15th level Spellsword Close to Retirement | What to buy? [Archive] - Wizards Community

15th level Spellsword Close to Retirement | What to buy? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
dkay807
12-09-07, 09:52 AM My 15th level Spellsword is four APL 16 mods away from retirement (or from taking 0 GP and 0 XP for his remaining mods) and thus, I have very limited options when it comes to determining what I want to buy. I'd like to solicit advice from some of the more seasoned players on suggestions (I have a few ideas, but can't finalize my decision).

I have 20k right now. I'll earn about 10k per APL 16 mod. Thus, I need to decide on what to buy/craft (I have CWI and CA&A) with the gold I'll get from my next four modules. And yes, I intend to upgrade my Vest of Resistance to +5 as soon as I have time to do so.

What I have (this list is not exhaustive):
+1 Adamantine Holy Magebane Vicious Greatsword
+1 Death Ward Blueshine Mithral Full-Plate
+1 Death Ward Animated Heavy Mithral Shield
Boots of Speed
Ring of Freedom of Movement
Ring of Protection +5
Pearl of Power 2 (1), 3 (1), 4(1)
Belt of Giant Strength +6
Headband of Intellect +6
Amulet of Health +4
Vest of Resistance +4
Armbands of Might
Deep Red Ioun Stone
Pale Green Ioun Stone
Dusty Rose Ioun Stone
Mantle of Second Chances
Casting Glove
Rod of Extend, Lesser
Rod of Quicken, Lesser
Demolition Crystal, Least
Crystal of Mind-Cloaking, Greater
Third Eye Clarity

Some Options
Craft upgrade Amulet of Health to +6
Craft upgrade armor to Energy Immunity (I think I really want this - have access)
Craft upgrade shield to Energy Immunity (I think I really want this too)
Craft an Ioun Stone of Resistance +5 (just because I can and no one I know has one)

Some Musings
I don't have as many spell slots as I would like. I can't go full-on in all three combats in a day. I only have enough spell slots to be ultra effective in two combats a day or go half-assed in two combats and blow it all on the third. This is why I'm considering spending a lot of it on more Pearls of Power.

Without going into my build, my AC is typically 48, my attack bonus is extremely high and I unload hundreds of points of damage a round (sometimes in the 500-700 range). I have enough various re-roll and immunity options that I've never really failed any save in the last 25 adventures or so (apart from the occasional reflex damage save - which is why I'm worried about fighting a really powerful dragon and want Energy Immunity).

I also really want access to the Collision (MIC) weapon upgrade. Part of my feels like I've been holding out for it and I probably won't get it. Any suggestions for a worthwhile weapon upgrade? I've had my weapon as it is for a while now. I can't seem to find anything that really interests me.

I'm open to other suggestions - I have a lot of open item access. Consider anything in the DMG fair game and a good handful of things from the MIC.
Mattastrophic
12-09-07, 10:14 AM Pearls... lots of Pearls. Use those spellslots to make 10min/lvl buffs go all day, then reload them for Arcane Strike ammunition.

An Orange Ioun Stone would be good to craft, too, for +1 CL. Might plink your Greater Magic Weapon up to +4, even.

Also, I noticed your armor and shield are only +1. Is there a reason why you haven't worked for +5 on each. I'm also noticing no Dex boost. Perhaps a Dex-boosting Ioun Stone?

I'd also kick around trading out your Belt of Giant Strength for a Str-boosting Ioun Stone and a Belt of Battle.

That should get you started.

-Matt
magebeast
12-09-07, 11:41 AM I'd have to agree on the pearls. Pump out a bunch of those if spell slots are your major weakness.
dkay807
12-09-07, 07:58 PM Pearls... lots of Pearls. Use those spellslots to make 10min/lvl buffs go all day, then reload them for Arcane Strike ammunition.

An Orange Ioun Stone would be good to craft, too, for +1 CL. Might plink your Greater Magic Weapon up to +4, even.

Also, I noticed your armor and shield are only +1. Is there a reason why you haven't worked for +5 on each. I'm also noticing no Dex boost. Perhaps a Dex-boosting Ioun Stone?

I'd also kick around trading out your Belt of Giant Strength for a Str-boosting Ioun Stone and a Belt of Battle.

That should get you started.

-Matt

I think that +1 CL is at this point not worthwhile since all my my spells are either Orb of Cold (channeled), Whirling Blade, Mass Fly, Wall of Force or Arcane Strike bait.

