Help Optimizing a Malconvoker - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Help Optimizing a Malconvoker

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
mk2
Feb 24, 2009 22:44:38 I;m getting back into 3.5 after a little while and just going a group.

First: thanks for reading.

Second:
I recently joined a campaign. We have only done one session and its a new DM for me, so I am not quite sure at his style is yet, but so far it seems that I will be against more humanoids than monsters. The party consists of a Ranger, a Druid, a rogue, and me. We are currently only level 3, but I am trying to make a "plan" for my character as I advance including feats, items, skills and spells.

My current Layout:

Human

Str ?
Dex ?
Con ?
Int 22 (+5 for leveling)
Wiz ?
Cha ?

Wizard(focused specialist conjuration, Rapid Summon, enhanced Summon)3, Master specialist 4, Malconvoker 9, Archmage4(Mastery of shaping, Arcane reach, Spell power, Spell like ability SM IX).

Feats:
Augment Summoning
Skill focus Bluff
Spell focus conjuration
practiced spell caster
Mother cyst?
Extend Spell
Metamagic school focus conjuration
Other?

The main things I'm having trouble with is my feat selection, and my Equipment. The only books I own are the core books, I have everything else from the SRD, but because my possible feat and magic item inventory has just increased by a factor of ten, I feel a little lost. Any suggestion you could give me is more then welcome. I am probably being much to vague and unspecific, so if you need any more information Ill provide it.

I have can use any rules as long as they are published dnd 3.5, this probably includes the magazine but may not, depending on the cheese level.
#2
jenos
Feb 24, 2009 22:57:41 What books are available to you for sources? While you only have core in your possesions, you obviously have access to other material.

Also, make sure you enter Malconvoker as soon as possible.

Empower and Chain Spell are mediocre feats - empower costs too much to make it effective, as you'd essentially be casting Summon Monster K in a Summon Monster K+3 slot, but in return, you get 3 summon monster K's...a huge waste.
#3
lormador
Feb 25, 2009 6:00:32 You might want to shuffle those scores.... having a higher Charisma than Constitution doesn't bode well.
#4
malkavon
Feb 25, 2009 8:04:03 Ideally, you'd want to do something like Wizard 3/Master Specialist 4/Malconvoker 9/X 4.

For the last 4 levels, Paragnostic Apostle (CChamp) offers some nice bennies, including giving all your summons Fast Healing 5. You can take Master Specialist to 8, but you don't need it. The best esotericas for Conjurers are the minor and the major. Since you can't get the major, I'd try to find something more useful, frankly. Archmage can also offer lots of good stuff. Master of Shaping is fantastic, Arcane Reach is nice for delivering touch spells from a distance, Mastery of Elements can be decent if you find yourself tossing orbs a lot. The other abilities are so-so at best.

Feat-wise, both Chain and Empower are weak for a summoner and for a Conjurer in general. Sculpt Spell, however, is awesome for Conjurers. You will also need Spell Focus (Conjuration) to get into Master Specialist.
#5
jameswilliamogle
Feb 25, 2009 8:30:52 The problem I have with Sculpt Spell taken as a feat is that its on the cheapest tier for metamagic rods, personally (ie, I'd rather just buy the rod - you don't sculpt many L7-L9 spells, so the cheaper ones still remain pretty useful).
#6
jenos
Feb 25, 2009 9:04:14 For a campaign starting out at low levels, Sculpt Spell is still useful in conjunction with MM Focus. Depending on the wealth, you won't be able to reliably pick up a rod until levels 4 or 5, and have multiple until level 7 or 8. Its not until then does sculpt spell lose its effectiveness, and a sculpted glitterdust at level 4 is very effective in hitting every foe you face.
#7
mk2
Feb 25, 2009 9:43:55 "What books are available to you for sources? While you only have core in your possesions, you obviously have access to other material.

Also, make sure you enter Malconvoker as soon as possible.

Empower and Chain Spell are mediocre feats - empower costs too much to make it effective, as you'd essentially be casting Summon Monster K in a Summon Monster K+3 slot, but in return, you get 3 summon monster K's...a huge waste."

The DM told me that we can use any rule from any published book within reason. I'm not sure if that apply to the magazine as well but it probably does. As long as I can prove that it was dnd 3.5 material I will be good.

I also agree with the empower and chain spell. Ill remove them. I thought about picking up delay spell so I can summon a hoard in a time stop, but I'm not sure about the legality of that. I will check up on the books when I can.

