Let's share tactics

[Jon_Dahl]

Problem: In melee with strongly buffed caster.
Solution: Sunder spell component pouch (AC 12+dex). Bye Summon Monsters etc. Eschew Material can potentially screw this tactic.

Problem: You have a clear path to caster and his movement is a bit restricted (room for example) or you doubt if he will move at all during the round (5 ft step etc.).
One solution: Ready action to move next to the caster if he casts a spell.

Problem: Caster standing behind opponents, dealing magical death.
Solution: Bull rush the smallest opponent, then move behind the caster.

Problem: Ranged combat, you have a crossbow.
Solution: Drop prone, shoot and load. +4 AC, no penalties.

These were about 3.5, but all decent tactics from any system are welcomed.

[Darwin]

Problem: You want to counterspell an opponent on his next action, you have no Dispel Magic spells left.
Solution: Ready offensive spell, damage will disrupt his casting unless he makes a monstrous DC concentration check.

[Koury]

Problem: Melee tries to sunder your pouch.
Solution: Always have 5 pouches. They're cheap.

Problem: Melee keeps readying actions to follow you when you move.
Solution: Cast on the defensive. The check is really really easy.

[Jon_Dahl]

Problem: Melee tries to sunder your pouch.
Solution: Always have 5 pouches. They're cheap.

Problem: Melee keeps readying actions to follow you when you move.
Solution: Cast on the defensive. The check is really really easy.

Haha! True, true... I do admit my defeat but how many casters actually have more than one spell component pouch? And casting on defensive, really really easy? Ok...

[Koury]

Haha! True, true... I do admit my defeat but how many casters actually have more than one spell component pouch? And casting on defensive, really really easy? Ok...

I personally always try and have more then one pouch, but I realize I may be in the minority. I like 5 because someone could sunder one with each attack on a full attack and I'd still have one.

As for the check, yeah, its pretty easy. At level 1 it's probably the hardest it will ever be, with 4 ranks, +2 Con and perhaps a +2 tool for a DC 16 check. 60% chance to cast level 1 spells with the tool, 50% without.

Level 6? 9 ranks, +2 Con and +2 tool for a DC 18 check. You pass on a 5.

Add in +Con items, Combat Casting or Skill Focus: Concentration and yeah, it's pretty easy.

[PhoenixRivers]

Problem: In melee with strongly buffed caster.
Solution: Sunder spell component pouch (AC 12+dex). Bye Summon Monsters etc. Eschew Material can potentially screw this tactic.

Most casters carry 2.

Problem: Caster takes 5 ft step away from you, casts spells without provoking AoO.
One solution: Ready action to follow the wizard if he moves.

The better timing is a ready action to move adjacent to the wizard if he CASTS. Then you can get a free AoO and disrupt a spell.

Problem: Caster standing behind opponents, dealing magical death.
Solution: Bull rush the smallest opponent, then move behind the caster.

Very situational.

Problem: Ranged combat, you have a crossbow.
Solution: Drop prone, shoot and load. +4 AC, no penalties.

These were about 3.5, but all decent tactics from any system are welcomed.

The ranged one isn't really a problem.

Basics of tactics:

Movement is life. All other things equal, movement decides fights.

Action economy is the only economy.

An action that does double duty is worth more than the sum of its parts. for example: Ready action to attack if enemy casts. You damage opponent, and interfere with casting. Either is good, both together are gold.

Sometimes one action at the precise right time is better than 2 actions on your turn. Example: Ready actions. Being able to interrupt actions gives you the ability to stop your opponent before he starts.

[Jon_Dahl]

The better timing is a ready action to move adjacent to the wizard if he CASTS. Then you can get a free AoO and disrupt a spell.

This is much better, thank you. I fixed the OP.

[Jon_Dahl]

Bump.....?

[Lycanthromancer]

Haha! True, true... I do admit my defeat but how many casters actually have more than one spell component pouch? And casting on defensive, really really easy? Ok...