The Deep Red Ioun Stone is in fact a +2 Dex Ioun Stone :)

As far as Armor and Shield enhancements... both get Magic Vestment +5 by either a 20th or 24th level caster every single mod, every single day (my best friend plays a very powerful Radiant Servant).

I considered the Belt of Giant Strength for the Belt of Battle trade and decided I needed the consistency of the Belt of Giant Strength. +2 to hit and +3 to damage all of the time is just much more important than a big burst once per day. The character's main weakness is already a lack of consistency.

I think I agree with both you and Magebeast. I'll just go nuts on Pearls of Power. 2 and 4 seem to be my best bets. Maybe another 3 for my Dragonskin. I think I will definitely get Energy Immunity on at least my armor first though.
sparkle
12-09-07, 08:31 PM Just out of curiousity, could you post your build and how you get so much damage per round? Thanks.
copperwyrmling
12-09-07, 10:26 PM As far as Armor and Shield enhancements... both get Magic Vestment +5 by either a 20th or 24th level caster every single mod, every single day (my best friend plays a very powerful Radiant Servant).

How do you get to CL 24? 20 is relatively easy (karma bead + orange ioun stone), but I don't know how to get to 24 unless there's a bard with harmonic chorus + hymn of praise involved ;)

I was curious about the AC at first glance, but quickly adding up contributions I get to 45, and the last three might be quickened recitation or you might have titan fighting in there and not be counting haste, so I'm not so curious any more.

I'm wondering who you mean by "more seasoned players" since I know you've retired either one or two PCs already, but I think more pearls of power sound good if spellslots are your weakness.
dkay807
12-09-07, 10:52 PM How do you get to CL 24? 20 is relatively easy (karma bead + orange ioun stone), but I don't know how to get to 24 unless there's a bard with harmonic chorus + hymn of praise involved ;)

I was curious about the AC at first glance, but quickly adding up contributions I get to 45, and the last three might be quickened recitation or you might have titan fighting in there and not be counting haste, so I'm not so curious any more.

I'm wondering who you mean by "more seasoned players" since I know you've retired either one or two PCs already, but I think more pearls of power sound good if spellslots are your weakness.

Your calculation is correct. With Magic Vestments, Dragonskin and Boots of Speed, I'm at 45. Dan has Recitation as a 3rd level domain spell, a lesser rod of quicken and two Pearls 3, so I can guarantee a Recitation every combat (unless there are more than three in a day).

You're exactly right. He's 15 + Orange Rock + Karma Beads. His Bard cohort does the rest when we're allowed to play with him.

Yes, I have retired two PCs, and have one who is 15th, one a mod away from 15th and one who is 13th. I didn't mean "more seasoned than me," I meant "other seasoned players." Sometimes, I like to get the input of someone on the outside looking in. This was actually pretty beneficial... I had decided to hold off on more Pearls but it seems that's what it's going to be. Maybe I'll be able to start channeling more spells, or Arcane Striking more often.
dkay807
12-09-07, 11:12 PM Just out of curiousity, could you post your build and how you get so much damage per round? Thanks.

Dwarf Fighter 2/Diviner 4/Spellsword 9. I know that an Eldritch Knight mix might yeild slightly better results, but I'm really into style - the lack of spell failure and spell channeling really works for the build and I just like to say I have 9 Spellsword levels.

The build has baically wrapped itself around Whirling Blade inadvertently. I started using it in 2004 when it first came out in CA for fun and it just started working for me when I began to Quicken it. With Arcane Strike, a high strength score, a 13 BAB and a lot of buffs/magic items, I often have the luxury of Power Attacking for a lot. I typically cast a Whirling Blade and then Quicken a second Whirling Blade, and each hit deals around 70-100 damage depending on the dice rolls, whom I'm attacking, and whether or not I Arcane Strike (2d6 Greatsword, 2d6 Vicious, 2d6 Holy, often 2d6 Magebane, 5d4 Arcane Strike). All attacks are at my highest attack bonus, so I don't have to worry about missing with iteratives. With Mobile Spellcasting, I have plenty of movement to line up my attack, or to channel a spell, move and cast, or move cast and then move back behind cover (kind of like a spring attack tactical nuke). My damage gets really high when a lot of enemies line up, which happens more often than you would believe. I hit 5 guys for 160 each (80 * 2) and suddenly it's 800 damage. If there's a caster flying around somewhere, I'll just channel an Orb of Cold and throw a Whirling Blade at him and drop him in one shot. The Casting Glove lets me use the Lesser Quicken Rod while using both hands to attack. I also use Minor Shapeshift to regenerate 15 temporary HP whenever they go down or to add +2 damage every few rounds (when I have an available swift action). That's pretty much the gimmick...