"You might want to shuffle those scores.... having a higher Charisma than Constitution doesn't bode well."

I had the charisma to help me out with the bluff check for deceitful bargaining, but there are probably better ways to get a skill bonus for that. The abilities are completely fluid at this point, so if you have any suggestions on a better array Ill take them. (32 point buy)

"Ideally, you'd want to do something like Wizard 3/Master Specialist 4/Malconvoker 9/X 4.

For the last 4 levels, Paragnostic Apostle (CChamp) offers some nice bennies, including giving all your summons Fast Healing 5. You can take Master Specialist to 8, but you don't need it. The best esotericas for Conjurers are the minor and the major. Since you can't get the major, I'd try to find something more useful, frankly. Archmage can also offer lots of good stuff. Master of Shaping is fantastic, Arcane Reach is nice for delivering touch spells from a distance, Mastery of Elements can be decent if you find yourself tossing orbs a lot. The other abilities are so-so at best.

Feat-wise, both Chain and Empower are weak for a summoner and for a Conjurer in general. Sculpt Spell, however, is awesome for Conjurers. You will also need Spell Focus (Conjuration) to get into Master Specialist."

Thanks, actually being able to be a MalCon is probably helpful for a MalCon build. Spell Focus is added and I am going into MalCon as soon as I can. Ive maxed my bluff specifically for that. I like the idea of fast healing, but is fast healing 5 worth it for fodder at level 14? I have only been level 12-15 once, and I was a Fighter, so i'm not too familiar with game mechanics at that level. I am not familiar with that class ether so I'm not sure what else it gives me, but I will check it out. I haven't considered archmage before, I will defiantly check that out too. I will probably be the only debuffer in the group, so that shape spell will work very well. The extra levels of Master Specialist are there just to fill up the last levels, I'm not sure what to put in there.

"The problem I have with Sculpt Spell taken as a feat is that its on the cheapest tier for metamagic rods, personally (ie, I'd rather just buy the rod - you don't sculpt many L7-L9 spells, so the cheaper ones still remain pretty useful)."

"For a campaign starting out at low levels, Sculpt Spell is still useful in conjunction with MM Focus. Depending on the wealth, you won't be able to reliably pick up a rod until levels 4 or 5, and have multiple until level 7 or 8. Its not until then does sculpt spell lose its effectiveness, and a sculpted glitterdust at level 4 is very effective in hitting every foe you face."

Good point on the Rod Vs. Feat issue. Our party is doing a "pool" of wealth thing, where we all vote on what to buy based on how it will help the party best. I can probably get a unanimous vote for some non friendly-fire glitterdust bombs. What level at the latest should i take the feat if we havent pooled the cash yet?

Thanks for all of the help so far. I'm learning a lot. The OP is now(soon will be) updated with all of this info.
#8
mk2
Feb 25, 2009 16:26:19 Ive done research on both the Archmage and the Apostle, and I like the Archmage a little more. The apostle has some nice abilities but I think I will Go with the archmage, partly because the apostles anti-undead coolness is useless for my character, and also partly because the possibilities that the archmage gives me. I will edit this soon after I find the Archmage Handbook.

Ether there is no archmage handbook or I am not looking in the right places. I am looking for what High Arcana would best help me in a buff/debuff role, So my current list looks like Mastery of shaping, Arcane reach, Arcane Fire, and Spell Power. Any advice on that on top of equipment, feats and ability points is more than welcome. The DM said we could radically change our character once during the campaign, so if you think something must come or go, feel free to tell me.

I have also updated the feat list above.
#9
jenos
Feb 25, 2009 17:36:35 Arcane Fire is a waste - spam low level orb spells for damage, if you need it, but you usually have much better options for the use of your actions.

Arcane Reach, Spell Like Ability(SM IX or SM VIII), Spellpower, Mastery of Shaping, all good choices.

For feats, Beckon the Frozen is useful if you can summon things with lots of attacks. You also want Practiced Spellcaster, from Complete Arcane. Toss in the Spell-Gifted Trait from Unearthed Arcana, and that will make up for some of your CL issues.

Metamagic School Focus(Complete Mage) + Extend Spell + Sculpt Spell(Complete Arcane) are also good choices.

