[3.5] CL boosting on a budget

[monty]

While I'm at it, I may as well ask if this is legal:
For an upcoming campaign, I'm playing a level 10 Dread Necromancer. What I'm planning on doing is using contingency (via Arcane Disciple: Time and Versatile Spellcaster) to put create undead on myself, and then committing suicide to apply the Bone Creature template (BoVD), because Necropolitan is boring.

My problem is getting the CL 18 for a 6th level contingent spell. I'm taking consumptive field as one of my Advanced Learning spells, but that can only get me to CL 15 by itself. Most of my wealth is already tied up in other items, but I still have a few thousand left over, and one free feat (although I'd like it to be more generally useful, so nothing like Arcane Thesis if possible).

So, what spells, cheap items, and/or feat would be able to make up the difference, and is what I'm trying to do legal in the first place?

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Divine Spell Power, C.Div. Burn a Rebuke attempt, roll a Turn Undead check as a free action(with an additional +3 modifier), apply the result as a bonus to CL. Very nice feat, much better than most uses of TU, but not DMM-broken.

[monty]

Divine Spell Power, C.Div. Burn a Rebuke attempt, roll a Turn Undead check as a free action(with an additional +3 modifier), apply the result as a bonus to CL. Very nice feat, much better than most uses of TU, but not DMM-broken.

Only applies to divine spells.

[Douglas]

Looks legal to me, though you'll need to talk with your DM about what the level adjustment should be.

As with many things CharOp related, the WotC CharOp forums have a comprehensive list.

[Chronos]

If you can get help from a cleric and/or UMD, you can have the cleric cast Imbue with Spell Ability on you and use a Bead of Karma from a String of Prayer Beads (which, despite requiring divine spellcasting, doesn't have any restriction on the types of spells it can work for). If you can't consistently get a Bead of Karma to work on yourself, then you can just borrow the cleric's (of course your party cleric already has one for himself), and give it back when you're done.

[Dr_Horrible]

If you can get someone to cast Create Magic Tattoo on you at CL 13 or greater it can grant an additional +1. But it looks like Chronos has the right of it.

One day, you sit down with your Cleric friend who has a Bead of Karma and Imbue with Spell Ability. He casts the one on you, you cast consumptive field and start bag of ratting, and then you activate his Pearl of Power. You are now CL 19 at level 10. Cast Contingency Create Undead on self, and go die.

Then become a Bone Creature at +0 LA, because there would be no reason to become one with LA so I assume you already discussed this with the DM. Oh, and see if you can retrain Tomb Tainted Soul, since I assume you took it, since otherwise your negative energy burst was doing damage to you for the last 8 levels, but whatever.

[tyckspoon]

One day, you sit down with your Cleric friend who has a Bead of Karma and Imbue with Spell Ability. He casts the one on you, you cast consumptive field and start bag of ratting, and then you activate his Pearl of Power. You are now CL 19 at level 10. Cast Contingency Create Undead on self, and go die.

Problem: The effect of a Bead of Karma lasts 10 minutes. Contingency takes 10 minutes to cast or the casting time of the attached spell, whichever is longer. That's pushing it as is (Action: activate bead. Action: start Contingency. Caster level drops just before you actually finish the spell... which puts you on DM's mercy as to what happens.) But Create Undead needs 1 hour to cast. It's still up to the DM what happens there, but personally I would say you go with the caster level you had for the majority of the casting time. Which is not Bead-boosted.

[Dr_Horrible]

Problem: The effect of a Bead of Karma lasts 10 minutes. Contingency takes 10 minutes to cast or the casting time of the attached spell, whichever is longer. That's pushing it as is (Action: activate bead. Action: start Contingency. Caster level drops just before you actually finish the spell... which puts you on DM's mercy as to what happens.) But Create Undead needs 1 hour to cast. It's still up to the DM what happens there, but personally I would say you go with the caster level you had for the majority of the casting time. Which is not Bead-boosted.

Solution: It only matters what CL the contingency is, not the create undead. and if you want to get all picky about contingency, Rod of Rapid Spell. Bam, Contingency in 1 minute casting.

