Conjure Ice Beast as a standard action?

[sorcererlover]

This spell is a Conjuration(Creation) spell so most of the stuff that works on Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally doesn't work.

I would grab rapid spell and metamagic school focus if I had 2 flaws but I don't. This is a 0 flaw game so I had to use those feats for PrC prerequisites in stead.

Chronocharm of the Uncaring Mage is awesome, but I can only use 1 because I have to wear it for 24 hours before I can use it meaning I can't swap it out after every encounter.

I'm aiming for 3 or 4 standard action conjure ice beast. So for I only got one.

I couldn't find a lesser metamagic rod of rapid spell in the books and my DM doesn't allow custom items because he's allowing virtually every book in 3.0 and 3.5.

Since this is a Conjuration(Creation) line of spells, I wondered if there were any items that work only on creation spells that shorten its casting time.

[Darrin]

This requires some buy-in from the DM... but the conjure ice beast spell contains the following sentence:

"In all other ways, conjure ice beast I functions like summon monster I..."

So... that could mean it works with Augment Summoning, Ring of the Beast, and golden desert honey. Check with your DM (although you might want to ply him/her with food first.)

[sorcererlover]

This requires some buy-in from the DM... but the conjure ice beast spell contains the following sentence:

"In all other ways, conjure ice beast I functions like summon monster I..."

So... that could mean it works with Augment Summoning, Ring of the Beast, and golden desert honey. Check with your DM (although you might want to ply him/her with food first.)

That is a definite no-sell to my DM.

So is this it? There's no other way to reduce conjure ice beast's casting time?

[Eldariel]

That is a definite no-sell to my DM.

So is this it? There's no other way to reduce conjure ice beast's casting time?

Without feats it's pretty tricky. Uncanny Forethought would allow casting it as a full-round action by leaving a slot open, Arcane Archer would reduce it to standard action if you first tricked it into an area spell, the obvious Arcane Thesis/Metamagic School Focus/etc. options would require feats, etc. Printed items are a bit trickier in this regard; I can't think of much beyond said Chronocharm. Even extra action items like Belt of Battle don't actually progress you to the next round so that's a bit tricky as well.

Is there no way to get extra feats? Dark Chaos Feat Shuffle and Magical Locations or something? There are tons of RAW-legal ways to go about it. Contingency and its ilk would work of course, as would Craft Contingent Spell, but that's nuclear strike levels of overkill for something so minor.

[Matrota]

If it were an arcane spell I'd say that the spell Arcane Spellsurge (Dragon Magic p. 64) is exactly what you're looking for, but Conjure Ice Beast seems to be divine only. Perhaps you could convince your DM to permit a divine spellsurge variant? Also, in Complete Mage p. 136, there's an optional material component called Golden Desert Honey that turns a summoning spell with a 1-round casting time to a standard action. Costs 300 gp per use.

[Darrin]

If it were an arcane spell I'd say that the spell Arcane Spellsurge (Dragon Magic p. 64) is exactly what you're looking for, but Conjure Ice Beast seems to be divine only. Perhaps you could convince your DM to permit a divine spellsurge variant?

You can add conjure ice beast I -> IV as an arcane spell via the Frost Mage PrC. Shadow conjuration might also be an option (depending on how you interpret conditional clauses), which reduces the casting time to a standard action, but then you've got to deal with the Will save and the various percentages of what's real.



Also, in Complete Mage p. 136, there's an optional material component called Golden Desert Honey that turns a summoning spell with a 1-round casting time to a standard action. Costs 300 gp per use.

That only works with summoning spells. Conjure ice beast is a conjuration (creation) spell.

You could try "pre-casting" your ice beasts via spell-storing items. Glyph Seal (1000 GP, MIC) and Greater Glyph Seal (4000 GP, MIC) can then reduce the casting time to a free action. Shallantha's delicate disk (Lost Empires of Faerun) can be broken with a standard action. Likewise, breaking a skull talisman (Frostburn) is a standard action. Chardalyn (Silver Marches Web Enhancement/Lords of Darkness) could also be used to store spells.

Is this for a divine caster? You might be able to do something with Ordained Champion's Channel Spell, but it could get a bit wonky, as channel ice beast doesn't normally have a target.