With a Shield Other on me (always), and temps from various sources (False Life, Heroes' feast, Minor Shapeshift) I haven't taken more than 20 damage in the last 25 mods or so.

If I could rebuild now, I would probably switch to Specialist - Transmutation, Focus Specialist (Transmutation), pick up Meta-Magic School Focus (Transmutation), Transdimensional Spell and Twin Spell (and drop Improved Initiative, Craft Arms and Armor and Weapon Focus), and switch some Spellsword levels for Eldritch Knight levels, and starting tossing around Twinned Whirling Blades followed by Quickened Whirling Blades (or Transdimensional Whirling blades for incorps). Oh well, that's what happens when awesome content comes out after you're on the verge of 15th level!
solbergb
12-10-07, 04:28 PM Generally final purchase should be flashy - a slow and steady thing like a bump of an attribute item from +4 to +6 probably isn't needed, you've done fine without it all this time. Unless of course you're like me and have strong aesthetic preferences to 'cap out' equipment in certain areas. Ie you get the +6 amulet of health not so much for the +1 fort save and +15 hitpoints, but because you get a sense of satisfaction for "maxing" all your key attributes.

Spells are flashy, and if you're not getting enough, by all means get enough pearls of power to use them in every fight, then see how much cash you have left over. Mechanically this is probably your best choice

Really though, you should buy the stuff that makes you happy when you look at your character sheet or think about your character. There is no "long term" for this character. Set up your equipment the way you want to remember the character.

As a side not, the whirl blade plus quicken whirl blade is something I've started to notice with my sorceress even though she doesn't do all that much damage with it and lacks arcane strike. It's useful on stuff her main spells don't work on (due to careful equipment choices) and it can put helpful damage on several people. I can certainly see how a full on spellsword built to exploit it could do a lot of damage with it, as the spell and arcane strike don't really seem to expect it to be used twice a round.
MwaO
12-10-07, 07:40 PM I think I'd go for 3 Belts of Battle + Pearls 2. Belt of Battle means that you can use the free move action to take the thing off after you've used up the standard.

i.e. on the 2nd round, you put the Belt of Strength +6 on while still having a fully charged Rod of Quicken. You end up doing your big gun twice every combat, just doing 73 damage instead of 80 on the 1st one...
dkay807
12-10-07, 09:55 PM I think I'd go for 3 Belts of Battle + Pearls 2. Belt of Battle means that you can use the free move action to take the thing off after you've used up the standard.

i.e. on the 2nd round, you put the Belt of Strength +6 on while still having a fully charged Rod of Quicken. You end up doing your big gun twice every combat, just doing 73 damage instead of 80 on the 1st one...

Interesting notion... I have two concerns with that, however.

1. I'm trying to puzzle out how that would work exactly. Round 1, I use my swift action to get an extra standard action and double-pump a whirling blade (I can never do 3 because if I activate the belt, I can't use the quicken rod). Round 2, I activate the belt for a move action with my swift, use both my move actions to take the belt off and put on my belt of giant strength, and then use my standard action to cast another whirling blade while moving. Round 3, I proceed as normal. This doesn't seem like I get a whole lot out of the combination. Per my understanding of how the belt works, I can't blow all three charges for a full-round action that consists of a standard AND a move, isn't that correct? It seems the best use of the belt would be to blow all three for an extra full-round action, move into position and cast a whirling blade, then get a full attack with a move action left over to either channel or move somewhere else. However, then I'm stuck with ******* away all my actions on the following round to swap the belt out. Our combats last three rounds TOPPS (usually one or two).

2. If I bought three belts of battle and started swapping belts in the middle of combat, I think all of my teammates would punch me in the face. Granted I can live with taking the hits, but still... I wouldn't blame them ;)

I think in the long run, it seems like too much of a process.

