| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| #1tsuyoshikentsuSep 09, 2008 20:55:58 | I have this shadowcraft mage: Link to Sheet. (The world is sans gnomes, so humans can do it.) Any thoughts about what spells I should be pulling in with my shadow stuff? We're lacking BSFs. We have a 100-HP cleric who's tanking rather ineffectively, two ranged types, two rogues, and a wu jen who mostly uses a spiked chain. Also, if you've any advice on the spell list, tell me please. ![]() |
| #2jaronkSep 10, 2008 0:15:01 | Shadow Major Creation, use it to create Black Lotus Poison in puddles around the enemy, thus killing anyone who's not immune to poison (since that's thousands of doses). Also, Greater Floating Disk is nice for transport. JaronK |
| #3WyvernhandSep 10, 2008 1:11:51 | Radiant Assault is a nice mid level Evocation. Will save based, it does d6 damage/level, capping at 15, so it stays good for a while. The real kicker is that 1d6 rounds of stun for any failures. Its the high level glitterdust. Its also LIGHT damage, and I have yet to see any light resistance anywhere, from anything. I know a SCM who uses it pretty often. Another golden goodie is Entomb, from Frostburn. Normally thought of as a crappy fort save/die due to the hella-expensive material compenent, this becomes the SCM's legion killer. Targets/level, and anything that's not large+ has almost no chance to break out. Hordes of medium sized humanoids got you down? Ice 'em! In fact, Frostburn has a few nice spells that SCM's qualify for. Why stay in a MMM, when you can make an ICE FORTRESS! Beware of red dragons, but nothing says style like layin out your mansion and lacing up the ol' hockey skates. Also, once you get to about 15th level, Elemental Monolith will wreck just about any level appropriate encounter you come across. What's really fun, is when you cast Sonorous Hum to hold an Earth Monolith for you, then cast a quick Heroics on the Monolith to grant him Shocktrooper. He qualifies, and directed bullrush + push = pwnage. This guy should kick for the Giants, he's got so much range. Charge, swing, ITS GOOD!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!! There are a few more, but those are some of the best ones. If you end up fighting a single low will save foe some time in the midish levels, casting Color Spray over and over while your party pummels the foe is pretty effective. Your DCs will be pretty sick at that point, and will saves scale poorly at mid levels. You gotta do something with all those 1st and 2nd level slots! Heighten Spell is your friend! |
| #4tsuyoshikentsuSep 10, 2008 2:34:06 | ...Guys. I'm 10th level. That means 5th level or lower spells. |
| #5WyvernhandSep 10, 2008 2:44:11 | Just curious if you knew, but Arcane Thesis doesn't actually work with Heighten. You need one of the other metamagic reducers like Metamagic School Focus or Easy/Practical Metamagic to get the SCM thing to reduce down a level lower than it is. As it stands, you are breaking even on spell levels, but if you had MMSF, you could squeeze out 3 Radiant Assaults a day for the full 15d6 and will save vs stun. Not bad for a 10th level character. Edit: Residual MM, make that 6 Radiant Assaults per day.... Entomb, which I recommended, is 5th level, and probably the most effective mass kill spell you could ask for. The material components all get screwed and all you are left with is a double duration deathtrap. Read up on the suffocation part. The Conjour Ice Beast line of spells aren't too bad either, especially if you get the SCM trick to work and poach from the summoning list a level above where you should be. |
| #6bruceleeroySep 10, 2008 4:22:21 | Not super especially relevant to the topic at hand, but what are those flaws you have? Phantom Sparks and Haunted? I am intrigued. Edit: Just to toss something in there, Signature Spell is super-effective for SCM. |
| #7shokatsuryouSep 10, 2008 9:13:49 | Radiant Assault is a nice mid level Evocation. Entomb, which I recommended, is 5th level, and probably the most effective mass kill spell you could ask for. The material components all get screwed and all you are left with is a double duration deathtrap. Read up on the suffocation part. +1. I think these are very good suggestions. IIRC, Entomb is 6th level though. I am playing a beguiler/shadowcraft mage and am very close to getting the Shadow Illusion ability as well. These are some ideas I gathered from some preliminary research, but I do not know how well they may work in practice. Wings of Flurry: Normally a sorcerer-only spell, but I think Shadow Illusion will let you emulate it. If you can use it, it's a great nuke + control spell. 1d6 per level uncapped Force damage, and daze for 1 round. Only flaw is its relatively short range. The other "Wings of..." spells are pretty good, too. Buff and utility spells are generally good choices. Obviously, stuff like Contingency could be extremely useful. Create Magic Tattoo: Good spell, especially with Earth spell to boost your caster level and Shadow Illusion to get rid of the material component. Grab +1 caster level pretty much every day from now on. (and other bonuses too, if you cast it more than once.) Phantom Steed: Ride around in style flying at 240 ft. per round. Earth Spell and magic tattoo should be able to boost your CL to 14 or above soon enough. (Edit - Looking at you character sheet, I notice that you seem to have access to Conjuration. This makes using Shadow illusion for conjuration buffs less essential. It's still good for casting on the fly or bypassing any material costs, though.) Battlefield control spells are always solid option, especially if they offer no save. Blacklight, Sleet Storm, Solid Fog, Wall of Stone, Wall of Force and similar spells are all solid choices. However, like tsuyoshikentsu I am looking for additional suggestions for spells to grab with this potent ability. |
| #8tsuyoshikentsuSep 10, 2008 13:04:31 | Just curious if you knew, but Arcane Thesis doesn't actually work with Heighten. The next couple feats I get are gonna be other metamagics. Also: Radiant Assault is 7th level. Entomb is 6th. I need 5th level and below, which is why Shokatsuryou was so helpful. |
| #9phaedrusxySep 10, 2008 14:53:36 | Posted my reply here, and linking it for anyone who doesn't normally frequent that board. |