PDA

View Full Version : High level Beguiler just got infusion of gold. How to spend?



Frosty
2008-11-16, 12:18 AM
Recently, my character just came into roughly 289k of gold. I need help and advice on what items to purchase. My human Beguiler has the following items at level 19:
Headband of Int +6
Ring of +2 untyped AC
+4 Mithril Chain Shirt
Vestment of mant Styles that also adds +5 to Concentration
Belt of +2 Con
Custom Gloves (+6 UNTYPED bonus to Int and Cha. Cast Spell Vulnerability [the Planar Handbook version] 3/day. Regenerate 1 spell point per 15 minutes)
Metamagic Rod of Empower

Given this, I was thinking of getting a Vest of the Archmagi and then upgrade my Belt of Con to a +6. perhaps the last little bit of the money goes towards a Runestaff or some sort? Or perhaps invest in a Veil of Allure? What should I prioritize at this point?

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2008-11-16, 01:08 AM
The Vest of the Archmagi seems to be a bit of a waste, you already have an equal armor bonus with your +4 Mithril Chain Shirt, and you wouldn't be able to wear the vestment you currently have with it as both would take the same spot.

If you're going to get one big item, then get a Cowl of Warding if you can, it's in Magic of Faerun. It's a headpiece that gives you constant Mind Blank and Freedom of Movement, and it automatically turns the first six levels of spells targeted against you each day as per Spell Turning. All for only 200,800 gp. Otherwise get a Belt of Magnificense +6 (MHB), it adds a +6 Enhancement bonus to all of your ability scores and costs 200,000 gp.

I would probably start with a Ring of Freedom of Movement, a Necklace of Adaptation (at x2 cost for no item spot if necessary), a +1 Reflecting Mithril Buckler, and a Gemstone of Heavy Fortification (DCN). A Ring of Theurgy (CA) could also be useful, if you can reliably get another party member or an NPC spellcaster to put spells normally unavailable to you into it.

BobVosh
2008-11-16, 01:15 AM
Actually you have a vest and a chest slot.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2008-11-16, 01:21 AM
Actually you have a vest and a chest slot.

Vest and Vestments take the Vest/Chest slot; Armor and Robes take the Body item slot.

KKL
2008-11-16, 01:23 AM
Ring of Freedom of Movement and Cape of Flying. The nexxecary first. Also Bags of Holding if you feel your DM won' tryot be a **** and target it so you lose everything you own.

Raging Gene Ray
2008-11-16, 01:31 AM
That depends on what you're up against and what your party members do for you. If your Wizard or Cleric aren't the type to prepare buff spells, you might want to get a few scrolls of those things. Is there a rogue who can pick locks and disable traps? If not, invest in a wand of knock or divine insight (a 2nd level spell from the Spell Compendium that gives a healthy bonus to any skill check).

You should probably consider getting Soulfire Armor (Book of Exalted Deeds). It gives immunity to Death and Negative Energy effects.

Also...those are some really nice custom gloves.

monty
2008-11-16, 01:32 AM
Booze and hookers.

More seriously, maybe that one item from BoED that makes you immune to nonmagical damage.

Frosty
2008-11-16, 01:50 AM
That depends on what you're up against and what your party members do for you. If your Wizard or Cleric aren't the type to prepare buff spells, you might want to get a few scrolls of those things. Is there a rogue who can pick locks and disable traps? If not, invest in a wand of knock or divine insight (a 2nd level spell from the Spell Compendium that gives a healthy bonus to any skill check).

You should probably consider getting Soulfire Armor (Book of Exalted Deeds). It gives immunity to Death and Negative Energy effects.

Also...those are some really nice custom gloves.

We're fighting demons...LOTS of them. We don't HAVE a wizard in our party. I, the Beguiler, am the sole Arcanist. I've had to use a lot of my Eccletic learnings on things like Orb of Fire, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Evard's Tentacles, etc. The cleric isn't very good at the game, and he finds buffingto be kinda boring. He really prefers blasting. As the beguiler, I am already pick locks and disable traps. Also, Beguilers get Knock as a known spell anyways.

I was actually thinking of dumping all my gold in AC boosters. I can get up to 43 AC. Think it'll be worth it? I know sometime in the future I'll have to fight 2 Balors at once.

And yes, those are some nice gloves. Unfortunately, my Dm also counts them as taking 250k of my WBL.

xPANCAKEx
2008-11-16, 02:10 AM
caltrops. Lots of caltrops.

Lycar
2008-11-16, 06:22 AM
We're fighting demons...LOTS of them.

