Solo’s Stupendously Superior Sorcerer Stratagems

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Charop boards claim it does. By RAW, Wild Mage gives you a -3 penalty to your caster level, and an 1d6 bonus. Practiced Spellcaster gives you a +4 bonus to your caster level, to the maximum of your actual level. That adds up to zero, plus the 1d6 bonus.

CharOp boards also came up with PunPun and infinite damage combos. And FAQ says it is applied after. Semi-official vs a group of munchkins... hmm... let's see which one I'd listen to first...

Wrong, and wrong. Ur-priest can be entered by a sorcerer, doesn't increase cleric levels, and is quite an effective way of getting high-level spells early through its own casting progression. I don't care how wild soul "sounds", what it actually is is a caster class that increases sorcerer levels.

You misunderstand my meaning. This is for pure sorcerers. Your suggestion would rape his arcane spellcasting progression. Every level taken of Ur-Priest is a level you don't progress arcane casting, and a Sorcerer can only afford TWO non-progressing levels or he looses on 9th level spells. You can't Time Stop as an Ur-Priest. Or Foresight.

And I went and looked up Wild Mage. In exchange for loosing a caster level, you get to summon sucky things and get some bonuses while they're summoned. Not too terribally useful.

[Kurald Galain]

CharOp boards also came up with PunPun and infinite damage combos. And FAQ says it is applied after.

Both pun-pun and infinite damage combos are perfectly legal by RAW. WOTC secondary sources have a habit of contradicting themselves (e.g. some say White Raven Tactics work on yourself, others say it doesn't).

You should drop the arrogant condescending tone. You are not in the absolute right here, you are just offering your interpretation and opinion, and you should be able to do that without being snarky or insulting. Calling suggestions you don't like "sucky" or "rape" or a "group of munchkins" is completely uncalled for.

You can't Time Stop as an Ur-Priest. Or Foresight.

As a matter of fact you can, via domain spells, and you can do so earlier than a straight sorcerer/20 can. It is certainly a viable build option.

And I went and looked up Wild Mage. In exchange for loosing a caster level, you get to summon sucky things and get some bonuses while they're summoned. Not too terribally useful.

That's not what wild mage does at all.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

You should drop the arrogant condescending tone. You are not in the absolute right here, you are just offering your interpretation and opinion, and you should be able to do that without being snarky or insulting. Calling suggestions you don't like "sucky" or "rape" or a "group of munchkins" is completely uncalled for.

Hello Kettle, this is Pot, you're black.

As a matter of fact you can, via domain spells, and you can do so earlier than a straight sorcerer/20 can. It is certainly a viable build option.

I beg to differ. Page 70 of Complete Divine, under Spells per day, second paragraph. It specifically states that Ur-Priests do not get domains. This is not a 'build a Mystic Theurge' thread, it's a Sorcerer thread, which means Arcane. Ur-Priest has it's place in duo-realm casting, being a very cheezy way of getting 9th level spells on both sides by using Ur-Priest spell progression on the divine side. However, since this thread is about sorcerers, not duo-realm builds, I didn't bother including it.

That's not what wild mage does at all.

Ummm... yes it does. You get to summon Fae critters which are either identical or worse than what you would normally summon with your typical Summon Monster spell for that level. Read the fine print, and you see that all the Seelie Bond abilities only work when you have a fae critter summoned. So yea, like I said. A whole bunch of suck.

[Solo]

I would appreciate it if no one got this thread locked, if you know what I mean.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

I would appreciate it if no one got this thread locked, if you know what I mean.

Don't want to live up to the headmaster's legacy?

[Solo]

Oh, no, not at all. I just don't want to have my thread locked and then get banned afterwards before the thread has surpassed the Batman Guide in length.

[MeklorIlavator]

:snip:

Ummm... yes it does. You get to summon Fae critters which are either identical or worse than what you would normally summon with your typical Summon Monster spell for that level. Read the fine print, and you see that all the Seelie Bond abilities only work when you have a fae critter summoned. So yea, like I said. A whole bunch of suck.

Actually, what your describing isn't the wild mage at all( that class is from the Complete Arcane, and gives the -3 to caster level, +1d6), its the wild soul, from the Compete Mage.

