Celerity on a Fighter?

[Nettlekid]

Is there any way to get a Celerity-ish effect on a non-spellcasting character, beyond just like "have a wand of it at the ready"? Anything that would let the character react to danger or an unforeseen development out of their turn sequence. The only similar effect I know of is the Eternal Blade's capstone, Island in Time, which would be pretty perfect if it could be used by a non-initiator build. Is there anything else that fits the bill?

[Krobar]

Craft Contingent Spell should do it. But that would have to be done by a caster.

[Captnq]

Ring o' spell storin'

Nothing like getting back to basics.

[Big Fau]

Celerity is a 4th level spell, so it's wand-friendly. Wands use the casting time of the spell contained according to the Rules Compendium and DMG Errata (not the reprinted one, since that missed that section for some reason), so it works in a Wand Chamber.

You would need to find a way to avoid being dazed though. The feat Mark of the Dauntless give you permanent immunity to that condition (and stunning), but is setting-specific and requires another feat (or a specific magical location and the right race, said location being a part of a module).

[Nettlekid]

Okay, as per usual, I guess I need to specify more. What I want is for a melee or otherwise noncaster character to gain access to an ability that allows them to take an action when it is not their turn. I don't want Craft Contingent Spell, because that would require continual refueling from another character, and is basically the other character buffing me rather than my own ability. The same goes for the Ring of Spell Storing. And I mentioned I don't want to rely on wands in the OP.

Basically, don't get hung up on the actual spell Celerity. I want a way to have a similar effect, or even a lesser one, on a noncaster, without relying on casters. A magic item would be okay, provided it's not just an item of Celerity.

[ericgrau]

Gish :smalltongue:. I don't understand the adversarial presumptions between magic and mundane. The system pretty much expects for even the magical ability free classes to be loaded to the teeth with magic.

There's the Dutiful Guardian feat (Drow of the Underdark) which lets you swap places with an ally within 10 feet as an immediate action and absorb an attack against him. Pump your defenses and immunities and go to town with it.

[Nettlekid]

Gish :smalltongue:. I don't understand the adversarial presumptions between magic and mundane. The system pretty much expects for even the magical ability free classes to be loaded to the teeth with magic.

While that's true, there's often a feeling of "I acknowledge that spells can do everything better, and for optimal effectiveness everyone should just play Tier 1s or have a character heavily influenced by Tier 1s all the time." But that doesn't mean everyone wants to do that. The example I gave in the OP, Eternal Blade's capstone, is an entirely nonmagical class feature that does exactly what I'm looking for. So it can be done. It kind of defies the point of a creativity game if you have to fall back on the same "spells do it. spells do it." again and again.


There's the Dutiful Guardian feat (Drow of the Underdark) which lets you swap places with an ally within 10 feet as an immediate action and absorb an attack against him. Pump your defenses and immunities and go to town with it.

Ah, this is the sort of thing I'm looking for. The actual use of it is not good for me at all, because I'm trying to find something for a stealthy scout/thief character, so he certainly doesn't want to take damage for himself or others, but the whole "immediate action do a thing" is exactly right.

[Curmudgeon]

Celerity is a 4th level spell, so it's wand-friendly. Wands use the casting time of the spell contained according to the Rules Compendium and DMG Errata (not the reprinted one, since that missed that section for some reason), so it works in a Wand Chamber.
That RC change works for most casting times, but there's a problem with immediate actions. The problem is that you're not allowed to activate a spell trigger item when it's not your turn. So the fact that the spell contained in the item would be cast as an immediate action isn't going to help much at all; it's basically relegated to a swift action because of the item activation issue.

[Zancloufer]

Basically, don't get hung up on the actual spell Celerity. I want a way to have a similar effect, or even a lesser one, on a noncaster, without relying on casters. A magic item would be okay, provided it's not just an item of Celerity.

Tome of Battle.