Sol, you're exactly right. I agree with your opinion whole-heartedly. I'd love something cool, uniue and flashy. It's too bad I haven't seen such a thing in a while. I'm really excited about Energy Immunity... I think it covers my one remaining weakness. I'm sold on the Pearls at this point. You guys are right... I need the consistency. If I get access to a Collision weapon upgrade after I spent all of my money though, you're all dead ;)

...By the way, my tactic was stopped once in my character's career when some caster I was attacking had a lesser globe of invulnerability up... what a pain in the ass.
magebeast
12-10-07, 10:10 PM Since you don't really full attack, belts of battle would be less of an exciting thing for you. The idea behind the three belts is that you get one for each combat you're in - on average, at least. You use one in a combat, swap it out for the next one.
Mattastrophic
12-10-07, 10:20 PM ...By the way, my tactic was stopped once in my character's career when some caster I was attacking had a lesser globe of invulnerability up... what a pain in the ass.

Hehehehe... strangely enough, it makes "I ready to Silence" clerics go *DOH!* as well.

Also, Brad, your post is really tempting me to trade in my Cloak of Charisma +6 for a set of Wings of Flying and a Rod of Rulership. gahhh!

-Matt
MwaO
12-10-07, 11:39 PM 1. I'm trying to puzzle out how that would work exactly. Round 1, I use my swift action to get an extra standard action and double-pump a whirling blade (I can never do 3 because if I activate the belt, I can't use the quicken rod).

You're using the Belt to give yourself the option of Quickening a spell on round 2 via your Rod without running out of Rod charges for the next couple of combats.

Right now, you want to Quicken on rounds 1 and 2, that means a 3 combat day has one combat without doublepump. With this, you can Quicken on the 1st and 2nd round of every combat, albeit with a slight strength penalty(aka 7 damage per shot with a +2 Str Ioun Stone) - or you can Quicken on 1st and 3rd round of every combat with full strength on the 3rd round.

At the cost of 6K per crafted belt, they're pretty cheap. Not to mention, you can use them on any spell you want - Mass Fly and Wall of Force on round 1? Or hand them to your Cleric friend to cast another spell if you're not running out of belts.
dkay807
12-11-07, 07:01 AM You're using the Belt to give yourself the option of Quickening a spell on round 2 via your Rod without running out of Rod charges for the next couple of combats.

Right now, you want to Quicken on rounds 1 and 2, that means a 3 combat day has one combat without doublepump. With this, you can Quicken on the 1st and 2nd round of every combat, albeit with a slight strength penalty(aka 7 damage per shot with a +2 Str Ioun Stone) - or you can Quicken on 1st and 3rd round of every combat with full strength on the 3rd round.

At the cost of 6K per crafted belt, they're pretty cheap. Not to mention, you can use them on any spell you want - Mass Fly and Wall of Force on round 1? Or hand them to your Cleric friend to cast another spell if you're not running out of belts.

That's true... I just don't think I'll be able to get enough modules under my belt to craft all of those (since I can only craft one per mod and I do think Pearls are higher priority). It is a good suggestion though.

Magebeast, I do full attack quite often. I'm the party's main tank as well (over 200 HP with a 48 AC)... so when someone needs to get up next to something, it's usually me (and our Deepwarden Occult Slayer). I've been known to quicken a Benign Transposition (using my familiar as the proxy) to get to full attack range and then take four attacks on round 1 in the past... it just gets risky these days with Anticipate Teleport around every corner. I pretty much keep an Arcane Sight up all day so I can tell who might have Anticipate Teleport up and who might not (by checking to see if they have any minor or moderate abjurations up).

By the way, if anyone is heading to DDXP and wants to play some APL 14/16 with us, PM me... only two or three of us are heading down!

~Dave
solbergb
12-11-07, 01:04 PM Also, Brad, your post is really tempting me to trade in my Cloak of Charisma +6 for a set of Wings of Flying and a Rod of Rulership. gahhh!

-Matt

My sorceress has many times been tempted to take the rod of rulership, but the lure of extra top tier spell slots and +1 to attack rolls for TK/whirl blade, +1 DC's etc is too strong.

Her OTHER gear though....
Mattastrophic
12-11-07, 04:05 PM For me, it's the Ruin Delver's Fortune save boost, the Leadership score, and I'm still kicking around taking a Marshal level at 15th. If I get access to a Skilled weapon and maybe Slippers of Battledancing, I've also kicked around taking Snowflake Wardance and going melee "just because I can."

But wings would be so cool...

GAHH!

-Matt
Wraith235
12-15-07, 09:22 PM its a little late now ... but how about a boccobs blessed Book
dkay807
12-16-07, 07:05 PM I deliberately chose not to plan to craft one of those due to the fact that the number of spells I would need to scribe into my spellbook in addition to the 2 per level I already gained would not cost more than the cost of the book itself. TUs are also extremely valuable to a crafter - I always had higher priorities.