[Skjaldbakka]

Yeah, the FAQ isn't RAW. It is often also wrong, and at times contradicts itself. The Char-Op boards tend to be much more careful in sticking to the RAW then the FAQ. Given that exploiting loopholes is what they do.

So instead of call pots and kettles black, we could be productive, and call the FAQ and the Char-Op boards what they are - resources.

I don't really see Ur Priest as a sorceror option though. Sorceror as an Ur-Priest option, yes, but an Ur Priest isn't a sorceror, it is an Ur-Priest. That whole divine vs. arcane issue gets in the way there.

IMO, the only reason to go Ur Priest at all is to exploit it with Mystic Theurge*. Losing Arcane spellcasting to get Divine spellcasting with lower HD, BAB, and prereqs seems like a sucker move to me. To quote the headmaster, "Anytime a wizard casts a spell on the cleric's list, for that round he's a sucker".

I think that applies equally to sorcerors, as they also could have better HD, proficiencies, BAB, and the ability to cast in armor if they want to cast spells on the cleric list.

*before you ask, I don't know the details of how this is done, I've just seen people mention comboing UrPriest and Mystic Theurge.

[Chronicled]

Yeah, the FAQ isn't RAW. It is often also wrong, and at times contradicts itself. The Char-Op boards tend to be much more careful in sticking to the RAW then the FAQ. Given that exploiting loopholes is what they do.

So instead of call pots and kettles black, we could be productive, and call the FAQ and the Char-Op boards what they are - resources.

QFT.

To be honest, I'd sooner trust the Char-Op boards' claims than those of the FAQ. The former has a higher propensity to be correct than the latter.

[Solo]

Core Equipment:
With help from Shneeky the Lost

Spoiler

Show

Scrolls:

Buy scrolls of spells you'll use occasionally. Plane Shift, for example. All spells that I have noted are better cast by wizards fall into scroll territory.


Wands:

Buy wands of spells you'll use a lot, but don't want to waste spells known on.

Make sure the spells in your wands are not Save or X spells, nor rely heavily on a high caster level for effectiveness.

Shnkeeky:

Of course, any Sorcerer worth the title knows his limited spell list means he needs an extra supply of scrolls and wands to make up his lack of knowledge. Here's a few wands I've found useful...

* First off, recall the disadvantage of wands: it uses a base caster level rather than yours, and can only be up to 4th level spells.

* Second, the DC's do *NOT* take into account your primary casting stat. So don't bother with Save or Screwed spells, they'll never land.

* It has 50 charges, so only wand it if you plan on doing it a LOT, otherwise just grab a couple of scrolls.

With this in mind, you don't want wands that have a lot of level-dependent stuff. That means, unfortunately, a lot of your 'blaster' spells. However, there are some very useful utility spells to pick up as wands:

Grease. No level-dependent effects, and no SR to worry about. Flat DC balance check. It's always good for a few laughs. If you don't know it, DO wand it.

Summon Monster I. Surprisingly handy utility. Use it to trip traps, walk into dubious areas wherein you suspect might be hazardous, to experiment with unknown substances...

Ray of Enfeeblement. Handy at low levels, not so much at higher levels. No save, and not much in the way of level-dependent stuff. If you like using it a lot, wand it.

Expeditious Retreat. What you do when something does close with you. At least until you can afford Dimension Door.

Knock. Wand this, because caster level is irrelevant. And you never know when your skillmonkey isn't skilled enough.

Glitterdust. If you don't learn it, wand it. It points out invisible things.

Web. Good battlefield control, has a use even if they make the save.

Mirror Image. Really, you should have this as a Known spell, so you shouldn't need to wand it. If, for some reason, you decide to NOT pick it up, Wand it, and smack yourself in the head for not learning it.

(animal)'s (stat). If your party wants buffing, ask them to buy you the wands. This makes them think twice about calling you a worthless buff-bot.

Rope Trick. It would be expensive to get it as cast by an 8th level caster (12,000 by my calculations), but hey, that's an awful lot of adventuring days you don't need to worry about being ambushed.

Silence. Use it in the area effect version that doesn't allow save. Follow up with a method of keeping them in the area. Nerfs opponent casters.

