Favorite Debuffs [3.5]

[Temotei]

What are your favorite debuffs?

What, in your opinion, are the best debuffs? Try and include low-level ones too.

Sources don't matter, as long as you cite them. Feats, spells, class features...anything that weakens enemies.

[Milskidasith]

Enervation.

[Claudius Maximus]

Yeah, Enervation.

Freezing Fog is also great.

[Temotei]

Any others? I'd like to hear a bunch of your favorites.

[Toliudar]

Entangle, Grease and Glitterdust are among my favourite low-level debuffs.

[Radiun]

Grease: A rogue with balance will rejoice

Entangle: because it repeats each round and not many humans can make the DC 20 strength check consistently. Escape artist is more likely, but oft ignored.

Blinding Spittle: Spitting in people's eyes is always a good way to start a fight

Vine Mine: large area, counts as undergrowth, enables entangle even in deserts

Dispel Magic: Removing their buffs is the best debuff

Spike Stones: Woe be to chargers

Wall of Thorns: No save, no SR, you're just stuck until you make a DC 25 strength check.

[Temotei]

Grease: A rogue with balance will rejoice

Entangle: because it repeats each round and not many humans can make the DC 20 strength check consistently. Escape artist is more likely, but oft ignored.

Blinding Spittle: Spitting in people's eyes is always a good way to start a fight

Vine Mine: large area, counts as undergrowth, enables entangle even in deserts

Dispel Magic: Removing their buffs is the best debuff

Spike Stones: Woe be to chargers

Wall of Thorns: No save, no SR, you're just stuck until you make a DC 25 strength check.

Where would those non-SRD effects be? It looks like vine mine might be from Sandstorm, if it's desert-based...

EDIT: Found blinding spittle. Found vine mine.

[Draz74]

Curse of Impending Blades, from SpC. (It's not superpowerful, but boy does it sound cool.)

Slow.

[PhoenixRivers]

Slow, Web, Grease, Obscuring Mist, Dispel Magic, Enervation, Feeblemind, Waves of Fatigue, Greater Dispel Magic, Waves of Exhaustion, Power word: Blind, Polymorph any Object, Dominate Monster.

In core.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Streamers.

Okay, so it's not 'favorite' so much as 'deserving of a fiery death', but it's certainly powerful.

[Tokiko Mima]

I got some low level ones:

Entangling Exhalation feat - Dragonfire Adepts
Summon Swarm invocation - Warlocks
Fell Draining Magic Missile spell - Wizard/Sorcerer

[Magnor Criol]

Shaped Freezing Fog (SpC). Grease + Solid Fog + cold damage. Awesomeness ensues. Equip party members with cold resistance items for maximum effect.

Bands of Steel (SpC). Especially chained. Reflex save-or-lose that still entangles even on a save. My wizard almost wiped out a whole army with a few chained BoS's (and his minions-er, I means fellow party members to administer the killing blows).

Feeblemind (core). Reduce enemies to drooling lumps? Take out that annoying enemy caster? Yes plz kthx. Again, Chaining this one makes it oh-so-delicious. :3

And I've gotten very, very good mileage out of Color Spray, making it my favorite low-level buff. Again, my wizard almost took out an entire encounter - several times - with just a casting or two of this spell.

[Zaydos]

Sleep: I've loved it since the Red Box.

Enervation: Got to second it.

Freezing Fog: Haven't tried it yet, but it looks fun.

Moonbolt (SpC): 1d4 Str damage/3 CL max 5d4. 2 targets, Fort halves. Maximized it's a 7th level spell for 20 Str damage Fort reduces to 10, use on a mage :).

For invokers:
Beshadowed Blast: Warlock that blinds, it's fun.

Binding Blast: Will or Fort versus Stun. The DC is relatively low (20 + Cha with 1 feat) but through in Eldritch Glaive and they have to make a series of saves.

Also of course: Entangling Exhalation on a Dragon Fire Adept.

[Temotei]

Where could I find:

• Spike stones?
• Wall of thorns?
• Streamers?

[Radiun]

Where could I find:

• Spike stones?
• Wall of thorns?
• Streamers?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/spikeStones.htm
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallOfThorns.htm

[Temotei]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/spikeStones.htm
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallOfThorns.htm

Oops. I must have missed them in my handbook.

