Making a kick@$$ blaster

[Thealtruistorc]

As long as 3.5 has existed, blasters have been one of the most maligned builds for casters. They have been called inefficient, ineffectual, and generally not worth playing. This got me thinking, is there any way to build a blaster character that can be outright awesome? I want to hear your ideas on how best to play a walking nuclear arsenal. Basic rules apply (No Pun-Pun), so let's see what you guys have.

[Norin]

http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1765181

Check out that guide for fun and profit.

[bjoern]

Check out the kobold thread that's up now.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?367990-Dragon-wrought-kobold-newbie-guide-update


This is also a solid blaster build.
http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1765181

[ArqArturo]

A 100% blaster resides in the Warmage (Nine Hells, that's their place in the world), but depending on the type of blaster you want with the Warmage chassis, depends on the stats. Laser Warmages require Dex/Cha/Int, while AoE Warmages want Cha/Int/Dex.

A more versatile blaster is the Wizard, since wizards can be the best blasters, but they'll focus more on Conjuration than Evocation, which is blaster country. But, if I were willing to make an Evoker Wizard, I'd remove Illusion and Enchantment, because I just don't have the patience for those two schools.

EDIT: Also, Mailman.

[Piggy Knowles]

Suggesting the Mailman when someone asks for a blaster to play is like suggesting an industrial excavator when someone needs to dig a hole for some tomato plants in their garden. It's certainly good at digging holes, but you might not have much if a garden left when you're done.

Unless in a very high OP campaign, I prefer the Nuker (http://community.wizards.com/content/forum-topic/3451291) for all your blasting needs. Still a strong blaster, but less likely to get you kicked out of a game, and you won't need to bust out the slide rule every time you want to calculate damage. Really, though, any wizard or sorcerer with some way of easily applying metamagic should do the trick.

[bjoern]

As long as 3.5 has existed, blasters have been one of the most maligned builds for casters. They have been called inefficient, ineffectual, and generally not worth playing. This got me thinking, is there any way to build a blaster character that can be outright awesome? I want to hear your ideas on how best to play a walking nuclear arsenal. Basic rules apply (No Pun-Pun), so let's see what you guys have.

This is what he asked for. Plus, the mailman build doesn't do slide rule damage. At its peak at level 20, it can do several hundred damage per round that is unsaveable, unresistable, unpreventable, and unavoidable. And it can do it on someone else's turn if necessary.

The beauty with the mailman is that it sacrifices the infinite damage tricks for other tricks that make it able to "deliver the mail" no matter how the addressee chooses to hide. Plus a few hundred damage per round is plenty to take down anything in the game (basically)

[Snowbluff]

A few options of note that I don't believe have been thoroughly explored:

Eldritch Theurge: Add Eldritch Blast to some attacks. Stacks well with Hellfire. It can get spells around spell resistance by adding the Vitriolic Blast essence to spells. It's easy to build and useful without being overpowering. It isn't dependent on spells to deal filler damage, either.

Arcane Archer: When properly built and geared, it can do some nuclear level crap. With Imbue Arrow, Split Arrow, and a Splitting bow, you can put out 4-10 area blasts as a standard action, regardless of the original casting time or range. Wings of Flurry, anyone?

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

As long as 3.5 has existed, blasters have been one of the most maligned builds for casters. They have been called inefficient, ineffectual, and generally not worth playing. This got me thinking, is there any way to build a blaster character that can be outright awesome? I want to hear your ideas on how best to play a walking nuclear arsenal. Basic rules apply (No Pun-Pun), so let's see what you guys have.

You can do some pretty fun stuff with negative levels, too.

[Snowbluff]

You can do some pretty fun stuff with negative levels, too.

Oh man... I did a DnD arena with a Dual Wand Wielder build. 2 wands with Enervate. I got a clutch dispel magic and dropped almost all of a Mystic Theurge gish's spells, then pelted him. He was down to 2 spells and 5 levels after the first volley. :smallbiggrin:

[eggynack]

Suggesting the Mailman when someone asks for a blaster to play is like suggesting an industrial excavator when someone needs to dig a hole for some tomato plants in their garden. It's certainly good at digging holes, but you might not have much if a garden left when you're done.