My other character crafted a Boccob's the instant he had the chance.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
dkay807 12-09-07, 09:52 AM	My 15th level Spellsword is four APL 16 mods away from retirement (or from taking 0 GP and 0 XP for his remaining mods) and thus, I have very limited options when it comes to determining what I want to buy. I'd like to solicit advice from some of the more seasoned players on suggestions (I have a few ideas, but can't finalize my decision). I have 20k right now. I'll earn about 10k per APL 16 mod. Thus, I need to decide on what to buy/craft (I have CWI and CA&A) with the gold I'll get from my next four modules. And yes, I intend to upgrade my Vest of Resistance to +5 as soon as I have time to do so. What I have (this list is not exhaustive): +1 Adamantine Holy Magebane Vicious Greatsword +1 Death Ward Blueshine Mithral Full-Plate +1 Death Ward Animated Heavy Mithral Shield Boots of Speed Ring of Freedom of Movement Ring of Protection +5 Pearl of Power 2 (1), 3 (1), 4(1) Belt of Giant Strength +6 Headband of Intellect +6 Amulet of Health +4 Vest of Resistance +4 Armbands of Might Deep Red Ioun Stone Pale Green Ioun Stone Dusty Rose Ioun Stone Mantle of Second Chances Casting Glove Rod of Extend, Lesser Rod of Quicken, Lesser Demolition Crystal, Least Crystal of Mind-Cloaking, Greater Third Eye Clarity Some Options Craft upgrade Amulet of Health to +6 Craft upgrade armor to Energy Immunity (I think I really want this - have access) Craft upgrade shield to Energy Immunity (I think I really want this too) Craft an Ioun Stone of Resistance +5 (just because I can and no one I know has one) Some Musings I don't have as many spell slots as I would like. I can't go full-on in all three combats in a day. I only have enough spell slots to be ultra effective in two combats a day or go half-assed in two combats and blow it all on the third. This is why I'm considering spending a lot of it on more Pearls of Power. Without going into my build, my AC is typically 48, my attack bonus is extremely high and I unload hundreds of points of damage a round (sometimes in the 500-700 range). I have enough various re-roll and immunity options that I've never really failed any save in the last 25 adventures or so (apart from the occasional reflex damage save - which is why I'm worried about fighting a really powerful dragon and want Energy Immunity). I also really want access to the Collision (MIC) weapon upgrade. Part of my feels like I've been holding out for it and I probably won't get it. Any suggestions for a worthwhile weapon upgrade? I've had my weapon as it is for a while now. I can't seem to find anything that really interests me. I'm open to other suggestions - I have a lot of open item access. Consider anything in the DMG fair game and a good handful of things from the MIC.
Mattastrophic 12-09-07, 10:14 AM	Pearls... lots of Pearls. Use those spellslots to make 10min/lvl buffs go all day, then reload them for Arcane Strike ammunition. An Orange Ioun Stone would be good to craft, too, for +1 CL. Might plink your Greater Magic Weapon up to +4, even. Also, I noticed your armor and shield are only +1. Is there a reason why you haven't worked for +5 on each. I'm also noticing no Dex boost. Perhaps a Dex-boosting Ioun Stone? I'd also kick around trading out your Belt of Giant Strength for a Str-boosting Ioun Stone and a Belt of Battle. That should get you started. -Matt
magebeast 12-09-07, 11:41 AM	I'd have to agree on the pearls. Pump out a bunch of those if spell slots are your major weakness.
dkay807 12-09-07, 07:58 PM	Pearls... lots of Pearls. Use those spellslots to make 10min/lvl buffs go all day, then reload them for Arcane Strike ammunition. An Orange Ioun Stone would be good to craft, too, for +1 CL. Might plink your Greater Magic Weapon up to +4, even. Also, I noticed your armor and shield are only +1. Is there a reason why you haven't worked for +5 on each. I'm also noticing no Dex boost. Perhaps a Dex-boosting Ioun Stone? I'd also kick around trading out your Belt of Giant Strength for a Str-boosting Ioun Stone and a Belt of Battle. That should get you started. -Matt I think that +1 CL is at this point not worthwhile since all my my spells are either Orb of Cold (channeled), Whirling Blade, Mass Fly, Wall of Force or Arcane Strike bait. The Deep Red Ioun Stone is in fact a +2 Dex Ioun Stone :) As far as Armor and Shield enhancements... both get Magic Vestment +5 by either a 20th or 24th level caster every single mod, every single day (my best friend plays a very powerful Radiant Servant). I considered the Belt of Giant Strength for the Belt of Battle trade and decided I needed the consistency of the Belt of Giant Strength. +2 to hit and +3 to damage all of the time is just much more important than a big burst once per day. The character's main weakness is already a lack of consistency. I think I agree with both you and Magebeast. I'll just go nuts on Pearls of Power. 2 and 4 seem to be my best bets. Maybe another 3 for my Dragonskin. I think I will definitely get Energy Immunity on at least my armor first though.
