Endarire
2018-01-05, 05:11 AM
Time Warp Dog: Limited-use Infinite Turns
Intro
This is very definitely meant as a thought exercise (theoretical optimization) instead of something meant to be used in a typical game. If your GM lets you do this, however, enjoy! (Preferably also let me know how it went!)
As an aside, inspiration for this trick came after reading Eggynack's Druid Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439991-Being-Everything-Eggynack-s-Comprehensive-Druid-Handbook) and pondering whether Exalted Wild Shape (Book of Exalted Deeds 42) would be worth it on my Druid.
Assumptions
- White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a) works on yourself. In this thread, let us not quibble about balance or reasonability. It simply MUST work for this trick to work.
- The initiative count can go arbitrarily low before wrapping around to the unit with the higest initiative for the next round. Think negative 10 billion here.
-[Basic] You can perform an indefinite number of free actions per round, or at least enough free actions to dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) somewhere then retrieve and drop enough stuff to be worthwhile.
-[Basic] White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a) grants you turns that let you affect others, especially hurt others. These are real turns in real time for you instead of more restrictive super-fast time granted by time stop (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/timeStop.htm) or temporal acceleration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/temporalAcceleration.htm).
-[Advanced] "When I want" is a valid contingency trigger as a spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/contingency.htm), power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/contingencyPsionic.htm), item (Complete Arcane 77 - Craft Contingent Item), or otherwise.
-[Advanced] Planes exist with super-fast-time-compared-to-the-normal-plane reachable by characters using this trick. We're talkin' like a day in other plane to an unnoticeably or immeasurably small amount on the main plane here.
[b]Needed Components: Basic
1: The ability to transform into a Blink Dog (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/blinkDog.htm) and access its Dimension Door (Su) ability to warp as a free action. A longer duration is better due to using lots of turns in this form!
Some ways to get this:
-Polymorph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorph.htm) or metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm) with the feat Assume Supernatural Ability (Savage Species 30, requires 13 WIS), at least a +9 bonus, and a means of taking 10 on Will saves like Steadfast Determination (Player's Handbook II 83) or the Devoted Spirit stance Aura of Perfect Order (Tome of Battle 57). If you have alter self (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorph.htm) or another means of shapeshifting earlier than polymorph, you can get all these feats no later than level 6 at latest. (Metamorphic Transfer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#metamorphicTransfer) WON'T work for this due to its 3/day limit!)
-Shapechange (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shapechange.htm) or greater metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosisGreater.htm). Each is a clean and simple way to do it, but normally requires character level 17 at soonest. (There are ways to get level 9 abilities sooner, but let us not focus on that here.)
-Exalted Wild Shape (Book of Exalted Deeds 42). This feat is a simple way to acquire long-term Blink Dog (Su) abilities with an expected duration of 1 hour per level. It's also available at level 8 using Vow of Poverty or some other tricks, or at level 9 for most people.
2: Adaptive Style feat (Tome of Battle 28). This lets you recover White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a) and all the rest of your maneuvers as a full-round action.
Some ways to get this:
-At least 1 level of Warblade (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060802a&page=2). If you take this class level at character level 9 or later, you can grab White Raven Tactics and a prerequisite White Raven maneuver cheaply. If you take this level at character level 9 or 12 (or 15 or 18, etc.), you can also get Adaptive Style at the same level.
-Swordsage (Tome of Battle 15) also does it without Adaptive Style, but requires 2 uses of the feat Martial Study (Tome of Battle 31) or multiclassing to get White Raven Tactics and its requisite maneuver.
-A Crown of White Ravens (Tome of Battle 149) may also work, but you still need either a Swordsage level or Adaptive Style and a Warblade level. This is in 'ask your GM' territory and I'd prefer not to do that in a thought exercise.
3:White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a). As a swift action, give yourself another turn immediately after this one. See #2 for how to get this.
