Help with one off lvl 20 3.5 Character

[Gulstaf]

Hello all, this is my first post on these forums.

I'm taking part in a one off level 20 campaign with a group of 7 others to try and kill and take the position of the god of death (Kelemvor). Players can be any alignment and are encouraged to wipe each other out at the end (or perhaps before hand if you think you can pull it off) to gain the power (There can be only one). The restrictions for the campaign are; Players handbook and Dungeon master's guide only (no PHBII or such either) and a budget of 760,000 gold for items.

the known classes of my party are; 18 wizard 2 cleric, 10 fighter 10 dwarven defender, 14 druid 5 rogue 1 shadowdancer, 17 cleric 3 monk.

the known bosses are; A powerful Lich, Hellfire wyrm in a antimagic zone, a beefed up angel Solar, and Kelemvor (with somewhat reduced defensive stats like 50ish ac instead of 70+)

Originally I intended to roll a 20th level wizard (gnome) and try and focus on instantly killing or dominating the minds of my opponents, but after playing a few mock up rounds I was informed that one fight would be in a massive anti magic zone against a hellfire wyrm and that Kelemvor boasts a mighty 50+ spell resistance even with reduced stats so while I may be able to slay my party rather well i'd be useless during two of the encounters most importantly the final one.

Since then I've been looking at 20th level barbarian (dwarven) with some varied defensive items like a scarab of protection and a shield with reflecting I've been looking at a +4 speed, anarchistic, thundering falchion with improved critical feats to complement it, a few flavour items like helm of brilliance and ring of freedom of movement.

I'm not entirely set on my class however and would be interested to hear some input from you fine people based on the nature and limitations of the campaign

hope it wasn't TL;DR for my first post.

[dantiesilva]

Not many books to choose from....Normally one would say wizard 20, Druid 20, or Cleric 20 but with the AMF known about and no way to counter it....I would still have to say druid 20 as you can wild shape into just about anything without worrying to much about having no magic.

[Carth]

I agree with druid, even when you can't wild shape in an AMF, you'll still have your monster animal companion.

[Gulstaf]

Normally Wizards are the majority of my classes so I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to druids but asides from spell casting (a big + when not dealing with 50+ spell resistance or antimagic zones) what can a druid offer that a barbarian with a massive health pool 42 strength (when raged, 36 in the antimagic zone) and an array of magic items can't give me?

[nobodez]

IF the Hellfire Worm isn't the cause of the AMF, but merely within it, there might be a way around that (conjuration (creation) to create walls to block LoE on the AMF).

As for Kelemvor, there's always the old standby of Acid Arrow (though too bad you don't have access to any way to change its energy or the Orb of Force spell).

Druid is pretty badass, especially since the companion can fight within the AMF for you, and then if you Wild Shape into a similar creature (and have enough disguise ranks), you can get your frenemies to attack it rather than you in the Highlander segment.

Also, for the Highlander bit, use a wand/scroll of minor creation (UMD might be needed for this) to get some poison to use against those of your frenemies that aren't immune to it.

[Gulstaf]

There is a way to convert acid arrow damage energy type through the archmage prestige class, which also offers arcane fire, does anyone know if this is susceptible to spell resistance?

poisons may not be a bad idea although i could probably just purchase them outright

[Carth]

You + animal companion, even in an AMF, will outperform a single barbarian. Outside an AMF, the druid gives you astronomically better battlefield control options via spellcasting, and access to the animal growth spell and other buffs outside AMF will make your animal companion trounce a barbarian in damage output. They'll also be fantastic at grappling, probably. Pick any companion that gets either pounce or improved grab.

[nobodez]

There is a way to convert acid arrow damage energy type through the archmage prestige class, which also offers arcane fire, does anyone know if this is susceptible to spell resistance?

poisons may not be a bad idea although i could probably just purchase them outright

Which is cheaper, the 700 gp for a CL 7 scroll of Minor Creation that creates 6700 ounces (And thus doses) of Black Lotus Extract, or even a single dose of Black Lotus Extract purchased normally at 4500 gp?

I'm pretty sure that anyone not immune to poison will fail enough DC 20 fortitude saves amongst 6700 doses to die from the 3d6 Con damage (335 autofails for 1005 points of Con damage).

[Juntao112]

This (http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=22841) is a mailman (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19868534/The_Mailman:_A_Direct_Damage_Sorcerer). (Be sure to check the box labeled "Display Spells and Powers" under the skill list.)

I'm honestly not sure how the entire build works, but I can see what the metamagic feats are geared for. I seems geared towards taking the Lesser Orb of Fire spell and doing terrible things with it.

[Gulstaf]

That would be quite helpful but as stated in my original post, I am restricted to material (feats, items, classes etc) from only the PHB1 and the Dungeon masters guide 1.

[Juntao112]

Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see that. That makes it a bit more challenging.

Offhand, I can strongly recommend the Gate spell. Gate in something very powerful and have it murder people for you.

[Carth]

That is true, gate is a big plus for clerics and druids. Called creatures can't be dispelled (not to be confused with summoned creatures, which can be), so you could gate in a lot of helpers at the start, and you could have them tag to help with antimagic areas.

[Larkas]

Make a Druid. Be a bear that rides a bear while summoning bears. Or something. :smallbiggrin:

[Runestar]

If tome of battle is an option, warblade20. :smallsmile:

Your maneuvers allow you to still function respectfully even in an AMF. Those save-boosting diamond mind maneuvers should offer you some measure of protection against save-or-lose effects. And it is fun to play. :smallsmile:

[ArcanistSupreme]

Don't forget to stock up on dust of sneezing and choking (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/cursedItems.htm#dustofSneezingandChoking).