Rings:

Rings of Protection are always good
Rings of Spell Turning are great for defense against other casters.
Rings of Freedom of Movement means you don't have to fear grappling monks, ever.
Rings of X Ray Vision... have applications not appreciated by people who do not ware lead lined clothing.

Armor:

Twilight Mythral Feycraft OMGTWFBBQ Chain Shirt of Heavy Fortification.

It is a pain to write on our character sheet, but it is a chain shirt that is wearable, and give you immunity to critical hits and sneak attack.

It is a great thing to have... but does it make anyone else feel dirty to own a piece of equipment whose name is longer than that of several real world countries combined?

Never mind, it isn't core either. Now, a Mithral Buckler of Heavy Fortification is, so grab that instead.

Rods:

Rod of Absorption - Absorb spells, and use the energy to cast more spells. A good buy.

Rod of Cancellation - Crafted by Fox News, this rod is a one shot affair that Disjunctions any magic item it touches. Might be useful.

Immovable Rod - As with the Decanter of Endless Water, this is a fun item with many uses. Everyone loves an Immovable Rod!

Rod of Lordly Might - Best pickup line ever.

Rod of Wonder - Pure win. Almost as dangerous to you as it is to your enemies.

Metamagic Rods:

Core sorcerers cannot use Quicken Spell, but a Rod of Maximize really helps out with Enervations. Widen Spell, Enlarge Spell, and other minor metamagic feats are can be had as Rods, but aren't necessarily worth it.

Then again, Disintegrating someone from over 800 feet away can be rather nice....


Wondrous Items:

Bracers of Armor: Better than Mage Armor, but it won't stack with your Chain Shirt of OMGWTFBBQness.

Decanter of Endless Water: It won't improve your casting per se, but it is always a fun item to have, and will foil your DM's plotting with a bit of ingenuity and a knowledge of fluid physics. (Hint: Pressure= Density*acceleration due to gravity*depth)

Handy Haversack, Bag of Holding: These types of things make up for a Sorcerer's lack of carrying capacity.

Hand of Glory: Ah, the Hand of Glory. Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your have fine taste, sir.

The best part is that it allows you to add an extra ring slot. A bargain for everyone who likes rings; normally, you'd have to either use an epic feat to free up some ring space or... get creative down under.

Ehlonna's Quiver (Efficent Quiver). Surprisingly useful. What, you don't use bows and arrows? No, but a Wand is the same size as an arrow, so you can carry all your wands around with easy access. Rods go in the Javelin slot, and Staves go in the Bow slot.

Glove of Storing. If you're not getting the Dexterity, this can be used to always make sure you've got a wand on-hand. (Not to self: Stab Shneeky to death for pun.)

Cloak of Charisma/Gloves of Dexterity/Amulet of Health: Use is obvious

Cloak of Etherealness: Good item, if you don't have the spell, but if you want to use it, you have to give up the Cloak of Charisma.

Cloak of Resistance: Good for making sure you don't die as easily, but same problem as above.

Ioun Stones: the Orange Ioun stone increases your caster level by +1, for a hefty price. Get it.

The ones that absorb spells are also pretty useful. Grab as many as you want and proceed to give children you meet astronomy lessons.

Marvelous Pigments: Paint your way out of trouble! Finally, Art majors can do something useful. (warning: For the sake of your sanity and mine, keep these the hell away from Dalai, Picasso, Gaugan, and anyone associated with them.)

Robe of the Archmagi: The armor, caster level check and resistance bonuses are nice. The SR will be ineffectual at the level you get it, unless you go around beating up lesser casters a lot.

Scarab of Protection

The scarab’s possessor gains spell resistance 20. The scarab can also absorb energy-draining attacks, death effects, and negative energy effects. Upon absorbing twelve such attacks, the scarab turns to powder and is destroyed.

An excellent way of avoiding a Finger of Death to the face. Doesn't stack with the Amulet of Health, though.


Tome of X: Increases X stat by 1-5 points. You know which one to increase.

Non-Core Equipment:

Spoiler

Show

Armor:

The Twilight Mythral Feycraft OMGTWFBBQ Chain Shirt of Heavy Fortification, if you so desire.

Wondrous Items:

Belt of Magnificence (MHB): A bonus to all stats. A +6 belt will cost you 200,000. Worth it.

Cursed Items:

Buy these and give them to your enemies.

[Solo]

Good non-core spells for a sorcerer to know:

Good non-core spells have also been covered in TLN's guide, but here are some that weren't, as they apply more to sorcerers than wizards.


Sphere of Ultimate Destruction, level 9 (SpC)

Disintegrate on steroids. I hope you have been practicing your evil laughter.


Maw of Chaos, level 9 (SpC)

An AOE damage spell that deals 1d6/caster level force damage and disrupts concentration. Crazy good.


Reaving Dispel, level 9, (SpC)

Dispel magic and steal the effect of spells for yourself!

Warning: use Greater Arcane Sight to make sure you don't slap a Dominate Person on yourself by accident.


Veil of Undeath, level 8 (SpC)

You do not gain the undead subtye, but you gain most of the benifits of being undead.

Warning: EVIL!!!


Arcane Spellsurge, level 7 (DM)

It is a self only spells take one less round to cast, turns full-round spells into standard actions, and standard actions into swift actions. It is itself a swift action to cast (for Dragonblood casters), and lasts for one round per level.

Just be careful not to run out of swift actions.


Evan's Spiked Tentacles of Forced Intrusion, level 6 (OotS)

A mean Evocation [Force] spell that grapples enemies and deals 4d6 piercing damage to them.

Chimeras affected by this spell must make a Will save to avoid becoming panicked, due to the fact that they are not comfortable being grappled down there.


Assay Spell Resistance, level 4 (CAr)

Swift action, +10 to CLC against SR. When combined with Spell power, Ioun Stones, and/or the Spell Penetration feats, this means you can tell creatures with SR to go suck it. Having all of those is probably overkill, though.


Orb of Force, level 4 (CAr)

A Conjuration ranged touch attack spell that deals 10d6 Force Damage. Suck it, virtually every monster created, you are taking damage.


Rune Delver's Fortune, level 4 (SpC)

A wonderful spell that helps you get lucky.

As an immediate action, you get to make yourself immune to certain things and gain a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier on one saving throw, or temporary HP. Immunities linked to saving throw chosen.


Wings of Flurry, level 4 (DM)

An Evocation area effect force damage spell that also dazes enemies who fail their reflex save. It's uncapped for caster level-based damage. Suck it, Evo... wait what?


Defenestrating Sphere, level 4, (SpC)

A sphere pf air knocks enemies prone and hurls them upward for subsequent falling damage. If windows are nearby, then out it goes.

Damn you WotC for making me dislike Evocation less.


Melf's Unicorn Arrow, level 3 (PHB2)

Best blasting spell ever. A Conjuration spell, ranged touch attack, that deals untyped damage, and bull rushes your opposition. What more could you ask for?


Unluck, level 3, (SpC)

The target is forced to re-roll every roll he makes and take the worse of the two results. Diviniation, Will Save, non-mind affecting.


Wings of Cover, level 2 (DM)

Grants total cover to you as an immediate action. Suck it, Dread Wraiths who can attack only once per round.


Cloud of Knives, level 2 (SpC)

*Stabbity stab stab stab*

[Jack_Simth]

Armor: Twilight Mythral Feycraft OMGTWFBBQ Chain Shirt of Heavy Fortification.

Slight catch:
While Mithril, Heavy Fortification, and the Chain shirt are Core, Twilight and Feycraft are not.

A Mithral Buckler, on the other hand....

[Solo]

Slight catch:
While Mithril, Heavy Fortification, and the Chain shirt are Core, Twilight and Feycraft are not.

Am I still allowed to make fun of it?

A Mithral Buckler, on the other hand....

Noted and thank you.


By the way, any help you guys could give me on worthwhile items and spell choices from non-core material would be extremely welcome. Please describe such items in a humerous and informative way.

[Talic]

I prefer putting padded armor of heavy Fort +1 with the elusive target feat.

Now you can deny crits, sneak attack, AND power attack. All you need is a death ward effect and you're pretty well set on being a hard target for beatsticks, whether they be living or undeady.

It is, however, non-core.

[Solo]

Updated: Treantmonk's Guide to Being a God now linked to, under TLN's Guide.

Formatting revised.

Spell descriptions polished.

Core equipment and non core spells expanded on.

[Ascension]

Since you say that a familiar isn't very useful for a sorcerer, what do you think of the Spell Shield variant from Dungeonscape? You give up your familiar and in exchange you gain this ability: When you take damage from any source you can take an immediate action to expend a spell slot and make a DC 15 + spell level concentration check. If you succeed you negate up to five times the level of the spell slot in damage.

It doesn't sound worth the spell slot to me, but sorcerers do get a heck of a lot of spells per day compared to their studious brethren.

[shadow_archmagi]

Since you say that a familiar isn't very useful for a sorcerer, what do you think of the Spell Shield variant from Dungeonscape? You give up your familiar and in exchange you gain this ability: When you take damage from any source you can take an immediate action to expend a spell slot and make a DC 15 + spell level concentration check. If you succeed you negate up to five times the level of the spell slot in damage.

It doesn't sound worth the spell slot to me, but sorcerers do get a heck of a lot of spells per day compared to their studious brethren.

Oooh. That sounds nice. Its a shame I can't give up my familiar twice. Being able to say "Actually, I cast rainbow pattern one time fewer today. Your 20 damage is irrelevant. My turn. I cast fly and go out of range. Nice try though."

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I'd rather ditch the familiar for spontanious metamagic.

Mithral Buckler is good at low levels, but higher up, you generally find something that gives good shield AC. I know with AbChamp, you get to drop a Shield spell (which is a shield bonus to AC) for +9 to AC, which beats a Mithral Buckler cold. To begin with, though, it is 1 AC...

Ehlonna's Quiver (Efficent Quiver). Surprisingly useful. What, you don't use bows and arrows? No, but a Wand is the same size as an arrow, so you can carry all your wands around with easy access. Rods go in the Javelin slot, and Staves go in the Bow slot.

Handy Haversack. Every adventurer should want one.

Ring of Freedom of Movement. Immunity to things that make you a target. Works for me.

Gloves of Dexterity. Extra AC and ranged touch attack bonus is always a good thing.

Glove of Storing. If you're not getting the Dexterity, this can be used to always make sure you've got a wand on-hand.

Of course, any Sorcerer worth the title knows his limited spell list means he needs an extra supply of scrolls and wands to make up his lack of knowledge. Here's a few wands I've found useful...

* First off, recall the disadvantage of wands: it uses a base caster level rather than yours, and can only be up to 4th level spells.

* Second, the DC's do *NOT* take into account your primary casting stat. So don't bother with Save or Screwed spells, they'll never land.

* It has 50 charges, so only wand it if you plan on doing it a LOT, otherwise just grab a couple of scrolls.

With this in mind, you don't want wands that have a lot of level-dependent stuff. That means, unfortunately, a lot of your 'blaster' spells. However, there are some very useful utility spells to pick up as wands:

Grease. No level-dependent effects, and no SR to worry about. Flat DC balance check. It's always good for a few laughs. If you don't know it, DO wand it.

Summon Monster I. Surprisingly handy utility. Use it to trip traps, walk into dubious areas wherein you suspect might be hazardous, to experiment with unknown substances...

Ray of Enfeeblement. Handy at low levels, not so much at higher levels. No save, and not much in the way of level-dependent stuff. If you like using it a lot, wand it.

Expeditious Retreat. What you do when something does close with you. At least until you can afford Dimension Door.

Knock. Wand this, because caster level is irrelevant. And you never know when your skillmonkey isn't skilled enough.

Glitterdust. If you don't learn it, wand it. It points out invisible things.

Web. Good battlefield control, has a use even if they make the save.

Mirror Image. Really, you should have this as a Known spell, so you shouldn't need to wand it. If, for some reason, you decide to NOT pick it up, Wand it, and smack yourself in the head for not learning it.

(animal)'s (stat). If your party wants buffing, ask them to buy you the wands. This makes them think twice about calling you a worthless buff-bot.

Rope Trick. It would be expensive to get it as cast by an 8th level caster (12,000 by my calculations), but hey, that's an awful lot of adventuring days you don't need to worry about being ambushed.

Silence. Use it in the area effect version that doesn't allow save. Follow up with a method of keeping them in the area. Nerfs opponent casters.

[Jack_Simth]

Mithral Buckler is good at low levels, but higher up, you generally find something that gives good shield AC. I know with AbChamp, you get to drop a Shield spell (which is a shield bonus to AC) for +9 to AC, which beats a Mithral Buckler cold. To begin with, though, it is 1 AC...

There's surprisingly little in the way of methods for an Arcanist to get a good Shield AC - Abjurant Champion is one, as it grants a bonus to the Shield spell, and lets you cast it as a Swift action. But to get the +9 AC from it, you're dropping five levels into the class... and the class costs two feats (or a feat and one level) that generally aren't worthwhile otherwise (combat casting and Martial Weapon Proficiency). You can get up to +6 Shield AC from a Mithral Buckler spending only cash (26,015 gp for a +5 Mithril Buckler, specifically, although you'll generally do better convincing your party Cleric to slap Magic Vestments on non-magical one regularly). Don't get me wrong - the Abjurant Champion is a decent PrC, even for a pure caster, but there's better PrC's out there, that may very well fit your flavor better.

[Overlord]

Ah, Solo, you truly are a Stupendously Superior Man among men.

Thanks for a very nice revision to your excellent Sorcerer's guide.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

There's surprisingly little in the way of methods for an Arcanist to get a good Shield AC - Abjurant Champion is one, as it grants a bonus to the Shield spell, and lets you cast it as a Swift action. But to get the +9 AC from it, you're dropping five levels into the class... and the class costs two feats (or a feat and one level) that generally aren't worthwhile otherwise (combat casting and Martial Weapon Proficiency). You can get up to +6 Shield AC from a Mithral Buckler spending only cash (26,015 gp for a +5 Mithril Buckler, specifically, although you'll generally do better convincing your party Cleric to slap Magic Vestments on non-magical one regularly). Don't get me wrong - the Abjurant Champion is a decent PrC, even for a pure caster, but there's better PrC's out there, that may very well fit your flavor better.

Or be an Elf, and get FREE martial weapon proficencies. Combat Casting, yea sub-par, but AbChamp is full spellcasting and full BAB. So not only do you get to increase your BAB for rays and such, but you also get the vastly useful D10 hit die for 5 levels, giving you an *average* of 15-20 extra hit points. Plus the quicken Shield for +9 AC, quickened Dispel Magic, Quickened Protection from Evil that grants a +6 deflection mod to AC, and an ability to jack up your saves or AC even further if you know it's comming, since you got spell slots to blow.

It's really not bad. Not something to start out with, certainly, but definately a solid choice. A build like Sorc5/MotAO10/AbChamp5 is a solid build. Even better is Sorc5/MotAO7/AbChamp5/Archmage3. Lots of flexability and survivability.

[Skjaldbakka]

Ray of Enfeeblement. Handy at low levels, not so much at higher levels. No save, and not much in the way of level-dependent stuff. If you like using it a lot, wand it.

Ray of Enfeeblement is the first shot of a two-shot takedown.

RoE + RoE is a solid combo, as the Ray of Exhaustion can get around the min. 1 problem Ray of Enfeeblement has. For two level 3 slots, you can empowered RoE, followed by Ray of Exhaustion. Thats an average of 10-12 strength penalty, followed by a -6 to strength from exhaustion. Which means that unless your target is buff, he's a heap on the ground, and if he is buff, he isn't anymore. Ray of Enfeeblement can also take the teeth out of a powerattack build. All you need is to drop their strength below 13 to take away most of their build.

Ray of Enfeeblement is even better if the DM doesn't houserule away the fact that it isn't ability damage, it is a penalty, which means it applies to almost everything.

[Talic]

Ray of Enfeeblement is the first shot of a two-shot takedown.

