Brilliance Bomb(TM)

[Username]

Now, this has no doubt been thought of before, but for those whom it has not occurred to and to lend it a nifty name, I present the Brilliance Bomb(TM):

Take a standard helm of brilliance, this will cost 125k (this is not a very practical trick due to these costs)

Now, if you recall the helm of brilliance, you may have an idea of what occurs next. Throw it and hit it with an attack that will deal over 30 fire damage to it once it as at the spot you would like it to detonate at.

It overloads (no one is wearing it, so I'm fairly certain it won't get the DC 15 will save, if it does, it probably has a decent chance of failing) and discharges the following:

30 fireballs centered at the detonation point for 10d6 each, DC 20 reflex save for half
20 walls if fire, all of which will intersect the detonation point at random
10 prismatic sprays randomly targeted at anyone within range (don't be in range), DC 20 for saves



Voila, you have just spent 125k on one of the more unusual and pretty forms of explosive. The fireballs alone will dish out 300d6 fire damage in the unlikely event your target fails all their saves and has neither improved evasion or fire resistance.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Meh, too ineffective. Why do that when a Dust of Sneezing and choking similarly semi autokills an enemy, but at a small fraction of the cost, and without the gross reduction capabilities fire elemental damage has?

[Jasdoif]

If a creature wearing the helm is damaged by magical fire (after the fire protection is taken into account) and fails an additional DC 15 Will save, the remaining gems on the helm overload and detonate.No wearer, no overload.


(BTW, a magic item always gets to make saves against effects that can harm it. They get all good saves as though they had a level equal to their caster level, and an intelligent magic item gets its Wisdom modifier on Will saves as well.)



Besides, for 121,800gp you could buy 14 Type VII necklaces of fireballs, for a grand total of 812d6 of fire damage.

EDIT: Huh, looks like a necklace of fireballs only detonates if a wearer/carrier fails a save against fire, too. Never noticed that one before....

[UglyPanda]

You could always equip it to a rat and throw alchemist fire at it.

[Hadrian_Emrys]

You could always equip it to a rat and throw alchemist fire at it.

I'm laughing so hard right now it hurts.

[Username]

A wearer clause isn't hard to get around, just means you'll need a hapless kamikaze. A summoned creature'd probably work fine.

[Username]

I never claimed this tactic was effective in any form. I just think it's a funny and flashy way to kill someone under the right circumstances.

Edit: A necklace of fireballs does not also toss in walls of fire and prismatic spays, the helm of brilliance makes for a prettier explosion, which is the real goal if you actually intend to spend such a large sum of money to do this.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Yet, it still is terribly inefficient. It's like breaking a staff of the Mage just to get the special gimmick, when it's got much more use by keepin' it around.

[FlyMolo]

You could always equip it to a rat and throw alchemist fire at it.

Truly a spectacular image.

[Hadrian_Emrys]

I never claimed this tactic was effective in any form. I just think it's a funny and flashy way to kill someone under the right circumstances.

A great way to be rid of a troublesome Frenzied Berserker PC anyway. :smallbiggrin: At least they went out with a bang right?

[Jasdoif]

A wearer clause isn't hard to get around, just means you'll need a hapless kamikaze. A summoned creature'd probably work fine.Hmm. Yeah, that'd work, just takes a little more setup. Just order the critter to fail both saves, and it should be fine.

[Username]

Yet, it still is terribly inefficient. It's like breaking a staff of the Mage just to get the special gimmick, when it's got much more use by keepin' it around.

I don't know about that, The staff of the Magi can be recharged. Technically this is just a way of using all the charges in a given helm at once (the fairly minor non-charged benefits non-withstanding, though the fire resistance is pretty nice).

[Jasdoif]

Edit: A necklace of fireballs does not also toss in walls of fire and prismatic spays, the helm of brilliance makes for a prettier explosion, which is the real goal if you actually intend to spend such a large sum of money to do this.Hmm, true. I wonder if necklace of fireballs can come in energy-substituted variety. Necklaces of Lightningballs, Necklaces of Sonicballs, Necklaces of Acidballs....Oh, and a hapless delivery rat.

"Thunder and lightning? Hey, control weather can't do that! AND WHAT'S THAT SMELL?!?! What kind of psychotic druid circle are we up against?"

[FlyMolo]

A great way to be rid of a troublesome Frenzied Berserker PC anyway. :smallbiggrin: At least they went out with a bang right?

I square this suggestion. Actually, this gives me an idea. Like the Bag O' Rats fighter, but more expensive. Get a bunch of rats. Then get a bunch of helms of brilliance. Attach helms to rats. (string.) Get a minion with whirlwind attack and a flaming weapon. Just a stick on fire would probably work. Actually, you don't even need whirlwind attack. One of them will set the rest off.

Next step. Get out of range and watch.

