Barbarian Spellblade [Archive] - Wizards Community

Barbarian Spellblade [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Edymnion
05-05-04, 08:54 PM Looking for a bit of advice here.
The Spellblade weapon enchantment lets the weilder absorb a spell targetted against them, and then gives them the option to redirect it to someone else (such as sucking up a Magic Missle and then throwing it back at the mage that cast it at you).

Got myself a nice little barbarian, and I'm thinking of getting this enchantment to help protect the big lug. Seeing as this is pretty much my first time playing a tank, figured I'd ask for some help on what I should be afraid of.

I'm thinking Dominate Person is a good idea, seeing as how a classic DM tactic is to use mind control on the tank.

But does anyone else know one big spell I should be very afraid of, that would be worth the enchantment, and worth throwing back in the face of the caster?
sparkster4242
05-06-04, 12:18 AM there are two major strategies to selecting a spellblade:
1) select a spell for your weakest save
2) select an instant-kill or party-hoser spell

as a barbarian, you have the hp to eat most reflex-based spells, so concentrate on will-save spells. personally, i wouldnt worry too much about Charm, since that wont make you attack your friends. on the other hand, your DM likes Dominate, so thats a good choice. Hold is another nasty effect, though not as desperate.

heh, Dominate fits both categories, so its a very strong contender.
hmm, anything with the [Death] descriptor is worth a look; str/con drain/damage or level-drain are definitely worth avoiding, since they are some of your biggest strengths.
When your opponents get up there, Harm is worth negating.

tossing spells back at the caster is a secondary consideration; basically, anything worth avoiding is worth throwing back.

Dispel Magic is a nice surprise, tho. hmm, when you throw it back, who is the caster of that spell? does it still count as the original caster? 'cause that would be really funny, watching someone auto-dispel themselves :P

i dont recall, does a spellblade have to be wielded to grant protection, or is wearing it enough?
Edymnion
05-06-04, 12:28 AM Dispel Magic isn't too high on my list with a Barbarian, since he'll essentially be able to suck up a dispel and keep going. Wait, scratch that, he's going to have an Arm of Nyr, a wonderous item, might be bad if somebody tries to Dispel the arm. Kinda hard to use a greatsword when one of your arms stops working...
Originally posted by sparkster4242
Dispel Magic is a nice surprise, tho. hmm, when you throw it back, who is the caster of that spell? does it still count as the original caster? 'cause that would be really funny, watching someone auto-dispel themselves :PSays you redirect the spell, so basically you just hold it for a round and then change the target. Use the DC and all that of the original caster. Hehehe, so all those mages that max out their Save DCs are in for a surprise :devil:
i dont recall, does a spellblade have to be wielded to grant protection, or is wearing it enough? Wording says the Weilder is immune, so you have to actually be using the weapon, wearing it isn't enough.
sparkster4242
05-06-04, 10:17 PM darn ... no carrying bandoliers of cheap spellblades. oh well.
hmm, too bad dominating yourself doesnt do much, it seems a shame to half-waste an enhancement like that.
RobTzu
05-06-04, 10:28 PM Dispel Magic is a great choice if you get buffed up. A good second choice is Slow or Power Word Kill.
Edymnion
05-06-04, 11:27 PM Originally posted by sparkster4242
d too bad dominating yourself doesnt do much Hmmm... thats a good point. If you did bounce a Dominate Person back at the caster this way, who would be considered the boss? The mage that originally cast it, or the spellblade weilder that turned it back around on him?

Hmmm... I should ask if getting Spellblade for Greater Dispell would work on Dispell Magic as well...
pokemaniacbill
05-06-04, 11:44 PM My sincerest apologies for an off-topic post, but where is the Arm of Nyr? I've been looking for it for years...
wdarkk
05-07-04, 02:49 AM I thought it was in Defenders of Faith, then somewhere else in a 3.5 form.

