Explosive/Pyromaniac Character?

[Gwazi Magnum]

Just checking for the sake of a friend.

Are there any good and effective builds that focus on these four things?

1. Crafting
2. Setting things on fire
3. Making things explode
4. Time Travel and/or Plane Jumping

Note: This is for a friend who has trouble playing and following all the mechanics of d&d so please try to keep the build's and advice here simple.

[Forrestfire]

Sounds like a Psion. You get explosions, lots of different elemental attacks, psionic item crafting, Time Hop (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHop.htm) (among other things time-related), and Plane Shift at later levels.

[Gwazi Magnum]

Interesting, but as I recall Psionics tends to be complicated.
Are there simple/easy ways to use one, since this is meant for a friend who isn't too skilled at D&D yet.

[Forrestfire]

Psionics is actually the least complex of the magic systems, I'd think.

It boils down to:

Here's a list of powers you can choose. Pick however many you get.
You have this many power points. Each power has a cost.
You can spend extra power points on some powers. These are marked as augmentable.
You can only spend up to your level in power points on a single power.



There are some character-building calculations like save DCs and bonus PP, but those are only done once per level or so anyway, so just have someone help with it.

[WinWin]

Arcane Trickster or Unseen Seer. Any kind of rogue/spellcaster multiclass really, so long as you can jump into a prestige class that will advance casting and sneak attack.

Basic play-style should be similar to the flask rogue; buffing and then sneak attacking with touch-attack splash weapons like acid, holy water and alchemists fire, as well as any weapon-like spells you can cast. Crafting your own grenades would be more cost effective in the long term. You can pull off some shenanigans with flasks imbued with spells like Fire Trap or Glyph of Warding, if you want to produce some hideously effective grenades.

Flask attacks covers pyromania. Spellcasting can produce larger explosions. Planar travel becomes available at higher level and you have the prerequisites to forge your own magical gear. Very little system mastery required to play, as the character is centred around taking advantage of the almighty alpha strike.

You might also check out the Artificer. Totally craft focussed, but you should be able to produce the other desired abilities by forging wands and the like.

[Gwazi Magnum]

Psionics is actually the least complex of the magic systems, I'd think.

It boils down to:

Here's a list of powers you can choose. Pick however many you get.
You have this many power points. Each power has a cost.
You can spend extra power points on some powers. These are marked as augmentable.
You can only spend up to your level in power points on a single power.



There are some character-building calculations like save DCs and bonus PP, but those are only done once per level or so anyway, so just have someone help with it.

I guess. I'd have to ask him and see how well he is with constant subtraction.

He played sorcerer last and had some trouble with it. I think the fact all he had to do though was check off a level 3 slot when he Casted a level 3 spell helped him though.

Also, how exactly does Time Hop help so much?
It just looks like a 1 minute or 2 jump to the future.
It's cool, but it's being given to a player who was given a fully functional time traveling watch by the DM (due to the DM's inexperience), so a simple minute or two hop could seem like a huge let down.


Arcane Trickster or Unseen Seer. Any kind of rogue/spellcaster multiclass really, so long as you can jump into a prestige class that will advance casting and sneak attack.

Basic play-style should be similar to the flask rogue; buffing and then sneak attacking with touch-attack splash weapons like acid, holy water and alchemists fire, as well as any weapon-like spells you can cast. Crafting your own grenades would be more cost effective in the long term. You can pull off some shenanigans with flasks imbued with spells like Fire Trap or Glyph of Warding, if you want to produce some hideously effective grenades.

Flask attacks covers pyromania. Spellcasting can produce larger explosions. Planar travel becomes available at higher level and you have the prerequisites to forge your own magical gear. Very little system mastery required to play, as the character is centred around taking advantage of the almighty alpha strike.

You might also check out the Artificer. Totally craft focussed, but you should be able to produce the other desired abilities by forging wands and the like.

You can put spells into flasks?
I didn't know about this... :/ How exactly does that work because that could working amazingly for the person I'm asking for.

As for Artificer, I know that class all to well. I spent a whole day and night making one before. I know for sure it's a class he would like (In fact he wants to be one at some point), but it's a class whose complexity is insane.

[Forrestfire]

I'm going to suggest that you keep the player very, very far away from the Artificer. That class requires so much bookkeeping it's not even funny. :smalleek:


I guess. I'd have to ask him and see how well he is with constant subtraction.

He played sorcerer last and had some trouble with it. I think the fact all he had to do though was check off a level 3 slot when he Casted a level 3 spell helped him though.

Also, how exactly does Time Hop help so much?
It just looks like a 1 minute or 2 jump to the future.
It's cool, but it's being given to a player who was given a fully functional time traveling watch by the DM (due to the DM's inexperience), so a simple minute or two hop could seem like a huge let down.

Time Hop helps because it's an amazing utility spell that fits with the theme of time travel. Psionics gets a good amount of other stuff that's related to time.