[Username]

a word of note, You need to deal at least 31 points of fire damage. Not terribly difficult, but you won't achieve it with alchemist fire or a flaming stick or the like.

[Azerian Kelimon]

I don't know about that, The staff of the Magi can be recharged. Technically this is just a way of using all the charges in a given helm at once (the fairly minor non-charged benefits non-withstanding, though the fire resistance is pretty nice).


Retributive Strike
A staff of the magi can be broken for a retributive strike. Such an act must be purposeful and declared by the wielder. All charges in the staff are released in a 30-foot spread. All within 10 feet of the broken staff take hit points of damage equal to 8 times the number of charges in the staff, those between 11 feet and 20 feet away take points equal to 6 times the number of charges, and those 21 feet to 30 feet distant take 4 times the number of charges. A DC 17 Reflex save reduces damage by half.

The character breaking the staff has a 50% chance (01-50 on d%) of traveling to another plane of existence, but if she does not (51-100), the explosive release of spell energy destroys her. Only specific items, including the staff of the magi and the staff of power are capable of a retributive strike.



Or, in other, less fancy words: BOOM, BABY!

See? The same kind of uselessness here. By the time the HoB trick can be used, most enemies have at least fire 10, and you waste a fifth of your level 20 WBL on this gimmick. It's as useless as breaking a minor artifact and risking death on a 50/50 gamble. It doesn't even do THAT much damage!

[Saihyol]

Delayed Blast Fireball...Helm of Brilliance...summoned creature.

You can cast the DBF from 800+ feet away which means you don't have to run and can set up a nice viewing area and be sipping a mohito as the summoned creature runs into that enemy stronghold, just bring a spyglass so you don't miss any of the pretty lights.

[Chronos]

A wearer clause isn't hard to get around, just means you'll need a hapless kamikaze. A summoned creature'd probably work fine.Better yet, if the summoned creature is a Lemure (Summon Monster II or higher) or a Fire Elemental (SM III or higher), it's not even a kamikaze.

"Sparky, take the full brunt of this fireball."
"Sure, why not?"

[FlyMolo]

Better yet, if the summoned creature is a Lemure (Summon Monster II or higher) or a Fire Elemental (SM III or higher), it's not even a kamikaze.

"Sparky, take the full brunt of this fireball."
"Sure, why not?"

And then the elemental is the only thing left standing. I really like this.

[Hadrian_Emrys]

Play something multiheaded and nuke yourself for even more fun. A great way to blow off steam in between your main character getting offed, and your backup coming into play.

[Saihyol]

if you get really lucky one of the prismatic sprays might even leave you a lovely stature of your minion to commemorate the event :smallcool:

[Sholos]

Azerian, I'm not sure you get the point of the OP. It's not supposed to be efficient of worthwhile. It's supposed to be absurdly flashy.

I think it's a great idea.

[Saihyol]

It's dungeon clearance for the billionaire playboy-mage set who don't want to get enemy blood on their khakis

[Zeful]

if you get really lucky one of the prismatic sprays might even leave you a lovely stature of your minion to commemorate the event :smallcool:

"And this was Sparky, the great fire elemental that assisted [insert hero's name here] in his great defense of our town from [insert villain's name here]."

[senrath]

"And this was Sparky, the great fire elemental that assisted [insert hero's name here] in his great defense of our town from [insert villain's name here]."

But wouldn't the elemental still go back home after the spell expired?

Anyway, nice idea. Gotta love big, pointless explosions.

[Krrth]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Fire Elemental immune to fire? That means it can never take fire damage to trigger the helm.

[FlyMolo]

But wouldn't the elemental still go back home after the spell expired?

Anyway, nice idea. Gotta love big, pointless explosions.
DM handwave says there's a hollow shell

@ above. Sunder attempt with a flaming weapon. Although, really, it needs to take 31 damage, right? I dunno. Jump into a bonfire.

[senrath]

DM handwave says there's a hollow shell

@ above. Sunder attempt with a flaming weapon. Although, really, it needs to take 31 damage, right? I dunno. Jump into a bonfire.

Wait, wouldn't the elemental just holding the helm eventually trigger it? I mean, the elemental IS made of fire.

[jcsw]

Why can't we use timestop, place the helm over your enemy, and delayed blast fireball it?

[Jasdoif]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Fire Elemental immune to fire? That means it can never take fire damage to trigger the helm.Correct. Although I guess you could use Searing Spell (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20050203a) (about the middle of that page) to get around that....

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Correct. Although I guess you could use Searing Spell (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20050203a) (about the middle of that page) to get around that....That is true brilliance. Play a creature with immunity to fire, wear this helm, then drop a Searing Fireball on yourself. Stand at the center of the maelstrom that results, looking awesome. If a PC did that in one of my campaigns (and described it very well) I might give them enough treasure to replace the helm.