4:A means of retrieving items from a container as a free action, such as a Heward's Handy Haversack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#handyHaversack) or the feat Quick Draw (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#quickDraw). As prudent, attach a Wilding Clasp (Magic Item Compendium 190) to this haversack should you need it for Wild Shape purposes.
5: Lots of stuff to drop! Maybe it's flasks or heavy objects or katamari (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePcDSutt_Ww) or something dense and damaging affected by shrink item (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shrinkItem.htm) or infinite chickens with the flaw Chicken Infested ("Dragon 330" page 87, only available at level 1 to those of the Commoner class).
[b]Needed Components: Advanced
NOTE: These are intended as optional, but, depending on details, may be required for you to complete the trick.
1: Ring of Feather Falling (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/rings.htm#featherFalling). With no action cost, this lets you easily reach higher hights via your dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) safely slow your descent while being very high in the air with no action cost. Just remember to attach a Wilding Clasp (Magic Item Compendium 190) to this ring should you need it for Wild Shape purposes.
2: Contingency in spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/contingency.htm) power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/contingencyPsionic.htm), or item (Complete Arcane 77) form. The contained ability is plane shift (spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/planeShift.htm), power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/planeShiftPsionic.htm)) to warp you to a very fast-compared-to-your-main-plane-other-plane so you can rest and recover at least 8 hours on that fast time plane to get your resources back. This place may also have lots of items for you to get for dropping purposes.
Some ways to get this:
-Limited wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/limitedWish.htm) or wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wish.htm.htm); bend reality (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/bendReality.htm) or reality revision (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/realityRevision.htm). These are somewhat expensive ways to get contingency or its psionic verison, but they work.
-Miracle (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/miracle.htm). It's a level 9 spell to reproduce contingency (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/miracle.htm), making it an expensive and late-game ability, but one for 0 EXP per use.
-Time Domain (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary&term=Glossary_dnd_Timedomain&alpha=T) and likely also the Contemplative PrC (Complete Divine 30). Contingency is a level 6 Time Domain spell.
The Procedure
0: Transform into a Blink Dog (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/blinkDog.htm). Ensure you're still able to grab items from wherever you're storing them and, as prudent, you have the relevant buffs active (if any) to guarantee you're able to use dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) each round.
1: Ensure you have White Raven Tactics as a readied maneuver. Ready it if need be.
2: Use your free action dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) to warp somewhere, activate White Raven Tactics on yourself as a swift action, then refresh White Raven Tactics as a full-round action. Repeat as prudent.
3: Get items from your storage and drop them.
4: If using contingency to restock, activate it to plane shift to your safe space, restock (including reapplyinng contingency), and return.
5: Go wherever you aren't blocked and destroy whatever that isn't immune with your junk pile - at least until you run out of stuff to drop!
Build Stubs
NOTE: These are just the most important parts of certain builds to achieve this post's goal.
1: Human Druid11/Warblade1 with Exalted Wild Shape. (Commoner1 at level 1 is optional for Chicken Infested.) You can do this for 1 hour per Druid level, but may need Wilding Clasps for certain items.
2: A Wizard or Sorcerer with draconic polymorph (Draconomicon 79) and no-slot level increasing Persistent Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#persistentSpell) tricks like Spelldancer (Magic of Faerun 37) or Incantatrix (Player's Guide to Faerun 61). This build can easily learn shrink item (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shrinkItem.htm) and could also start as a Commoner1 for Chicken Infested.
3: A divine caster with Divine Metamagic (Complete Divine 80): Persistent Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#persistentSpell) on shapechange (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shapechange.htm), accessed via the Animal Domain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/clericDomains.htm#animalDomain) or being a Druid. Sacred Exorcist1 (Complete Divine 56) gives Turn Undead, though you may also need Contemplative1 (Complete Divine 30) with the Good Domain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/clericDomains.htm#goodDomain) or Exorcism Domain (Eberron Campaign Setting 106) to meet spell prerequisites. Commoner1 is again an option.
