Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Psifon 01-03-04, 04:21 AM	Potions and Oils! These are HIGHLY underrated items! They provide a great array of much needed buffs to a fighter that he can access without having to rely on his casters. Sure it is better to get a spell from your party casters, but they just aren't always going to carry what YOU might need in specific situations. So this is a thread to explore and share about how a combat machine can make better use of this much ignored resource. Here are some of my favorites: Defensive Buffs: Shield spell - great for any build that doesn't use a shield, and they are dirt cheep. Great against incorporeal foes. Mage armor - great against incorporeal foes. Good as a back up when you are in that undead dungeon. Improved Mage armor - as above, but lasts only 1min/lvl. This gives you a fat +8 AC as a 10th level potion. Expensive though, so use only in emergencies. Oil of magic vestment - not usually a great choice, but if you can't afford that armor enhancement because all your money went into your sword.... Barkskin - stacks with everything Mirror Image - This is much better against a single big opponent, than lots of little ones, but not getting attacked is always a nice thing. And it lasts for minutes. Blur - Self explanitory Offensive Buffs: True Strike - This synergizes extremely well with power attack Oil of Greater Magic Weapon - This is usefull when you want to put your money into special abilities for your weapon. You can buff the basic enchantment with this oil, and have a net total bonus of +14! Oil of Baneblade - this stuff is spendy (500 gp material component), but you can make any weapon a bane weapon for one combat. This is a nice buff for the specific foe. For instance if you know you are going up against undead, take oil of undead bane, vs dragons, take dragon bane, etc. You can't always afford the round to apply this, but when you can it is a sweet bonus. Divine Favor - Why should the clerics have all the fun? If you are a two handed power attack fighter, you can change this into 3 points of damage per 3 caster levels at no loss to overall attack bonus. Darkness - great for archers, you can enjoy concielment while the enemies outside the area are under normal lighting conditions. Enlarge Person - Another dirt cheep potion that is really standard equipment for anyone but a stealth fighter. In exchange for 2 points of AC and 1 point of reflex save, you get reach, bigger damage dice on your weapon and +1 to damage. Quite a bargain. Blink - Great for any build with rogue levels, this spell negates your opponent's dex bonus and gaining a +2 to attack rolls. Your enemies gain a 20% miss chance, but this is MUCH better than feighting in combat since it lets you sneak attack multiple times in a round. Oil of Bless Weapon - Crit-Tastick! Vampiric Touch - Great for unarmed specialists. Heroism - self explanitory Rage - self explanitory Keen Edge - self explanitory Haste - self explanitory Miscilaneous: Stat Buffs (Bull's Strength, fox's cunning etc.) these are usefull in virtually every build, the type of buff depends on what your primary shtick is. Blindsight - the 3rd level Magic of Faerun version lasts 1 hour per level, and goes out to 30'. This gives you a counter to concealment and just rocks in general. Dispel Magic - This is an emergency "get out of jail free" card, though not particularly usefull at higher levels. Indifference - This often overlooked spell (from Tome and Blood) grants a +4 bonuse to most will saves in exchange for a -4 to charisma. This is HIGHLY usefull when going against spellcasters, since most combat specialists have will saves that suck. It also makes you IMMUNE to a cleric's hold person spell, and lasts for 1 hour per level. See Invisibility - This is generally less usefull than blindsight for all but missile specialists. Gaseous Form - This is your version of the teleport spell - Run AWAY!!! Helps you get out of confiement traps too. Invisibility - Another escape spell. This is really too limited to waste on a single sneek attack in a day (usually). Also, if you are trying to sneek IN to a place, just have your lazy-a** wizard cast invisibility sphere instead. Elemental Resistance/Protection - Really you should be getting these basic spells from your party caster, but if the skinflint won't cough one up... Fly - Another standard equipment potion, until you can afford winged boots. Expeditious Retreat & Jump - Better than boots of striding and springing! Cheep too! Water Breathing - EVERY adventurer should ALWAYS carry one of these in case of emergency. The thing to keep in mind with all of these is that they are not going to be your primary mode of adventuring. They are a bit costly. As a result, you want to have these AVAILABLE for when you need them. Don't walk around the dungeon with a potion of Bull's Strenght up, because you will run out of duration after your first or second fight. Save it untill you are at a major encounter. Obviously you have to use your judgement here. Personally, I like to have an Improved Mage Armor and a Shield Potion in case of incorporeal foes, A blindsight in case of invisible foes, a gasious form, etc. The idea here is that WHEN i need them I HAVE THEM. Then there are other potions I use more regularly, like Greater Magic Weapon (all my money has gone into sword bonuses that don't add a +1 to the weapon), and true strike. I LOVE true strike. For a mere 50 gp a pop, I gain my full BABx2 to one attack. Well worth the money for my build. Then there are potions I wouldn't buy if I didn't need them, like Baneblade. This is just not worth keeping "just in case" (excpet for an undead bane, I just HATE undead). These I buy opportunisticly, assuming I have a good idea what I am up against. Usually, I have a little change left over after enhancing my weapons and armor. With that, I buy potions. There are just so many contingencies you can prepare against with these things, and I am comming to realize that if I haven't used at least one per adventure, then I am not playing my character up to his fullest. OK, enough of my words of wisdom. What are some good 3rd level and lower spells that we can all use to buff the party's combat machine?
DM Zoc 01-03-04, 05:23 AM	You don't exactly not need casters; they're the ones who make these potions and oils.
Thresher 01-03-04, 05:31 AM	Youre a Fighter dude. What do fighters get? Feats What can you get with Feats? (apart from things to leave people screaming on the ground clutching their torn and bleeding bodies) Leadership Leadership gets you cohorts and cohorts can be different to the people they follow. I mean, where would Conan be without his crazy wizard in the movies? (DEAD :D) "Potion Boy! OOOOOH POTION BOY! MORE AMMO!"
primemover003 01-03-04, 06:01 AM	How exactly would a potion of Dispel Magic work??? And an archer in an area of Darkness is not in any better position than the opponents outside it. You cannot strike effectively against them either. You have the same 20% miss chance because you are firing out of (and through) an area of concealment, therefore you are going to miss 20% of the time.
Psifon 01-03-04, 11:46 AM	DM Zoc, who said you don't need casters? I never said that. This is a forum for discussion of use of this resource, not a "fighters are better than anyone" thread. Thresher, true, leadership is a good source of spell back up. If you want an unlimited buff resource, it is definately the way to go. However, I see very few builds with this feat, because most people would rather spend their feats on leaving people screaming on the ground clutching their torn and bleeding bodies. Potions and Oils are the answer here. primemover003. Drink it, or administer it as an oil, and it acts like a targeted dispel magic. Oil is probably better since it would be easier to apply to another party member who had succumb to an enemy spell.
dwarfpaladinmorlock 01-03-04, 09:23 PM	Several of those potions and oils can not be made. It states quite clearly that you can not make a potion of any spell that has a target of 'personal'. Thus you can not have a potion of 'Shield', for instance.
Psifon 01-04-04, 06:54 AM	wow, I did not know that. I stand corrected.
Kyuketsukiouji 01-04-04, 10:04 AM	Potion of Vampiric Touch would inflict 1d6 points of damage per two caster levels to the drinker, and then give him that many points of temporary HP. Not that useful, methinks.
Winsome 01-06-04, 07:34 AM	Funny though. I love creating potions of Fireball or Lightning. They're great to use a payment for helpers (guides etc) or you can 'accidentally' hand a fighter the wrong bottle when he's been irritating you for weeks.