That said, I'd recommend Dominate Person anyway, because it's very, very dangerous. Or any other big Will-save spell, like Hold Person.

[Edit]This is off topic, but dominating yourself does do one thing - it grants an opposed Charisma check if someone else tries to dominate you. So if your party trusts its mage, it's a good idea if s/he has the spare spells to dominate your own tank.
Lord Psynister
05-07-04, 03:23 AM Hmmm, I'm not sure how I would rule the casting of the spell when you threw it back at them.

I'd say the caster would then be the sword holder rather than the original caster. (as far as, who controls the casting)

I"m not sure of the exact wording on the enchantment, so this might make no sense to those of you who do know it:

I'd say if you threw it back at them within X rounds, then you would use the caster's stats for the spell.

But if you held it for more than the X rounds, then the spell would be cast a minimum level, with minimum stats and so forth.

Of course, if you have to throw it back right away, then that kinda defeats the whole plan there, and so I'd go with the stats of the original caster, with the spell being cast as though by the wielder.

(Since I've reason to believe that the character he's referring to is in my game.) ;)
pokemaniacbill
05-07-04, 03:31 AM I founded it, and it's just as kewl as I thought. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry for spamming up your topic... but if you can find a spell the NPC is particularly fond of, keep that as the spell, I suppose.
Edymnion
05-07-04, 02:45 PM Originally posted by Lord Psynister
I"m not sure of the exact wording on the enchantment, so this might make no sense to those of you who do know it:

I'd say if you threw it back at them within X rounds, then you would use the caster's stats for the spell.Wording on the enchantment says that on the round the spell is cast, the enchantment sucks it up. Second round, you can either hold onto it and let it drain away into nothingness, or you can retarget it.
(Since I've reason to believe that the character he's referring to is in my game.) ;) Hey, I was gonna tell ya, after I figured out if I really wanted it or not :P
Lord Psynister
05-07-04, 02:59 PM Well then that's how it's going to work in my game. Cast with the original caster's stats, but by you rather than him.