Okay, said character is in a game, up to the eyballs in demons and needs every +x he can scrape together.

Let's just assume that your beguiler doesn't have a plot to save the world running right now 'kay? :smallsmile:


Recently, my character just came into roughly 289k of gold. I need help and advice on what items to purchase.

Tsk tsk tsk. You are thinking too small. Take a few steps back and look at the greater picture here. Sure you can spend all this cash on just a few extra +X to stats, damage potential or defenses...

Or you can buy a castle!

Or even a whole barony! With a castle!

Seriously, if you check the relevant source books, that kind of money is pretty much equal to the GDP of a small nation.

Now, there are things you just can't buy with money. But with a lot of money, you can still buy a lot of things.

And for someone like a beguiler, entering big buisiness seems like a natural move.

'What is the crime of robbing a bank compared with the crime of founding one.' :smallbiggrin:

Historically, wealthy merchant houses, like the Fugger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugger), had the (economical) power to heavily influence, or even control, kings.

Of course, that is suddenly quite a different kind of campaign then the usual let's-go-find-stuff-to-kill-and-loot approach but... won't your character(s) enjoy living the good life and being pillars of the community for a while?

And after you get swindled out of your fortune, your empire crushed by some even bigger merchant who doesn't like upstarts, you even have a new goal: Revenge! :smallbiggrin:

Just sayin' :smallcool:

Lycar

Hal
2008-11-16, 08:05 AM
We're fighting demons...LOTS of them. We don't HAVE a wizard in our party. I, the Beguiler, am the sole Arcanist. I've had to use a lot of my Eccletic learnings on things like Orb of Fire, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Evard's Tentacles, etc. The cleric isn't very good at the game, and he finds buffingto be kinda boring. He really prefers blasting. As the beguiler, I am already pick locks and disable traps. Also, Beguilers get Knock as a known spell anyways.

I was actually thinking of dumping all my gold in AC boosters. I can get up to 43 AC. Think it'll be worth it? I know sometime in the future I'll have to fight 2 Balors at once.

And yes, those are some nice gloves. Unfortunately, my Dm also counts them as taking 250k of my WBL.

When you say that you'll be fighting 2 baalors, is that the party, or just you?

I might consider some eternal wands with your blasty-type spells. Yes, only up to level 3, but they're really back-up since you should be focusing on control, y'know? Combine that with a rod of many wands if you feel like turning it from a pistol to a shotgun.

I'm a big fan of the panic buttons (CS) for my beguiler. Swift action to activate, unslotted (IIRC), and they can be used on you or your allies. Most of the effects aren't remarkable, but the Escaping and Retreating varieties are quite useful for getting your butt out of the fire when you need to.

And yes, they're consumable, but at 750g a pop, you can afford to buy a few.

Frosty
2008-11-16, 01:53 PM
When you say that you'll be fighting 2 baalors, is that the party, or just you?

I might consider some eternal wands with your blasty-type spells. Yes, only up to level 3, but they're really back-up since you should be focusing on control, y'know? Combine that with a rod of many wands if you feel like turning it from a pistol to a shotgun.

I'm a big fan of the panic buttons (CS) for my beguiler. Swift action to activate, unslotted (IIRC), and they can be used on you or your allies. Most of the effects aren't remarkable, but the Escaping and Retreating varieties are quite useful for getting your butt out of the fire when you need to.

And yes, they're consumable, but at 750g a pop, you can afford to buy a few.

Its probably for the entire party, but depending on how revenge-driven my character is, possibly alone or with just one other party member (one of the Balors has my mother's soul and is torturing her daily). Since I already have Orb of Fire as a spell, do I still need Fireballs in Eternal Wands?

Lycar: The campaign is about to end. If I had time, I WOULD just buy up a city or something. But, we've got to save the world NOW. This is the last shopping spree. We're level 19, and we've got to go kill Malcanthet...twice (once in the material plane, and then whatever her true form is in the Abyss). Our campaign had a lot of slash...but very, very little on the loot until now.

Hal
2008-11-16, 02:00 PM
Its probably for the entire party, but depending on how revenge-driven my character is, possibly alone or with just one other party member (one of the Balors has my mother's soul and is torturing her daily). Since I already have Orb of Fire as a spell, do I still need Fireballs in Eternal Wands?

Lycar: The campaign is about to end. If I had time, I WOULD just buy up a city or something. But, we've got to save the world NOW. This is the last shopping spree. We're level 19, and we've got to go kill Malcanthet...twice (once in the material plane, and then whatever her true form is in the Abyss). Our campaign had a lot of slash...but very, very little on the loot until now.