RoE + RoE is a solid combo, as the Ray of Exhaustion can get around the min. 1 problem Ray of Enfeeblement has. For two level 3 slots, you can empowered RoE, followed by Ray of Exhaustion. Thats an average of 10-12 strength penalty, followed by a -6 to strength from exhaustion. Which means that unless your target is buff, he's a heap on the ground, and if he is buff, he isn't anymore. Ray of Enfeeblement can also take the teeth out of a powerattack build. All you need is to drop their strength below 13 to take away most of their build.

Ray of Enfeeblement is even better if the DM doesn't houserule away the fact that it isn't ability damage, it is a penalty, which means it applies to almost everything.

For the really high strength things, I suppose you could stock an Escalating Enfeeblement or two in scroll form.

I prefer Ray of Fatigue, Escalating Enfeeblement (sudden max), Ray of exhaust.

1st ray can be off scroll. If going against high str, RoExhaust first, then EE.

Non core, but I like it a bit more personally.

[Skjaldbakka]

Escalating? Que?

[Jack_Simth]

Or be an Elf, and get FREE martial weapon proficencies.

Well, not free - it required your racial pick, and most elf variants have a con penalty.

Combat Casting, yea sub-par, but AbChamp is full spellcasting and full BAB. So not only do you get to increase your BAB for rays and such, but you also get the vastly useful D10 hit die for 5 levels, giving you an *average* of 15-20 extra hit points. Plus the quicken Shield for +9 AC, quickened Dispel Magic, Quickened Protection from Evil that grants a +6 deflection mod to AC, and an ability to jack up your saves or AC even further if you know it's comming, since you got spell slots to blow.

Hate to break it to you, but the PrC (at least, the one in Complete Mage, starting on page 50) specifies that that particular ability only boosts armor or shield bonuses to AC from abjuration spells - so that Quickened Protection From Evil is only good for the +2. Despite the fact that the PrC ability actually mentions Mage Armor (the mention of which is removed in the Errata, at least, as of a few months ago when I downloaded and printed it to keep with my copy of the book), the PHB Shield spell is the only standard spell that the +AC ability actually affects. The Quicken ability will work on any abjuration of level X or lower (X=Ceiling{Abjurant Champion Level /2}) but for dropping five levels in the PrC as a Pure Caster, you end up with +2 or +3 BAB, an extra 15 hp (on average; a d4 averages 2.5 hp, a d10 averages 5.5 hp, difference of 3 hp per HD on average, and the PrC has 5 levels; if you roll lucky, you could end up with more, but then again, if you roll unlucky, you could end up with nothing but 1's on your shiny d10 HD, so....), +5 Shield AC more than the Shield spell will normally give you, Swift Abjurations (3rd level and below), the ability to burn spells for 1-round boosts, and double-duration on your abjurations ... and that's basically it.

It's really not bad. Not something to start out with, certainly, but definately a solid choice. A build like Sorc5/MotAO10/AbChamp5 is a solid build. Even better is Sorc5/MotAO7/AbChamp5/Archmage3. Lots of flexability and survivability.

Also hard to squeeze in all the feats you'll need - for a Sorcerer, Mage of the Arcane Order requires three feats (Arcane Preparation, Cooperative Metamagic, and one other metamagic feat); which means to qualify after Sorcerer-5, you either need a Flaw, or you need a bonus feat from somewhere. Abjurant Champion requires one or two feats (depending on race), and Archmage requires three. If you're an Elf Sorcerer, you need three for MotAO, three for Archmage, and one for Abjurant Champion - that's seven feats; if you're Human, you get a bonus feat to qualify for Mage of the Arcane Order, but then you need to burn an extra feat on a Martial Weapon Proficiency ... uh oh, guess you can't take those Archmage levels until after 18th unless you're using Flaws or Retraining rules ... but that's a nitpick.

Don't get me wrong - it is stronger than normal Sorcerer levels; if it fits your flavor, go for it. But it's also not as strong as a lot of PrC's out there.

[AKA_Bait]

Failed Will Save... Must Bow At Awesomeness of Guide... NOOOOOOOOOOO

[Skjaldbakka]

So, . . . what does Escalating do?

[Solo]

In absentia of updating, I'm making myself a deity.



