ShneekeyTheLost
2012-10-24, 09:12 PM
I think we were all there once... way back when our 3.5 PhB's and DMG's were freshly purchased from the LFGS. They still had that 'new book smell' to them, and we had our preconceptions of how the game worked based on 2e. One of those main preconceptions was: Fighters fight, Rogues skillmonkey, Clerics healbot, and Wizards blast the $&%! out of things.
It wasn't until later that we realized our preconceptions had lied to us, that these roles were either obsolete or ineffective. Fighters still could beat things down, but that wasn't as impressive as it might have been. Rogues still skillmonkey, but no one really cared. Clerics could healbot if they wanted to... I guess... if they wanted to horridly nerf themselves and ignore about 90% of their potential. And Wizards discovered DC Stacking and Save or Lose to be vastly more powerful than mere Blastomancy.
Every so often, a fresh fan, with stars in their eyes, proudly clutching their new-used copy of the PhB, come to us with visions of fireballs and lightning bolts in his eyes. And we crush their dreams with math and logic.
"Blastomancy is sub-par (except mailman-esque builds that use ranged touch attacks)". Every optimizer knows this. Well, every optimizer also 'knows' that CW Samurai were hopeless. I... well, I didn't exactly prove them wrong on that point, although I did point out that even a 'hopeless' class can find a niche somewhere (except Truenamer). So I thought I would challenge the precepts of this statement, and do an in-depth examination into that endangered species which is disappearing more with every day, heading to extinction... the Blastomancer.
*cue the National Geographic intro music*
On first blush, it doesn't seem that bad a deal. Deal damage, even if they make their Reflex save, you still do damage. So you are guaranteed to accomplish at least something every time you blast. That's better than Save or Lose type spells which have a chance of doing nothing, right?
Well, unfortunately this former apex predator has failed to adapt to the radically new environment which he now finds himself in.
Perhaps once, at the dawn of the 3.5 era, the Blastomancer might have done well. However, melee classes, facing extinction themselves, have adapted to fill the niche of damage ouptut. Power Attack, Shock Trooper, Leap Attack... These three feats alone can give even the Fighter vastly more damage output than a fireball. Pounce has given them the ability to close with opponents and still get a full attack. Cleave and Great Cleave plus a Reach weapon can give a Fighter the same 'area effect' ability, wiping out a 10' radius of enemies around him. Hit him with Enlarge Person, and you have the same 20' radius of destruction which the Fireball once employed.
Suddenly, the Blastomancer finds himself outclassed in his own realm. Things look bleak. Is there anything that can be done to save them?
Well, one researcher seems to at least be trying.
The problem here is simple numerical disadvantage. For example, let's use the Fireball as an example. At level 10, it deals 10d6 Fire damage to a 20' radius. Ref/half.
Unfortunately, this is not going to kill any CR equivalent encounter, unless you're just facing a swarm of low HD mooks. I mean, you're looking at a mere 35 damage on average. And that is only if the target fails the save. If he makes the save, it's a rather underwhelming 17.5 damage per target on average. That's not even enough to take out the Wizard CASTING the dang spell.
Compare this with Stinking Cloud, which is Fort save or be Nauseated. This is both Battlefield Control (because no one wants to go in) and Save or Lose (because being nauseated = unable to do anything but toss your cookies, and duration lasts 1d4 rounds after getting OUT of the cloud). To make matters worse, Stinking Cloud does not allow Spell Resistance, which by level 10, is starting to be relevant. Still worse, even if the target makes their save, it's still acting like a Fog Cloud, blocking Line of Sight.
Oh, and then there's Evasion, which has been seen as being tantamount to 'Immunity to Blastomancy'. No damage on a successful save.
Things can't get much worse for the poor Blastomancer, can they? Yet... there are some things to point out here.
First off, as we already pointed out, making your save against Blastomancy means taking a very sub-par amount of damage. Evasion isn't saving you much.
Second, a Wizard can use their superior defensive abilities, such as Flight or Greater Mirror Image, to protect themselves. Sure, it might take a while to drop something, but hey... it's not like they are able to return fire, right?