sparkle 12-09-07, 08:31 PM	Just out of curiousity, could you post your build and how you get so much damage per round? Thanks.
copperwyrmling 12-09-07, 10:26 PM	As far as Armor and Shield enhancements... both get Magic Vestment +5 by either a 20th or 24th level caster every single mod, every single day (my best friend plays a very powerful Radiant Servant). How do you get to CL 24? 20 is relatively easy (karma bead + orange ioun stone), but I don't know how to get to 24 unless there's a bard with harmonic chorus + hymn of praise involved ;) I was curious about the AC at first glance, but quickly adding up contributions I get to 45, and the last three might be quickened recitation or you might have titan fighting in there and not be counting haste, so I'm not so curious any more. I'm wondering who you mean by "more seasoned players" since I know you've retired either one or two PCs already, but I think more pearls of power sound good if spellslots are your weakness.
dkay807 12-09-07, 10:52 PM	How do you get to CL 24? 20 is relatively easy (karma bead + orange ioun stone), but I don't know how to get to 24 unless there's a bard with harmonic chorus + hymn of praise involved ;) I was curious about the AC at first glance, but quickly adding up contributions I get to 45, and the last three might be quickened recitation or you might have titan fighting in there and not be counting haste, so I'm not so curious any more. I'm wondering who you mean by "more seasoned players" since I know you've retired either one or two PCs already, but I think more pearls of power sound good if spellslots are your weakness. Your calculation is correct. With Magic Vestments, Dragonskin and Boots of Speed, I'm at 45. Dan has Recitation as a 3rd level domain spell, a lesser rod of quicken and two Pearls 3, so I can guarantee a Recitation every combat (unless there are more than three in a day). You're exactly right. He's 15 + Orange Rock + Karma Beads. His Bard cohort does the rest when we're allowed to play with him. Yes, I have retired two PCs, and have one who is 15th, one a mod away from 15th and one who is 13th. I didn't mean "more seasoned than me," I meant "other seasoned players." Sometimes, I like to get the input of someone on the outside looking in. This was actually pretty beneficial... I had decided to hold off on more Pearls but it seems that's what it's going to be. Maybe I'll be able to start channeling more spells, or Arcane Striking more often.
dkay807 12-09-07, 11:12 PM	Just out of curiousity, could you post your build and how you get so much damage per round? Thanks. Dwarf Fighter 2/Diviner 4/Spellsword 9. I know that an Eldritch Knight mix might yeild slightly better results, but I'm really into style - the lack of spell failure and spell channeling really works for the build and I just like to say I have 9 Spellsword levels. The build has baically wrapped itself around Whirling Blade inadvertently. I started using it in 2004 when it first came out in CA for fun and it just started working for me when I began to Quicken it. With Arcane Strike, a high strength score, a 13 BAB and a lot of buffs/magic items, I often have the luxury of Power Attacking for a lot. I typically cast a Whirling Blade and then Quicken a second Whirling Blade, and each hit deals around 70-100 damage depending on the dice rolls, whom I'm attacking, and whether or not I Arcane Strike (2d6 Greatsword, 2d6 Vicious, 2d6 Holy, often 2d6 Magebane, 5d4 Arcane Strike). All attacks are at my highest attack bonus, so I don't have to worry about missing with iteratives. With Mobile Spellcasting, I have plenty of movement to line up my attack, or to channel a spell, move and cast, or move cast and then move back behind cover (kind of like a spring attack tactical nuke). My damage gets really high when a lot of enemies line up, which happens more often than you would believe. I hit 5 guys for 160 each (80 * 2) and suddenly it's 800 damage. If there's a caster flying around somewhere, I'll just channel an Orb of Cold and throw a Whirling Blade at him and drop him in one shot. The Casting Glove lets me use the Lesser Quicken Rod while using both hands to attack. I also use Minor Shapeshift to regenerate 15 temporary HP whenever they go down or to add +2 damage every few rounds (when I have an available swift action). That's pretty much the gimmick... With a Shield Other on me (always), and temps from various sources (False Life, Heroes' feast, Minor Shapeshift) I haven't taken more than 20 damage in the last 25 mods or so. If I could rebuild now, I would probably switch to Specialist - Transmutation, Focus Specialist (Transmutation), pick up Meta-Magic School Focus (Transmutation), Transdimensional Spell and Twin Spell (and drop Improved Initiative, Craft Arms and Armor and Weapon Focus), and switch some Spellsword levels for Eldritch Knight levels, and starting tossing around Twinned Whirling Blades followed by Quickened Whirling Blades (or Transdimensional Whirling blades for incorps). Oh well, that's what happens when awesome content comes out after you're on the verge of 15th level!