I also usually have 5 pouches, whenever I make sample characters (I'd never ever ever use wizards in an actual game, though I do use factotums, which use component pouches).

-Problem: you're a caster, and people keep getting all up in your business with antimagic fields.
Solution: move at least 10' then cast (if you want to cast at the person in the field, use an instantaneous conjuration), or find a cone of wood or something that is large enough for you to fit inside, cast shrink item, and wear it as a hat, then dimension door out whenever it's your turn, or cast some buffs in the meantime.

-Problem: you're a single caster in a group of martial types, and the DM is being really stingy with magic items, and you don't want to have to spend your precious XP crafting.
Solution: learn Chain Spell and a few metamagic reducers, and cast long-lasting buffs (such as greater magic weapon and magic vestment) on everyone at once.

[TheMadLinguist]

Problem: enemy is immune to lifesight or your other normal detection modes
Solution: lock onto the living spider he has in his spell component pouch (required for spiderclimb).

[Triaxx]

Yes, well, I carry two pouches, and have eschew materials, and I'm a sorceror.

Oh, and I also cast Sudden Quickened Repeating, Maximized Burning Hands.

No, Maximized, Empowered Burning Hands.

[Trouvere]

A well constructed indexed thread like this would go a long way towards cutting down on the repetitive Wizard vs X threads. Oh, who am I kidding.

Tired of Time Stop/Maw of Chaos/Maw of Chaos/Maw of...?
Gain the Chaotic subtype. This can be yours for only 56,000 gp, 2240 XP, and a successful Will save, with the Savage Species 'Ritual of Alignment'. 7th level cleric with the Chaos domain supplied separately.

[Person_Man]

Guide to Melee Combos

RE: Spell Pouches: While a player might carry multiple spell component pouches, realistically most DMs don't give enemies multiple spell component pouches or holy symbols or Eschew Materials unless you try to Sunder every time you fight a caster. If you only whip out that trick once or twice during a campaign for boss fights, you should be fine.

Or you could use Sleight of Hand, and rob everything on your target except for his armor and whatever he's holding as a free action.

Or you can just find a way to deal massive damage and get a relatively high too hit. Any dedicated melee build should be able to kill any one enemy in one round.

Or you can just be a magic (or psionic, incarnum, vestige, etc) user yourself. If your enemies have dozens of different options, why shouldn't you?

[Choco]

If you were able to get into melee with a wizard specifically, just sunder the spellbook instead. Chances are if the wizard let you get into melee range he likely didn't protect his spellbook either .

Problem: Wall spells preventing you from getting into melee with a caster.
Solution: Anklet of Translocation or other teleporting magic item.

Problem: 5-foot steps.
Solution: Thicket of Blades stance (only requires a 1 level Crusader dip, and Crusader is a good class, more worth it IMO than wasting a feat or getting a magic item).

[Dingle]

If you were able to get into melee with a wizard specifically, just sunder the spellbook instead. Chances are if the wizard let you get into melee range he likely didn't protect his spellbook either .
.

I don't think it will help. Wizards don't need spellbooks to cast spells, only to prepare them. If you find a wizard preparing spells, they won't have much to cast anyway.

[Ranos]

Problem: Wall spells preventing you from getting into melee with a caster.
Solution: Anklet of Translocation or other teleporting magic item.

Nah, the anklet needs line of effect/sight. I think the earliest teleporting effect that would work would be dimension door.

Problem: 5-foot steps.
Solution: Thicket of Blades stance (only requires a 1 level Crusader dip, and Crusader is a good class, more worth it IMO than wasting a feat or getting a magic item).

Ironically, the anklet works here.

[sambo.]

Haha! True, true... I do admit my defeat but how many casters actually have more than one spell component pouch?

i took Eschew Materials on my Sorcerer/Shadowcaster/Noctumancer for almost this exact scenario (or DMs tieing me up and stealing my spell component pouches...)

sunder my belt pouches to your hearts content my good friend.

meanwhile, lemme think, for a second, how shall i dispatch thee...... let me count the ways.