[AWiz_Abroad]

Don't forget to stock up on dust of sneezing and choking (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/cursedItems.htm#dustofSneezingandChoking).

If the PHB and DMG are it. . . This cursed item is made of win. To the extent, of trying to get a ring of invis, a decently high move silently check (since no one puts ranks into listen. . . and you should be able to easily CDG your "friends"

Now what to do with the baddies??? I think blocking the AMF with conj. spells is your best bet, otherwise that Hellfire Wyrm is going to be a pain.

[ArcanistSupreme]

If the PHB and DMG are it. . . This cursed item is made of win. To the extent, of trying to get a ring of invis, a decently high move silently check (since no one puts ranks into listen. . . and you should be able to easily CDG your "friends"

Now what to do with the baddies??? I think blocking the AMF with conj. spells is your best bet, otherwise that Hellfire Wyrm is going to be a pain.

Do note that that item is seriously broken, and you should only use if you are trying to break the game.

On a more serious note, a wizard 20 should still be a good bet. Ever heard of the tinfoil hat trick?

[Larkas]

Funny thing. The DM enforces core only for the players but goes right ahead and throws a Hellfire Wyrm at them. No matter, the most broken player combinations are in core anyways.

[Gulstaf]

What is this tin hat trick you speak of?

[Karnith]

What is this tin hat trick you speak of?
Since antimagic field is an emanation, it relies on having a line of effect between the center of the emanation and anything that it would affect. A typical trick, then, is to shrink down (via shrink object, polymorph any object, or what have you) a metal/stone/whatever cage to wear as a hat. When it gets affected by an AMF, it unshrinks, covering you and breaking the line of effect. This lets you cast freely, usually to dimension door/ethereal jaunt/teleport/whatever out and away from the AMF.

[Gavinfoxx]

You should read this:

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10104

It's about defending against Antimagic...

[Randomguy]

Wizards have a bunch of options even against unbeatable SR and AMF, even in core.

Against an AMF, you can use telekinesis to throw 15 Huge sized spears for 45d6 damage, or just take some downtime beforehand to shrink heavy objects (created via fabricate) and drop them on top of your enemy.

Against high SR you can also summon monsters, turn into something via shapechange and use battlefield control spells like acid fog and black tentacles.

[mregecko]

So, the only really tricky fight is going to be the Hellfire Wyrm in an AMF. Especially with only DMG & PHB.

And that depends entirely on if you're basically in an 100% AMF area, or if the Wyrm itself is just surrounded by an AMF (i.e. you can get outside of the area and still cast).

If it's an inescapable AMF and you won't even be able to get outside to cast, I'd say you can't win it outside of a specialized build (thrower/archer optimized for number of attacks and black lotus poison). That will be useless against the other opponents and your companions.

No melee build will be able threaten it without magical items.

**It's worth noting that Dust of Sneezing & Choking is under magical/cursed items. It won't work in an AMF either.

If you can stand outside and cast, any way you slice it, Wizard / Cleric / Druid is going to be your best bet. I'd probably go with Wizard or Cleric personally.

Wizard:
Before battle:
- prepare black lotus poison arrows (w/minor creation)
- Polymorph any Object yourself into a
Round 1: Time Stop
- Gate in a solar (or two, if you have the time!)
- Give solar(s) arrows.
- Buff (haste, etc)
Round 2: Stay at range. Use things that will not be affected by AMF wisely (Prismatic Sphere/Wall, Wall of Force, etc). Use Contingency wisely to stay away from the Wyrm (Dimension Door).

Remember that a lot of the Hellfire Wyrm's bad stuff disappears in an AMF (DR/epic, breath weapon, SLA's, summoning, etc). So that's not necessarily a bad thing. A Blasphemy or Dictum could take you out of the fight for the most part.

Cleric:
Pretty much the same as above, as long as you have the Trickery domain. You won't be able to do as much vs an AMF (prismatic sphere, contingency,etc), and you can't create the arrows yourself. But you can time stop, gate, heal, etc.

Druid:
This would be way harder, especially with no Gate. You could Shapechange into a Solar and shoot him yourself? As long as you can maintain distance. No Time Stop sucks. Your animal companion won't keep him at bay long. Too bad there's no Energy Substitution for Fire Seeds [Cold] :-(

Melee or Ranged:
Good luck. You'll need it. I guess a Ranger with Favored Enemy (Dragon) and some ranks in UMD (for minor creation scroll => black lotus poison) might be able to pull this off? But you'll be useless against the lich, solar, and probably Kelemvor.

TL;DR -- wizard, cleric, druid are T1 for a reason. You might be able to pull off specialized builds that would help against one or two of the opponents out of < T2 classes, but no way for all of them. With your limitations, what's available, and what you're going against... W/C/D are your best bet.

[Randomguy]

Wizard:
Before battle:
- prepare black lotus poison arrows (w/minor creation)

The poison would disappear in the AMF.

[Gavinfoxx]

Yea, you'd need True Creation...

[mregecko]

The poison would disappear in the AMF.

Aaaand you're correct! Derp moment. I can't believe I totally missed that :-P Yeah, you'd need True Creation. Which would be cheapest to get by gating a Solar and having him cast Miracle to emulate it.

Could you just telekinetically toss a vat of 20 cu. ft. of Black Lotus Extract? Seems legit, right? :-P

[Randomguy]

Aaaand you're correct! Derp moment. I can't believe I totally missed that :-P Yeah, you'd need True Creation. Which would be cheapest to get by gating a Solar and having him cast Miracle to emulate it.

Could you just telekinetically toss a vat of 20 cu. ft. of Black Lotus Extract? Seems legit, right? :-P

Yes, but then you'd need to pay for the thing, which would be annoying.