Getting around lack of buff time? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Getting around lack of buff time? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
xvthreetwoonevx
08-15-05, 01:14 AM Hey guys, I'm doing a bit of an arena battle type thingy with some people, and evidently we get transported into said arena without any notice. Not even enough to have our all-day buffs on, is what it looks like so far. Now normally this wouldn't be too vast of a problem, but lucky me I decided to play a spellsword. We're tenth level and have a range of 50-70k gold, depending on how melee-oriented we are. (Straight caster gets 50k, fighter 10 gets 70k). I've procured 65k. So far i've got most of it spent, but I could make some last-minute adjustments if you guys have any good ideas. So far what i've got is either casting invisibility and hoping my full plate clanking about doesn't give away my position TOO much, or hoping for a high CL check on my scroll o' time stop. Now, I don't even have enough time to channel my spells beforehand, and my AC is rather low (23) without a Shield spell, so I think i need enough time for about 3-4 rounds. Channel spell, activating my spell-storing bit, the Shield spell, and Enlarge person are all priorities. Anybody got good ideas on how to buy some time/what priority I should put on my buffs? Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks!
WizardlyFriend
08-15-05, 01:51 AM first that's BS. a caster deserves just as much. he needs to buy spells and then he needs to pay to put them in his spellbook. there are rods of metamagic, and plenty of things that a caster can use. rings of wizardry etc. i think that that will nerf casters. craft contingent spell (item creation feat) if want to spend some XP. you can have a lot of spells contingencied to let's say when the arena battle begins. or qucken spell if you can give up the high level slots.
xvthreetwoonevx
08-15-05, 02:01 AM Eh, i'm a sorc, so I don't mind much about the lack of money, plus I still got almost as much as the fighters. Plus honestly, 10th level is about when casters start kicking the crap outta melee people, so I figger they need all the edges they can get.

Unfortunately, I've got no crafting XP, if I craft anything I go down to ninth level. And i'm a battlsor/spellsword, so higher level spell slots are not an option. :-P

It may sound a little unfair, but i'm certainly up for a challenge. If I win at a "disadvantage" it makes it all the more rewarding, no? But here, basically what i'm lookin' for is ways to buy more time, I figure if I can get five rounds prep in I can take 'em out in one shot. True Strike+Full power attack with two hands+double empowered vampiric touch channeled should get enough of an HP swing to basically win me the fight right there. However, my only options to buy that much time are Invis and some lucky rolls. I'm thinking a tanglefoot bag and Grease might do me some good as well, I already know Grease, and I should probably invest in some tanglefoot bags. Any other ideas are welcome. :-D
WizardlyFriend
08-15-05, 02:03 AM could you post your build or your outline for a build so i can work with that. im assuming you're looking for what magic items to use and not how to make the character.
WizardlyFriend
08-15-05, 02:10 AM okay, "eff" spellsword here is the PrC you want:

runesmith (pg 118 races of stone)
1st level rune magic. it eliminates the somatic component from spells meaning that arcane spell failure doesnt apply. at 5th level you get permanent rune meaning buffs can be made permanent. (by saccing one spell slot of 1 level higher than the spell. they get good fort and will saves, full casting abilities, but poor BAB.

you can easily have it 5th level as a 10th level character. you need scribe scroll so wizard might be a better choice, unless you want to use a feat. however, the permanent rune requires spell slots and sorcerers get more of those.
fighter 2
wizard 3
rune smith 5
xvthreetwoonevx
08-15-05, 02:14 AM Yeah, i've got the actual character finished, build is Ftr1/Battlsor4/Spellsw5. It's not an obscenely specialized build, I basically took arcane strike, Power attack Imp. Trip, EWP spiked chain, and the rest are basically just covering my shortcomings (Practiced spellcaster, etc.). Spells are...lemme get 'em...
Cantrips:
Light
Detect Magic
Flare
Mage Hand
Touch of Fatigue
Message
Daze
Ghost Sound
1st Level Spells
True Strike
Grease
Enlarge Person
Shield
2nd Level Spells
Blur(switching for Invis.)
Scorching Ray
3rd level spells
Vampiric Touch
Equipment is just the general stuffs, Twilight Adamantine Fullplate, Boots of S&S, scrolls of fly, haste, time stop, greater invis, and see invis, Assorted stat/AC/save boosting items (Ring of Pro +1, Cloak of Cha +2, Vest of resist +3, etc.), and my lesser empower rod. I've got a few hundred left which will probably go into tanglefoot bags, and i'm debating over blur, web, invis, or mirror image for that spell slot. I know mirror image will buy me a significant amount of time, but there is the chance that they will hit me on the first go.

Edit:OOooh, that Prc looks very very cool. Unfortunately Channel Spell is just way too cool to pass up, and I NEED the BAB (People have easily 25-30 AC 'round here.) and I can already wear an addy full plate at 5% ASF anyways. Although the permanent buffage is really cool, i'm looking for ways to circumvent that right now. :-D
minowicz
08-15-05, 04:46 AM mithral buckler +X would help your ac when you are not attacking ie casting spells has no ASF and well worth the money
Kratch
08-15-05, 10:06 PM I'd consider wall of ice in a hemosphere around your opponent. For a caster it will waste a few low level fire spells or a higher level one (or a nasty dispell magic which you don't want targeting you ether). if they melt it with a fireball (or the like) you get fog for 10 mins (also stalls). if your opponent is a fighter they have to hack through it, which starts to tire them (i think there are rules for tireing in combat, not sure though. and not sure if your DM uses it.)