Extraordinary Concentration is a waste - with malconvoker, SM IX trumps Summon Elemental Monolith, which is really the only reason a summoner picks up that feat.
#10
mk2
Feb 25, 2009 18:55:34 Thank you. Changes made to OP.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mk2 Feb 24, 2009 22:44:38	I;m getting back into 3.5 after a little while and just going a group. First: thanks for reading. Second: I recently joined a campaign. We have only done one session and its a new DM for me, so I am not quite sure at his style is yet, but so far it seems that I will be against more humanoids than monsters. The party consists of a Ranger, a Druid, a rogue, and me. We are currently only level 3, but I am trying to make a "plan" for my character as I advance including feats, items, skills and spells. My current Layout: Human Str ? Dex ? Con ? Int 22 (+5 for leveling) Wiz ? Cha ? Wizard(focused specialist conjuration, Rapid Summon, enhanced Summon)3, Master specialist 4, Malconvoker 9, Archmage4(Mastery of shaping, Arcane reach, Spell power, Spell like ability SM IX). Feats: Augment Summoning Skill focus Bluff Spell focus conjuration practiced spell caster Mother cyst? Extend Spell Metamagic school focus conjuration Other? The main things I'm having trouble with is my feat selection, and my Equipment. The only books I own are the core books, I have everything else from the SRD, but because my possible feat and magic item inventory has just increased by a factor of ten, I feel a little lost. Any suggestion you could give me is more then welcome. I am probably being much to vague and unspecific, so if you need any more information Ill provide it. I have can use any rules as long as they are published dnd 3.5, this probably includes the magazine but may not, depending on the cheese level.
#2 jenos Feb 24, 2009 22:57:41	What books are available to you for sources? While you only have core in your possesions, you obviously have access to other material. Also, make sure you enter Malconvoker as soon as possible. Empower and Chain Spell are mediocre feats - empower costs too much to make it effective, as you'd essentially be casting Summon Monster K in a Summon Monster K+3 slot, but in return, you get 3 summon monster K's...a huge waste.
#3 lormador Feb 25, 2009 6:00:32	You might want to shuffle those scores.... having a higher Charisma than Constitution doesn't bode well.
#4 malkavon Feb 25, 2009 8:04:03	Ideally, you'd want to do something like Wizard 3/Master Specialist 4/Malconvoker 9/X 4. For the last 4 levels, Paragnostic Apostle (CChamp) offers some nice bennies, including giving all your summons Fast Healing 5. You can take Master Specialist to 8, but you don't need it. The best esotericas for Conjurers are the minor and the major. Since you can't get the major, I'd try to find something more useful, frankly. Archmage can also offer lots of good stuff. Master of Shaping is fantastic, Arcane Reach is nice for delivering touch spells from a distance, Mastery of Elements can be decent if you find yourself tossing orbs a lot. The other abilities are so-so at best. Feat-wise, both Chain and Empower are weak for a summoner and for a Conjurer in general. Sculpt Spell, however, is awesome for Conjurers. You will also need Spell Focus (Conjuration) to get into Master Specialist.
#5 jameswilliamogle Feb 25, 2009 8:30:52	The problem I have with Sculpt Spell taken as a feat is that its on the cheapest tier for metamagic rods, personally (ie, I'd rather just buy the rod - you don't sculpt many L7-L9 spells, so the cheaper ones still remain pretty useful).
#6 jenos Feb 25, 2009 9:04:14	For a campaign starting out at low levels, Sculpt Spell is still useful in conjunction with MM Focus. Depending on the wealth, you won't be able to reliably pick up a rod until levels 4 or 5, and have multiple until level 7 or 8. Its not until then does sculpt spell lose its effectiveness, and a sculpted glitterdust at level 4 is very effective in hitting every foe you face.
#7 mk2 Feb 25, 2009 9:43:55	"What books are available to you for sources? While you only have core in your possesions, you obviously have access to other material. Also, make sure you enter Malconvoker as soon as possible. Empower and Chain Spell are mediocre feats - empower costs too much to make it effective, as you'd essentially be casting Summon Monster K in a Summon Monster K+3 slot, but in return, you get 3 summon monster K's...a huge waste." The DM told me that we can use any rule from any published book within reason. I'm not sure if that apply to the magazine as well but it probably does. As long as I can prove that it was dnd 3.5 material I will be good. I also agree with the empower and chain spell. Ill remove them. I thought about picking up delay spell so I can summon a hoard in a time stop, but I'm not sure about the legality of that. I will check up on the books when