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Jimbob
2007-07-17, 05:10 AM
Apart from weapon focus (ray) is there any other way to increase ray attacks? dont mind if its damage increase or attack bonus, both would be great though!

kpenguin
2007-07-17, 05:13 AM
Well, you can sneak attack with rays, so taking Arcane Trickster might do well. Dealing large amounts of damage with a ray of frost can be a bit amusing. Pumping up your dex is also a good idea. Don't take Weapon Focus (Ray) though. It only gives you a +1 bonus to your rays.

Lord Lorac Silvanos
2007-07-17, 05:16 AM
Point Blank Shot would also apply.

Seffbasilisk
2007-07-17, 05:17 AM
If you go warmage, Warmage Edge will increase the damage. Weapon Focus: Ray, Weapon Specialization: Ray....

I think Spellwarp sniper has things as well as turning AoE spells into rays.

Kurald Galain
2007-07-17, 05:30 AM
I seem to recall there was a "spell specialization" kind of feat that worked just like weapon specialization, only increased spell damage by +2 and required wizard level 4 rather than fighter level 4. Not sure which book it's from, though.

Keld Denar
2007-07-17, 06:22 AM
Spell specialization would be kind of dumb. I mean, a fighter gets multiple attacks per round when you consider iteratives, haste, and any number of tricks such as AoOs w/ reach, karmic strike, flurry, or TWF, so that +2 adds up to 8-10 extra damage a round at mid levels. A wizard only casts 1 spell per round, so adding a straight +2 to damage would be either minor in the case of real damage (an 18d6+2 disintegrate???), or WAY over powered in the case of non-hp damaging rays, such as ray of enfeeblement or ray of stupidity.

I'd also say that weapon spec: ray would only apply to the 1st hit of a volley ray, such as scorching ray.

lukelightning
2007-07-17, 06:25 AM
Sure. Empower or maximize them. Or both. Empower your enervation then sudden maximize it. Bwahaha! 6 negative levels!

Falrin
2007-07-17, 08:51 AM
Twin ray to get double the fun out of your easy-hitting friends.

Lots of other Metamagic feats: Energy Substitution, Maximize, Empower, ...

There is a feat somewhere that gets you +2 damage / LvL or Die on rays. Can't seem to find it.

Person_Man
2007-07-17, 09:45 AM
Best PrC for an arcane ray spell specialist:

Spellwarp Sniper
Stormcaster
Arcane Trickster
Unseen Seer
Incantatrix

Best feats:

Split Ray
Empower Spell
Easy Metamagic
Ocular Spell

I also have a more potent divine ray specialist available, if you're interested.

Jimbob
2007-07-17, 09:47 AM
If you can Person_Man that will be cool to have a look at if you dont mind?

Soepvork
2007-07-17, 10:08 AM
Sure. Empower or maximize them. Or both. Empower your enervation then sudden maximize it. Bwahaha! 6 negative levels!


Actually, it is 4-6 negative levels:


An empowered, maximized spell gains the separate benefits of each feat: the maximum result plus one-half the normally rolled result.

Person_Man
2007-07-17, 10:18 AM
If you can Person_Man that will be cool to have a look at if you dont mind?

Cleric 5/Radiant Servant of Pelor X

Feats: Extra Turning, Reach Spell, Twin Ray, Divine Metamagic. A human can pull this off at 6th level. At higher levels, you should take Easy Metamagic twice, and apply them to Reach Spell and Twin Ray.

Reach spell turns touch attacks into ray spells. Twin Ray gives you one additional ray. Divine Metamagic allows you to burn Turn Undead uses to take care of the LA on the metamagic spells. Easy Metamagic will lower the LA of each by metamagic adjustment by 1.

Spontaneously cast cure spells as Reach Twin Rays. They're Empowered for free thanks to Radiant Servant of Pelor, making you an obscenely potent ranged healer and undead slayer. For offense, use Poison (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/spellsPtoR.html#poison), Slay Living, or the Cause Wounds spells.

The various expansions also have some potent touch attack spells that deal a myriad of powerful effects, which are now shot at a range and through twin rays multiple times per day. With a good Cha, Eagle's Splendor, and the Extra Turning feat (req. for RSoP) you can usually pull this combo off 2-10 times per day, depending on your level. When you run out of high level spell slots and Turn uses, just cast a few buff spells and beat the tar out of people - cause hey, you're still a Cleric.

Complete Divine also has a boatload of Reserve and Domain spells that help out with this combo at high levels.

You need not go into RSoP, its just one of the most potent Cleric PrC's out there. Crystalkeep's Cleric Domain list and Domain Spontaneity can also be huge boon for this build, depending upon who you want to worship. There are a lot of potent ray and touch spells out there. Check out Cold, Decay, Destruction, and Slime for example.

bugsysservant
2007-07-17, 10:26 AM
Grey Elf War Mage 1/Rogue 1 w. point blank shot. A Ray of Frost that deals 1d3+6+1d6 with a +1 to hit. An average of 11.5 damage for a cantrip.