If you decide you want it, of course.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Edymnion 05-05-04, 08:54 PM	Looking for a bit of advice here. The Spellblade weapon enchantment lets the weilder absorb a spell targetted against them, and then gives them the option to redirect it to someone else (such as sucking up a Magic Missle and then throwing it back at the mage that cast it at you). Got myself a nice little barbarian, and I'm thinking of getting this enchantment to help protect the big lug. Seeing as this is pretty much my first time playing a tank, figured I'd ask for some help on what I should be afraid of. I'm thinking Dominate Person is a good idea, seeing as how a classic DM tactic is to use mind control on the tank. But does anyone else know one big spell I should be very afraid of, that would be worth the enchantment, and worth throwing back in the face of the caster?
sparkster4242 05-06-04, 12:18 AM	there are two major strategies to selecting a spellblade: 1) select a spell for your weakest save 2) select an instant-kill or party-hoser spell as a barbarian, you have the hp to eat most reflex-based spells, so concentrate on will-save spells. personally, i wouldnt worry too much about Charm, since that wont make you attack your friends. on the other hand, your DM likes Dominate, so thats a good choice. Hold is another nasty effect, though not as desperate. heh, Dominate fits both categories, so its a very strong contender. hmm, anything with the [Death] descriptor is worth a look; str/con drain/damage or level-drain are definitely worth avoiding, since they are some of your biggest strengths. When your opponents get up there, Harm is worth negating. tossing spells back at the caster is a secondary consideration; basically, anything worth avoiding is worth throwing back. Dispel Magic is a nice surprise, tho. hmm, when you throw it back, who is the caster of that spell? does it still count as the original caster? 'cause that would be really funny, watching someone auto-dispel themselves :P i dont recall, does a spellblade have to be wielded to grant protection, or is wearing it enough?
Edymnion 05-06-04, 12:28 AM	Dispel Magic isn't too high on my list with a Barbarian, since he'll essentially be able to suck up a dispel and keep going. Wait, scratch that, he's going to have an Arm of Nyr, a wonderous item, might be bad if somebody tries to Dispel the arm. Kinda hard to use a greatsword when one of your arms stops working... Originally posted by sparkster4242 Dispel Magic is a nice surprise, tho. hmm, when you throw it back, who is the caster of that spell? does it still count as the original caster? 'cause that would be really funny, watching someone auto-dispel themselves :PSays you redirect the spell, so basically you just hold it for a round and then change the target. Use the DC and all that of the original caster. Hehehe, so all those mages that max out their Save DCs are in for a surprise :devil: i dont recall, does a spellblade have to be wielded to grant protection, or is wearing it enough? Wording says the Weilder is immune, so you have to actually be using the weapon, wearing it isn't enough.
sparkster4242 05-06-04, 10:17 PM	darn ... no carrying bandoliers of cheap spellblades. oh well. hmm, too bad dominating yourself doesnt do much, it seems a shame to half-waste an enhancement like that.
RobTzu 05-06-04, 10:28 PM	Dispel Magic is a great choice if you get buffed up. A good second choice is Slow or Power Word Kill.
Edymnion 05-06-04, 11:27 PM	Originally posted by sparkster4242 d too bad dominating yourself doesnt do much Hmmm... thats a good point. If you did bounce a Dominate Person back at the caster this way, who would be considered the boss? The mage that originally cast it, or the spellblade weilder that turned it back around on him? Hmmm... I should ask if getting Spellblade for Greater Dispell would work on Dispell Magic as well...
pokemaniacbill 05-06-04, 11:44 PM	My sincerest apologies for an off-topic post, but where is the Arm of Nyr? I've been looking for it for years...
wdarkk 05-07-04, 02:49 AM	I thought it was in Defenders of Faith, then somewhere else in a 3.5 form. That said, I'd recommend Dominate Person anyway, because it's very, very dangerous. Or any other big Will-save spell, like Hold Person. [Edit]This is off topic, but dominating yourself does do one thing - it grants an opposed Charisma check if someone else tries to dominate you. So if your party trusts its mage, it's a good idea if s/he has the spare spells to dominate your own tank.
Lord Psynister 05-07-04, 03:23 AM	Hmmm, I'm not sure how I would rule the casting of the spell when you threw it back at them. I'd say the caster would then be the sword holder rather than the original caster. (as far as, who controls the casting) I"m not sure of the exact wording on the enchantment, so this might make no sense to those of you who do know it: I'd say if you threw it back at them within X rounds, then you would use the caster's stats for the spell. But if you held it for more than the X rounds, then the spell would be cast a minimum level, with minimum stats and so forth. Of course, if you have to throw it back right away, then that kinda defeats the whole plan there, and so I'd go with the stats of the original caster, with the spell being cast as though by the wielder. (Since I've reason to believe that the character he's referring to is in my game.) ;)
pokemaniacbill 05-07-04, 03:31 AM	I founded it, and it's just as kewl as I thought. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry for spamming up your topic... but if you can find a spell the NPC is particularly fond of, keep that as the spell, I suppose.
Edymnion 05-07-04, 02:45 PM	Originally posted by Lord Psynister I"m not sure of the exact wording on the enchantment, so this might make no sense to those of you who do know it: I'd say if you threw it back at them within X rounds, then you would use the caster's stats for the spell.Wording on the enchantment says that on the round the spell is cast, the enchantment sucks it up. Second round, you can either hold onto it and let it drain away into nothingness, or you can retarget it. (Since I've reason to believe that the character he's referring to is in my game.) ;) Hey, I was gonna tell ya, after I figured out if I really wanted it or not :P
Lord Psynister 05-07-04, 02:59 PM	Well then that's how it's going to work in my game. Cast with the original caster's stats, but by you rather than him. If you decide you want it, of course.