Well, Beguilers tend not to have a lot of damage potential on their own (with the exception of the non-lethal stuff from their spell lists). If you have to do a lot of damage and do it quickly, as I'm imagining Balors to have high will saves, picking up Arcane Strike and a True Strike Bracer (+20 to hit a number of times a day, but no avoidance of miss chance) can guarantee you'll pump out damage fast. You'll be a glass cannon, but it's guaranteed to be an awesome ending if you stab that Balor with a puny little dagger and make him explode with 200d4 arcane damage.

Frosty
2008-11-16, 02:15 PM
The good thing is, I got the DM to houserule that my familiar can UMD a wand of True Strike and I could gain the beneits of it thanks to Share Spells :smallbiggrin: Probably not legal by RAW, but given our lack of money and how tough of enemies we ar efacing, it wasn't too bad of a rule. So I can basically pump out a few Empowered Orbs of Fire every round. those will help dish out the hurt, and has a chance to daze the Balors.

EDIT: Oops, I forgot one more things. The gloves also add +3 to any Illusion or Enchantment spell that I cast.

Leewei
2008-11-17, 12:16 AM
289kgp, and a Balor that has your Mother's soul?

Get an Iron Flask and a Ring of Three Wishes.

When you run into the Balor, use a wish to geas it into allowing itself to be enslaved by your Iron Flask. On the next round, whip out the Flask and let the geas force it to "take 1" on its Will save. The following round, call it forth with the command word, demand that it restore your Mother's soul to you in the way it believes would irk you the least. Then sic it on the other Balor.

Frosty
2008-11-18, 12:36 AM
289kgp, and a Balor that has your Mother's soul?

Get an Iron Flask and a Ring of Three Wishes.

When you run into the Balor, use a wish to geas it into allowing itself to be enslaved by your Iron Flask. On the next round, whip out the Flask and let the geas force it to "take 1" on its Will save. The following round, call it forth with the command word, demand that it restore your Mother's soul to you in the way it believes would irk you the least. Then sic it on the other Balor.

Rofl. If only rings of 3 wishes were purchasable. Besides, in this game, all Wishes are granted by Demons...like Balors for example. Using Wish is a very dangerous proposition when the help you summon is likely an enemy. Very cool idea though. What I plan to do is beat the crap out of one, and Intimidate the other Balor into helping me.

Leewei
2008-11-18, 01:11 AM
289kgp and no wishes? Now your DM is just taunting you.

I notice that the Iron Flask wasn't dismissed as impossible, though. You know, I think we might be able to work with this...

Your garden variety Balor has a Will save of +19. Coincidentally, this is the save required to resist the Iron Flask's binding ability. The trick is to belt-sand the Balor's saving throws down by -20 or so as quickly as you can manage. Fortunately, you're exactly the right class to do this.

First, cast time stop. Get a scroll if you don't yet have access to this.

Next, use a Heightened mind fog (9th level is ideal), which will sock a Balor with a hefty -10 to Will saves, with a DC of:
19 + Int Bonus +2 (assuming Greater Spell Focus) +2 (assuming you can apply Cloaked Casting). With an Int bonus in the mid-teens, this has an excellent shot at working. Since it's an ongoing effect, you can cast it on the area around a Balor when it has no effective Dex bonus. Throw a few over the same area to be on the safe side. It's bound to blow a save.

Vertigo field is another area of effect spell to lay on one while time is frozen. Once time resumes, it has to make a second will save or become nauseated. Can you imagine anything as pathetic as a Balor losing its lunch?

Use your last round in this spell to refocus.

Once time resumes, a Quickened vertigo as a starter is pretty ideal. The Balor, which hopefully got 'fogged, will be a far softer target for this, and will lose another -2 off all saves.

Spells and effects such as enervation, sicken, Wisdom damage / drain, etc. are very ideal to bring to bear. Encourage your teammates to use any such attacks to knock down the Balor's defenses.

Leewei
2008-11-18, 01:22 AM
Oops, just noticed the level 19. Dang, so close to absolute triumph over the Balor's SR!

I'll read up on effects granting Save penalties. I'm sure I'll be able to get you a few more.

Frosty
2008-11-18, 02:06 AM
Eh, if I'm going to Mind Fog, I might as well go for something better like Dominate Monster. I mean, I'll make it fail one save onl instead of failing Mind Fog and *then* going for a second spell.

NeoVid
2008-11-18, 05:00 AM
Wand of Assay Spell Resistance. 50 spells getting +10 to beat SR should come in handy against armies of demons.

Heck, get one for the cleric, too.