Tellah
2007-07-17, 10:38 AM
Cleric 5/Radiant Servant of Pelor X

Feats: Extra Turning, Reach Spell, Twin Ray, Divine Metamagic. A human can pull this off at 6th level. At higher levels, you should take Easy Metamagic twice, and apply them to Reach Spell and Twin Ray.

Reach spell turns touch attacks into ray spells. Twin Ray gives you one additional ray. Divine Metamagic allows you to burn Turn Undead uses to take care of the LA on the metamagic spells. Easy Metamagic will lower the LA of each by metamagic adjustment by 1.

Spontaneously cast cure spells as Reach Twin Rays. They're Empowered for free thanks to Radiant Servant of Pelor, making you an obscenely potent ranged healer and undead slayer. For offense, use Poison (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/spellsPtoR.html#poison), Slay Living, or the Cause Wounds spells.

The various expansions also have some potent touch attack spells that deal a myriad of powerful effects, which are now shot at a range and through twin rays multiple times per day. With a good Cha, Eagle's Splendor, and the Extra Turning feat (req. for RSoP) you can usually pull this combo off 2-10 times per day, depending on your level. When you run out of high level spell slots and Turn uses, just cast a few buff spells and beat the tar out of people - cause hey, you're still a Cleric.

Complete Divine also has a boatload of Reserve and Domain spells that help out with this combo at high levels.

You need not go into RSoP, its just one of the most potent Cleric PrC's out there. Crystalkeep's Cleric Domain list and Domain Spontaneity can also be huge boon for this build, depending upon who you want to worship. There are a lot of potent ray and touch spells out there. Check out Cold, Decay, Destruction, and Slime for example.

That's an interesting build, but it seems to be using the unerrata'd version of Divine Metamagic. You're looking at five feats to really make it shine, not four. It's still really, really cool, though.

Whiplord
2007-07-17, 11:37 AM
That's an interesting build, but it seems to be using the unerrata'd version of Divine Metamagic. You're looking at five feats to really make it shine, not four. It's still really, really cool, though.


Are you sure? I thought the only thing the errata changed was to make sure you have the feats you're applying via DMM. This build definitely covers that.

Tellah
2007-07-17, 11:41 AM
Are you sure? I thought the only thing the errata changed was to make sure you have the feats you're applying via DMM. This build definitely covers that.


Page 80: Divine Metamagic feat
The boldface text needs to be added to the Benefit
paragraph of the feat description:
When you take this feat, choose a metamagic feat that
you have. This feat applies only to that metamagic feat.
As a free action, you can take the energy from turning
or rebuking undead and use it to apply a metamagic feat
to divine spells that you know. . . .

Thus, Person_Man's rocking build would require five feats, not four.

The_Snark
2007-07-17, 12:03 PM
Additionally, I believe that the empowering from Radiant Servant of Pelor only applies when you actually cast from a domain slot. I may be wrong, but it's an interpretation that definitely tones down the class to a reasonable level.

Also, the cleric's spontaneously cast Cures are full-round actions when metamagic is used, which is a pain. Rapid Metamagic will get rid of that, but at the cost of another feat.

I've always liked Invisible Spell for a spellwarp sniper. It makes for a great actual sniper. Use Silent Spell and Still Spell, and nobody will know what's going on. Unless they use See Invisibility, which is often the first resort when people start dying for no reason anyway, unfortunately.

Also, where is Easy Metamagic from? Reduces the metamagic adjustment? I'd thought that was only possible for epic characters and incanatrixes. (And in a few limited cases with Favored Metamagic and Arcane Thesis).

Person_Man
2007-07-17, 01:53 PM
Thus, Person_Man's rocking build would require five feats, not four.

This is correct. I'd forgotten that. Thanks.

Though at high levels, you really won't need Divine Metamagic as much, because you'll have enough high level spell slots (though Easy Metamagic will still be pivotal).

Or you can be an worship an Evil god with Decay or Necromancy and the Destruction domain, giving you access to Ray of Enfeeblement, Enervation, Disintigrate, and Energy Drain, which are all ray spells. With this option, you only need 3 feats and the PHBII Domain Spontaneity option (and/or the Domain Spontaneity feat, and/or any of the various methods of adding additional domains). Though obviously your spell selection is far more limited, you'll be able to do it many more times per day, and your options are still pretty darn potent.

And again, you're a Cleric, so if you just feel like buffing yourself and hitting things, you can, because you NEVER have to memorize your ray spells thanks to domain spontaneity, and you have full armor and decent hit points and BAB. In my opinion, this makes the Cleric ray build superior to the arcane ray build, because they're far more versatile and likely to survive counter attacks.


Easy Metamagic is from Dragon Magazine, and its available online in numerous places. There's also a similar version of the feat called Practical Metamagic in Races of the Dragon, but it requires that you have the Dragonblood subtype, which means you have to be a certain race (Spellscale, Kobold, Dragonborn, etc) or invest in a feat to gain the Dragonblood subtype. Either feat reduces the LA of one metamagic feat by one level, to a minimum of +1. So for example, Split Ray gets is lowered from +2 to +1, but you couldn't lower Enlarge Spell below +1.

Human Paragon 3
2007-07-17, 02:00 PM
I second war mage. That +4 damage from your 18 INT just feels good, although its better at low levels.