As for the low level spell slot, i'd recomend a fog spell of some sort. that will give you the time you need to cast your buffs since you can move then cast if they find you or cast move if they haven't. and even up close you still have a small miss chance (if memory serves)

I'm currently at work so i can't really look up any of the specifics.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
xvthreetwoonevx 08-15-05, 01:14 AM	Hey guys, I'm doing a bit of an arena battle type thingy with some people, and evidently we get transported into said arena without any notice. Not even enough to have our all-day buffs on, is what it looks like so far. Now normally this wouldn't be too vast of a problem, but lucky me I decided to play a spellsword. We're tenth level and have a range of 50-70k gold, depending on how melee-oriented we are. (Straight caster gets 50k, fighter 10 gets 70k). I've procured 65k. So far i've got most of it spent, but I could make some last-minute adjustments if you guys have any good ideas. So far what i've got is either casting invisibility and hoping my full plate clanking about doesn't give away my position TOO much, or hoping for a high CL check on my scroll o' time stop. Now, I don't even have enough time to channel my spells beforehand, and my AC is rather low (23) without a Shield spell, so I think i need enough time for about 3-4 rounds. Channel spell, activating my spell-storing bit, the Shield spell, and Enlarge person are all priorities. Anybody got good ideas on how to buy some time/what priority I should put on my buffs? Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks!
WizardlyFriend 08-15-05, 01:51 AM	first that's BS. a caster deserves just as much. he needs to buy spells and then he needs to pay to put them in his spellbook. there are rods of metamagic, and plenty of things that a caster can use. rings of wizardry etc. i think that that will nerf casters. craft contingent spell (item creation feat) if want to spend some XP. you can have a lot of spells contingencied to let's say when the arena battle begins. or qucken spell if you can give up the high level slots.
xvthreetwoonevx 08-15-05, 02:01 AM	Eh, i'm a sorc, so I don't mind much about the lack of money, plus I still got almost as much as the fighters. Plus honestly, 10th level is about when casters start kicking the crap outta melee people, so I figger they need all the edges they can get. Unfortunately, I've got no crafting XP, if I craft anything I go down to ninth level. And i'm a battlsor/spellsword, so higher level spell slots are not an option. :-P It may sound a little unfair, but i'm certainly up for a challenge. If I win at a "disadvantage" it makes it all the more rewarding, no? But here, basically what i'm lookin' for is ways to buy more time, I figure if I can get five rounds prep in I can take 'em out in one shot. True Strike+Full power attack with two hands+double empowered vampiric touch channeled should get enough of an HP swing to basically win me the fight right there. However, my only options to buy that much time are Invis and some lucky rolls. I'm thinking a tanglefoot bag and Grease might do me some good as well, I already know Grease, and I should probably invest in some tanglefoot bags. Any other ideas are welcome. :-D
WizardlyFriend 08-15-05, 02:03 AM	could you post your build or your outline for a build so i can work with that. im assuming you're looking for what magic items to use and not how to make the character.
WizardlyFriend 08-15-05, 02:10 AM	okay, "eff" spellsword here is the PrC you want: runesmith (pg 118 races of stone) 1st level rune magic. it eliminates the somatic component from spells meaning that arcane spell failure doesnt apply. at 5th level you get permanent rune meaning buffs can be made permanent. (by saccing one spell slot of 1 level higher than the spell. they get good fort and will saves, full casting abilities, but poor BAB. you can easily have it 5th level as a 10th level character. you need scribe scroll so wizard might be a better choice, unless you want to use a feat. however, the permanent rune requires spell slots and sorcerers get more of those. fighter 2 wizard 3 rune smith 5
xvthreetwoonevx 08-15-05, 02:14 AM	Yeah, i've got the actual character finished, build is Ftr1/Battlsor4/Spellsw5. It's not an obscenely specialized build, I basically took arcane strike, Power attack Imp. Trip, EWP spiked chain, and the rest are basically just covering my shortcomings (Practiced spellcaster, etc.). Spells are...lemme get 'em... Cantrips: Light Detect Magic Flare Mage Hand Touch of Fatigue Message Daze Ghost Sound 1st Level Spells True Strike Grease Enlarge Person Shield 2nd Level Spells Blur(switching for Invis.) Scorching Ray 3rd level spells Vampiric Touch Equipment is just the general stuffs, Twilight Adamantine Fullplate, Boots of S&S, scrolls of fly, haste, time stop, greater invis, and see invis, Assorted stat/AC/save boosting items (Ring of Pro +1, Cloak of Cha +2, Vest of resist +3, etc.), and my lesser empower rod. I've got a few hundred left which will probably go into tanglefoot bags, and i'm debating over blur, web, invis, or mirror image for that spell slot. I know mirror image will buy me a significant amount of time, but there is the chance that they will hit me on the first go. Edit:OOooh, that Prc looks very very cool. Unfortunately Channel Spell is just way too cool to pass up, and I NEED the BAB (People have easily 25-30 AC 'round here.) and I can already wear an addy full plate at 5% ASF anyways. Although the permanent buffage is really cool, i'm looking for ways to circumvent that right now. :-D
minowicz 08-15-05, 04:46 AM	mithral buckler +X would help your ac when you are not attacking ie casting spells has no ASF and well worth the money
Kratch 08-15-05, 10:06 PM	I'd consider wall of ice in a hemosphere around your opponent. For a caster it will waste a few low level fire spells or a higher level one (or a nasty dispell magic which you don't want targeting you ether). if they melt it with a fireball (or the like) you get fog for 10 mins (also stalls). if your opponent is a fighter they have to hack through it, which starts to tire them (i think there are rules for tireing in combat, not sure though. and not sure if your DM uses it.) As for the low level spell slot, i'd recomend a fog spell of some sort. that will give you the time you need to cast your buffs since you can move then cast if they find you or cast move if they haven't. and even up close you still have a small miss chance (if memory serves) I'm currently at work so i can't really look up any of the specifics.