Martial Adepts have a whole pile of mundane counters they can use on the enemy's turn. Usually it's dodging/deflecting an attack, re-rolling a save throw, or just moving a short distance though.

You can also gain these maneuvers from feats (Martial Study), or martial scrolls. Not to mention your 'effective level' for using this abilities is 1/2 your not martial adept levels + Martial adept levels. So It's like your 20 levels of fighter equal 10 levels of Martial Adept.

[Nettlekid]

Tome of Battle.

Martial Adepts have a whole pile of mundane counters they can use on the enemy's turn. Usually it's dodging/deflecting an attack, re-rolling a save throw, or just moving a short distance though.

You can also gain these maneuvers from feats (Martial Study), or martial scrolls. Not to mention your 'effective level' for using this abilities is 1/2 your not martial adept levels + Martial adept levels. So It's like your 20 levels of fighter equal 10 levels of Martial Adept.

Hmm, which maneuvers let you move? I know Leaping Flame, Mirrored Pursuit, and Stalking Shadow are all "move as an immediate action" things, but they're all reactive to the opponent's action. I'd like to be able to use an immediate action to go before they do. A bit like the Flicker Mystery, or the item Shadow Cloak.

[A.A.King]

How about using Rage + Instantanous Rage or the Ferocity Variant in combination with Intimidating Rage + Imperious Command? This way you can scare people before they try to attack you.

[ericgrau]

Ah, this is the sort of thing I'm looking for. The actual use of it is not good for me at all, because I'm trying to find something for a stealthy scout/thief character, so he certainly doesn't want to take damage for himself or others, but the whole "immediate action do a thing" is exactly right.

Alrighty then, immediate action stuff:

{table]Feat|Effect
Faith Unswerving (ToB)|Follow a target you charged if he moves away
Combat Panache (PHB2)|Redirect enemy melee attack to another enemy, or play dead when attacked
Battleshifter Training (RoE)|Attack in response to a full attack
Protection Devotion|+2 to +7 AC to the party
Evil Devotion|+1 to +5 DR to the party
Dutiful Guardian (Drow of the Underdark)|swap places with attacked ally
Mark of Dis (Fiendish Codex II)|+4 AC or +4 to a save
Survivor's Luck (Complete Scoundrel & luck feats in general really)|reroll 1+ saves
Enhanced Elan Resistance|+6 saves
[/table]

{table]Prc dip|Effect
Iron Mind|+8 to a will save 1/day
[/table]

Magic Item Compendium:
{table]Cost (gp)|Item|Description
+1|Death Ward|cancel a death effect
1500|Ring of Divergence|Reflects spells of a specific energy type
+1|Energy Defense|energy damage to attackers
+2|Energy Immunity|immune to energy damage
5000|Amulet of Fortune Prevailing|reroll a save
11000|Amulet of Inviolate Form|Negate 7 form changing effects against you
+3000|Mindarmor|+5 to will save vs mind affecting
22,500|Ring of Nine Lives|9 times reroll a save or heal 20 hp
8000|Shirt of the leech|3/day redirect a healing spell to you
[/table]

I got lazy around amulets. Hmm, that's "A". There are a lot of items. You could continue going through MiC and find a lot more items with immediate activation. Quick note on the expendables used to save yourself: D&D combat is quick so they aren't throwing your money away; they're nearly as good as permanent items and often much cheaper.

"Why not go all the way and play a tier 1 if you're going to use magic" is exactly the mentality I was referring to. Magic is for everyone in D&D; the system is built around it. And even access to high level spells is only a pile of gold and a single level dip or a skill check away. Letting everyone have all the options is the whole point. Heck, the pile of magic toys fighter and casting fighter have been around since 1e, maybe even D&D basic. For the casting fighter maybe Tolkein elves before D&D. Wands and staffs work with armor too.

[Manly Man]

It's not exactly the same, but White Raven Tactics can probably help with getting to go whenever you want to.