Ability Score Damage

[weckar]

Hi. I had a few questions regarding my Ability Damage output, and improving it. Currently I mainly use the spell Phantasmal Assailants and a few rays for this purpose.
I'm not very good a rays because of my +2 BAB and no ability score improvements.

So, first batch of questions: (1) How can I improve the hit rate of rays or the DC of other spells?

Secondly, (2) do things like Luck Devotion or Bane Magic apply to ability score damage?

Thirdly, (3) how fast does it naturally heal and what effects does it have when dropped to or below 0?

[Necroticplague]

So, first batch of questions: (1) How can I improve the hit rate of rays or the DC of other spells?

Secondly, (2) do things like Luck Devotion or Bane Magic apply to ability score damage?

Thirdly, (3) how fast does it naturally heal and what effects does it have when dropped to or below 0?

1. Increase your DEX, increase your BAB, take the various ray focus feats(or weapon focus:ray). Increase you casting stat, increase the spell level (through Heighten spell or Eldritch Corruption).

2.Not sure, pretty sure not.

3.Each ability score damaged heals at a rate of 1 point per night (8 hours rest), 2 points with 24 hours of bed rest. When it hits zero, you become helpless (except for CON, in which it becoming zero means you're dead).

[BowStreetRunner]

First to address your third question, you are going to want to take a look a the Ability Score Loss (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#abilityScoreLoss) rules. Having a 0 is slightly different for each ability score, but generally you are helpless or dead. Points lost to ability damage return at the rate of 1 point per day for each ability, or 2 per day with complete bed rest.

EDIT: ninja'd

[Firest Kathon]

Cast True Strike, or get feats like Weapon Focus (Ray), Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot
Luck Devotion: Yes, Bane Magic (seems to be from HoH) I do not know, I do not have the feat. You have to check if it applies to all damage or only to hitpoint damage, and in the latter case it would not affect ability damage.
Ability damage heals at a rate of 1 point per day per ability. So a character with 3 points of Str damage and 2 points of Wis damage will heal 1 point of Str and 1 point of Wis damage.

As for the effects (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#abilityScoreLoss):



Strength 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He lies helpless on the ground.
Dexterity 0 means that the character cannot move at all. He stands motionless, rigid, and helpless.
Constitution 0 means that the character is dead.
Intelligence 0 means that the character cannot think and is unconscious in a coma-like stupor, helpless.
Wisdom 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a deep sleep filled with nightmares, helpless.
Charisma 0 means that the character is withdrawn into a catatonic, coma-like stupor, helpless.

[weckar]

Aye, all simple and fair enough. I figured (1) and (3) would be rather straightforward. (2) still leaves me with some pause though?

[BowStreetRunner]

Keep in mind that if you are using a ray attack as a ranged touch attack, you shouldn't have to worry about any armor, shield, or natural armor the target may possess. I played a warlock with a pretty low BAB a while back and never had much trouble hitting anything. +2 BAB should be plenty up through level 5 or so. You didn't mention what level character this is. Of course, if you are talking a higher level character, this begs the question how did you end up with such a low BAB?

[weckar]

Currently at level 4. Currently trying to talk my DM into letting me build a command word item of True Strike.

[DarkSonic1337]

weckar...do remember that the price formulas are simply guidelines and that they specifically say that you should compare to similar existing items when pricing.

[weckar]

I know. DM and me agreed using it would be followed with two turns of blindness.

Any extra insight on Bane Magic?

[Chronos]

When something lets you do extra damage on attacks, if you use it with an attack that does ability score damage, it doesn't increase the ability score damage. Instead, it just adds that amount of negative-energy hit point damage.

Critical hits, on the other hand, do multiply the amount of ability score damage dealt (x2, unless otherwise specified).

[weckar]

You got a source for all that, Chronos? I'd like to be able to show my DM a page, if it comes up :)

[Rijan_Sai]

weckar...do remember that the price formulas are simply guidelines and that they specifically say that you should compare to similar existing items when pricing.

This is true, but it's been my experience that Command Word items in particular follow fairly close to the guidelines*. Still require DM discretion, but a CW True Strike still eats up one round's standard action, for a +20 to the next single attack. If they were to quicken the ray that same round, fine, but all they have left is a move action. While a continuous TS item is a dead horse, bludgeoned repeatedly with Mountain Hammer, the action economy cost for a command word item seems to pretty fairly balance out with it's use.

Without that two rounds of blindness [REDACTED]...is that thing a cursed item? :smallfrown:

Edit: *There are exceptions, of course...like the ring of invisibility. Even if it should be more then the formula, does it really need to be double? 20,000 vs 10,800

[Chronos]

Page 86 of Complete Arcane. On review, it only calls out Sneak Attack, but I think there might be something in the Rules Compendium that extends it to all damage-increasers.

[weckar]

As I don't actually own the book for this feat (I copied a cliffsnoted version from my DM's copy) all I have to go on is a scribble that reads as
the type of the damage remains the same. I wish I could get a better look at this...

[Chronos]

OK, I just double-checked. Luck Devotion doesn't actually give you any bonus damage: It just lets you replace below-average rolls with half of the maximum possible. That should work fine with anything, as long as deals a random amount. Bane magic does increase the damage, and the increase is of the same type, but it explicitly says that it doesn't work with spells that don't do HP damage.

[weckar]

Ah, that is a pity. But, if a spell did both HP and ability damage, where would the extra damage be applied? :smallconfused:

EDIT: I'm specifically thinking of a Flash Frost Thin Air spell, here.