit iffy, but the other four are solid possibilities, and pumps it to a +120 before anything else. It does require homebrew magic items, though, and your DM might object. Incantatrix is already stupid powerful, but all you need is one or two ways of getting around a +50 to your check in total, since persisting a 9th level spell is a DC of only 60-70 (somewhere around there).

If you want to max out your Spellcraft by 20th level, then by dumpster-diving splatbooks, Dragon and Dungeon for artifacts, spells and items you can get the following:

23 ranks
+30 untyped (Nether Scrolls, Lost Empires of Faerun)
+37 competence (Extract Gift spell, FCI, robbing an Atropal of its knowledge)
+30 sacred (magic item)
+30 luck (magic item)
+30 morale (magic item)
+30 insight (magic item)
+3 Skill Focus (feat)
+2 synergy (5 ranks of Knowledge: Arcana)
+10 Epic Skill Focus (Codex Hammer, from Dragon #297)
+19 INT bonus (18 INT + 2 INT for a Gray Elf + 5 INT from levels + 5 INT from Tomes + 6 INT from an Headband of Intellect + 8 INT from Halruuan Great Elixirs + 1 INT from Soul Elixirs [another artifact item that gives an untyped INT bonus and stack with each other if you can find enough of them] + 3 INT from Venerable age)
+3 untyped (moth familiar from Dragon)
+2 circumstance (masterwork tool of Spellcraft)

That's a +249 modifier, and even rolling a 1 is still a horrendous +250.

You'll have to spam CL-boosters (circle magic, earth nodes, karma beads, ioun stones, and any other method you can think of) to get a caster level high enough for a +37 competence bonus (since the maximum bonus is 1/2 your caster level, you need CL 74 to push it through). And I didn't take into account using an Elixir of Eternity* to abuse the aging modifiers either.

(* Basically, you become immune to death by old age. For every 100 years past Venerable, your STR, DEX and CON drop by 1 point each and you gain another +1 to INT, WIS and CHA. The physical ability scores can't drop below 1, though. Mental ones can keep on increasing forever. Just lock yourself up in a demiplane and abuse time traits to age ten thousand years in the space of a single day on the Material, and you'll have +100 INT, which will further add to your Spellcraft modifier. Sure, you'll be weak as a kitten, but you'll have godlike magic to make up for it.)

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

At level 21, you'll have 24 ranks.

You'll have an Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm) into which you've invested at least 72 skill points (easily accomplished if Item Familiar is your 3rd level feat) in order to gain a +24 bonus to Spellcraft. You can upgrade your Item Familiar as though you have the requisite item creation feats, which means it can be upgraded to an epic item as soon as you hit 21, but that's not even relevant.

Pre-epic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/basics.htm) you can have a +30 Spellcraft bonus on an item, which could be your Item Familiar or it could be a separate item.

You can cast Moment of Prescience for a bonus equal to your caster level, up to +25. You could get a caster level of 25 at level 21 without too much effort (Wizard/PrCs into Nar Demonbinder (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030502a&page=2) into Ultimate Magus into other PrCs), so we'll assume you get +25.

With Int 18 starting out, +2 for race (Grey Elf works), +5 from levels, +5 Inherent, +6 Enhancement, is a total of 36 for a +13 modifier. You could even dump that +6 LA into Int-boosting templates, though your choices are somewhat slim. I'd probably go Half-Giant (+1), Primordial Giant (+0), Half-Dragon 1 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20030912a) (+1, don't have to take it all at once (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20030824a)), and variant Half-Fiend (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630a) (acquired (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20031010a)) (+4).

How you work the Half-Fiend to give a big Int bonus somewhat depends on what kind of fiend you pick (Int>Cha and high Dex/Con preferably), and how cooperative your DM is with the ability bonuses. Example:
There's the Nalfeshnee, which would grant ability bonuses totaling +16 based on Str +14, Dex +2, Con +16, Int +12, Cha +10 (Half-Fiend ignores Wis). However, note that as a Huge fiend, a Half-Fiend based on a Nalfeshnee would grant a size increase, including ability adjustments of Str +8, Dex -2, Con +4 assuming you go from medium to large. That's Str +8 and Con +4 you can subtract from the Nalfeshnee's stats for how you allocate that +16, so it becomes Str +6, Dex +2, Con +12, Int +12, Cha +10. You could make that fit into the +16 by going Str +2, Con +4, Int +6, Cha +4, and including the size change the total ability adjustments would be Str +8, Dex -2, Con +8, Int +6, Cha +4, which compared to the original Str +14, Dex +2, Con +16, Int +12, Cha +10, it's roughly half of each of the original stat bonuses with Dex being the exception due to the size change. Note that you would get +4 natural armor from the template and +2 for the size increase. Half-Fiend would still grant wings and the printed speed and maneuverability, though the wings would probably appear comically small as normal for a Nalfeshnee. You would have two claws and a bite, but the bite would be primary and the claws secondary. The spell-like abilities it grants would need to be switched out for some of the Nalfeshnee's list, but be sure to only replace spells from the Half-Fiend list for spells of comparable level and (in-combat) power. Your DR would be X/Good, and you would have SR 31 at level 21, not bad.

So, a Half-Giant Primordial Giant Half-Nalfeshnee with one level in the Half-Dragon template class would get total ability score adjustments of Str +8, Dex -4, Con +8, Int +12, Cha +8, with a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft checks. With Int 18, +12 race, +5 levels, +5 Inherent, +6 Enhancement, and why not +2 age, for a total Int 48 for a +19 ability modifier. Assuming you have Skill Focus: Spellcraft which you get for free at Master Specialist 1, and a +2 Synergy bonus for Kn: Arcana 5+ ranks, the +2 racial bonus, 24 ranks, +24 Item Familiar, and the +30 Competence bonus for a custom item, and your Moment of Prescience for a +25 Insight bonus, for a Total Spellcraft Check of +129 without infinite-loop shenanigans, questionable bonus types from custom magic item, or casting Sadism/Masochism.

[Jack of Trades]

"That's a +249 modifier, and even rolling a 1 is still a horrendous +250."


Why would you roll for a 1? Take 10!

[Gavinfoxx]

I thought you can't take 10 on spellcraft?