Post/Author/DateTime	Post
cowdragon 01-12-04, 09:10 PM	I have a high level sorcerer that I've played for over a year now. He has 1 template (Half-Dragon, Red) through a homebrew Prc and another template (Multi-Headed) through roleplaying. He also has 5 levels of Shadow Adept. I generally buff the party but every once in a blue moon I actually shine if the party needs the firepower I possess. Mostly though, I need a very useful 8th and 9th level spell. I don't nessacarily need damaging spells but ones that are useful in many situations. I already have Shades and all the Shadow Evocation/Conjuration spells. My guess would be that Shapechange is right up there at the top because of spell-like abilities I gain access to. Any other suggestions though? Thank you very much. The Cowdragon :mage:
green_yawgmoth 01-12-04, 11:23 PM	Time stop is fantabulous. 1d4+1 rounds, and you can set up spell effects to go off wherever you want. How about dropping 4 DBF beads into the BBEG's pocket, then running back to a safe spot? And that's just for starters! Who wouldn't like 12-30 seconds in combat to do what they need to do without interruption?
Lago AM3P 01-12-04, 11:35 PM	Polymorph any Object. There's no other 8th or 9th level spell I know of where you can realistically cover almost all situations (combat, transportation, healing, buffing, getting friendship, area controlling) as much as this spell without costing you huge bennies. Like Wish or Gate. You can make an entire adventuring career off of Polymorph any Object, if you are creative and your DM lets you abuse it--i.e. let you play it as written with minimal rules-lawyering.
ksbsnowowl 01-13-04, 12:53 AM	Originally posted by cowdragon My guess would be that Shapechange is right up there at the top because of spell-like abilities I gain access to. You do not gain spell-like abilities; however with 3.5 shapechange you do gain supernatural abilities (which is absolutely and completely broken, IMO). Also, you gain the extraordinary abilities (as you did in 3.0). With 3.5 shapechange you can turn into a beholder and basically gain 10 spells that you never had to use spells known slots on (well, 12 really, I count the charm person and charm monster as one since CM trumps CP, and beholders are constantly under a feather fall effect). And you can use them all in the same round, every round, without paying additional spells per day slots for them. (this is assuming that the eye rays of the 3.5 beholder were not changed from their supernatural type as found in 3.0 - can't check, they're not in the SRD.) And that's just one monster; heaven forbid that we look at any other creatures in the MM.
olothfaern 01-13-04, 03:04 AM	Speaking of the Monster Manual, for the price, Gate is ridiculous... "...yeah, I'll summon the umm... Solar..."
tezad 01-15-04, 04:27 PM	Originally posted by olothfaern Speaking of the Monster Manual, for the price, Gate is ridiculous... "...yeah, I'll summon the umm... Solar..." Any DM that allows you to Call a Solar thru the Gate spell without the absolute best reason without reprecussions isn't doing his job. Solar's got better things to do than help you kill the local BBEG so you can get his magical staff, for example. If I'm DMing and the fate of the world/universe isn't on the line Gating in a Solar will cost you dearly. I might even rule that a Solar falls under the "unique individual" clause of the Gate spell and just ignores your call. Also, if you want to Shapechange into something, you better have seen it before and have the knowledge of its abilities and I mean your character better know. Owning the Monster Manual should not give your character free reign to know everything thats in it. Just an example of how I would DM those situations. Alot of spells can be abused if you don't use common sense and like to meta-game alot. It just takes a good DM to say, "No, your character can not do that." I only bring this up because in choosing spells its important to know your DM. If you intend to try and take advantage of perceived spell loop-holes, you might want to make sure your DM will allow the interpretation you have of the spell.
Lago AM3P 01-15-04, 04:33 PM	Any DM that allows you to Call a Solar thru the Gate spell without the absolute best reason without reprecussions isn't doing his job. Solar's got better things to do than help you kill the local BBEG so you can get his magical staff, for example. If I'm DMing and the fate of the world/universe isn't on the line Gating in a Solar will cost you dearly. I might even rule that a Solar falls under the "unique individual" clause of the Gate spell and just ignores your call. I always find it quite amusing that most DMs and the rules assume that you can more or less traverse the universe and beat the complete crap out of most outsiders, even high level ones--and you'll never hear about it again. But heaven forbid you actually take 2 minutes worth of their time to further your fight against the forces of good or evil. Especially if a cleric uses this spell, who has been spending his whole life serving the deity (and rather well, since he's 17th level, too). I suppose most creatures of good and evil have Game Balance (Ex) as part of their monster stats. And by amusing, I mean hypocritical. (Solars are not unique individuals, by the way.)
Ertai Planeswalker 01-15-04, 04:45 PM	Well, my personal favorites are: 8th level: Mind Blank, Polymorph Any Object, Moment of Prescience. 9th level: Shapechange, Gate. I ALWAYS take these spells. (Admitted, MoP added lateley)
Steelcrystal 01-15-04, 06:08 PM	8th level: Maze - No matter how powerful your opponent is, he's going to spend at least a round out of the fight. Especially useful for giving the party a little breathing room if they entered the fight unexpectedly, or if there are multiple opponents so you can divide and conquer them. Moment of Prescience - In my opinion one of the best new spells to arrive with 3.5. There really isn't anything this spell isn't good for, or any reason not to have it memorized and activated if you're expecting danger in the near future. Prismatic Wall - My favorite wall of them all. So many effects, unless your opponent is GOD one of these is sure to hit him if he decides its worth his time to step through it. Polymorph Any Object - This has been talked about above, and quite well at that, so I won't go into details here. 9th level: Shapechange - Again, this has been described above, no need to elaborate. I don't think my last high level caster ever went a day without this memorized once he had 9th level spell slots. Prismatic Sphere - Even better than the wall, because you can completely shield yourself from the outside. My favorite trick with this is to use shapechange beforehand, and if I get into a fight and need the protection, cast a prismatic sphere, shapechange myself into a wraith, and just sit there in my prismatic bunker with my head sticking out the top, casting spells at enemies and letting them come try to get me if they feel daring enough to walk through a prismatic sphere to tangle with an incorporeal foe. Black Blade of Disaster (if you run with Faerun spells) - Sucks that you have to concentrate to maintain this, but this thing is a gift that just keeps on giving. As far as 9th level damage spells go, I'll take this over meteor swarm any day of the week.
MeepoTheMighty 01-15-04, 06:32 PM	and another template (Multi-Headed) through roleplaying :D classic
cowdragon 01-15-04, 09:51 PM	It is pretty cool actually. I'm a Half-Red dragon sorcerer/shadow adept with two heads. I got the feat "multi-voice" so now I can cast two spell/round. Actually 4 if you count twinned spells. Nothing like using a twinned/heightened "DarkBolt" spell at caster level 21 twice a round with one of then sudden maximized and sudden empowered. Granted, that's like 28 to-hit rolls in that first round, but most of them usually hit. Then next round I got a stunned gimp for a target. MUHAHAHAHA! Thank you folks for the advice. I really like timestop now. What a great spell. Basically, all I gotta do is win initiative. And maze!!! How could I have overlooked that one. And yes, Mind Blank has saved my bacon a couple times now. Thanks everyone! The Cowdragon :mage: