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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jul 2013

    Default Is it worth it building a character around Servitude in Death, or is that too cheesy?

    So, Servitude in Death. I love the flavor of the spell and for a Wizard/Cleric Necromancer that would ABSOLUTELY be what I'm looking for.

    While the spell has some very significant limitations to it, it seems that the easiest way to get around them would be to load the summon up with temporary healing and never let it take a short rest. While this method is still very limited (the creature is not going to take a sustained pounding at Heroic/Low Paragon) the logistics of keeping an undead servant topped off with temporary hit points would kind of put a damper on undead spam, at least until stuff like Cloak of Courage becomes available.

    So, what do you think? Should I try out this tactic on an actual game, or is it just too cheesy?

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Anxe's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Davis, California
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Is it worth it building a character around Servitude in Death, or is that too che

    As a DM I'd probably allow it, but not in the way you want.

    1. The creature is going to rest whenever you rest. So those temp HP are going to fall off. Additionally, I think some temp HP sources are until end of encounter which would mean they fall off regardless of resting.
    2. I'd have your Servitude in Death power locked up until your current servant died. Or until you chose to stop animating its lifeless husk. Basically, you can only have one servant.

    Otherwise, pumping temp HP into it seems like exactly what you should be doing to try and keep it alive. Either that or buffing its ****ty defenses.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Kurald Galain's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jun 2007

    Default Re: Is it worth it building a character around Servitude in Death, or is that too che

    I don't see how this is cheesy at all.

    Sure, it is flavorful. But the resulting minions have one hit point each. I am not aware of any sources of THP that would let them reliably take a level-appropriate beating. They're friggin' minions, and minions are supposed to die like mayflies.

    Cloak of Courage? Sure, but that's level sixteen. At that level, way more powerful combos exist like the radiant mafia, and almost no group will ever get to 16 in the first place.

    So go for it, don't worry.
    Guide to the Magus, the Pathfinder Gish class.

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  4. - Top - End - #4
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jul 2013

    Default Re: Is it worth it building a character around Servitude in Death, or is that too che

    So, here's what I was thinking of.

    This is related to the thread I asked for the other day for a controller, but the DM decided to start us off at level 6 instead of level 15.

    Spoiler
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    Tiefling Hybrid Wizard | Cleric 6
    STR: 8
    DEX: 10
    CON: 10
    WIS: 12
    CHA: 14 (15)
    INT: 18 (21)

    1: Orb Implement Mastery (free, DM gift)
    1: Imperious Majesty
    3:
    5:

    At-Will: Lance of Faith
    At-Will: Stone Blood
    Encounter 1: Grasping Shadows
    Daily 1: Watery Sphere
    Utility 2: Lifetaker
    Encounter 3: Death Surge
    Daily 5: Servitude in Death
    Utility 6: Sacrificial Aegis (Cleric 2)

    Thought process behind this build, or rather, framework:

    Servitude in Death gets used on enemy elites and solos. Lifetaker is absolutely vital to this build. It'll give the undead minion enough juice to take a couple of hits when you first get it and due to the way monster hit points scale the minion will last longer and longer. You'll still lose your undead minions and will have to recycle, make no mistake about that. But it won't just be an amusing pet trick.

    The biggest thing to note is that the character never boosts WIS beyond what's needed to take Enlarge Spell in Paragon -- this feat is intentionally delayed because Hybrid-classing and the choice of the near-mandatory Watery Sphere puts a damper on eligible spells until them. It's not as big of a deal as it seems, especially at higher level. Clerics have a number of encounter attack powers that don't rely on you hitting with them. However, boosting Charisma will also boost the character's initiative and open up the Deadly Trickster ED if the game ever gets that far. The WIS isn't even important for Orb of Imposition, because if I ever take it with Hybrid Talent I'm going to be using it strictly with the Orb of Heightened Imposition magic item.

    Long-term plans:
    Spoiler
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    • Secrets of Belial is a must. However, I'm not sure whether to grab Secrets of Nessus (and look, I have powers that are almost guaranteed to miss if I close my eyes), Fate-Spurned Foe, or be boring and pick Fox's Cunning.
    • From here on out the character plays like a standard control wizard. You're down an encounter power (this doesn't hurt too much, especially with Reserve Manuever), the wizard class feature (which will cost you a feat), an At-Will (this actually hurts), a daily (which you need to have the build running), and a utility (which you don't care about, because lol Cloak of Courage). Losing the At-Will really hurts. The encounter power hurts in Heroic.
    • I'm waffling between either picking up Hybrid Talent: Orb of Imposition or Channel Divinity + Creation Secret. Creation Secret is crazy-go-nuts, especially if you have a way to boost the raw d20 roll... like with the Xaositects theme. However, it is feat heavy and won't pay off until mid-paragon.
    • Not sure whether to go Divine Oracle or Phiarlan Phantasmist. Divine Oracle needs no justification. Phantasmist gives a bunch of great powers, boosts attack rolls and saving throws. But it also locks you into Mark of Shadow. Divine Oracle on the other hand lets you roll twice for vs. Will attacks (awesome in conjunction with Deadly Trickster), rolls twice with initiative (love it), and lets you auto-crit. Divine Oracle also allows Mark of Storm shenanigans.
    • Grabbing Arcane Familiar for the Disembodied Hand is a must.
    • I'm grabbing Deadly Trickster for my Epic Destiny if the game ever gets that far. On this server there are about 10 people are are in epic, so it's something to think about. But anyway, Deadly Trickster. This ED turns you into a cannon of power, especially at level 24. With Dice of Auspicious Fortune and Arcane Recovery, you have enough juice to throw out 3 Daily Attack Powers per encounter per day.

    Last edited by Deathtongue; 2019-09-10 at 10:42 AM.

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