[tyckspoon]

Solution: It only matters what CL the contingency is, not the create undead. and if you want to get all picky about contingency, Rod of Rapid Spell. Bam, Contingency in 1 minute casting.

Doesn't matter, Contingency still inherits the casting time of the attached spell if that's longer. Which it is; casting a Contingency Create Undead takes 1 hour. It's too long to be Quickened and a Rapid Create Undead still takes 1 hour.

[Dr_Horrible]

Doesn't matter, Contingency still inherits the casting time of the attached spell if that's longer. Which it is; casting a Contingency Create Undead takes 1 hour. It's too long to be Quickened and a Rapid Create Undead still takes 1 hour.

Well, I didn't want to have to use feat slots. But it looks like you need either:

DMM Rapid Spell + Rod of Rapid spell, and interpretation that they cascade.

Arcane Preparation (or some other way of preparing spells) + Alacritious Cognition.

Either way, that should get you down to either 1 round or 1 minute casting.

Though, I wonder why you can't just pay some cleric of higher level to cast Create Undead on you after you kill yourself.

[monty]

Though, I wonder why you can't just pay some cleric of higher level to cast Create Undead on you after you kill yourself.

I don't trust them. Plus, then I wouldn't get all those goodies I get for casting the spell myself (specifically, the extra 6 hp/level).

Anyway, I had just assumed that CL is only checked at the beginning of the spell's casting. If not, then Consumptive Field doesn't work either, since it only lasts 1 round/level, and I'll have to find even more boosts somehow.

I suppose I should mention it's an ongoing campaign (replacing my previous character), so prayer beads aren't an option for the other characters, since they don't already have them. Especially since there aren't actually any divine casters in the party anyway.

[Douglas]

Have you checked the link I gave yet? It has quite a long list of caster level boosters. Some of the one-use items and hiring some of the spells are probably the most cost effective options. I can't check full text for legality of combinations and duration at the moment, but Agony, Terran Brandy, and hired castings of Harmonic Chorus and Spell Enhancer would get you the full +8, I think, for under 2000 gp. All one-time stuff, but you only need it once. If some part of that doesn't work or the DM doesn't let you find a Bard willing to sing for your evil spellcasting for an hour, I'm sure there's enough other things in the list to replace it.

[monty]

Yeah, I suppose I can get enough stuff to work that out.

[Chronos]

Oh, and make absolutely certain you ask your DM about this scheme before you start. The way I see it, there's three answers he might give:

1: Yes, it'll work.
2: No, it won't work.
3: Why don't you try it and find out ?

If you get answer number 2, then you probably shouldn't do it. If you get answer number 3, then you definitely shouldn't do it. It's always a bad sign when the DM is smiling.

[monty]

If you get answer number 3, then you definitely shouldn't do it. It's always a bad sign when the DM is smiling.

Knowing my DM, that would be a very bad idea indeed. Him smiling is the reason I'm making a new character to begin with.

[Fizban]

You could always use Greater Shadow Evocation cheese: duplicate Contingency without duplicating it's casting time, voluntarily fail your save against your own spell (perfectly legit since you always have to save against your own spells, and you can always choose to fail a save). Not that most DMs will let it fly, but if he's allowing you to bone-ify yourself then he might as well let you get the spells going however you can.

[monty]

You could always use Greater Shadow Evocation cheese: duplicate Contingency without duplicating it's casting time, voluntarily fail your save against your own spell (perfectly legit since you always have to save against your own spells, and you can always choose to fail a save). Not that most DMs will let it fly, but if he's allowing you to bone-ify yourself then he might as well let you get the spells going however you can.

GSE is an eight level spell, though. And since it's not on my spell list and isn't Necromancy, I wouldn't be able to get it until level 20 (using eclectic learning). At that point, if I weren't already a lich anyway, I could just cast a regular contingency with no CL boosts.

Edit: Well, I forgot about the Shadow domain, but that would require spending another feat and justifying the domain somehow. And I still wouldn't get it until level 14, at which point that last +4 would be much easier to get anyway.