[Fizban]

Color Spray, Grease, Glitterdust, Freezing Fog, Ennervation, all good. I'd like Bands of Steel more if it wasn't so easy to escape, but for humanoids it's great. Ray of Sickness, Ray of Dizzyness, and Stun Ray (Spell Compendium) are all awesome no-save debuffs for the BBEG in your life. Oh, and Ray of Exhaustion. Of course, Ray Deflection (SpC) will ruin your day, but thats why you pack a Kaupaer's Quickblast (link) to check first and follow up with Dispel Magic if neccesary.

I also like this combo: Wand of Launch Item (SpC)+ Metmagic Wand Grip [Quicken] (Magic Item Compendium)+ a flask of Atrumen Oil (Planar Handbook), for a -4 on fort saves as a free action, with no save. Follow up with a nice Ray of Sickness and next turn you can start using the real nasty stuff.

Edit: ha, google-fu'd the quickblast.

[Draz74]

Dispel Psionics. Much nicer than Dispel Magic.

[PhoenixRivers]

Dispel Psionics. Much nicer than Dispel Magic.

Well, unless you intend to counterspell. :)

Also, for the full +20 bonus, you need to be spending the equivalent of a level 5.5 spell's worth of points.

[Zaydos]

Well, unless you intend to counterspell. :)

Also, for the full +20 bonus, you need to be spending the equivalent of a level 5.5 spell's worth of points.

As opposed to a level 6 Greater Dispel Magic, and you can do that at 10th level. Dispel Psionics is better than Dispel Magic as far as dispelling goes.

[arguskos]

I personally liked Wave of Grief and Wrack, from the Spell Compendium. Wrack is just fun. Wave of Grief is a no-save cone of -3 attacks, checks, and saves. How can you NOT love it? Especially at level 2? As a cleric spell!

[PhoenixRivers]

As opposed to a level 6 Greater Dispel Magic, and you can do that at 10th level. Dispel Psionics is better than Dispel Magic as far as dispelling goes.

Printed, yes, Dispel peaks faster, and allows for higher bonuses.

However, when, at level 10, I can build arcane dispellers with Dispel Magic that have 100% chance to dispel or counter level 20 caster level with a level 3 dispel magic, the power difference is academic, and the cost difference becomes more important.

In other words, considering the level of support for dispelling: Dispelling the spell with a 31 vs DC 31 and Dispelling a spell with a 41 vs DC 31 makes no difference. Either way it ends. Beyond a certain level (usually CL 20, or CR +6), the dispel DC becomes academic. Anything you're fighting above that level will tend to wipe the floor with you.

So, for any dispel oriented character (which doesn't take much in the way of resources... couple feats, couple spells, minimal gold investment), at all viable CR levels, the spells are functionally identical... Except for Dispel Magic is cheaper and can also counterspell.

[Eldariel]

Where could I find:

• Spike stones?
• Wall of thorns?
• Streamers?

Streamers is in Shining South. It's funny; whenever opponent takes an action, they attack. Better not enjoy your free actions too much...

[Ernir]

Wave of Grief is a no-save cone of -3 attacks, checks, and saves. How can you NOT love it? Especially at level 2? As a cleric spell!

But, but...

Wave of Grief
Enchantment [Evil, Mind-Affecting]
...
Saving Throw: Will negates

EDIT: Right, some of my own suggestions.

This thread suffers from a disturbing lack of Stinking Cloud and Cloud of Bewilderment (SpC).

My real favourite debuffs aren't spells, though. Things like the Hexblade's curse, making the opponents shaken and sickened by mundane means, and all those nice "auras" some classes get at one point or another.

[Vizzerdrix]

I'm a fan of marbles, tanglefoot bags, bestow curse and baleful polymorph

[Gorbash]

Waves of Exhaustion. -6 to Str and Dex, can't run or charge, move at half speed... No save.

Crushing Grip
Burning Blood

[FinalJustice]

Slow/Chained Ray of Dizzines. The first, because it's a debuff that will hit pretty much anyone (not mind affecting, no need of a physiology or other nonsense). The second is a no save mind affecting Slow.

[Sharkman1231]

Ray of Enfeeblement = Awesome
It gets better as you level (to a point)
Metamagic makes it really fun.
10th lvl Maximised- 11 penalty if it hits.

[Mongoose87]

I loves me some casting Grease on the Big Stupid Fighter(s).

[industrious]

Bestow Curse: 50% chance of him not doing anything. Or, you can get creative. WoTC has a list of approved alternate curses in BoVD.

Greater Bestow Curse. Reduce any ability score to 1.

Shivering Touch: 3d6 DEX damage, with no save, on a touch attack? There is a reason why they call it "the dragon-killer"