Teach me how to Fus Ro Dah!

[Nettlekid]

I dunno how often people reading posts keep track of who's posting what, but some of you might have noticed that I like to ask around for brainstorming weird, random ideas for what would make fun and interesting characters. I often don't end up playing the ideas that I have, but I love thinking about how they would work if I were to.

So, the crack build of the day is a Fus Ro Dah build. Someone designed around Bull Rushing from a distance with a huge plus and a huge shout. I think there are probably a lot of ways to do this.
Spells like the Bigby's Hand line and Telekinesis can be used for Bull Rushes.
I imagine there are psionic powers designed for it too.
You can sort of bypass the Bull Rush element with powerful winds, or abilities like Tempest Breath, but that would require you to be very big to have substantial effect and by that time it loses its punch.
The Knockback feat allows you to add a Bull Rush and your Power Attack bonus to Bull Rushes with a melee attack, right? It would be pretty funny to combine that with Bloodstorm Blade, especially since you could bounce your weapon around and direct them wherever you want to make them go.
I don't know Incarnum at all, but I know Totemists can get like +80 to grapple if they do stuff right. Could they get +80 to Bull Rush?
What else could you make to hurl people around by shouting at them? Unlike optimizations such as Grapple or most skill checks, there is a definite benefit to maxing out Bull Rush as high as you can because the higher your check, the better it works.

[Qc Storm]

IIRC, there is a ring that allows you to make ranged bullrush attempts.

Alternatively, you could go the caster's way (what can't casters do?) and mix spells with Explosive Metamagic.

Like say, Explosive Great Thunderclap. Will save to avoid being stunned. Fort save to avoid being deafened. Reflex save to avoid being knocked prone and pushed over to the spell area edge.

Explosive Frost Breath would force a Reflex save to avoid Daze and be knocked away, but in a cone, which may fit the skyrim theme better.

[Twilightwyrm]

Widened Explosive Ironthunder Horn. Those would put it up to a 6th level Wizard/Sorcerer spell, or a 5th level Bard Spell. This produces a 60ft cone that both renders foes prone if they fail their Ref save, and also forces them out of the area. You can start off with just Ironthunder Horn, move up to Explosive Ironthunder Horn, than finish the progression with Widened Explosive Ironthunder Horn. Viola: Fus Ro Dah!

[ericgrau]

IIRC, there is a ring that allows you to make ranged bullrush attempts.
Ring of the ram. One of my favorite items and it has a fairly decent modifier.

In Pathfinder you can be that casting monk variant and give him shout.

Bigby's hands have a big modifier for high reliability, similar to the ring. Telekinesis hurls foes farther and faster for better fluff, but only if they fail their save. Otherwise it's a dud.

Shout + explosive spell would make sense. You make a huge damaging noise and foes who fail their save are pushed to the edge of the area.

[CyberThread]

samauari , gets ki shout....

[Flickerdart]

My personal favourite bullrush spell is a Spellwarped Cyclonic Blast. 15d6 damage plus bull rush, plus Split Ray fun? Count me in.

[Nettlekid]

All these are really good suggestions. I'm a big fan of the Explosive spells mentioned, especially that Ironthunder Horn just for flavor. But what I don't like so much is that you can Reflex dodge them. I've never been too big a fan of Save or Whatever spells, mainly because it's way too easy to save against them. That's why I liked the idea of wind, because it just happens. Like the Tempest Breath feat, if you could somehow count as Colossal without having to be.

What's the best way to max out the Bull Rush modifier? Knockback is pretty good (Get about +40 by level 20 thanks to Power Attack, making about +75 assuming Strength of 10 and no size increases) and that's a lot. I also see in the PHBII, Driving Attack, which uses your total bonus on damage rolls as a plus. Does that mean that your plus is basically the damage you would deal minus any die roll? Because that's quite a lot if so. It requires a full-round action for one attack, but if you had something that could get you the benefits of a charge and then use a full-round action (I don't think Pounce would work, but it would be up to the DM) then you could get in the hundreds, easily.

[metabolicjosh]

I made something like this, basically do the locate city bomb based of off Detect Evil instead of Locate city. :)

[Vaz]

A Cobalt Dragon has a Bull rush breath weapon if you go for a Half Dragon version of it. Take the Dragon Breath Feat and you can do it every 1d4 rounds.

[The Viscount]

Master of the Unseen Hand from Complete Warrior could be of use. It's all about telekinesis in combat.

[Flickerdart]

A Cobalt Dragon has a Bull rush breath weapon if you go for a Half Dragon version of it. Take the Dragon Breath Feat and you can do it every 1d4 rounds.
Unless it's expanded in Draconomicon or some such, RAW a Half-Dragon can only be one of the core dragon races, and its breath weapon always deals 6d8 damage in a shape and nothing else.

[Daftendirekt]

This would require mixing 3.5 and PF, but...

1) Orb of Force. Flavor as you shouting
2) Toppling Spell metamagic from PF.
3) ???
4) Profit.

Alternately, and for much more accurate flavor (and more than 1 target), convince your DM to let you know a version of the spell Shout (http://dndtools.eu/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/shout--2648/) that is force instead of sonic and do the same thing.