Solo the Snarky

"Solo = Epic winnar who can single handedly annihilate /b/"
- Azerian Kelimon

"A little bit of Hubris goes a long way."
-Collin152

Stats:

Expert 3


Str: 13
Dex: 10
Con: 13
Int: 16
Wis: 10
Cha: 11

Hp: 16

Alignment: Chaotic Awesome

Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Exotic Weapon Proficiency [Sarcasm]

Languages: English, Chinese

Skills:

Appraise Females: +5
Craft DnD character: +4
Craft Essay: +6
Craft Sarcasm: +5
Craft Winsome Post: +4 (not including the +2 circumstance bonus from Diplomacy and +2 again from Craft Sarcasm)
Diplomacy: +5
BS: +4
Knowledge Chemistry: +8
Knowledge Electronics +2
Knowledge Gaming: +5
Knowledge History: +8
Knowledge Mathematics: +8
Knowledge Physics: +4
Knowledge Pornography: +4
Perform Sarcasm: +9
Perform Piano: +2
Profession College Student: +7



Divine Rank 10


Salient Divine Abilities:

Singlehandedly Annihilate /b/

Divine Sarcasm

Waves of Sarcasm


Domains: Sarcasm, Cheese, Awesome

Cheese Domain

Granted Power: You are immune to cheese for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. Activation is a standard action. You may split this duration up into several periods totaling the same amount. You are not immune to beneficial cheese, only harmful cheese. This is a Supernatural ability.

Domain Spells:
1) Detect Cheese
2) Protection from Cheese
3) Dispel Cheese
4) Cone of Cheese
5) Transmute Brie to Gouda
6) Wall of Cheese
7) Finger of Swiss
8) Storm of Curds
9) Grate the Soul


Sarcasm Domain:

Granted Power: You may use your cutting tongue, rapier wit, and biting sarcasm to shatter someone's ego. As a standard action, you may give up a turning attempt to force a target to make a will save equal to 10 + half your caster level + your Wisdom modifier. On a failed save, the target is frightened for a number of rounds equal to half your caster level. If he succeeds, he is merely shaken. This is a Supernatural mind affecting ability. It only works on people who can understand your language and have an Int of higher than 3.

Domain Spells:

1. Produce Sarcasm - People are stunned by your sarcasm. Functions as Color Spray, but a sonic attack
2. Sculpt Sarcasm - Your sarcasm gets an attitude and starts hurting people. Functions as Spiritual Weapon, but deals Sonic damage
3. Wave of Sarcasm - All those caught withing a 60 ft cone must make a will save or be nauseated by your sarcasm
4. Sarcastic Smite - Your sarcasm delivers a b*tch slap to your enemies.Functions as Flame Strike, but sonic
5. Dispel Sarcasm - Counters sonic based attacks
6. Sarcastic Barrier - Your sarcasm prevents foes from passing. Blade Barrier, but Sonic damage instead of Fire damage
7. Word of Sarcasm - Your word of sarcasm is enough to shake the earth. Functions as Earthquake
8. Sarcastic Aura - You are so sarcastic that people around you are at danger of dying from an overdose of saracm. Functions as Implosion.
9. Mass Sarcasm


Awesome Domain:

Granted Power: You may be Awesome once per day. Activation is a standard action. For a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier, you gain a number of action points (here by referred to as Awesome Points) equal to your charisma modifier.

Domain Spells:

1. Awesome Touch - Works like Divine Favor, but touch range
2. Continual Awesome - Give you +2 inherent bonus to one stat for 24 hours.
3. Visage of Awesome, Lesser - Functions as Visage of the Deity, Lesser
4. Awesome Sauce - You conjure an ointment that functions like Restoration.
5. Bestow Awesome - Functions as Stoneskin
6. Visage of Awesome - Functions as Visage of the Deity
7. Major Awesome - You overpower an enemy with Awesome. Functions as Holy Word.
8. Polymorph Any Awesome - Functions as PaO
9. Visage of Awesome, Greater - Functions as Visage of the Deity, Greater.

[shadow_archmagi]

I see a lot of sentences end with "But definately not as good as some of the ones out there."

Can someone point me to these?

[Solo]

I see a lot of sentences end with "But definately not as good as some of the ones out there."

Can someone point me to these?

Point out the sentences, please.