How can/would you beat this thing? (3.5)

[lvl 1 sharnian]

Do note that it casts as an 18th-level Sorc except with all Sorc spells below 9th level known. Its Spellcraft check means it can identify any spell automatically. Improved Counterspell is only useful if it wants to counter something that has an expensive material component. However, it can counterspell anything below 7th level, no questions asked (remember, it needs to use Still Spell, and Improved Counterspell lets it counter anything with a spell 1 level higher, so it would need an 8th-level slot to counter a 6th-level divine spell), and many 7th and 8th level spells as well. Reactive Counterspell means it can counter a spell even if it hasn't readied an action, at the costs of its actions for the next round, but since it can't be used when flat-footed it's only useful for when the party caster uses a Quickened spell in addition to his regular spell for the round. Absorption should also stop any spells that go through, if I remember how it works correctly.

And remember, it has Rapid Metamagic, so having to Still all of its spells doesn't make them full-round-actions.

You could play it as readying an action to counterspell every round. Remember that you can counterspell anything, not just spells directed at you; so the Wizard can't buff, set up battlefield control, or do much of anything really. However, that would mean that it's not doing anything to actually hurt the party, so the assumed divine caster and meleers could go after it while it does nothing but counterspell and move every round.

It's a major annoyance for arcane casters, also annoying for divine casters, and very annoying for rogues (Construct + all-around vision + Blindsight means it has three different ways of ignoring Sneak Attack, plus X-Ray Vision, Darkvision, and True Seeing mean hiding behind cover, in mundane darkness, or with invisibility don't work. And DR 30 is a major problem since sneak attackers rely on getting lots of attacks, even if the rogue *does* have Darkstalker, a means to sneak attack constructs, and a means to make the crystal flat-footed, and a means of flight).

However, frontline fighters work great against it. DR 30 is a problem, but not a huge one; there are plenty of ways to bypass DR in ToB, and a fighter sufficiently optimized for charging can do well over the 120 points necessary to one-shot it. If the fighter has a way to fly and get up to the crystal, he's done.

So how can it be made more powerful? Give it a level in Monk. No, seriously. +10 armor class is a start towards making it a challenge for the meleers (though it still needs a lot more). Ranks in Hide and Move Silently so it can cast, hide, and cast again instead of just flying around counterspelling while the fighter and/or cleric beat on it would make it more effective. And the +2 to saves is helpful. Adding Practical Metamagic for Still Spell (doubt it can meet the prereqs, but meh) would make its stilled spells not take up higher-level slots, making it considerably more effective. Or you could just handwave it, giving it a special ability that makes all of its spells auto-stilled. Getting a miss chance would greatly improve its defenses. Specifically noting that it casts various protective spells on itself and uses its Absorption ability before fights would give it a big boost.

The biggest thing it needs, though, is an ability to let it take more actions per round. Being able to pretty much negate the party wizard at the cost of a spell slot per round is useful, but doing so requires it to ignore the rest of the party, making it more an inconvenience than an actual threat. Not having it counterspell fanatically like I suggested would let it be a threat to the rest of the party and still have pretty strong defenses against magic, but given that Wizards can kill pretty much anything in a round at 20th level it would likely be vulnerable to something. As written, it's very good at surviving magic and has plenty of ways to stop meleers with its spells, but it can't do both at the same time.

Well, as an 18th lvl sorcerer, it needs to Arcane Spellsurge and the Arcane Fusion series to level the action economy. I'm also sure there's a spell in Heroes of Battle that let it counterspell as a free action so with those it can shut down the casters and still have actions for the rest of the party, spell slots permitting