If the player has a homebrewed (and ridiculous :smalleek:) fully functioning time machine, they're on a very different scale. D&D only full time travel effect are 9th-level spells (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/pg/20030409b) and powers. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeRegression.htm)



You can put spells into flasks?
I didn't know about this... :/ How exactly does that work because that could working amazingly for the person I'm asking for.

As for Artificer, I know that class all to well. I spent a whole day and night making one before. I know for sure it's a class he would like (In fact he wants to be one at some point), but it's a class whose complexity is insane.

Fire Trap (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fireTrap.htm) depends on your interpretation of "when someone other than you opens the object" triggering on the flask breaking against someone. Glyph of Warding (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/glyphOfWarding.htm) also only works if the DM rules that throwing a bottle at someone counts as them opening it.

[WinWin]

You can put spells into flasks?
I didn't know about this... :/ How exactly does that work because that could working amazingly for the person I'm asking for.


Trap spells like Fire Trap and Glyph of Warding are permenant until discharged (or dispelled/disabled by a special action like Disable Device or a Dispel Magic spell).

Fire Trap explodes, dealing damage in an area when the protected item is opened. A flask weapon like Holy Water or Acid, has to 'open' in order to damage it's target, and when it smashes open, it will deal normal damage + sneak attack damage + fire trap damage to the target, as well as splash damage + fire trap damage to anyone in the area of effect.

Glyph of Warding, and the improved versions of the spell, are a little more complex. You can specify the activation trigger for the glyph. You can also specify the type of damage dealt (such as fire or frost). You also have the option to have the glyph cast a spell you know, instead of deal elemental damage.

It may seem overpowered at first glance, but every Glyph of Warding will set you back a couple of hundred gold, so enchanted special grenades will probably be saved for tougher opponents, rather than be used all of the time.

Search engine keywords "Halfling Hurler" or "Flask Rogue" will provide more detail on this sort of build. "Sneak Attacking Spellcasters : God's Shifty-Eyed Cousins" is the name of a more complex guide someone put together on another forum.

[Gwazi Magnum]

I'm going to suggest that you keep the player very, very far away from the Artificer. That class requires so much bookkeeping it's not even funny. :smalleek:

I know... I made one before. :P
Though I did learn something from it also...
Despite how friendly and helpful this forum usually is... People get very cruel and hateful if you make an Artificer and ask for a bit of advice on it.


Time Hop helps because it's an amazing utility spell that fits with the theme of time travel. Psionics gets a good amount of other stuff that's related to time.

If the player has a homebrewed (and ridiculous :smalleek:) fully functioning time machine, they're on a very different scale. D&D only full time travel effect are 9th-level spells (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/pg/20030409b) and powers. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeRegression.htm)

It was the 1st campaign only, the DM learned better after that. :P
But basically I'm trying to help him get as close to that level of time travel again as possible.

I realize it's a very tall order however that probably won't happen.


Fire Trap (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fireTrap.htm) depends on your interpretation of "when someone other than you opens the object" triggering on the flask breaking against someone. Glyph of Warding (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/glyphOfWarding.htm) also only works if the DM rules that throwing a bottle at someone counts as them opening it.

So you're not putting the spell in the flask? Just casting it on the flask?
So it's basically a level 2 Druid Spell + Alchemist Fire?

Basically I'm looking for the kinds of things that can set cities on fire if possible.

[Gwazi Magnum]

Trap spells like Fire Trap and Glyph of Warding are permenant until discharged (or dispelled/disabled by a special action like Disable Device or a Dispel Magic spell).

Fire Trap explodes, dealing damage in an area when the protected item is opened. A flask weapon like Holy Water or Acid, has to 'open' in order to damage it's target, and when it smashes open, it will deal normal damage + sneak attack damage + fire trap damage to the target, as well as splash damage + fire trap damage to anyone in the area of effect.

I see, would sneak attack work against things like items/objects?
I assume not since it won't work on creatures immune to critical hits.


Glyph of Warding, and the improved versions of the spell, are a little more complex. You can specify the activation trigger for the glyph. You can also specify the type of damage dealt (such as fire or frost). You also have the option to have the glyph cast a spell you know, instead of deal elemental damage.

It may seem overpowered at first glance, but every Glyph of Warding will set you back a couple of hundred gold, so enchanted special grenades will probably be saved for tougher opponents, rather than be used all of the time.


So basically cast any spell in the flask?
Powerful, but expensive.

It's defelently a powerful option I'm sure he'll like, but I'm expecting him to want to cause chaos with the build a lot, so the main focus shouldn't be something so expensive in gold.


Search engine keywords "Halfling Hurler" or "Flask Rogue" will provide more detail on this sort of build. "Sneak Attacking Spellcasters : God's Shifty-Eyed Cousins" is the name of a more complex guide someone put together on another forum.

I will, thanks. :)

[AstralFire]

Another vote for psion, IMX psionics is only difficult to think about for people who are already really used to how vancian casting works.