Call Lighting Optimization

[Yogibear41]

Looking for ways to Optimized Call Lighting and Call Lightning Storm. Generally, these spells damage is pretty mediocre, but they get several uses per casting. Looking for good ways to boost the damage up.

Curious if there is a magic item/feat that would allow you to always get the "stormy weather" damage buff.
Also curious if the Ring of Mystic Lighting from spell compendium would apply its damage buff to every use of a single casting of call lighting or if it would only apply to the first "bolt".

[Fero]

The best use I ever had of Call Lightning was in a 5E game where I simply cast the spell, wildshaped into a small, inconspicuous animal, hid, and proceeded to solo the encounter.

As far as optimization goes, Call Lightning may be a good tool to deliver damage linked effects (Born of the Three Thunders, Stormcaster, Bracers of Entangling Blast etc.) Unfortunately, most of these would take case by case adjudication by the DM
to determine if the effect applies to each bolt, or just one.

Call Lightning style spells also combo with large AoE terrain altering battlefield control such as Plant Growth. Simply slow down your foes and proceed to kill them with this very efficient spell.

Also, per the spell description, calling a bolt appears to be a concentration standard action. As such, abilities that let you concentrate freely (swift concentration, the thing that lets familiars maintain concentration, Spirit Shaman etc.) may let you call multiple bolts per round.

[Darg]

Getting the storm domain from arcane disciple on a warmage gets you warmage's edge added to each strike. From there you could grab the extra edge feat for more flat bonus damage.

[Rebel7284]

Be a (lesser) mechanatrix and use any leftover bolts for healing?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Curious if there is a magic item/feat that would allow you to always get the "stormy weather" damage buff.
Also curious if the Ring of Mystic Lighting from spell compendium would apply its damage buff to every use of a single casting of call lighting or if it would only apply to the first "bolt".

Not the most widely applicable item, but a Stormship from Eberron (Explorers Handbook) automatically generates stormy weather covering a one-mile radius, which can also be deactivated at need (though it takes hours or even days for the storm to completely dissipate). Combine with a Lightning Turbine (double vehicle speed during stormy weather) and an Earth Keel (sail on land) or Cloud Keel (fly) for a fast and versatile transport that is just about as awesome as can be (all three items from Arms & Equipment Guide).

[Crichton]

Also curious if the Ring of Mystic Lighting from spell compendium would apply its damage buff to every use of a single casting of call lighting or if it would only apply to the first "bolt".



Reading over the Ring of Mystic Lightning (Magic Item Compendium pg126) it sure looks like a charge from the ring would add the bonus damage to each bolt from Call Lightning, not just once per casting



A ring of mystic lightning provides a boost to your electricity-based spells. When casting spells with the electricity descriptor, you gain a +1 competence bonus to caster level. This is a continuous effect and requires no activation.
In addition, this ring has 3 charges, which are renewed each day at dawn. Spending 1 or more charges grants a bonus to the damage dealt by the next electricity spell you cast before the end of your turn. (If the spell doesn’t normally deal electricity damage, this expenditure has no effect).
1 charge: +2d6 electricity damage.
2 charges: +3d6 electricity damage.
3 charges: +4d6 electricity damage.
Prerequisites: Forge Ring, call lightning or lightning bolt.
Cost to Create: 3,750 gp, 300 XP, 8 days.



Though I guess it depends on how you measure the 'damage dealt' by Call Lightning. Is it the total damage of the spell, the sum of all the bolts you call down, or is it 3d6, but used as many times as you can call bolts?




As far as optimizing damage in ways that haven't already been mentioned, what about Energy Admixture to effectively double the damage? Requires Energy Substitution as well, which in turn requires a metamagic feat, so it's a bit feat heavy, and it would increase Call Lightning to a 7th level spell slot (unless you also have metamagic reducers)

[pabelfly]

As far as optimizing damage in ways that haven't already been mentioned, what about Energy Admixture to effectively double the damage? Requires Energy Substitution as well, which in turn requires a metamagic feat, so it's a bit feat heavy, and it would increase Call Lightning to a 7th level spell slot (unless you also have metamagic reducers)

If you're doing a Divine Metamagic build, you can use Turn Undead uses to power it instead, so you don't have to worry about seventh-level spell slots. I'd still look at the metamagic reducers to run it, though (I'd recommend this handbook, which has a comprehensive list of metamagic reducers in it: Metamagic and You: A Thesis (https://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=972.0))