Yes, well, I carry two pouches, and have eschew materials, and I'm a sorceror.

Oh, and I also cast Sudden Quickened Repeating, Maximized Burning Hands.

No, Maximized, Empowered Burning Hands.

really?

i'd probably go: Maximised or Empowered Afraid Of The Dark, Flicker to somewhere you can't hit me.
rinse and repeat
there's a good chunk of Wisdom damage right there..
finish off with Phantasmal Assailants* if i run out of Afraid Of The Darks before you collapse.

*lucky i just screwed your Will save with those AotD's yuh?

[Escheton]

problem: (magical) animals
solution: ray of stupidity (or whatever it's called) 1d4+1 int dmg against critters that have 2 to 6...

[Choco]

I don't think it will help. Wizards don't need spellbooks to cast spells, only to prepare them. If you find a wizard preparing spells, they won't have much to cast anyway.

No, it works fine, you just gotta draw it out. Sunder the book, run away, then harrass him till he runs out of spells.

Nah, the anklet needs line of effect/sight. I think the earliest teleporting effect that would work would be dimension door.

Ah, I was thinking of something like Wall of Force or Forcecage, where the wizard keeps you away and still has LOS to you with which to cast you to death. Though the other walls yeah, they are an issue.

Ironically, the anklet works here.

It does to get you away (which is why I never leave home without one, ALL my characters have one...), but I was referring to the enemy making 5-foot steps to avoid an AoO.

[sonofzeal]

Problem: Enemy has high AC and you're a fighter sort
Solution: Touch attacks. Impaling Weapon and Martial Study: Emerald Razor are two good ways, plus gaining access to the ever-popular Wraithstrike.


Problem: Nothing you do can hurt the enemy directly.
Solutions: Target their environment, take steps to make them waste their actions, or help your allies (including "Aid Another" if necessary).


Problem: You want to play a monk
Solution: Play a Tashalatora PsiWar, or an Unarmed Swordsage.

[jiriku]

Problem: You are a squishy wizard, and you're reasonably certain the big bad can one-shot you. You don't want to sit around self-buffing and not contributing to the combat, but you don't want to die either.

Solution: Polymorph party rogue into a 12-headed pyrohydra. Rogue's offensive potential increases by an order of magnitude. Rogue also now draws huge aggro. Rogue's player thinks you're a team player, and enemies aren't targeting your character. Win/Win.



Problem: Your party is ambushed by a purple worm. Party members are being swallowed whole left and right.

Solution: Hand a bag of beads of force to the BSF. Purple worm destroyed by a series of internal explosions. Survival of BSF is optional.

[lsfreak]

No, it works fine, you just gotta draw it out. Sunder the book, run away, then harrass him till he runs out of spells.

No wizard worth his Int score has one book. There's an adventuring book plus a book in his stronghold, and possibly one in the mage guild vault. Probably also tattoos of the most crucial spells on his body (teleport, orbs, enervation, dominate, glitterdust). He teleports somewhere, prepares spells (even if only those tattood on himself), and comes back with a full load.
Plus, there's also sunder's constant problem that you just sundered most of the treasure you were going to get for killing the wizard.

Problem: There's something in the way so that you can't charge, such as rough terrain.
Solution: You can make jump checks as part of a charge.

[Choco]

No wizard worth his Int score has one book. There's an adventuring book plus a book in his stronghold, and possibly one in the mage guild vault. Probably also tattoos of the most crucial spells on his body (teleport, orbs, enervation, dominate, glitterdust). He teleports somewhere, prepares spells (even if only those tattood on himself), and comes back with a full load.

Exactly, which is why in my first post I specified that if they even let you get into melee range to begin with, they likely do not know what they are doing (unless it is all part of the plan of course...).

Plus, there's also sunder's constant problem that you just sundered most of the treasure you were going to get for killing the wizard.

Still better than having the wizard kill you.

