Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 gargamella Mar 04, 2009 8:22:52	i'm a War mage (DL one) / Force Missile wizard.... i'll start from lvl 10 (with gold for lvl 10...). I need advices on what items to buy... thx a lot... p.s. got also abrut jount for teleport 5feet mod int/ per day...
#2 mdsummer Mar 04, 2009 10:16:24	- Heward's Handy Haversack. - Healing Belt (Magic Item Compendium) - Artificer's Monocles - Purchase additional non-PHB spells if possible.
#3 pithica Mar 04, 2009 11:50:02	In addition to the above... Robe of Mysterious Conjuration (M130 10kgp Pushing it based on normal WBL, but you get 3/day a rapid spell Summon Monster X of any spell level you're willing to sacrifice, lots of added versatility there.) Bracers of Entangling Blast (M80 2kgp 3/day spell does half damage but entangles target and adds a DoT effect for 1d3 rounds) Either Panther Mask or Third Eye Freedom (both 2kgp in MIC) Former grants +5ft speed and the run feat, latter grants freedom of movement 1/day for 1rd Anklet of Translocation (1400gp M71 teleport 10ft 2/day as swift action (useful for getting out of grapples or the like)). Gloves of the Starry Sky (M204 1,100gp exchange 1st level spell or spell slot for Magic Missile 3/day, lets you not actually mem MM in your 1st level slots since FMM lets you treat MM's cast from items as if you cast them yourself). Hat of Disguise with Int +2 (5,800gp, disguise self at will is very useful) Ring of Sustenance (Needing only 2hrs of actual sleep a night is bonus, no need for food or drink is gravy. I know by RAW you still need 8 to mem spells, but I don't know any DM that's ever actually enforced that if your race needs less or you have an item that makes you need less). Cape of the Viper (2,000gp M84. This is a get out of jail free card (or get into jail, as the case may be). Small/Medium vipers can get into or out of a lot of places a medium humanoid can't. Duration sucks, but sometimes all you need is to get under a door or through a portcullis.) Hand of the Mage with Natural +1 (2,900gp. I can't tell you how many times I've needed to move the cursed gem into a bag of holding in play.) Tunic of Steady Spellcasting (only if your DM makes you roll concentration checks for spellcasting, it's +5 comp to that. If not, go with Vest of Resistance) When you can afford it, add a belt of battle to your Healing Belt (12,000 + 375gp) and when you can afford to purchase more than a +6 armor item, add that to the bracers (until then, use Mage Armor/Greater Mage armor, or if you don't want to go with the Robe, you can sub out for Mithril Twilight Chain Shirt +1 for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 5k (I'm too lazy to look up the math at the moment)).
#4 phaedrusxy Mar 04, 2009 11:55:14	Ring of Sustenance (Needing only 2hrs of actual sleep a night is bonus, no need for food or drink is gravy. I know by RAW you still need 8 to mem spells, but I don't know any DM that's ever actually enforced that if your race needs less or you have an item that makes you need less). I played a warforged psion in a game where the DM wouldn't let me be the party lookout at night, or even carve wooden objects, because you have to make skill checks for those (Spot and Craft), and that would interrupt my necessary quiet time. :D Great suggestions, otherwise. I might bookmark this for an upcoming character I'm working on.
#5 pithica Mar 04, 2009 12:16:48	Yeah, I had one DM want to discuss reasoning with me once and I basically asked him if he'd ever read a DnD book where a lich spent 8hrs a night staring at a wall and doing absolutely nothing, and if he felt that were even possible for an intelligent creature to do (without going completely nuts). That was the closest I ever had anyone argue about it. It's even worse for priests, since many of them have to pray at specific times per day, and there's no mention of Cyric's priests (for example) sleeping all day in any of the novels. As the DM, I thought about keeping track of it, once, then realized how tedious it was and houseruled it. but now I'm digressing...
#6 phaedrusxy Mar 04, 2009 12:22:41	Divine casters don't even require rest before preparing spells, though. They just have to pray at a certain time of day. I've never seen anyone enforce that, though...
#7 gargamella Mar 04, 2009 12:42:10	thx pithica!!! any ather ideas? to get more int + ac?
#8 phaedrusxy Mar 04, 2009 12:45:37	thx pithica!!! any ather ideas? to get more int + ac? Mithril Buckler. Get the cleric to cast Magic Vestment on it in return for some spell you cast on him.