[laeZ1]

I have a question about Explosive spell. It says in the spell description that it has to be added to a spell with a reflex save. People talk about adding it to Locate City, detct X, and fimblewinter... but they don't say how to put reflex saves on those spells (I imagine it's either rule of cool, or some metamagic feat I'm unaware of).

[mangosta71]

There's also a psionic option - Tornado Blast. 17+d6 damage and sends things in its area flying.

[Nettlekid]

I have a question about Explosive spell. It says in the spell description that it has to be added to a spell with a reflex save. People talk about adding it to Locate City, detct X, and fimblewinter... but they don't say how to put reflex saves on those spells (I imagine it's either rule of cool, or some metamagic feat I'm unaware of).

If I recall correctly, you use Snowcasting to add the Cold descriptor to any spell you want, Flash Frost Spell to make area spells do 2 cold damage per spell level, Energy Substitution/Admixture to give it Electricity, and then Born of the Three Thunders which can applied to any AoE Electricity spell that does damage to make all within the AoE Fort save to avoid stun and Reflex save to avoid prone. Now that the AoE spell offers a Reflex save, you can add Explosive Spell to it.

[The Viscount]

Unless it's expanded in Draconomicon or some such, RAW a Half-Dragon can only be one of the core dragon races, and its breath weapon always deals 6d8 damage in a shape and nothing else.

Races of the Dragon does in fact give the option for the player to be a half-dragon descended from many other ones, but Cobalt Dragon is not presented there. I believe it wasn't extant at the time.

[nedz]

Battering Ram is a level 2 spell from SpC which does 1d6 damage and bullrushes at +10. It's only close range, but it's a good low level option until better options come online.

[Vaz]

Dragon 356, page 23.


Ferrous Half-Dragons

Cobalt Dragon Variety; Line of Magnetic Energy (Force) Breath Weapon, Electricity Immunity

Dragon 356, page 25


Breath Weapon (Su): A cobalt dragon has one type of breath weapon, a line of pulsating magnetic energy. Creatures within the area take force damage (Reflex Half). Additionally, creatures within the area are considered bull rushed by the dragon (with a check result equal to the damage dealt). A cobalt dragon has immunity to the breath weapons of other cobalt dragons

Dragon Breath Feat; Races of the Dragon, req; 6HD Half Dragon, with a Breath Weapon; Breath attack becomes 1d4 reload.

Recover Breath Feat; Reduce recovery by 1 round to a minimum of 1 (so every 1d3 rounds)

Maximised; Breath does 48 damage; and has a Bullrush check of 48 (Save DC reducing Damage and check DC to 24), +3 rounds.

Every 3-6 rounds, enemies take a DC48 Bullrush check and take Force Damage (which is notoriously hard to stop).

How that works with regards to Fighter 6 Dungeoncrasher variant, though, I just don't know.

[Flickerdart]

Oh dragon mag, you silly thing.

[nedz]

Recover Breath Feat; Reduce recovery by 1 round to a minimum of 1 (so every 1d3 rounds)

1d4-1, min 1 != 1d3

[Seharvepernfan]

Cone of cold, stilled, energy-substituted (sonic), explosive.

[nedz]

Lightning Bolt, Suddenly Widened, Explosive: 240' long, 5' wide corridor, sloping upwards, with a window at the end.

[Nettlekid]

Okay, okay, we have plenty of suggestions for some kind of Explosive Spell on a cone effect. I don't think we need any more of those.

What OTHER ways could you use to blast someone back? Spells are good, but they don't have that "all day err' day" appeal of Fus Ro Dah. You'd be reluctant to spend one of your precious spell slots just to Fus Ro Dah a chicken or something that you wanted to put somewhere else.

Also, is there any way to throw people back without doing damage to them? It would be cool to shout at people to knock them out of the way of enemies or oncoming death without doing them serious harm. Or being able to Fus Ro Dah mundane items in your way without obliterating them.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Fus Ro DAH! (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/energyBurst.htm).

Use the Sonic version, of course. No knockback, though.

[Devmaar]

You could use the vestige (Otiax?) with the air blast touch attack along with a Knockback build, it would be single-target though

[ShneekeyTheLost]

A Warlock with Repelling Blast and Eldritch Doom invocations could spam it all day long. But that's a Dark invocation. Still... damage plus knockback in a point-blank area-effect emanation from the user.

[nedz]

A Warlock with Repelling Blast and Eldritch Doom invocations could spam it all day long. But that's a Dark invocation. Still... damage plus knockback in a point-blank area-effect emanation from the user.

Repelling Blast and Eldritch Cone are both Greaters, so you could do this at 13th.

[Arcanist]

This popped into the Homebrew section a couple hours ago. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279664)

[mangosta71]

What OTHER ways could you use to blast someone back? Spells are good, but they don't have that "all day err' day" appeal of Fus Ro Dah. You'd be reluctant to spend one of your precious spell slots just to Fus Ro Dah a chicken or something that you wanted to put somewhere else.

That's why I mentioned psionics. Instead of easily-exhaustible high-level spell slots, you have a pool of power points so large that it's effectively near-infinite. Another benefit is that psionics don't have the casting failure chance for wearing armor like arcane spells, making a 1-level dip into a class that gives heavy armor proficiency an option.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Repelling Blast and Eldritch Cone are both Greaters, so you could do this at 13th.

I thought it was a point-blank area of effect, not a cone effect...