solbergb 12-10-07, 04:28 PM	Generally final purchase should be flashy - a slow and steady thing like a bump of an attribute item from +4 to +6 probably isn't needed, you've done fine without it all this time. Unless of course you're like me and have strong aesthetic preferences to 'cap out' equipment in certain areas. Ie you get the +6 amulet of health not so much for the +1 fort save and +15 hitpoints, but because you get a sense of satisfaction for "maxing" all your key attributes. Spells are flashy, and if you're not getting enough, by all means get enough pearls of power to use them in every fight, then see how much cash you have left over. Mechanically this is probably your best choice Really though, you should buy the stuff that makes you happy when you look at your character sheet or think about your character. There is no "long term" for this character. Set up your equipment the way you want to remember the character. As a side not, the whirl blade plus quicken whirl blade is something I've started to notice with my sorceress even though she doesn't do all that much damage with it and lacks arcane strike. It's useful on stuff her main spells don't work on (due to careful equipment choices) and it can put helpful damage on several people. I can certainly see how a full on spellsword built to exploit it could do a lot of damage with it, as the spell and arcane strike don't really seem to expect it to be used twice a round.
MwaO 12-10-07, 07:40 PM	I think I'd go for 3 Belts of Battle + Pearls 2. Belt of Battle means that you can use the free move action to take the thing off after you've used up the standard. i.e. on the 2nd round, you put the Belt of Strength +6 on while still having a fully charged Rod of Quicken. You end up doing your big gun twice every combat, just doing 73 damage instead of 80 on the 1st one...
dkay807 12-10-07, 09:55 PM	I think I'd go for 3 Belts of Battle + Pearls 2. Belt of Battle means that you can use the free move action to take the thing off after you've used up the standard. i.e. on the 2nd round, you put the Belt of Strength +6 on while still having a fully charged Rod of Quicken. You end up doing your big gun twice every combat, just doing 73 damage instead of 80 on the 1st one... Interesting notion... I have two concerns with that, however. 1. I'm trying to puzzle out how that would work exactly. Round 1, I use my swift action to get an extra standard action and double-pump a whirling blade (I can never do 3 because if I activate the belt, I can't use the quicken rod). Round 2, I activate the belt for a move action with my swift, use both my move actions to take the belt off and put on my belt of giant strength, and then use my standard action to cast another whirling blade while moving. Round 3, I proceed as normal. This doesn't seem like I get a whole lot out of the combination. Per my understanding of how the belt works, I can't blow all three charges for a full-round action that consists of a standard AND a move, isn't that correct? It seems the best use of the belt would be to blow all three for an extra full-round action, move into position and cast a whirling blade, then get a full attack with a move action left over to either channel or move somewhere else. However, then I'm stuck with ******* away all my actions on the following round to swap the belt out. Our combats last three rounds TOPPS (usually one or two). 2. If I bought three belts of battle and started swapping belts in the middle of combat, I think all of my teammates would punch me in the face. Granted I can live with taking the hits, but still... I wouldn't blame them ;) I think in the long run, it seems like too much of a process. Sol, you're exactly right. I agree with your opinion whole-heartedly. I'd love something cool, uniue and flashy. It's too bad I haven't seen such a thing in a while. I'm really excited about Energy Immunity... I think it covers my one remaining weakness. I'm sold on the Pearls at this point. You guys are right... I need the consistency. If I get access to a Collision weapon upgrade after I spent all of my money though, you're all dead ;) ...By the way, my tactic was stopped once in my character's career when some caster I was attacking had a lesser globe of invulnerability up... what a pain in the ass.