Intro
This is very definitely meant as a thought exercise (theoretical optimization) instead of something meant to be used in a typical game. If your GM lets you do this, however, enjoy! (Preferably also let me know how it went!)
As an aside, inspiration for this trick came after reading Eggynack's Druid Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439991-Being-Everything-Eggynack-s-Comprehensive-Druid-Handbook) and pondering whether Exalted Wild Shape (Book of Exalted Deeds 42) would be worth it on my Druid.
Assumptions
- White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a) works on yourself. In this thread, let us not quibble about balance or reasonability. It simply MUST work for this trick to work.
- The initiative count can go arbitrarily low before wrapping around to the unit with the higest initiative for the next round. Think negative 10 billion here.
-[Basic] You can perform an indefinite number of free actions per round, or at least enough free actions to dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) somewhere then retrieve and drop enough stuff to be worthwhile.
-[Basic] White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a) grants you turns that let you affect others, especially hurt others. These are real turns in real time for you instead of more restrictive super-fast time granted by time stop (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/timeStop.htm) or temporal acceleration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/temporalAcceleration.htm).
-[Advanced] "When I want" is a valid contingency trigger as a spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/contingency.htm), power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/contingencyPsionic.htm), item (Complete Arcane 77 - Craft Contingent Item), or otherwise.
-[Advanced] Planes exist with super-fast-time-compared-to-the-normal-plane reachable by characters using this trick. We're talkin' like a day in other plane to an unnoticeably or immeasurably small amount on the main plane here.
[b]Needed Components: Basic
1: The ability to transform into a Blink Dog (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/blinkDog.htm) and access its Dimension Door (Su) ability to warp as a free action. A longer duration is better due to using lots of turns in this form!
Some ways to get this:
-Polymorph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorph.htm) or metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm) with the feat Assume Supernatural Ability (Savage Species 30, requires 13 WIS), at least a +9 bonus, and a means of taking 10 on Will saves like Steadfast Determination (Player's Handbook II 83) or the Devoted Spirit stance Aura of Perfect Order (Tome of Battle 57). If you have alter self (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorph.htm) or another means of shapeshifting earlier than polymorph, you can get all these feats no later than level 6 at latest. (Metamorphic Transfer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#metamorphicTransfer) WON'T work for this due to its 3/day limit!)
-Shapechange (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shapechange.htm) or greater metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosisGreater.htm). Each is a clean and simple way to do it, but normally requires character level 17 at soonest. (There are ways to get level 9 abilities sooner, but let us not focus on that here.)
-Exalted Wild Shape (Book of Exalted Deeds 42). This feat is a simple way to acquire long-term Blink Dog (Su) abilities with an expected duration of 1 hour per level. It's also available at level 8 using Vow of Poverty or some other tricks, or at level 9 for most people.
2: Adaptive Style feat (Tome of Battle 28). This lets you recover White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a) and all the rest of your maneuvers as a full-round action.
Some ways to get this:
-At least 1 level of Warblade (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060802a&page=2). If you take this class level at character level 9 or later, you can grab White Raven Tactics and a prerequisite White Raven maneuver cheaply. If you take this level at character level 9 or 12 (or 15 or 18, etc.), you can also get Adaptive Style at the same level.
-Swordsage (Tome of Battle 15) also does it without Adaptive Style, but requires 2 uses of the feat Martial Study (Tome of Battle 31) or multiclassing to get White Raven Tactics and its requisite maneuver.
-A Crown of White Ravens (Tome of Battle 149) may also work, but you still need either a Swordsage level or Adaptive Style and a Warblade level. This is in 'ask your GM' territory and I'd prefer not to do that in a thought exercise.
3:White Raven Tactics (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20061225a). As a swift action, give yourself another turn immediately after this one. See #2 for how to get this.