I can. "You might want to shuffle those scores.... having a higher Charisma than Constitution doesn't bode well." I had the charisma to help me out with the bluff check for deceitful bargaining, but there are probably better ways to get a skill bonus for that. The abilities are completely fluid at this point, so if you have any suggestions on a better array Ill take them. (32 point buy) "Ideally, you'd want to do something like Wizard 3/Master Specialist 4/Malconvoker 9/X 4. For the last 4 levels, Paragnostic Apostle (CChamp) offers some nice bennies, including giving all your summons Fast Healing 5. You can take Master Specialist to 8, but you don't need it. The best esotericas for Conjurers are the minor and the major. Since you can't get the major, I'd try to find something more useful, frankly. Archmage can also offer lots of good stuff. Master of Shaping is fantastic, Arcane Reach is nice for delivering touch spells from a distance, Mastery of Elements can be decent if you find yourself tossing orbs a lot. The other abilities are so-so at best. Feat-wise, both Chain and Empower are weak for a summoner and for a Conjurer in general. Sculpt Spell, however, is awesome for Conjurers. You will also need Spell Focus (Conjuration) to get into Master Specialist." Thanks, actually being able to be a MalCon is probably helpful for a MalCon build. Spell Focus is added and I am going into MalCon as soon as I can. Ive maxed my bluff specifically for that. I like the idea of fast healing, but is fast healing 5 worth it for fodder at level 14? I have only been level 12-15 once, and I was a Fighter, so i'm not too familiar with game mechanics at that level. I am not familiar with that class ether so I'm not sure what else it gives me, but I will check it out. I haven't considered archmage before, I will defiantly check that out too. I will probably be the only debuffer in the group, so that shape spell will work very well. The extra levels of Master Specialist are there just to fill up the last levels, I'm not sure what to put in there. "The problem I have with Sculpt Spell taken as a feat is that its on the cheapest tier for metamagic rods, personally (ie, I'd rather just buy the rod - you don't sculpt many L7-L9 spells, so the cheaper ones still remain pretty useful)." "For a campaign starting out at low levels, Sculpt Spell is still useful in conjunction with MM Focus. Depending on the wealth, you won't be able to reliably pick up a rod until levels 4 or 5, and have multiple until level 7 or 8. Its not until then does sculpt spell lose its effectiveness, and a sculpted glitterdust at level 4 is very effective in hitting every foe you face." Good point on the Rod Vs. Feat issue. Our party is doing a "pool" of wealth thing, where we all vote on what to buy based on how it will help the party best. I can probably get a unanimous vote for some non friendly-fire glitterdust bombs. What level at the latest should i take the feat if we havent pooled the cash yet? Thanks for all of the help so far. I'm learning a lot. The OP is now(soon will be) updated with all of this info.
#8 mk2 Feb 25, 2009 16:26:19	Ive done research on both the Archmage and the Apostle, and I like the Archmage a little more. The apostle has some nice abilities but I think I will Go with the archmage, partly because the apostles anti-undead coolness is useless for my character, and also partly because the possibilities that the archmage gives me. I will edit this soon after I find the Archmage Handbook. Ether there is no archmage handbook or I am not looking in the right places. I am looking for what High Arcana would best help me in a buff/debuff role, So my current list looks like Mastery of shaping, Arcane reach, Arcane Fire, and Spell Power. Any advice on that on top of equipment, feats and ability points is more than welcome. The DM said we could radically change our character once during the campaign, so if you think something must come or go, feel free to tell me. I have also updated the feat list above.
#9 jenos Feb 25, 2009 17:36:35	Arcane Fire is a waste - spam low level orb spells for damage, if you need it, but you usually have much better options for the use of your actions. Arcane Reach, Spell Like Ability(SM IX or SM VIII), Spellpower, Mastery of Shaping, all good choices. For feats, Beckon the Frozen is useful if you can summon things with lots of attacks. You also want Practiced Spellcaster, from Complete Arcane. Toss in the Spell-Gifted Trait from Unearthed Arcana, and that will make up for some of your CL issues. Metamagic School Focus(Complete Mage) + Extend Spell + Sculpt Spell(Complete Arcane) are also good choices. Extraordinary Concentration is a waste - with malconvoker, SM IX trumps Summon Elemental Monolith, which is really the only reason a summoner picks up that feat.
#10 mk2 Feb 25, 2009 18:55:34	Thank you. Changes made to OP.