Help me Optomize the Most Intelligent Party Ever

[BardicDuelist]

So my group has decided to play a party made entirely of Int based classes in a short series of adventures. We are looking for a fair amount of optizimation.
The backstory is that this group was chosen by a cabal of Loremasters for their intellect and has been trained since childhood to develop these into the various roles for which they are suited.
Two flaws are allowed at first level. Int applies retroactively to skills. We are level 5. All prestige classes are banned. “Anyspell” can be used to scribe scrolls of anyspell whose effects it can duplicate (I tried to warn the DM, but he said he was cool with it). All WoTC books other all Eberron Suppliments (the ECS book is fine, but no others) are allowed. 36 Point buy.

Sun Elven Wizard (Generalist Substution Level from RoF)- Has taken Collegiate Wizard, Prefers sudden metamagic because it doesn’t raise spell level, Loves Shivering Cheese.
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 12

Lesser Tiefling Factotum (Me)- Taking Font of Inspiration as much as I can (which with a 20 Int pretty much covers all of my feats). I am the resident skill monkey.
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 8

Whisper Gnome Artificer- Can lick eyebrows… We don’t know what to do with this, because no one has ever played an artificer.

Strongheart Halfling Beguiler- Party face, focuses on social skills.
Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 14

Dwarven Warblade- Isn’t sure about which maneuvers to choose. Also, the least intelligent member of the party.
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8

Human Archivist- Best friends with the artificer.
Str 10, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 8

DM hasn't said what we will be doing, but I have a sneeking suspicion that it will involve aboleths and/or mind flayers (because of what I did to him last campaign).

[Kurald Galain]

You have enough full casters in there to seriously kick ass.

However, a dedicated healer would be nice. I'd suggest the archivist pick up healing spells.

Start with the Logic Ninja's wizarding guide.
Sudden metamagic isn't all that good because its low daily limit.
The beguiler can double as a skill monkey at the drop of a hat.
The wizard should focus on spells that the beguiler doesn't get.

[SilverClawShift]

My sole suggestion is that everyone in the party makes fun of the dwarf for being "kinda dim-witted"

Outside that, you don't really need to optimise. Archivist, Wizard, Artificer, Beguiler, Factotum, Warblade? Opti-what? If everyone (factotum included) spent all their feats on toughness, you'd STILL dominate everything you looked at. You'll be killing herds of tarrasque by level 10, you'll have enslaved asmodeus by level 17, and you wanna OPTIMISE? :smallwink:

[Shas aia Toriia]

I have to agree with the above posters. With that many spellcasters, your party CR right now is about 10. By level 15, it will be about 30.

[BardicDuelist]

My sole suggestion is that everyone in the party makes fun of the dwarf for being "kinda dim-witted"

Outside that, you don't really need to optimise. Archivist, Wizard, Artificer, Beguiler, Factotum, Warblade? Opti-what? If everyone (factotum included) spent all their feats on toughness, you'd STILL dominate everything you looked at. You'll be killing herds of tarrasque by level 10, you'll have enslaved asmodeus by level 17, and you wanna OPTIMISE? :smallwink:

Yeah, I know how absurd this is, but that is part of the fun. The DM wants to see what it will take to kill us. We have been told that we probably won't gain more than one or two levels, and we figure that we will have to fight that CR 15 elder brain by level 6.

Also, if we survive the adventures he has planned, he will probably stick us in Tomb of Horrors. None of us have ever played it (and I don't want spoilers, please).

And yes, Dwarven Idiot jokes have allready agreed upon.

[Kurald Galain]

Yeah, I know how absurd this is, but that is part of the fun.

Here's a Tomb of Horrors spoiler for you:

You'll die.

Messily and often.

[SilverClawShift]

Yeah, I know how absurd this is

I don't think it's absurd at all. In fact, as long as the DM stays on his toes and keeps you guys in trouble, I think it sounds like a great time.

Our group did an "All full casters" campaign, with a Wizard, Archivist, Dread Necromancer, Sorcerer, and Cleric (cloistered, so even more caster-y).

It was an extremly fun campaign, primarily because the DM threw things at us knowing we were a team with enough magical might to destroy several small planets (or two large ones). We'd find ourselves in situations where tearing things apart didn't solve the problem (until we opted to just KEEP tearing things apart until there was nothing left to cause us trouble).
But we also didn't address the game like some special ops force hell bent on annhilation. We were intensly powerful, but we were a band of misfits all the same, and we went out into our adventures with a kind of "naive" wild-eyed insanity.

For most of the game, it played normally. Finally we just let it start getting absurb in late levels. The DM even said to me (sorceress, with crazy amounts of bonus spell slots, ect) "You know what? I'm not gonna bother checking anymore. Just keep wearing a ring or something, and I'll assume you have as many fireballs and lightning bolts as you need to blow up whatever you're looking at".
I feel compelled to repeat that the game was serious up until high levels, at which point it basically turned into an intentional cluster***k on all fronts, where every time we opened our mouths it ended with us flying away from a shattered pile of flaming rubble and saying "Darnit, not again".

