What are some good 1st-level 3.5 AoE/crowd control options?

[47948201]

Say you're just some random 1st-level commoner. For years now your hometown has a dire rat problem, or a goblin problem, or a spider-swarm problem, or some other problem with similarly low-leveled enemies that like to attack in large numbers. Adventurers just aren't picking up requests to tackle such mundane issues, but they're a real threat to you and everyone you know.

But you're a resourceful commoner. You can travel the land and take one level in any class that exists. You also happen to have the nonelite ability score array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8) in whichever arrangement is most convenient for your plans, and you're willing to retrain your 1st-level feat to something more useful, too.

You could become a monk to miss twice per round, if you wanted, but that seems insufficient. A druid can affect a huge area with entangle, but with only one spell slot, that won't go far. Spells like burning hands, color spray, and sleep are classics, and as a sorcerer you could have your pick of two of them--but only up to three castings. That's by no means terrible, but you're a cautious commoner. You wounder, are there any good choices to deal with mobs of enemies that might exist outside of these core classes?

Assume the commoner has a couple of commoner party members willing to help out, but it's up to the "hero" of the village to do most of the work--in both the commoners' home turf, and the monsters'.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Luckily our commoner is a Wood Elf, so he has Str 14, Dex 15, Con 9, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 8. He takes a level of Fighter, picks Combat Reflexes as his Fighter 1 feat, and Wild Cohort as his 1st level feat. He gets a war trained riding dog and uses Handle Animal (which he has max ranks in) to add the Warbeast template to it. He holds a glaive and wears spiked armor, the dog stands at his side and readies to bite anything that gets close enough. They're able to stand in a 10 ft. wide choke point as the enemies (who don't have ranged weapons) approach and are subsequently cut down. The bodies of the first few that fall cause difficult terrain so not too many can get to him on a given round. He and his dog step back 5 feet per turn to prevent a huge pile of opponents from accumulating.


Edit, option 2: Our commoner is a bit of an outcast, being a Mongrelfolk, but wants to show everyone he's a worthwhile member of the community. He takes a level in Dragonfire Adept and his feat is Entangling Exhalation. He wears heavy armor and carries a tower shield, despite lacking proficiency, and spams entangling fire breaths every round.

[liquidformat]

Druid would be my go to, sure you only get one spell but there are some good choices there, especially if you have a group of other mud farmers to support you. Calm Animals, Entangle, obscuring mist, heck even Shillelagh, not to mention you have an animal companion to support yourself, and add in natural bond and you have an even more powerful helper for yourself too. My vote would be a Swindlespitter, not only does this little guy have an area breath weapon he also has opposable thumbs/claws to help with stuff and things!

[Thunder999]

There's really no competition here.
Dragonfire Adept.
Retrain your 1st level feat to entangling exhalation, put that 13 in con.
1d6 in a 15ft cone or 30ft line at will is better than most classes can bring, halving that (risky as it could lead to 0 damage on passed save if you get a 1 or 2) lets you entangle for 1d4 rounds with no save and deal an extra 1d6 damage on each of those rounds.

[Kelb_Panthera]

The obvious answer to my mind is, unless there just are no able-bodied young people for it, to organize a village militia as a newly retrained marshal. Most likely I'd go with motivate dexterity for my aura. The villagers getting that +1 init can make a shocking difference in a decent sized skirmish or minor mass battle situation.

[Gavinfoxx]

Assuming some of those swarms have immunity to weapon damage, I'd second dfa.

[Vizzerdrix]

You asked for spells, not classes. Hmm... Sculpt spell Caltrops. Play a human or SH halfling and add invisible to it too. If you can wrangle an additional feat, snag a wild cohort or soulspark familiar to assist. If not, then train a few hawks or something to divebomb the targets that don't step on anything.

As a caster you can make cheap acid flasks. Get the village to pitch in on a masterwork gnome calculus, and as a SH halfling with a 14 Dex, you are at a net 0 to hit, BUT that is against touch AC and at 50 foot range, against things that will be busy picking metal out of their feet.

Do note, Caltrops is a cantrip, so the selection of a 1st level spell is still wide open.


You can also go gnome, with two flaws and take the Animal Friend feat 3 times to get a pack of weasels. Weasels that you buff as a DFI bard. Squirrels may work too, but weasels got that latch ability. And one day, when you take snowflake war dance, you can rename it to weasel war dance. I mean honestly, Snowflake war dance? Who even thought that one up? Snowflakes neither dance, nor war. All they do is melt.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by liquidformat
*obscuring mist*

Obscuring mist over a pit with a field of meticulously sharpened spikes, courtesy of other villagers, would do the trick for rats and goblins. Place the pit at a choke point, lure them your way, and those that survive the fall and the spikes can be buried beneath plate-sized stones that the other villagers throw down on top of them.

But rather than a druid level, I would go with a cleric level, which gets you obscuring mist as well as the ability to turn any goblin ghosts which rise the next night.

[MR_Anderson]

These take some thought, but Grease and Illusion based spells can make work of certain areas.

[Troacctid]

If you undergo the Rite of Rebirth to become a dragonborn, you can gain a breath weapon similar to a dragonfire adept's while still having all the features of another class on top of that. Either of the spontaneous druid variants (spirit shaman or spontaneous druid (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/spontaneousDivineCasters.htm)) will give you an extra spell slot per day compared to a normal druid, although sorcerer still gives more.


These take some thought, but Grease and Illusion based spells can make work of certain areas.
Grease is not so hot at CL 1, and many illusion spells fare poorly against the immunities and special senses possessed by many swarms.

[Fizban]

There's really no competition here.
Dragonfire Adept.
Retrain your 1st level feat to entangling exhalation, put that 13 in con.
1d6 in a 15ft cone or 30ft line at will is better than most classes can bring, halving that (risky as it could lead to 0 damage on passed save if you get a 1 or 2) lets you entangle for 1d4 rounds with no save and deal an extra 1d6 damage on each of those rounds.
Except for Warlock. Summon Swarm deals 1d6 in a 10' square at will, no save, and a further 1hp per round after that unless they can stop the bleeding (bats). So anything that can't roll a Heal check is 100% dead (technically an animal might be able to roll at -8 if the DM rules it's possible without hands in some way). The bats also have blindsense, and a 25' summon range, which you can activate from hiding or behind an arrow slit or similar gap, can pursue targets as long as you keep your distance by backing off, and present a target that your foes can foolishly flail at. As a bonus, the fact that they can attempt to stop the bleeding means low-hp foes are incentivized to disengage and try not to die.

For the cautious would-be slayer of all CR 1 or lower foes, Summon Swarm. Makes a good excuse for why the populace is supposedly terrified of warlocks and whatnot.

Incarnum is priced out of Lammasu Mantle and Necocarnum Circlet by the 2nd level bind requirements, but an Incarnate can still bind a Soulspark Familiar for a minion with 13 hit points, immunity to crits, evasion, and access to DR and fast healing. As a Tiny creature it is actually capable of blocking movement for Mediums (it can enter their spaces, but they can't do the same).

[MR_Anderson]

Grease is not so hot at CL 1, and many illusion spells fare poorly against the immunities and special senses possessed by many swarms.

Nothing is hot at CL1, but Grease can provide a bunch of free attacks of opportunity to a bunch of characters.

Color Spray is one of those Illusion spells, and immunities against CL1? Why not just make them face the tarrasque? There are not many good options.

I also forgot to recommend Mage Hand to drop oil vials or flasks to AoE with Fire delivered by an arrow lit by an archer.

[crankykobold]

I cast my vote for DFA as well. entangling exhalation is really great for crowd control and spamtastic.