Also, does that seem like the dumbest metamagic possible to anyone else? You either anticipate fire resistance and prepare a cold spell, or you don't and don't have the metamagic prepared anyways. Ignoring that it is only good for blasters, I still can't see why it exists, and especially can not see spending a feat on it.

[TehJhu]

A great way to be rid of a troublesome Frenzied Berserker PC anyway. :smallbiggrin: At least they went out with a bang right?

"UNK HAS LOST IT!"

"EVERYONE GET BACK!"/triggers permaneced delayed fireball

*boom*

[AmberVael]

Also, does that seem like the dumbest metamagic possible to anyone else? You either anticipate fire resistance and prepare a cold spell, or you don't and don't have the metamagic prepared anyways. Ignoring that it is only good for blasters, I still can't see why it exists, and especially can not see spending a feat on it.

It's pretty silly normally, but if you get up against a creature with a lot of immunities/resistances it can be handy- though that's more isolated.

However, if you're maxing out a character, it can be amazing. I currently have a blaster using it who will deal more damage with a Searing Spell'd fireball than with a lightning bolt to a fire immune creature.

[Jasdoif]

Also, does that seem like the dumbest metamagic possible to anyone else? You either anticipate fire resistance and prepare a cold spell, or you don't and don't have the metamagic prepared anyways. Ignoring that it is only good for blasters, I still can't see why it exists, and especially can not see spending a feat on it.I've come to the conclusion that was made for fire Elemental Savants, who can't choose to use lightning, acid, sonic, or cold because their class abilities automatically convert all such spells to fire.

[Talic]

How is this any different, other than cost, than a 1,000 page book, each page lovingly double-sided with explosive runes?

Curious George goes to... create a small sun.

[NEO|Phyte]

How is this any different, other than cost, than a 1,000 page book, each page lovingly double-sided with explosive runes?

Curious George goes to... create a small sun.

blast radius? Overall style?

[Username]

How is this any different, other than cost, than a 1,000 page book, each page lovingly double-sided with explosive runes?

Curious George goes to... create a small sun.

The prismatic sprays and pattern of formed by 20 fire walls qualify it as both an act of destruction and an act of art. A whole bunch of explosive runes make for a boring explosion, this one has style.

[RandomLunatic]

Also, does that seem like the dumbest metamagic possible to anyone else? You either anticipate fire resistance and prepare a cold spell, or you don't and don't have the metamagic prepared anyways. Ignoring that it is only good for blasters, I still can't see why it exists, and especially can not see spending a feat on it.

This feat always seemed stupid to me too.

Evoker 1: I can cast Fireballs so hot they burn fire elementals!
Evoker 2: I use the same slot to cast Cone of Cold to not only ignore their immunity, but deal half again as much damage.
Evoker 1: ...I hate you.

[hotel_papa]

What about an Iron Golem? Giant, artistically valid explosion and an uncalled for number of temporary hit points.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Pfeh, still has nothing on Tempest Stormwind's Delayed Fireball Factory o' death:




I once designed a 'factory' of command-word magic items driven by a speaker-box of Ghost Sound (or Programmed Image, depending on your DM's ruling of how command words could be activated; all that changed was the price). The whole thing fit inside a normal backpack (although it took the use of two portable holes and a support system for them). While you slept, it mass-produced balsa-wood boxes filled with your choice of anything you could make from minor creation (Alchemist's Fire or Black Lotus Extract were my two favorite choices) which were then affected by Shrink Item and loaded inside another box (unshrunk, but due to size changes you can fit about 4000 of the shrunk boxes inside of it). The box was then taken out of the first portable hole holding all this gear and moved to the second, which was full of Quintessence. (I reasoned that the unseen servant, as a nonphysical magical effect, would be able to propel the box through quintessence, but I did design a version that didn't -- it had a similar command-word operated Faucet of Quintessence and a speakerbox controlling the servant to lather the box with the stuff).

Net result? While you slept, bombs of various types and sizes. The smaller ones (25-pounders full of alchemist's fire) could do about a hundred thousand d6 worth of fire damage and you could throw one of these per caster level with a single Telekinesis. The larger ones were a few thousand pounds and required a seige engine or a Hulking Hurler to deploy properly, but were capable of raining devastation of a magnitude not normally seen outside the CO boards.

[Username]

Pfeh, still has nothing on Tempest Stormwind's Delayed Fireball Factory o' death:

But it still wins the style competition!

[Illiterate Scribe]

But it still wins the style competition!

A factory that's powered, basically, by Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syDHNeIywrE), and deploys what is in effect small supernovae concealed out of time?

Pshaw, I say, pshaw!

Now, if you can make the Helm of Brilliance or something similar be set off by Kraftwerk, I may revise my opinion ...

[Maerok]

Engineer a Coat of Brilliance, Cloak of Brilliance, Gloves of Brilliance, Boots of Brilliance, and Pants of Brilliance. Then go play with matches.