4:A means of retrieving items from a container as a free action, such as a Heward's Handy Haversack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#handyHaversack) or the feat Quick Draw (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#quickDraw). As prudent, attach a Wilding Clasp (Magic Item Compendium 190) to this haversack should you need it for Wild Shape purposes.
5: Lots of stuff to drop! Maybe it's flasks or heavy objects or katamari (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePcDSutt_Ww) or something dense and damaging affected by shrink item (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shrinkItem.htm) or infinite chickens with the flaw Chicken Infested ("Dragon 330" page 87, only available at level 1 to those of the Commoner class).
[b]Needed Components: Advanced
NOTE: These are intended as optional, but, depending on details, may be required for you to complete the trick.
1: Ring of Feather Falling (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/rings.htm#featherFalling). With no action cost, this lets you easily reach higher hights via your dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) safely slow your descent while being very high in the air with no action cost. Just remember to attach a Wilding Clasp (Magic Item Compendium 190) to this ring should you need it for Wild Shape purposes.
2: Contingency in spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/contingency.htm) power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/contingencyPsionic.htm), or item (Complete Arcane 77) form. The contained ability is plane shift (spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/planeShift.htm), power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/planeShiftPsionic.htm)) to warp you to a very fast-compared-to-your-main-plane-other-plane so you can rest and recover at least 8 hours on that fast time plane to get your resources back. This place may also have lots of items for you to get for dropping purposes.
Some ways to get this:
-Limited wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/limitedWish.htm) or wish (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wish.htm.htm); bend reality (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/bendReality.htm) or reality revision (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/realityRevision.htm). These are somewhat expensive ways to get contingency or its psionic verison, but they work.
-Miracle (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/miracle.htm). It's a level 9 spell to reproduce contingency (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/miracle.htm), making it an expensive and late-game ability, but one for 0 EXP per use.
-Time Domain (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary&term=Glossary_dnd_Timedomain&alpha=T) and likely also the Contemplative PrC (Complete Divine 30). Contingency is a level 6 Time Domain spell.
The Procedure
0: Transform into a Blink Dog (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/blinkDog.htm). Ensure you're still able to grab items from wherever you're storing them and, as prudent, you have the relevant buffs active (if any) to guarantee you're able to use dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) each round.
1: Ensure you have White Raven Tactics as a readied maneuver. Ready it if need be.
2: Use your free action dimension door (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm) to warp somewhere, activate White Raven Tactics on yourself as a swift action, then refresh White Raven Tactics as a full-round action. Repeat as prudent.
3: Get items from your storage and drop them.
4: If using contingency to restock, activate it to plane shift to your safe space, restock (including reapplyinng contingency), and return.
5: Go wherever you aren't blocked and destroy whatever that isn't immune with your junk pile - at least until you run out of stuff to drop!
Build Stubs
NOTE: These are just the most important parts of certain builds to achieve this post's goal.
1: Human Druid11/Warblade1 with Exalted Wild Shape. (Commoner1 at level 1 is optional for Chicken Infested.) You can do this for 1 hour per Druid level, but may need Wilding Clasps for certain items.
2: A Wizard or Sorcerer with draconic polymorph (Draconomicon 79) and no-slot level increasing Persistent Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#persistentSpell) tricks like Spelldancer (Magic of Faerun 37) or Incantatrix (Player's Guide to Faerun 61). This build can easily learn shrink item (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shrinkItem.htm) and could also start as a Commoner1 for Chicken Infested.
3: A divine caster with Divine Metamagic (Complete Divine 80): Persistent Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#persistentSpell) on shapechange (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shapechange.htm), accessed via the Animal Domain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/clericDomains.htm#animalDomain) or being a Druid. Sacred Exorcist1 (Complete Divine 56) gives Turn Undead, though you may also need Contemplative1 (Complete Divine 30) with the Good Domain (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/clericDomains.htm#goodDomain) or Exorcism Domain (Eberron Campaign Setting 106) to meet spell prerequisites. Commoner1 is again an option.