magebeast 12-10-07, 10:10 PM	Since you don't really full attack, belts of battle would be less of an exciting thing for you. The idea behind the three belts is that you get one for each combat you're in - on average, at least. You use one in a combat, swap it out for the next one.
Mattastrophic 12-10-07, 10:20 PM	...By the way, my tactic was stopped once in my character's career when some caster I was attacking had a lesser globe of invulnerability up... what a pain in the ass. Hehehehe... strangely enough, it makes "I ready to Silence" clerics go DOH! as well. Also, Brad, your post is really tempting me to trade in my Cloak of Charisma +6 for a set of Wings of Flying and a Rod of Rulership. gahhh! -Matt
MwaO 12-10-07, 11:39 PM	1. I'm trying to puzzle out how that would work exactly. Round 1, I use my swift action to get an extra standard action and double-pump a whirling blade (I can never do 3 because if I activate the belt, I can't use the quicken rod). You're using the Belt to give yourself the option of Quickening a spell on round 2 via your Rod without running out of Rod charges for the next couple of combats. Right now, you want to Quicken on rounds 1 and 2, that means a 3 combat day has one combat without doublepump. With this, you can Quicken on the 1st and 2nd round of every combat, albeit with a slight strength penalty(aka 7 damage per shot with a +2 Str Ioun Stone) - or you can Quicken on 1st and 3rd round of every combat with full strength on the 3rd round. At the cost of 6K per crafted belt, they're pretty cheap. Not to mention, you can use them on any spell you want - Mass Fly and Wall of Force on round 1? Or hand them to your Cleric friend to cast another spell if you're not running out of belts.
dkay807 12-11-07, 07:01 AM	You're using the Belt to give yourself the option of Quickening a spell on round 2 via your Rod without running out of Rod charges for the next couple of combats. Right now, you want to Quicken on rounds 1 and 2, that means a 3 combat day has one combat without doublepump. With this, you can Quicken on the 1st and 2nd round of every combat, albeit with a slight strength penalty(aka 7 damage per shot with a +2 Str Ioun Stone) - or you can Quicken on 1st and 3rd round of every combat with full strength on the 3rd round. At the cost of 6K per crafted belt, they're pretty cheap. Not to mention, you can use them on any spell you want - Mass Fly and Wall of Force on round 1? Or hand them to your Cleric friend to cast another spell if you're not running out of belts. That's true... I just don't think I'll be able to get enough modules under my belt to craft all of those (since I can only craft one per mod and I do think Pearls are higher priority). It is a good suggestion though. Magebeast, I do full attack quite often. I'm the party's main tank as well (over 200 HP with a 48 AC)... so when someone needs to get up next to something, it's usually me (and our Deepwarden Occult Slayer). I've been known to quicken a Benign Transposition (using my familiar as the proxy) to get to full attack range and then take four attacks on round 1 in the past... it just gets risky these days with Anticipate Teleport around every corner. I pretty much keep an Arcane Sight up all day so I can tell who might have Anticipate Teleport up and who might not (by checking to see if they have any minor or moderate abjurations up). By the way, if anyone is heading to DDXP and wants to play some APL 14/16 with us, PM me... only two or three of us are heading down! ~Dave
solbergb 12-11-07, 01:04 PM	Also, Brad, your post is really tempting me to trade in my Cloak of Charisma +6 for a set of Wings of Flying and a Rod of Rulership. gahhh! -Matt My sorceress has many times been tempted to take the rod of rulership, but the lure of extra top tier spell slots and +1 to attack rolls for TK/whirl blade, +1 DC's etc is too strong. Her OTHER gear though....
Mattastrophic 12-11-07, 04:05 PM	For me, it's the Ruin Delver's Fortune save boost, the Leadership score, and I'm still kicking around taking a Marshal level at 15th. If I get access to a Skilled weapon and maybe Slippers of Battledancing, I've also kicked around taking Snowflake Wardance and going melee "just because I can." But wings would be so cool... GAHH! -Matt
Wraith235 12-15-07, 09:22 PM	its a little late now ... but how about a boccobs blessed Book
dkay807 12-16-07, 07:05 PM	I deliberately chose not to plan to craft one of those due to the fact that the number of spells I would need to scribe into my spellbook in addition to the 2 per level I already gained would not cost more than the cost of the book itself. TUs are also extremely valuable to a crafter - I always had higher priorities. My other character crafted a Boccob's the instant he had the chance.