Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ivalios 08-13-04, 09:29 AM	I am looking for advice on how to best protect my sorcerer. Advice can be in the form of spell chage, equiptment purchase, feat change, etc. My setup is geared to be extremely versatile in the attack department but he seams lacking in defense. My character is willing to use wish spells if nessecary. Sor 14/ archmage 4 CG Human Forgotten realms Feats: Chain spell (tome and blood) Heighten Spell Land Lord (strong hold builders guide book) Leadership (25) Maximize Spell Skill Focus: Spell Craft Spell Focus (Evocation ? Transmutation ?) High Arcana Arcane Fire Arcane Reach Master of Elements Master of Shaping I want him to have a Demi Plane by way of the genius spell On the plane he will live with his girl friend (16th Cleric Mystra) and his best friend (16th wizard) cantrips: Arcane Mark Dancing lights Detect Magic Detect Poison Flare Light Mage hand Mending Prestidigitation 1st Charm Person Kaupaer's Skittish Nerves (MOF) Know Protections (MOF) Magic Missle Ray Enfeblement (chain able) 2nd Entice gift (Bovd) (chaing able ?) False Life Glitter Dust Detect thoughts 3rd Fireball Fly Slow Tounges 4th Bestow Curse Dimensional Anchor Dimensional Door Enervation (chain able) 5th Ghost Form (Tome and blood) telekinesis Wall Force Wall Stone 6th Chain Lightning Disintegrate Greater Dispelling 7th Limited Wish Plane Shift Teleport With Out Error 8th Polymorph any object Mind Blank 9th Summon Monster IX
tarkin 08-13-04, 11:29 AM	You have taken almost no defensive spells. This makes it hard to defend yourself. Consider taking more defensive spells. Here are some that I like Shield Mirror Image Greater Invisibiliy + Nondetection Resilient Sphere (also good as an attack spell) Blink Stoneskin Fire Shield (Great with Stone skin) Protection from Elements. Etheralness Mislead Project Image Some offensive spells also work well as defensive spells. Acid Fog for example not only does damage each round but it prevents them from moving. ----------------------- There is a ring that I particularly like from 3.0 Faerun book. Not sure if it was kept in 3.5 version. Basically it was a ring of Heal, 9 charges that auto-activated when you took damage to 0 or less hit points. At your level you should be able to afford it.
TheSilentF 08-13-04, 11:41 AM	Pick up some gloves of dex +6. Thats +3 to your AC right there. You could also get some rings of protections, and read some manuels if you can.
virtualone 08-13-04, 11:44 AM	try to get rid of the 16th level wizard "friend". three-somes always lead to trouble.
Ogmug 08-13-04, 01:23 PM	Consider having some "permanent" spells put on you, if you can. Things like Tongues (always useful), etc. See invisible resistance Also, don't forget the value of a good henchman :P (get you a nice fighter to stand between you and the enemy LOL)
meabolex 08-13-04, 02:23 PM	OK, a bit more analysis: As for role, think Simbul. I want him to be a versitle blaster. He will not want or need to enter combat due to arcane reach. I want him also to be able to take care of him self and not rely on other characters for protection in battle. In his back story he lived a hard life living in dangerous areas and learned to not rely on others. A blaster it is then. A few philosophical points of view on the role of the blaster. The blaster sorcerer does NOT primarily care about defense. If you're worried about being defensive, you're not playing the character to maximum effectiveness. Stay out of melee combat, use spells that can hit the enemy from a distance, and use spells that have saving throws. Ignore saveless spells for your most powerful spells. It's alright to have a few saveless spells for your earlier spells like enervation. An empowered enervation can possibly yield 6 negative levels -- more than the average output of a ninth level spell. With a 26 charisma, you have a bonus spell on all but 9th level spells. I recommend that you push your charisma higher -- get a +2 tome, if possible. Also, with your 1 9th level spell, you need a saving throw-based spell. Polymorph any object is a fine blaster spell for 8th level. If the saving throw fails, the enemy is essentially dead. Good. Mind blank is a decent spell, but it's a bad sorcerer spell at this point for your character. You want something that can be cast fairly regularly for your first 1 or 2 spells known. Then, you can focus on one slot wonders (like mage armor, mind blank, etc.). Since you're a blaster, you need to try and cover as many saving throw types (fortitude, reflex, will) as possible within your top 2-3 spell levels. This gives you the flexibility to work around most saving throw configurations. Also, put a premium on (potentially) damage-dealing spells that work without spell resistance that have saving throws (like Reverse Gravity -- see the last line of the spell). Teleport w/o error is a fine spell. Limited wish is also fine. But you haven't covered your bases as far as saving throws. So, here's a little rundown of what I'd pick, given your initial choices: A fortitude-save spell - Wail of the Banshee (9) A will-save spell - Polymorph any Object (8) A reflex-save spell - Reverse Gravity or Delayed Blast Fireball (7) OK, from 6th level and below, you can focus on spells that support your blaster concept. Since the saving throws on these spells will be lower than normal, there's no point to have the primary effect of the spell based on a saving throw. You need maximum output everytime you cast an attack spell in combat.
krichaiushii 08-14-04, 01:38 AM	To follow meabolex's comments, a useful 7th level spell that covers ALL three saves is Prismatic Spray. As for your own defense, consider a Shield Guardian from MMI or a Runic Guardian from MMII. If you could somehow swing it, getting a Gray Render to adopt you as its "friend" could prove somewhat useful. With a leadership of 25, I presume you already have a cohort. What is the race/class/level breakdown of this cohort? If you don't have one, Ogmug offers sound advice - get a fighter (or fighter/cleric) cohort who's job is keeping you alive. For this, I believe that there is a PrC called Devoted Defender or somesuch. Failing that PrC, consider having your cleric friend craft an item that allows your cohort to cast Shield Other - to better protect you. Just be sure to equip your cohort with enough mobility-enhancing items to keep up with you. BTW - how do you use captured scrolls without Read Magic? Just curious.
ninjarabbit 08-15-04, 12:00 PM	One idea I have is to use some of the shadow conjuration and evocation type of spells, that'll add some flexibility to your sorcerer and the DCs will be fairly high due to your high cha and the fact that they are higher level spells.