#9 hogarth Mar 04, 2009 13:00:59	Hand of the Mage with Natural +1 (2,900gp. I can't tell you how many times I've needed to move the cursed gem into a bag of holding in play.) More than 120 times? Because otherwise it's cheaper to buy a bunch of wands of Mage Hand.
#10 pithica Mar 04, 2009 13:17:46	More than 120 times? Because otherwise it's cheaper to buy a bunch of wands of Mage Hand. You're right. Good catch. For some reason I thought the duration on Mage hand capped at 1rd/lvl, but it's just straight concentration with no cap. Nix the hand of the mage and wait for the Hand of Glory instead. thx pithica!!! any ather ideas? to get more int + ac? Ring of Protection gets you +1 to AC. Phaedrus' Mithril buckler is solid. I generally stick with spells for the majority of my AC though. Alter Self is +6 to AC (core), and Greater Mage armor is another +6, Shield (spell) is +4. That's a base of 26 before items/dex. I'm not going to make the claim that that's the optimal way to go, or anything, but that's usually how I handle it. Int is more troublesome. Going from +2 Int to +4 Int on a head item is 12kgp (+4 is 16k, +2 is 4k). Which is pretty cost prohibitive until around 12 or 13 or so (unless you're playing it out, in which case you can get lucky and find one, or save up for it).
#11 phaedrusxy Mar 04, 2009 13:24:21	Int is more troublesome. Going from +2 Int to +4 Int on a head item is 12kgp (+4 is 16k, +2 is 4k). Which is pretty cost prohibitive until around 12 or 13 or so (unless you're playing it out, in which case you can get lucky and find one, or save up for it). Or craft it yourself. CWI is probably the best of the crafting feats.
#12 jameswilliamogle Mar 04, 2009 16:46:35	Or craft it yourself. CWI is probably the best of the crafting feats. At those levels, absolutely. I see people take it at 3rd all the time, though, and I'm like "you gonna make quaal's feather tokens for the next 5 levels, or what?".
#13 hogarth Mar 04, 2009 19:44:27	At those levels, absolutely. I see people take it at 3rd all the time, though, and I'm like "you gonna make quaal's feather tokens for the next 5 levels, or what?". It depends if you think the Caster Level listed in the DMG is a requirement or a suggestion. If it's not a requirement, you can head for the goodies (i.e. cloak of resistance, headband of intellect, pearls of power, etc.) right away.
#14 sofawall Mar 04, 2009 20:12:40	Well, DMG, page 215, second column, first two lines quite clearly say your caster level must equal the item's caster level.
#15 hogarth Mar 04, 2009 22:03:38	Well, DMG, page 215, second column, first two lines quite clearly say your caster level must equal the item's caster level. But here's what it says in the 3.5 FAQ: The rules for magic item creation permit a character creating an item to use scrolls, wands, or even another caster as the source of the spells to be placed in the item. The rules do not, however, state clearly whether the character crafting the item has to be of a level sufficient to cast a given spell. Is the caster level of the character with the item creation feat being used to create the item (the “creator”) a limit on the power of the item? For example, can a 3rd-level wizard with the Craft Wondrous Item feat create items containing any spell (assuming access to the spells by other means), or is he limited to 2nd-level spells? Unless stated specifically, items never have a minimum caster level as a prerequisite. (The “CL” entry is the default caster level of the item, not a requirement for creation.) A 3rd-level wizard with Craft Wondrous Item could create a harp of charming (even though he’s not high-enough level to cast suggestion, a prerequisite for creation), as long he had access to the suggestion spell during creation (such as from an item or another character). So it's not totally clear, at any rate. That's why I said "it depends".
#16 sofawall Mar 04, 2009 22:46:11	Hmm, you raise an interesting point. Was it errata'd, or just in the FAQ, because I, myself, think minimum caster level makes sense. Others may not agree, but that is how I would rule it. (Even though it will never come up because all my PCs are terrified of losing xp...)
#17 gargamella Mar 05, 2009 15:23:24	Well... for Alter self used to rease the AC with Natural amor (as i'm human) Nice Humanoid Monster (adv setting is DL) with fat NA?
#18 pithica Mar 05, 2009 15:42:24	If you're allowed to pull mobs from anywhere, I think Tern (Serpent Kingdoms) or Crucians (Miniatures Handbook) are tied for the two highest humanoids at +8 Na. If you're limited to Core, Troglodytes have +6 Na and that's what I was referring to in my breakdown above. I am not very familiar with the added monsters in DL, certainly not enough to know off the top of my head if any of them beat either of the above. Trog is usually more than enough for me, though, until I get access to polymorph or shapechange.