So now we start to see a new niche for the Blastomancer... air support bombardment. Weaken a group of foes so the melee can finish them off easier.
Well, there's a problem with that as well. First off, melee aren't needing any help one-shotting most opponents these days, so the damage is mostly wasted. Second, casters have limited number of spells per day. Third, the Warlock can basically do this an unlimited number of times per day, making them far better at this shtick. Fourth, why not just drop Save or Lose spells instead of mere damage?
So, under what conditions would a Blastomancer be viable?
Well, one in which the party's beatstick isn't capable of utterly obliterating any foe that closes with him, or in situations that the beatstick cannot effectively employ himself. If the damage from a fireball, even with a save, is the difference between a dead target an a not dead target, it suddenly becomes an effective 'no save, just die' effect. That's an awfully thin wire to dance on, though. A Blastomancer could also be an effective anti-air emplacement, although why not simply toss around Save or Lose is a question that comes up again.
But here's a funny thought... what if the game is low-op? What if Shock Trooper were banned by the GM? What if the players of the melee characters either simply didn't have access to the books necessary or were unaware of the combos to enable them to one-shot kill any reasonable CR appropriate opponent? What if DC stacking methods were prohibited or unknown to the party? What if metamagic adjustment reduction was prohibited?
Suddenly, blastomancy seems a lot more viable. If your spells have a 50% chance of not working, then blastomancy's guaranteed to at least do some damage output suddenly looks a lot more attractive. Moreso if you can catch multiple targets in the effect. Sure, 17.5 isn't much, but what if it hits six targets? That's over 100 damage in one turn you just did!
Now, a caveat about that, doing a little damage to multiple targets is generally worthless, because it does not hamper their ability to hurt you. However now you may have weakened the opponents to the point where the other party members can finish them off easier. Instead of three hits, the melee now need two in order to finish it off. Or maybe even one instead of two. Now it's being a lot more effective. And in a game without Pounce, Haste is a lot less effective, because it has no effect when the buffed ally has to move to hit something.
So yes, while in moderate to high optimization games, the Blastomancer has all but become extinct, barring the bizarre and dangerous Mailman-esque version, in a low-op game, blastomancers can still be quite viable.
And there are a few sources out there to help the Blastomancer. For example, Searing Spell helps the Blastomancer as much as the Mailman to bypass immunities and resistances.
Let's look at a sample build, shall we?
Sorcerer6/Elemental Savant4
On first sight, any optimizer is going to cringe. The Elemental Savant sucks! It's blastomancy... but it's blastomancy in only ONE flavor, so if you run into immunities, you are worthless! And you lose two caster levels, so you have to pay for the privilege of getting nerfed!
Yea, but let's tack Searing Spell into the mix. Now you bypass resistances and immunities only let them take half damage. Now, Elemental Savant does one thing for him... Energy Penetration. Gives him a bonus to overcome SR with his blastomancy, his one Achilles Heel. Is it 'optimal'? Not by any means, when taken in the longer view. But hey... in a low-op game, it can be made to work.
Now, let's see what other options a Blastomancer has...
*Explosive Spell gives them some battlefield control and a little bit of extra damage.
*Born of Three Thunders can also be fun if you can get yourself immune to the daze side effect and decide to go for a lightning/sonic flavor.
*Lord of the Uttercold has uses for those who enjoy playing with undead.
*Transdimensional Spell can also be a lot of help against incorporeal opponents, because as long as you know the general area they are in, you can saturate it with blastomancy.
*Metamagic School Focus (Evocation) can make your blastomancy more powerful by reducing the cost of metamagic feats applied to your blastomancy.
* Rapid Metamagic will be necessary for Sorcerers who wish to employ metamagic
* Reserve Feats. Acid Splatter, Firey Burst, Storm Bolt, and Winter's Blast are all up your alley, and can help you finish off weakened opponents without blowing more spells than you need to. Invisible Needle also functions well against Incorporeal targets. Clap of Thunder is a touch attack, so of less value to you.