Good times, good times.

[Solo]

Here's a Tomb of Horrors spoiler for you:

You'll die.

Messily and often.

One word: minions.

[The Glyphstone]

Additional word: Summonable.

That way, you don't even get a bad reputation for killing off your d00ds.

[Solo]

Additional word: Summonable.

That way, you don't even get a bad reputation for killing off your d00ds.

Just animate the corpses.

[Machete]

Monkey are far more effective and hilarious.

[The Duskblade]

Haste a bag full of puppies?

[Rex Blunder]

Can you make Int checks not to go in?

[goat]

Can you make Int checks not to go in?

"You approach the doors to the legendary Tomb of Horrors, doom of a thousand heroes, crypt of a myriad deaths. Everyone roll an Int check!"

*players roll*

"You decide all legends have at least some basis in truth, and the legends about this place are a bit too ominous. You go back to the tavern and reconsider your options."


edit - Who in that party does the healing, the Archivist? Or will you be relying on a lot of downtime for wand production?

[BardicDuelist]

"You approach the doors to the legendary Tomb of Horrors, doom of a thousand heroes, crypt of a myriad deaths. Everyone roll an Int check!"

*players roll*

"You decide all legends have at least some basis in truth, and the legends about this place are a bit too ominous. You go back to the tavern and reconsider your options."


edit - Who in that party does the healing, the Archivist? Or will you be relying on a lot of downtime for wand production?

Well, because we start at level 5, we can afford a couple wands of CLW. The archivist will do most of the healing, but my factotum can help. Because we have a wizard and a beguiler (not to mention my Factotum, who will pick up some slack if he needs to), the archivist will actually focus more on divine spells anyway. He took the Spontaneous Healer feat (which technically does not require you to know cure spells, and our leinant DM allowed it) to help.

[Doresain]

needs more dread necromancer...but thats just my opinion

[Drider]

needs more dread necromancerCow bell...but thats just my opinion

fixed for you

[Kompera]

Here's a Tomb of Horrors spoiler for you:

You'll die.

Messily and often.
I had the dubious honor of participating in the release tournament of Tomb of Horrors. The above is quite true for a level correct party, except for the 'often'. You'll die once and will stay dead. :smalltongue:

[Toliudar]

This sounds like a great idea for a group. The artificer's going to be busy creating little items to shore up your physical limitations in the short term. And I'd say that the reference to many summoning spells, which I suspect was meant for the Tomb of Horrors, is going to work just as well in lots of dungeon/gauntlet settings.

[Kurald Galain]

You'll die once and will stay dead. :smalltongue:

I was going for the Paranoia approach... you die, make a new character by copy/pasting your old one, and die again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[BardicDuelist]

Actually, we were told that we are not allowed to have extra characters made. Tomb of Horrors is basically his way of making sure that these characters (who could break the world if they got past level 7) will die horrible deaths long before hand. If they do survive it, I am pretty sure that these characters will be politely asked to retire to their own plane of existende (or the cabal of Loremasters turn out to be emissaries of the demiplane of Neth and all of us swalled by aformentioned plane).

So anyway, I am pretty sure that our characters are well off for feats and such, but I would like to know what items you guys recomend? Headbands of Intellect are allready an obvious choice. DMG and MIC are the only books we are allowed to take items from.

[goat]

So anyway, I am pretty sure that our characters are well off for feats and such, but I would like to know what items you guys recomend? Headbands of Intellect are allready an obvious choice. DMG and MIC are the only books we are allowed to take items from.

Headbands of intellect are probably things some of your party could make do without, at least early on. The Warblade specifically will quite possibly have more important things to spend money on, being the only real combatant of your group, but your factotum will probably also want some decent weapons and armour to help out.

That is, unless you're planning on a large amount of summoning to support him or simply blasting/SoSing the **** out of everything before it gets into melee range.

[BardicDuelist]

Headbands of intellect are probably things some of your party could make do without, at least early on. The Warblade specifically will quite possibly have more important things to spend money on, being the only real combatant of your group, but your factotum will probably also want some decent weapons and armour to help out.

That is, unless you're planning on a large amount of summoning to support him or simply blasting/SoSing the **** out of everything before it gets into melee range.

The warblade is probably the exception to the headband of intellect rule. I want to boost my Int as much as I can, and since items are cheap with an artificer in the party (our DM says that anything he can make we can buy at half price at character creation), the Int boost helps. A decent weapon and armor are on the list of things I want for my Factotum, but are there any specific properities that can help? I am thinking a Truedeath Crystal or somthing so I can do loads of damage with my class features.

[Dairun Cates]

Monkey are far more effective and hilarious.

Do I know you? Did one of these monkeys get a sex change and turn evil?