[sorcererlover]

Without feats it's pretty tricky. Uncanny Forethought would allow casting it as a full-round action by leaving a slot open, Arcane Archer would reduce it to standard action if you first tricked it into an area spell, the obvious Arcane Thesis/Metamagic School Focus/etc. options would require feats, etc. Printed items are a bit trickier in this regard; I can't think of much beyond said Chronocharm. Even extra action items like Belt of Battle don't actually progress you to the next round so that's a bit tricky as well.

Is there no way to get extra feats? Dark Chaos Feat Shuffle and Magical Locations or something? There are tons of RAW-legal ways to go about it. Contingency and its ilk would work of course, as would Craft Contingent Spell, but that's nuclear strike levels of overkill for something so minor.

Yeah there is no way to get extra feats. If there was I'd just go metamagic school focus or just grab rapid spell and deal with the +1 spell slot.


You could try "pre-casting" your ice beasts via spell-storing items. Glyph Seal (1000 GP, MIC) and Greater Glyph Seal (4000 GP, MIC) can then reduce the casting time to a free action. Shallantha's delicate disk (Lost Empires of Faerun) can be broken with a standard action. Likewise, breaking a skull talisman (Frostburn) is a standard action. Chardalyn (Silver Marches Web Enhancement/Lords of Darkness) could also be used to store spells.

Your precasting methods would solve my problem, but it has to be re-usable, not one time use.

Glyph Seal caught my interest but how would you apply it in combat? It's a spell-storing trap, so how do you set it during combat, trigger it, and would the summoned creature do as I direct? LEoF is not allowed so that's not an option and Skull Talismans are not reusable so they are not an option either.

Can I apply the Glyph on my shield? Can I trigger the glyph myself and have the conjured ice beast attack my enemies? Or is the conjured ice beast programmed to kill the one who triggers the glyph just like Glyph of Warding?

Exact wording in Glyph Seal and Glyph of Warding suggests that the glyph only harms those who enter, pass, or open the glyph, and summoned creatures attack the one who triggers it even if it's me, in which case I need my foes to trigger it.

I mean if my cleric throws a giant blanket with the glyph on it in front of me my foes would definitely avoid it.

[Darrin]

Glyph Seal caught my interest but how would you apply it in combat? It's a spell-storing trap, so how do you set it during combat, trigger it, and would the summoned creature do as I direct?


If it's a buff spell, then you can key the Glyph Seal to something you can manipulate as a free action, either a pocket or a piece of ammunition. Spell components can also be drawn as a free action.

Summon spells are trickier, so you may have to set the trigger conditions to activate when a hostile creature that doesn't know the password gets within a certain distance. Or you can key it to a splash weapon and throw it as a touch attack. This may mean you have to spend a move action to draw the splash weapon and then a standard to throw it, but you can then key it to trigger by proximity.

However... conjure ice beast isn't a summon spell, so by RAW they don't auto-attack whoever triggers the seal. You could argue that the spellcaster sets the criteria for what the creatures attack when the spell is cast (such as, "attack any creature that isn't me or a party member"). But it sounds like the DM probably isn't going to allow that, and will treat it as a summon. So stick with splash weapons.



Can I apply the Glyph on my shield? Can I trigger the glyph myself and have the conjured ice beast attack my enemies? Or is the conjured ice beast programmed to kill the one who triggers the glyph just like Glyph of Warding?


Yes, you can apply the glyph to your shield, and you can word the trigger so that any creature that approaches you without saying the password can set it off. Stowing the item in an extra-dimensional space can prevent an ally accidentally triggering it.



I mean if my cleric throws a giant blanket with the glyph on it in front of me my foes would definitely avoid it.

If you throw the blanket close enough to trigger the glyph, then avoiding it may not be an option.

[Sapreaver]

Scribe scroll feat? It might cost a little bit but using a scroll is a standard no?

[RoboEmperor]

Glyph Seal does not have a height in its AoE. Only area, so your opponent has to touch the glyph for it to trigger.

So your best bet is to have the glyph cover your CLOTHES. If your opponent deals hp damage it means he passed the warded area so it triggers.

Putting it on a shield or armor is complicated. how do you know your opponent hit your shield and not your armor? Or you blocked it with your sword? Or you dodged it?

Putting it on a net, flask, or a blanket requires you to hit your opponent.

But this seems like a worthy thought exercise. What is the best way to use an offensive glyph seal?