Vestiges for an Anima Mage?

[Tinydwarfman]

Just like it says on the tin, I'm looking for some vestiges that will be synergistic with my sorcerer casting. Starting at level 10, looking for vestiges of 5th level and below (when I get 6th it will immediately be taken by Zceryll). The rest of my build is pretty open for changes, but it's pretty generic, just picking good sorc spells. I will be evil, and PvP viability would be nice, as the campaign will almost certainly pit the PCs against one another at some point (I will be playing with one other player, a cleric). I like the look of dantalion, but no other vestiges strike me that they would be useful for casters. Homebrew is also available, but I don't have the time to troll through hundreds mediocre vestiges.

TL;DR: Good vestiges of 5th and below for an Anima Mage?

[JasonP]

Have you seen the Cityscape web enchancement? http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070307a
Astaroth has some Cha synergy abilities which may be useful.

[Ernir]

Have you seen the Cityscape web enchancement? http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070307a
Astaroth has some Cha synergy abilities which may be useful.

And some free item creation feats for when you have downtime. (!!!)

[Tinydwarfman]

Unfortunately, we are very unlikely to see ANY downtime at all in this game. The breath and knowledge looks nice though, and any bonus to diplomacy is appreciated . Any other suggestions?

[Optimystik]

Naberius is always a good choice. Take 10 on Bluff even under pressure, and it's a class skill for you.

Tenebrous gives you rebuke undead - your Cha will be high, so you'll be pretty good at it.

[demidracolich]

You should also look at some of the vestiges people made on these forums.

[mabriss lethe]

Balam may be your friend here.

reroll a failed die roll once every 5 rds? very nice.
auto damage or debuff from a gaze attack? mildly useful.
Bonus to initiative, reflex and AC? fairly nice.

Dahlver-Nar is fun. with your save DC, shield self is a rather nice power.

malphas and andromalius are useful. sudden strike/sneak attack are good additions to any spell caster. Malphas' bird's eye view power is always freaking awesome. effectively rangeless scrying tool? heck yes.

Naberius is a diplomancer's best friend.

Tenebrous will open up a lot of possibilities. free defense courtesy of deeper darkness. The ability to turn or rebuke undead and the ability to use Flicker (a rather nice defensive teleport shadow mystery.)

[Tinydwarfman]

You should also look at some of the vestiges people made on these forums.

Got any good links? I was looking at some from the WotC forums, but GiTP always seems to have good homebrew for some reason.

[demidracolich]

Also, do you not have improved binding or just don't want another 6th level vestige? For 5th level vestiges, my personal favourite is Acererak because I like undead and especially like the healed from both positive and negative energy ability.

[Doc Roc]

Got any good links? I was looking at some from the WotC forums, but GiTP always seems to have good homebrew for some reason.

Well, it has lots, neh? More, basically, eventually leads to bits that are Good.

Sturgeon's law isn't all crap, after all. :)

[Tinydwarfman]

Also, do you not have improved binding or just don't want another 6th level vestige? For 5th level vestiges, my personal favourite is Acererak because I like undead and especially like the healed from both positive and negative energy ability.

I have improved binding, and I might choose another 6th level vestige when I can, but for now I can only bind 5th level (EBL 8 or 9 w/ Anima Mage).

Acererak seems pretty terrible to me actually. 3 crappy spells (hide, majorly nerfed hold person, and detect undead), and 1 semi-useful spell (speak w/ dead can be nice, although situational). The immunities are nice, but how often does being healed by negative energy actually come up? I think it's useful if you know that you're going to be going into the elemental plane of cold or something, but otherwise pretty meh.

[mint]

Leraje's ricochet works on rays and she is a first level vestige.
You'll also get precise shot.

Tenebrous' gives you flicker, someone already said but I can stand to be repeated, flicker is pretty awesome. Its a buff that lets you teleport as an immediate action, a few feet per level as an immediate action a once per turn as long as it is active.

[Edge]

Here's links to all of The Demented One's homebrew Vestiges. Some may be of use.

Spoiler

Show

Alric, the Burning Mind
Mythos Vestiges I
Mythos Vestiges II
Mythos Vestiges III
Mythos Vestiges IV
Psionic Vestiges
Reshar, Lord of the Nine Swords
Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun
Three-Faced Luna, the Silvery Mistress
Vox, the Faceless Shadow

[Person_Man]

Take Energy Substitution and Lord of the Uttercold (Comp Arcane) which changes any energy spell into 50% Negative energy and 50% Cold. You can also take Destructive Retribution (from Libris Mortis, undead that are killed explode in Negative Energy) or Beckon the Frozen (Frostburn, gives anything you Summon the Cold subtype, letting you use other Undead for this combo) but they're not necessary. Before combat, cast Animate Dead or any of the dozen other undead spells out there to get Skeletons or something similar, which are immune to Cold damage and are healed by Negative Energy. Bind Acererak and Tenebrous.

Acererak gives you immunity to Cold and Electricity, you're healed by Negative energy, and you have Paralyzing Touch. Move into the middle of combat surrounded by your attacking minions. Cast Uttercold area of effect spells centered near you, healing you and your minions while harming your foes. If there's a boss enemy, use Paralyzing Touch on him and have your minions Coup de Grace him (be sure to give them some scythes, and maybe a few low level magic weapons with debuff effects or Spell Storing). Tenebrous gives you Rebuke Undead, which you can use to take over any undead you encounter along the way, bolster your minions, and/or fuel Divine/Domain feats. It also let's you Flicker (Dimension Door) when you need to escape.

[Tinydwarfman]

Thanks all, especially Person Man and Edge. The Demented One always does good work, and I especially like Ghatanothoa, the Usurper. Also, that is a really cool combo w/ LotU, Tenebrous & Acererak. Tenebrous is definetly looking like one of my top vestiges now. I previously just skimmed over flicker, but it's really powerful, especially when combined w/ other miss chances like Greater Mirror Image. Good luck hitting that.

Any good vestiges or tactics for fighting a CoDzilla Cleric? Like I said, this game will inevitably turn into a PvP match at some point, and I'd like to be prepared.