Ways to deal damage as free or swift action?

[Elves]

What are some ways to deal any amount of damage to an enemy as a swift or even free action? Looking for something that can be used every round or at least frequently as needed, so not spell/maneuver. Also not AoO/provocation based. This is for an effect that triggers when you deal damage.

Thanks.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Dropping an item is a free action. If you're flying and that item happens to weigh 5,000 lbs...

If you have a item that can fit in your mouth (such as a coin or a tooth of Leraje), Permanency + an AoE damage spell that you're immune to, opening your mouth to expose enemies is also a free action.

[Rebel7284]

Cloud of Knives + Persistent Spell is the easiest way, that I know of, of dealing damage as a free action every turn.

[Gruftzwerg]

Shadow Pounce build is the way to go here imho.
With Shadow pounce you can get a full attack after each teleport effect.
Get teleport effects for you swift actions, movement actions and standard action.
Here (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?187851-3-5-Lists-of-Necessary-Magic-Items) you can find a few interesting items for that purpose. Other than that, google just for Shadow Pounce builds for some ideas.

[Thurbane]

Find a way to get a damaging aura of some kind? That is usually a non-action (or free action)...

[smasher0404]

Requires the use of your concentration, so probably isn't viable, but a Seeker of the Song (Complete Arcane) is able to use refrains of the Seeker Songs as a Swift Action when concentrating on a Seeker Song. These refrains are often AoE blasting effects, and run off of Bardic Music. However, that still eats up your standard action to concentrate on the original Seeker song.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Craft Contingent Spell, contingency, and psionic contingency. The former works on whatever spell you want, including direct damage spells. The latter two require something to affect you but that deals damage around you.

Linked Power (psionics only; requires some setup). Best when paired with (Metapower) synchronicity.

This:
Find or plant an oak tree somewhere, preferably on a plane that is timeless with regards to magic. Cast a Sculpted (un)hallow spell so that it affects some of the tree's canopy. Tie the acorn of far travel (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040710a) spell to it. Now all the acorns in the AoE are affected by the spell, so you can give acorns out to whomever you like. (You can only have one AoFT spell in effect at once; this doesn't preclude you from affecting multiple acorns with the same spell.) Now use Sculpt Spell to make a bunch of line-shaped (un)hallow spells pointing straight up. Now each of these (un)hallow spells has a different spell attached to it, such as haste, polymorph, magic circle against evil, death ward, etc. Now you count as being under the tree's canopy while you hold the acorn, and all these spells are in effect under the tree. If you want more than one at a time, just make sure you occupy more than one 5' space, and make sure good spell combos are all next to each other below the tree's canopy.Just find some spells with AoE that don't harm you for whatever reason. Maybe a detect magic version of the locate city bomb, or fire shield.

Having a minion do things for you, such as a familiar with a wand of dispel magic that can drop a book full of pages filled with explosive runes and then dispel it. It doesn't take one of your actions (aside from giving the command, and talking is a free action).

Dominate person/monster. Set it up ahead of time and talk as a free action to command your victim new best friend to attack.

[Zaq]

Gaze attacks. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=21320003&postcount=96)

[Zarvistic]

Kauper's Quickblast does it, level 1 wiz/sorc

[MaxiDuRaritry]

There's always Quicken Spell...

[Doctor Awkward]

Ordained Champion is a 3/5 cleric prestige class that gives you spontaneous conversion for War Domain spells, as well as auto-quicken on any War Domain spell you cast. Flame Strike is a spell in the War Domain.

[Troacctid]

Off the top of my head, talon scepter from MIC and scorching gaze from MoE.

[Elves]

Kauper's Quickblast does it, level 1 wiz/sorc
This is great. Shame that it's a spell but just the kind of thing I was looking for. But a wand of this is 15 per charge and a scroll is 25 per, so should be easy to stock up. Might intentionally use scroll in order to provoke, since char has Robilar's Gambit -- baits them into attacking and if spell is spoiled you still deal damage with the AoO.

Problem with gaze attacks is they take place at start of target's turn, not during yours. And cloud of knives is at start of your turn so you can't do it after another action.

[Twurps]

This is great. Shame that it's a spell but just the kind of thing I was looking for. But a wand of this is 15 per charge and a scroll is 25 per, so should be easy to stock up. Might intentionally use scroll in order to provoke, since char has Robilar's Gambit -- baits them into attacking and if spell is spoiled you still deal damage with the AoO.

Problem with gaze attacks is they take place at start of target's turn, not during yours. And cloud of knives is at start of your turn so you can't do it after another action.

One problem with this: Activating wands is a standard action (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wands.htm).

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Psionic manifesters have numerous ways to futz with the action economy and turn smaller actions into bigger actions and to multiply actions. Linked Power, Quicken Power, Twinned Power, synchronicity, psionic lion's charge, hustle, temporal acceleration, schism, fission, anticipatory strike, affinity field, and even the ever lovely psicrystal and the astral construct power for extra actions via minions. That's not even getting into augmentation that turns longer manifesting times into swift actions. Then they can use those extra larger actions to do the kinds of things you want.

The chronocharms in the MIC allow for some action economy futzage, as well. And manifesters can use those, too.

[rrwoods]

One problem with this: Activating wands is a standard action (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wands.htm).

“Is a standard action” is an oversimplification of the rule that’s actually there.


Wands use the spell trigger activation method, so casting a spell from a wand is usually a standard action that doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity. (If the spell being cast, however, has a longer casting time than 1 standard action, it takes that long to cast the spell from a wand.)
It depends on whether you interpret this rule as providing the *only* exception to “usually”, or just an example of one. In my experience, DMs typically rule that wands of swift action spells take a swift action to activate.

[Darg]

“Is a standard action” is an oversimplification of the rule that’s actually there.


It depends on whether you interpret this rule as providing the *only* exception to “usually”, or just an example of one. In my experience, DMs typically rule that wands of swift action spells take a swift action to activate.

DMG says it is a standard action:


Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

The DMG then provides an exception to this rule for wands with a spell that has a longer cast time:


Wands use the spell trigger activation method, so casting a spell from a wand is usually a standard action that doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity. (If the spell being cast,however, has a longer casting time than 1 action, it takes that long to cast the spell from a wand.)

The RC changes this rule to make the activation time = cast time. I'm not a fan of this change personally.

[Elves]

The DMG rule was changed in Rules Compendium.

"Activating a scroll takes the same amount of time as the casting time of the spell stored on the scroll."
"Activating a spell trigger item takes the same amount of time as the casting time of the spell that the item stores." - RC 85

[Fizban]

Grad yourself a Talon Scepter from the Regalia of the Phoenix in MiC. Swift action d6 fire ray every round forever.
Edit: Troacctid got there first, but I didn't notice 'cause a ctr+f'd for rod before looking it up.

[Gruftzwerg]

DMG says it is a standard action:



The DMG then provides an exception to this rule for wands with a spell that has a longer cast time:



The RC changes this rule to make the activation time = cast time. I'm not a fan of this change personally.

I have to admit that I'm a fan of that change. It allows UMD users to make use of their swift actions. And most of the time more investment is needed for pulling out the wand (e.g Wand of Gloves).
We are talking here mostly about UMD using mundane characters. The lower tier classes profit more than the higher tier classes from this change and thus it is imho a good change.

[Elves]

Yeah, but it strengthens them by turning them into budget spellcasters (UMDmancers).

My issue isn't with the action cost but with the sheer ease of spell access through scrolls and wands. I would turn wands and staffs into wizard weapons and eliminate scrolls entirely, or at least limit them to out of combat ritual-type spells.