Oslecamo
2008-11-18, 05:16 AM
Rofl. If only rings of 3 wishes were purchasable. Besides, in this game, all Wishes are granted by Demons...like Balors for example. Using Wish is a very dangerous proposition when the help you summon is likely an enemy. Very cool idea though. What I plan to do is beat the crap out of one, and Intimidate the other Balor into helping me.

Forget wishes. If this is your last battle, go nuts with expendables:
1-Scrolls of shapechance. Become a choker. Extra standard action per round. Then use another shapechange on top of it, turning into some really nasty monster who can still cast. Like a Balor. You'll retain the extra action ability.

2-Gate/candle of invocation. Get some Solars to fight for you.

3-Every single defensive buff you can remember, from death ward to improved invisibility, freedom of movement, mindblanck, ect, ect.

Not so cheesy items you could also get:
-Belt of battle. You can tackle the extra con on it. Extra actions rule. Must have.
- Greater metamagic rod of maximize for time stop
-Greater metamagic rod of empower (combine with above)
-Greater metamagic rod of quicken(damn expensive but worth it).

Also, HOW IN THE 9 HELL DID YOU GET UNTYPED BONUS TO STATS????????

Leewei
2008-11-18, 08:15 AM
Dominate monster requires that you somehow keep the unholy aura negated on the Balor. The spell functions like a protection from good on steroids, meaning most offensive compulsions and all charms will have no impact while the aura is up. Looking at the true seeing Special Quality, it looks like vertigo, vertigo field and other illusions are write-offs as well.

Let's instead look at the humble +2 Holy Cold Iron Berserking Sword, enhanced with a glibness spell from you, and with Sovereign Glue on the hilt will accomplish:

"Dread Balors, one of you has the soul of my Mother in your keeping. While I'm indifferent to the suffering of most, I admit she is dear to me, and I've spent my considerable fortune hiring the foremost weaponsmiths of the land to construct a blade worthy of exchange for her life's spark. I find you too fearsome to approach. Please, will the greatest of you take this weapon and leave the soul in it's place?"

I'd expect your Bluff check to hit the lower stratosphere. Both Balors will probably lunge for the weapon at once. The one who gets it is forced, with no saving throw, to enter a berserk frenzy and attack the nearest thing. Assuming both lunge at once, one will immediately set on the other, dealing incredible damage, and being incapable of bringing it's spell-like abilities to bear due to the rage effect. It will gain a +2 morale bonus to Will saves, but will also have a -1 penalty to nearly everything due to the Holy weapon it's wielding.

The trick is, you need to keep the 2nd Balor from fleeing. I dunno, maybe two blades? :smallbiggrin:

VariaVespasa
2008-11-18, 08:40 AM
Fleeing- I forget the name but there's a lvl 4 or 5 cleric spell that will prevent the target from leaving if you can land it. Coordinate with your cleric.

Untyped stats- He probably got them the same way he got orbs and things for a caster class that can only cast illusions and enchantments- campaign house rules. :)

Sinfire Titan
2008-11-18, 08:55 AM
About the Vest of the Archmagi: If it's the one in the MiC, it's an artifact with no proper price listed. Why they would put it in the normal magic item section of the MiC instead of Complete Mage is beyond me.

Raging Gene Ray
2008-11-18, 10:21 AM
Fleeing- I forget the name but there's a lvl 4 or 5 cleric spell that will prevent the target from leaving if you can land it. Coordinate with your cleric.


Dimensional Anchor. Yes...if the cleric is really as inexperienced as you think he/she is, your only options are to be the guide or invest in some spell trigger items to cover Divine spells.

You might consider a scroll of Assay Spell Resistance (Spell Compendium, +10 to overcome SR for one target) and blast the Balors with your Mind Fog. Have the cleric cast Assay Spell Resistance and then blast them with some spell that requires a Will Save (at a -10 penalty, hopefully the Balors will fail).

I would like to see how Leewei's idea turns out, though...

Leewei
2008-11-18, 10:24 PM
Hallow has a ludicrously long cast time, but duplicates magic circle against evil and will hold a spell effect in place for a year. The list includes dimensional anchor. If your cleric can get a one-use activated item that has the above spell loaded into it, and if he can overcome the SR on the Balors, you have them nailed to the floor for one year. No teleportation, plus they cannot even leave using regular movement (specify when cast that the magic circle effect is to trap bad things inside).

Frosty
2008-11-19, 12:45 AM
About the Vest of the Archmagi: If it's the one in the MiC, it's an artifact with no proper price listed. Why they would put it in the normal magic item section of the MiC instead of Complete Mage is beyond me.

I thought the price is 200k?