Blue Dragon Lineage and Innovations in Karsite Sorcery

[Hish]

I was reading the thread for the semi-well-known Karsite Sorcerer build (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?226048-Character-reoptimization-Karsite-sorcerer) and I found the Blue Dragon Lineage feat from Dragon Magic. It allows you to spend a spell slot to launch a number orbs of lightning equal to the level of the slot spent. The orbs have a range of 30 ft, hit on a touch attack, and deal 1d6+Cha damage each. This is roughly equal to an eldrich blast until you notice precision damage applies separately to each orb.

The best way to maximize damage I could find is Rog 1/Sor 4/Unseen Seer 10/Daggerspell Mage 5. At level 10, this build deals 16d6+4*Cha, or 24d6+4*Cha+40 with Assassin's Stance and Craven. At level 20, it's up to 63d6+9*Cha or 81d6+9*Cha+180. If anyone knows a faster way to progress sneak attack without losing too much spellcasting, it could get higher. With Assassin's Stance and Craven, the prereqs are a serious pain. I needed 16+ Int or a flaw for Able Learner.

Karsite Sorcerers can't qualify for Unseen Seer because they can't cast spells, but they can qualify for Daggerspell Mage. A Karsite build would be Rog 1/Sor 4/Daggerspell Mage 10/Sor 3, which deals 40d6+8*Cha or 56d6+8*Cha+144 damage at ECL 20. This is probably enough damage to cause problems in any game that's low op enough that you could play a Karsite Sorcerer in it. That's one-shot range on Balors and Pit Fiends and two-shot range on CR 20 dragons.

[Saintheart]

Edit ... never mind.

Edit 2 ... assuming this gets around the sneak attack volley problem, does Iaijutsu Focus (probably via Aereni Focus or similar) apply to each orb? Blue Dragon Lineage strikes as an attack and as a standard action, so can be combined with free action quick draw to satisfy IF conditions - especially in a surprise round where you win initiative and can't do anything but take a standard action.

[Anthrowhale]

I believe the Rules Compendium "clarifies" that you can only apply sneak attack damage multiple times when doing a full-round action.

W.r.t. a Karsite Sorcerer, it seems the Channel Charge feat would be particularly compelling.

[Hish]

I completely forgot about the volley rule. Unless there's some way to turn arbitrary standard actions into full-round actions, I think the build is dead. I don't know of any other sources of bonus damage that come close to sneak attack's damage.

[Anthrowhale]

9*(1d6+Cha) is already pretty good, actually.

Charisma is 20+4(levels)+1(age)+5(inherent)+6(enhance)

If you Channel Charge Snow Song (+4 morale), Nixie's Grace (+8 enhance), and Inner Beauty (+4 Sacred) you end up with Cha 46 for a +18 bonus implying 193.5 damage if they all hit.

A wand of celerity and the Quick Recovery feat would allow you to fire twice a round.

[Saintheart]

A massive boost to CHA also improves an Iaijutsu Focus check, too, so at least one of those rolls gets a bunch more d6s added. Possibly all of them if I.F. is ruled not to be precision or sneak attack damage, which is debatable?

[Hish]

Iaijutsu Focus specifies a melee weapon. Technically it only says "an attack made after drawing a melee weapon" but that implies "with that melee weapon" strongly enough that I don't want to touch it. Arcane Strike uses similar wording for +1d4 per spell level.

I didn't consider optimizing Cha that much. Knowledge Devotion should work if you take Draconic Knowledge and put some points in Int. 14 Int plus Human keeps up with max ranks for knowledge checks.

I knew Celerity would be good, but I didn't know about Quick Recovery.

[Saintheart]

Iaijutsu Focus specifies a melee weapon. Technically it only says "an attack made after drawing a melee weapon" but that implies "with that melee weapon" strongly enough that I don't want to touch it.

There's plenty of thrower builds that utilise Iaijutsu Focus. That would seem rather against what I.F. implies. There is a weapon quality - focus - that gives you bonuses to I.F. just for carrying it, not even drawing it. If ranged attacks with I.F. are kosher and cursed sword exploits can get you iterative I.F. uses then I don't see why this sort of reading is wrong.

[Hish]

Most thrown weapons (throwing axe, light hammer, dagger, etc) are melee weapons, so you're drawing a melee weapon and making a (ranged) attack with it. If you're talking about shurikens, I don't think you can make IF attacks with them, since they're ranged weapons and not melee. With Blue Dragon Lineage, there is no melee weapon involved in the attack.