[gdiddy]

Problem: Dominate Person.


Solution: Mind Blank and Bluff ranks can get you close enough for a charge. Hey, it beats him knowing you haven't been dominated and then casting more spells.

[Yukitsu]

Problem: Uberchargers.
Solution: Surround self with skeletal mooks.

Problem: People who are invisible and etc. waiting to ambush you.
Solution: Lesser planar bound succubi spotters.

Problem: Less than loyal spotters.
Solution: Mind rape.

Problem: People trying to close to melee with a hammer and cleave.
Solution: Contingency.

[jpreem]

The better timing is a ready action to move adjacent to the wizard if he CASTS. Then you can get a free AoO and disrupt a spell.

Im not sure it should work that way. The thing that attracts AoO, casting, has already started (that was the thing that triggered your ready action). Im not sure the same action should provoke another action from you.
Well you could say --- X started casting .. -> readiead action resolves -> im next to the guy who is still casting ( and its not just the start casting thing that provokes). So X provokes.
But there should be a chance that by the time you'rt character reaches him using his readiead move action the X has already completed its casting. ( YOu moving and him casting was simultaneous.

What's the RAW on it. Logically it should depend on your base speed and the distance -> if you are fast enogh to reach him before a standard action is completed.

[JaronK]

Problem: Enemies keep trying to hurt you, and your feet are sore.
Solution: Use Fabricate to build a mini tower complete with shutterable windows and metal legs. Cast Permanent Invisibility and Permanent Shrink Item on the thing. Use Haunt Shift on a Porpoise skeleton (all that matters here is the movement speed, you can use any other easy to control undead that you have access to and can move) to animate the thing. Jump inside. Occasionally cast Greater Floating Disk so it can rest on the thing and fly. Make sure there's a chair inside with good back support. Now you can just order your minion to open the shutters when you cast spells, and close them when you aren't casting. When the shutters are closed, even though the whole thing is invisible, line of effect is blocked and you're safe. When they're open, you can cast. Also, you can rest your sore legs and feet.

JaronK

[jpreem]

Somewhere in these threads were one that was conserned of animating a giant's skeleton and fixturing a nice armchair inside its ribcage for a gnome wizard. Invisibility will be cast and of course you could equip it with armor ( probably with a window and shutters ) and weapons.
Somebody with better search-fu can probably find out where this post is. Should be in this roleplaying games forum
I wouldn't be surpired if it was JaronK post/thread

[CockroachTeaParty]

Problem: you are fighting an ooze.

Solution: For the love of Pelor, don't get into melee with it! Sure, you can power attack for full and hit it every time, but it's an ooze! It will probably dissolve your weapon, or it will split in half, or the weapon will stick to it. Then it will engulf you, and dissolve you/pull out your bones/crush you like that poor girl at the end of Akira (the movie).

Hang back; oozes are really slow. Pepper it with ranged attacks, ideally magical ones. A warlock can kite an ooze to death quite easily.

[Lycanthromancer]

Problem: Uberchargers.
Solution: Surround self with skeletal mooks Mind rape

Problem: People who are invisible and etc. waiting to ambush you.
Solution: Lesser planar bound succubi spotters Mind rape

Problem: Less than loyal spotters.
Solution: Mind rape Mind ra-

Err...

Problem: People trying to close to melee with a hammer and cleave.
Solution: Contingency Mind rape

Is there anything that can't be solved by mind rape, INCLUDING mind rape?

-Problem: uberchargers, disintegrates, the Mage-Slayer feats, Thicket of Blades, attacks of opportunity, and any other spell with effect: ray, an area of effect, or with a target line.
-Solution: wear that shrink item'd hat (with permanency to save you spell-slots) and have your familiar (raven, imp, quasit, or some other speech-enabled critter) ready an action each round to speak the hat's command word to block line of sight and line of effect whenever you send it a telepathic thought.

There are some things money can't buy shrink item can't fix. For everything else, there's Mastercard mind rape.