The ideas that go into the mailman are broadly applicable, and you can scale a character up or down in blasting capability based on need. So, if the OP needs an industrial excavator, then he can port in the whole build, and if he only needs to plant some tomatoes, then he can cut some elements of the build, perhaps for something unrelated to blasting.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

There's also wand and staff-based Artificers. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2829.0)

[bjoern]

The ideas that go into the mailman are broadly applicable, and you can scale a character up or down in blasting capability based on need. So, if the OP needs an industrial excavator, then he can port in the whole build, and if he only needs to plant some tomatoes, then he can cut some elements of the build, perhaps for something unrelated to blasting.

Take a mailman, trim out a few redundant blasting spells and replace them with BFC, and you've got a little versatility in your strategies.

[Norin]

Oh man... I did a DnD arena with a Dual Wand Wielder build. 2 wands with Enervate. I got a clutch dispel magic and dropped almost all of a Mystic Theurge gish's spells, then pelted him. He was down to 2 spells and 5 levels after the first volley. :smallbiggrin:

Mind linking to this fight?
Sounds fun.

[Snowbluff]

Mind linking to this fight?
Sounds fun.

It was in person, sorry. If you want I can ask for the guy's character info. He has like luminous armor, and a bunch of other spells like that. :smallsmile:

[eggynack]

Take a mailman, trim out a few redundant blasting spells and replace them with BFC, and you've got a little versatility in your strategies.
Yeah, that's a part of it, but I was thinking more from the build end of things. Like, instead of piling massive amounts of metamagic onto an orb of fire, you instead only pile a large quantity of metamagic onto the orb, and fill other slots with, I dunno, a reserve feat or cloudy conjuration or extend spell or spontaneous divination or something.

[sleepyphoenixx]

I had some fun in a campaign with a blaster druid. It was based around Mark of the Dauntless, Born of Three Thunders and Extraordinary Concentration to drop stunning bolts from Call Lightning as a move action without getting dazed and casting other blasting spells (with Energy Sub/Born of Three Thunders) with standard actions.
Not the most effective thing i've ever played but certainly fun. It worked well enough without overshadowing the rest of the party and was remarkably efficient with spell slots, for a blaster.

[Red Fel]

I'd like to point out this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?361628-Collateral-Damage-Man). The basic premise was making things go boom, but a lot of the suggestions were fairly inventive reimaginings of blasting spells. One particular concept that caught my eye was the Signature Spell feat. This allows a prepared arcane caster to convert spells of equal or higher level into the spell designated with the feat, meaning you have a ready source of boom. Further, this requires Spell Mastery, which allows you to prepare a spell even without your spellbook - meaning that you actually become more dangerous if you're robbed of your spellbook, because all you can do is make things explode.

You don't need a lot to be an awesome blaster. All you really need is one incredibly destructive spell that's (1) easy to reproduce, and (2) outrageously effective. The thread I linked has some great options along those lines.

[ranagrande]

An Ardent with the Dominant Ideal ACF for the Energy Mantle might be the best blaster, especially for single target damage. I was able to get Energy Ray up to like 120d6.

[aleucard]

One of the largest drawbacks of making a blaster of the non-Warlock/DFA variety is having a very limited amount of shots per day you can use, especially when you have other more useful spells also occupying those same slots.

My solution? The Runesmith. (http://dndtools.eu/classes/runesmith/) From where I'm standing, the fluff and crunch of this type of rune-casting says that the runes themselves store the spell energy required to cast their chosen spell, much like a scroll. Thus, much like a scroll, they retain that energy until used, with the user being able to refresh as normal. Essentially, every single spell slot on your character can be converted into 1 scroll-like object only you can use (and 1 omni-usable scroll-like if you bump the SL up 2 levels) once per day. Downtime suddenly means almost as much to you as it does the Artificer (and potentially even more if they use the crafting-drone-in-a-Portable-Hole trick and thus don't need it directly to do their main thing). Theoretically (and if you're at all smart and have opportunity, in actuality), you now have every single spell you know, both in your spellbook(s) and any other retention method you have available to you at all times if you have a Haversack or even (perhaps especially, if you want to cosplay Batman) a Belt of Many Pouches or something similar for fast retrieval.