In short... yes, Blastomancy is less viable than a Batman Wizard. That doesn't, however, mean it is completely worthless. In a party with less optimized characters, they can contribute, and even shine. But remember... we're still talking about Tier 1 and Tier 2 classes, even if Blastomancy is less effective than their other options, that doesn't necessarily make it ineffective at all.
It wasn't until later that we realized our preconceptions had lied to us, that these roles were either obsolete or ineffective. Fighters still could beat things down, but that wasn't as impressive as it might have been. Rogues still skillmonkey, but no one really cared. Clerics could healbot if they wanted to... I guess... if they wanted to horridly nerf themselves and ignore about 90% of their potential. And Wizards discovered DC Stacking and Save or Lose to be vastly more powerful than mere Blastomancy.
Every so often, a fresh fan, with stars in their eyes, proudly clutching their new-used copy of the PhB, come to us with visions of fireballs and lightning bolts in his eyes. And we crush their dreams with math and logic.
"Blastomancy is sub-par (except mailman-esque builds that use ranged touch attacks)". Every optimizer knows this. Well, every optimizer also 'knows' that CW Samurai were hopeless. I... well, I didn't exactly prove them wrong on that point, although I did point out that even a 'hopeless' class can find a niche somewhere (except Truenamer). So I thought I would challenge the precepts of this statement, and do an in-depth examination into that endangered species which is disappearing more with every day, heading to extinction... the Blastomancer.
*cue the National Geographic intro music*
On first blush, it doesn't seem that bad a deal. Deal damage, even if they make their Reflex save, you still do damage. So you are guaranteed to accomplish at least something every time you blast. That's better than Save or Lose type spells which have a chance of doing nothing, right?
Well, unfortunately this former apex predator has failed to adapt to the radically new environment which he now finds himself in.
Perhaps once, at the dawn of the 3.5 era, the Blastomancer might have done well. However, melee classes, facing extinction themselves, have adapted to fill the niche of damage ouptut. Power Attack, Shock Trooper, Leap Attack... These three feats alone can give even the Fighter vastly more damage output than a fireball. Pounce has given them the ability to close with opponents and still get a full attack. Cleave and Great Cleave plus a Reach weapon can give a Fighter the same 'area effect' ability, wiping out a 10' radius of enemies around him. Hit him with Enlarge Person, and you have the same 20' radius of destruction which the Fireball once employed.
Suddenly, the Blastomancer finds himself outclassed in his own realm. Things look bleak. Is there anything that can be done to save them?
Well, one researcher seems to at least be trying.
The problem here is simple numerical disadvantage. For example, let's use the Fireball as an example. At level 10, it deals 10d6 Fire damage to a 20' radius. Ref/half.
Unfortunately, this is not going to kill any CR equivalent encounter, unless you're just facing a swarm of low HD mooks. I mean, you're looking at a mere 35 damage on average. And that is only if the target fails the save. If he makes the save, it's a rather underwhelming 17.5 damage per target on average. That's not even enough to take out the Wizard CASTING the dang spell.
Compare this with Stinking Cloud, which is Fort save or be Nauseated. This is both Battlefield Control (because no one wants to go in) and Save or Lose (because being nauseated = unable to do anything but toss your cookies, and duration lasts 1d4 rounds after getting OUT of the cloud). To make matters worse, Stinking Cloud does not allow Spell Resistance, which by level 10, is starting to be relevant. Still worse, even if the target makes their save, it's still acting like a Fog Cloud, blocking Line of Sight.
Oh, and then there's Evasion, which has been seen as being tantamount to 'Immunity to Blastomancy'. No damage on a successful save.
Things can't get much worse for the poor Blastomancer, can they? Yet... there are some things to point out here.
First off, as we already pointed out, making your save against Blastomancy means taking a very sub-par amount of damage. Evasion isn't saving you much.
Second, a Wizard can use their superior defensive abilities, such as Flight or Greater Mirror Image, to protect themselves. Sure, it might take a while to drop something, but hey... it's not like they are able to return fire, right?
So now we start to see a new niche for the Blastomancer... air support bombardment. Weaken a group of foes so the melee can finish them off easier.
