Ice Assassin -- how to cast XP requires spells?

[Eaglejarl]

Hi all,

First off, I thought I posted this already, but I don't see it in the last three pages of threads, or in my "recently posted" feed, and I don't have a message or notification that it was deleted. Sorry if this is a double.

Ice Assassins cannot improve their abilities. I was told in the RAW thread that this means they can't get XP. Is there a way, under strict RAW, for them to cast spells that require an XP component? I thought maybe Absorption, but that doesn't seem to work.

I'm looking for non-Epic, non-psionic, please.

[ryu]

Hi all,

First off, I thought I posted this already, but I don't see it in the last three pages of threads, or in my "recently posted" feed, and I don't have a message or notification that it was deleted. Sorry if this is a double.

Ice Assassins cannot improve their abilities. I was told in the RAW thread that this means they can't get XP. Is there a way, under strict RAW, for them to cast spells that require an XP component? I thought maybe Absorption, but that doesn't seem to work.

I'm looking for non-Epic, non-psionic, please.

Are you familiar with ambrosia or liquid pain if you're feeling evil?

[Emperor Tippy]

Ice Assassin's can't gain XP but nothing stops them from spending XP.

[Rubik]

Nesting thought bottles (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?217819-Nesting-Thought-Bottles-millions-of-wishes) can ensure that you have a nearly unlimited supply of XP, even if you're an ice assassin.

Also, casting Curse of Lycanthropy (http://dndtools.eu/spells/defenders-of-the-faith-a-guidebook-to-clerics-and-paladins--38/curse-of-lycanthropy--966/) will give you additional HD and LA, both of which feed into your ECL (and thus, your XP total). Cast that spell, use a thought bottle, cure the lycanthropy, then use the thought bottle. Within three rounds, you've gained a number of levels equal to the ECL increase of the lycanthrope template for the animal you used. Now you can spend all that XP as you like.

[Jack_Simth]

Ice Assassin's can't gain XP but nothing stops them from spending XP.
Other than perhaps the lack of availability; theoretically, they'd have whatever their original had as of the time of their creation (or of the time of their sampling).

That said:
It's also only HP damage that they can't recover. If the DM doesn't mind an excessive amount of optimization, you can have them do the wight thing:
1) Get some creature that can apply negative levels one at a time under your control (the classic being the common Wight (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/wight.htm), but nearly anything that can apply negative levels one at a time will do).
2) Have the controlled wight apply one negative level (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#energyDrainAndNegativeLevels) to your Ice Assasin (or you, whatever).
3) Order your minion to wait the 24 hours, and let that and when the time for the saving throw for the Negative Level (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#energyDrainAndNegativeLevels) comes around, have it voluntarily give up the saving throw (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#voluntarilyGivingupaSavingTh row), resulting in the negative level becoming Level Loss (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#levelLoss) - which includes the clause: "The victim’s experience point total is immediately set to the midpoint of the previous level." - so if your Ice Assasin had been 18th, it's now 17th and a half - so 8,500 loose XP.
4) Order your minion to spend that loose XP however you wanted.
5) Apply a (possibly Greater (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/restorationGreater.htm)) Resotration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/restoration.htm) to the subject, which has the very useful clause "A character who has a level restored by restoration has exactly the minimum number of experience points necessary to restore him or her to his or her previous level."

Congratulations, you just spent free XP.

There's a related method (additionally requiring a tireless (warforged or necropolitan, usually) bard-9) that permits one to level up in isolation.



Also, casting Curse of Lycanthropy (http://dndtools.eu/spells/defenders-of-the-faith-a-guidebook-to-clerics-and-paladins--38/curse-of-lycanthropy--966/) will give you additional HD and LA, both of which feed into your ECL (and thus, your XP total). Cast that spell, use a thought bottle, cure the lycanthropy, then use the thought bottle. Within three rounds, you've gained a number of levels equal to the ECL increase of the lycanthrope template for the animal you used. Now you can spend all that XP as you like.Potential pitfall: Contracting Lycanthropy does not explicitly increase your XP total (at least as far as I'm aware), despite changing your ECL. You might just "owe" a lot of XP, and be a very long way from leveling up - in which case, this doesn't work.

[Rubik]

Potential pitfall: Contracting Lycanthropy does not explicitly increase your XP total (at least as far as I'm aware), despite changing your ECL. You might just "owe" a lot of XP, and be a very long way from leveling up - in which case, this doesn't work.Increasing your ECL increases your level. (The L in ECL even stands for "Level.") And your level is based on your XP total.

At the very least, you can use the negative level/Restoration trick to boost your XP totals if nothing else. That's a sure bet.

[Jack_Simth]

Increasing your ECL increases your level. (The L in ECL even stands for "Level.") And your level is based on your XP total.

At the very least, you can use the negative level/Restoration trick to boost your XP totals if nothing else. That's a sure bet.

There are things in the books that explicitly state what happens if your XP total goes up. There are specific things to prevent your XP total from going down without certain other events (and those other events explicitly decrease your level). However: Can you actually show me where it's stated that something external changing your ECL also changes your experience point total along with it? I didn't say it's not a reasonable guess as to what should happen - I said it "does not explicitly increase your XP total (at least as far as I'm aware)"