Making a blaster

[questionmark693]

So I'm looking at making a blaster character, this will be for epic levels, starting at level 22. I was thinking either sorcerer or warmage would be a good base, until I actually looked at warmage...it seems pretty iffy at best, and like a sorcerer that traded their companion away would be better?

Once that's decided, I also need to know which prestige classes to go for. Which ones will be the most helpful to this idea (vague as it is).

Any and all input is welcome, even if you want to tell me how bad a blaster is :smallwink:

[Nettlekid]

If you want to use Warmage, I suggest looking at the Rainbow Servant PrC from Complete Divine. On the table it says that it doesn't get casting progression at all levels, but the text below simply says "at each Rainbow Servant level," and in edits and errata and the like it always says that text trumps table. If your DM allows it, it's a great way to get the entire Cleric spell list on your spells known, which as a Warblade you can cast spontaneously, for great diversity.

Have you seen the Mailman (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1765181)? It's all about a direct-damage Sorcerer. Using Metamagic feats like Twin or Empower (or Enhance for you at Epic) and Metamagic reducers like Arcane Thesis and Practical Metamagic, you can launch from mid-level spell slots low level spells powered up by Metamagic for crazy amounts of damage. It highly suggests going the Sorcerer route, using Arcane Spellsurge to speed up casting but more importantly turn your full-round action Metamagicked spells into standard actions, then sticking them inside Arcane Fusion and Greater Arcane Fusion to churn out more spells at once, or a low level priming spell with a big damage followup, and the like. Look over the guide, it's pretty cool.

Though I think for you I'd suggest some kind of Warmage 6 (or Warmage 4 with Sanctum Spell cheese (or even Warmage 1 with both Precocious Apprentice and Sanctum Spell cheese. But that's really quite cheesy))/Rainbow Servant 10/Dweomerkeeper 6(8(10 and something else 1)). In doing so, you'll get full access to the Cleric's spell list as spontaneous casting (Heals and stuff if you want 'em,) access to the Dweomerkeeper's amazing Supernatural Spell ability (Material-free True Resurrection? XP-free Miracle?) and a decrease in the cost of all Metamagic feats by one, which means you can apply much of the Mailman handbook stuff to Warmage spells as you would Sorcerer spells.

[Quertus]

A blaster is terrible. :smallwink:

That having been said, and especially if your DM knows it is terrible, it might not be Ultimate Cheese (TM) to make him a Tainted Sorcerer, so that you have plenty of mana / spell slots to blast at will, and so that you don't have to worry so much about monsters making their saves.

This, of course, is a trap. Every time you cast a spell, you need to make a save, or else gain a point of Taint. Even if you are set up to only fail the save on a 1, you still accumulate 1 taint every 20 spells you cast (on average). There are only a few spells to remove taint, each usable only 1/day. So you can't actually blast at will, because you can't counteract all of the taint you accumulate.

However, since (in all the printings I own, at least) your save DC is 10 + spell level + taint score, and your taint score can be just shy of twice your wisdom, you are still rocking some pretty phenomenal save DCs. Even without ancient dragonrot kobald or whatever, with a base 18 wis, +5 from leveling bonuses, +5 inherent bonus, +6 enhancement bonus, you have a 34 wisdom, and could afford, say, 60 taint, for a save DC of 70 + spell level. :smallbiggrin:

And, to deal with pesky things like elemental immunities, since you're starting at epic anyway, invest the (pre-game) time and money to have researched your own spells. Although cross-elemental versions of spells are a good start, consider using damage types creatures are rarely immune to: holy/unholy (flame strike?), desiccation (?), etc.

And then load up on feats to let you get the most bang for your buck out of each spell - twinned repeating empowered maximized, with efficient improved metamagic, elven spell thesis, or whatever you can find to reduce the cost of adding metamagics. I've never used it, but I hear there is some... party cooperative training thing... that might keep you from accidentally cooking your party members with your AoE spells that you might want to look into, too.

Since you're epic, you can afford throw-away items, like the Ring of 9 Lives. It lets you ignore a failed save - like the one you fail every level to take a class other than Tainted Sorcerer. If the game is going to continue, and the character is going to level past 22nd, make sure to keep a ring or 2 handy for when you level, so you can get levels in a class that actually gives you something.