For obvious reasons, this is a fairly high-op idea. Not in Tippy's range I THINK, but it wouldn't be all that far, especially since most builds would still have 10 or more levels for other PrC's if you want to or need to go all the way, 12 if you don't want the permanent runes option (give up slot 1 SL higher than chosen spell and potentially some other things depending on the spell, can now cast chosen spell as SLA 2/day), 14 if the sharable rune variant doesn't appeal (though this lets ALL spells, Personal range included, be cast BY the party beefcakes (with your stats, no less), and without you needing to spend actions yourself to boot).

[Piggy Knowles]

@aluecard: It's a neat idea, but I'm not convinced the RAW supports it:


A runesmith who casts a spell prepared in rune form can cast it with out any somatic component. However, all spells cast from rune form automatically have a material component (the rune itself). In casting the spell, the rune is erased from the tablet, just as a spell cast normally by a wizard is erased from his mind. A runesmith cannot get around the runic material component by means of an ability or feat such as Eschew Materials, although he can use such feats and abilities to waive any other material components for a spell he prepares in rune form, subject to the limitations of the ability. In all other ways, spells prepared in rune form are treated identically to spells prepared in the normal method.

As there is nothing in the description about runes lasting beyond the day, and it says that in all other ways it acts as a spell prepared in the normal fashion, then I believe rune magic defaults to the norm for a caster, in this case meaning the daily limit on spells still applies.

[RhoTheWanderer]

@aluecard: It's a neat idea, but I'm not convinced the RAW supports it:



As there is nothing in the description about runes lasting beyond the day, and it says that in all other ways it acts as a spell prepared in the normal fashion, then I believe rune magic defaults to the norm for a caster, in this case meaning the daily limit on spells still applies.
Swordsaged before I could even log in.:smallsigh:
Still going to check with my DM (and any DMs I may play with later in life) anytime I play a wizard. Effectively make scrolls for free? Limited only by party down-time? Effectively boost a wizard played at lower-tier up a few tiers due to always having the spell he/she wants/needs (as well as being able to go nova like no other)? SIGN. ME. UP. Of course, any DM could try to counter this by limiting down-time (Don't use the optional "down-time" rules, throw adventures at the party in rapid fire succession, ect.). But...
Player: I sit down on the chair to rest.
DM: NO! You sit on Orcus!!Edit: Everybody roll initiative!
Sorry. Couldn't resist. I really need to check out that thread sometime and find out what rudisplork/rudisplorking is.

[aleucard]

@aluecard: It's a neat idea, but I'm not convinced the RAW supports it:



As there is nothing in the description about runes lasting beyond the day, and it says that in all other ways it acts as a spell prepared in the normal fashion, then I believe rune magic defaults to the norm for a caster, in this case meaning the daily limit on spells still applies.

It was my understanding that the rune itself sustained the spell and (as far as the caster's spell slots are concerned) he already casted that particular spell the moment he 'prepared' it as such. I do recognize that this would be very firmly in the hands of the DM, but if it IS allowed, well..... :smallbiggrin:

For less questionably legal options, I can't think of anything that doesn't already feature in at least one Caster handbook. The only one that comes to mind is Jade Phoenix Mage, and that 1) is a Gish, 2) sacrifices caster levels (which is possibly more important for you than it is for any other Caster type), and 3) needs one of the most notorious books in the 3.5 library, for better or worse, so its availability will be limited.

[Rubik]

At higher levels, Energy Conversion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/energyConversion.htm) is an amazing blasting power, especially if you spend a few character resources on it. Boost your manifester level for extra damage. Split Psionic Ray to affect two targets. Chain Power to deal large amounts of damage to lots of targets (and combined with SPR, you can affect everyone twice). Share with your psicrystal to double your damage. Share with your Schism to double your damage again. Share Schism with your Metamorphosis'd psicrystal (or give your psicrystal the Human Heritage feat) to double it again. Then combine with (Greater) Psionic Shot and the Aligned Attack/(Greater) Chasuble of Fell Power combo to toss on extra dice of damage. Combine with a sorcerer's hand crossbow (from the Arms & Equipment Guide) to further enhance both to-hit and damage.

Sit in a fire and an Energy Wall to charge it up, and, if Chained, target yourself to further charge additional shots.

Before then, there's always the Gemstone Breath power. It's not as good, but it does get some mileage with similar resource expenditure. It's good that Psychic Reformation is a thing.