Well, there's a problem with that as well. First off, melee aren't needing any help one-shotting most opponents these days, so the damage is mostly wasted. Second, casters have limited number of spells per day. Third, the Warlock can basically do this an unlimited number of times per day, making them far better at this shtick. Fourth, why not just drop Save or Lose spells instead of mere damage?
So, under what conditions would a Blastomancer be viable?
Well, one in which the party's beatstick isn't capable of utterly obliterating any foe that closes with him, or in situations that the beatstick cannot effectively employ himself. If the damage from a fireball, even with a save, is the difference between a dead target an a not dead target, it suddenly becomes an effective 'no save, just die' effect. That's an awfully thin wire to dance on, though. A Blastomancer could also be an effective anti-air emplacement, although why not simply toss around Save or Lose is a question that comes up again.
But here's a funny thought... what if the game is low-op? What if Shock Trooper were banned by the GM? What if the players of the melee characters either simply didn't have access to the books necessary or were unaware of the combos to enable them to one-shot kill any reasonable CR appropriate opponent? What if DC stacking methods were prohibited or unknown to the party? What if metamagic adjustment reduction was prohibited?
Suddenly, blastomancy seems a lot more viable. If your spells have a 50% chance of not working, then blastomancy's guaranteed to at least do some damage output suddenly looks a lot more attractive. Moreso if you can catch multiple targets in the effect. Sure, 17.5 isn't much, but what if it hits six targets? That's over 100 damage in one turn you just did!
Now, a caveat about that, doing a little damage to multiple targets is generally worthless, because it does not hamper their ability to hurt you. However now you may have weakened the opponents to the point where the other party members can finish them off easier. Instead of three hits, the melee now need two in order to finish it off. Or maybe even one instead of two. Now it's being a lot more effective. And in a game without Pounce, Haste is a lot less effective, because it has no effect when the buffed ally has to move to hit something.
So yes, while in moderate to high optimization games, the Blastomancer has all but become extinct, barring the bizarre and dangerous Mailman-esque version, in a low-op game, blastomancers can still be quite viable.
And there are a few sources out there to help the Blastomancer. For example, Searing Spell helps the Blastomancer as much as the Mailman to bypass immunities and resistances.
Let's look at a sample build, shall we?
Sorcerer6/Elemental Savant4
On first sight, any optimizer is going to cringe. The Elemental Savant sucks! It's blastomancy... but it's blastomancy in only ONE flavor, so if you run into immunities, you are worthless! And you lose two caster levels, so you have to pay for the privilege of getting nerfed!
Yea, but let's tack Searing Spell into the mix. Now you bypass resistances and immunities only let them take half damage. Now, Elemental Savant does one thing for him... Energy Penetration. Gives him a bonus to overcome SR with his blastomancy, his one Achilles Heel. Is it 'optimal'? Not by any means, when taken in the longer view. But hey... in a low-op game, it can be made to work.
Now, let's see what other options a Blastomancer has...
*Explosive Spell gives them some battlefield control and a little bit of extra damage.
*Born of Three Thunders can also be fun if you can get yourself immune to the daze side effect and decide to go for a lightning/sonic flavor.
*Lord of the Uttercold has uses for those who enjoy playing with undead.
*Transdimensional Spell can also be a lot of help against incorporeal opponents, because as long as you know the general area they are in, you can saturate it with blastomancy.
*Metamagic School Focus (Evocation) can make your blastomancy more powerful by reducing the cost of metamagic feats applied to your blastomancy.
* Rapid Metamagic will be necessary for Sorcerers who wish to employ metamagic
* Reserve Feats. Acid Splatter, Firey Burst, Storm Bolt, and Winter's Blast are all up your alley, and can help you finish off weakened opponents without blowing more spells than you need to. Invisible Needle also functions well against Incorporeal targets. Clap of Thunder is a touch attack, so of less value to you.
In short... yes, Blastomancy is less viable than a Batman Wizard. That doesn't, however, mean it is completely worthless. In a party with less optimized characters, they can contribute, and even shine. But remember... we're still talking about Tier 1 and Tier 2 classes, even if Blastomancy is less effective than their other options, that doesn't necessarily make it ineffective at all.