As to base class, or other prestige classes... consider Spellcaster from Unearthed Arcana - if only for the joy of making Hide and Move Silently class skills, so that you can just avoid most of the non-epic rabble. Or, you know, whatever skills you enjoy using, or sound like fun for this character. It also lets you have any arcane or divine spells (well, Sorcerer/Wizard, Cleric, and... Druid?) - as arcane or divine spells depending on which way you build the character. So I recommend arcane Spellcaster 21 / Tainted Sorcerer 1. I'm sure there are other prestige classes that would be nice, but I like the bonus epic spells of taking epic levels in a class (yes, epic levels in a prestige class are probably better). The best part about Spellcaster is that you can make sure you yourself know all of the spells that remove taint (if you go that route).

Sadly, I have no experience with this build as a blaster. I have run this build for heal-bots (usually lower level, but you have any idea how many Lesser Vigor spells you could cast as an epic tainted sorcerer?! (yes, I know, at this point, just Persist it on everyone)), and I have run blasters (epic and otherwise - and yes, they were terrible). If you are willing to go outside your theme a little, you can exploit the blood substitution class feature of the tainted sorcerer to ignore material components on restoration spells and, more importantly, true resurrection. If he is well-built, expect the party fighter to outperform you on damage, except against hordes - unless the party fighter is designed for hordes, too. Just pick a theme (unholy spells, hide from rabble, whatever) and have fun with it. As long as you are making your own spells, give them a visual (or olfactory or auditory or whatever) theme to help build your character's legend. "You never see that Drizkul coming, until a sudden explosion makes corpses of his foes, amidst the smell of skunk and rotten cabbage," or some such.

[Quertus]

A blaster is terrible.

If he is well-built, expect the party fighter to outperform you on damage, except against hordes - unless the party fighter is designed for hordes, too.


Have you seen the Mailman (http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1765181)? It's all about a direct-damage Sorcerer. Using Metamagic feats like Twin or Empower (or Enhance for you at Epic) and Metamagic reducers like Arcane Thesis and Practical Metamagic, you can launch from mid-level spell slots low level spells powered up by Metamagic for crazy amounts of damage. It highly suggests going the Sorcerer route, using Arcane Spellsurge to speed up casting but more importantly turn your full-round action Metamagicked spells into standard actions, then sticking them inside Arcane Fusion and Greater Arcane Fusion to churn out more spells at once, or a low level priming spell with a big damage followup, and the like. Look over the guide, it's pretty cool.

According to the Mailman, "<Combust> is a good one for low Epic... a EnTwiniMaxiPowered Combust autocritted with Surge of Fortune deals ~810 Fire over two blows."

Perhaps I was mistaken about the amount of damage a Blaster can deal at epic levels. :smallredface:

[Nettlekid]

According to the Mailman, "<Combust> is a good one for low Epic... a EnTwiniMaxiPowered Combust autocritted with Surge of Fortune deals ~810 Fire over two blows."

Perhaps I was mistaken about the amount of damage a Blaster can deal at epic levels. :smallredface:

I think the Surge of Fortune is a bit of overkill (although if you do the Rainbow Servant thing you don't have to go with Limited Wish to get it).

I disagree with researching custom spells to get past elemental immunity. Just get around the immunity, and focus on one kind of spell. For example, Searing Spell makes immunity only resist half, which is still a lot, but manageable. Better yet is a single level dip into Sanctified One (of Kord) which lets you turn all fire damage into divine damage, not subject to resistance. (Now, you do have to be CG to do that, which eliminates Rainbow Servant, but hey, you have options.)

Blasters can deal LOTS of damage, much like an Ubercharger. People say that damage is an ineffective way to beat enemies when you can take them out of the fight by sticking them in a dark realm or breaking their minds or whatever, and maybe that's true. But everything has HP. And that HP can go to -10. So you know, six in one hand, half a dozen in the other.

[Urpriest]

Yeah, Epic happens to be an environment when blasters and chargers are actually pretty useful. Most enemies have truckloads of immunities and high RHD means they essentially have no meaningfully weak saves, so often the best way to deal with them is damage to the face.

[Talya]

Yeah, Epic happens to be an environment when blasters and chargers are actually pretty useful. Most enemies have truckloads of immunities and high RHD means they essentially have no meaningfully weak saves, so often the best way to deal with them is damage to the face.

Why would you want to attack their half-elf bard?

:smallcool: :smallbiggrin: :smallwink: