| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I have created a 15th-level master dispeller build, which I was hoping could be reviewed by the online community.
1) He is a master dispeller who can really punish a single foe, or a large group of foes. Due to his effective CL 20 in regards to greater dispel magic, he is able to knock out as many as five ongoing spells on a single target. Since he is +5 levels ahead, he is MUCH more likely to succeed than typical dispellers (who only have about 45% chance of success against an equally powerful enemy). What's more, not only will the target lose any advantages from his/her buff spells, but they will also need to make a Fortitude save (DC 27) or be stunned for 1 round (or sickened if they succeed) due to his Destructive Dispel feat. Additionally, the target takes a -2 penalty to saves against Sela's spells for 1 round for each spell so dispelled. That means the target could be facing as much as a -12 save penalty (-2 for being sickened, and -2 for each of the five buffs dispelled) against the follow up "Save or Suck" spell (most likely feeblemind as it imposes an additional -4 penalty to the save if the target is an arcane caster--something that is all-too likely if they had five buffs). Due to Quicken Spell, Sela can blast through an enemy wizard's magical defenses AND disable him in only a single round. With his other metamagic, he can also snipe-dispel (reach spell), effect small armies (widen spell), or exclude as many as 9 allies from the area of effect (selective spell). Should you survive the opening round against Sela and deliver a save or suck spell yourself, he can counterspell it as an immediate action up to three times a day thanks to his counterspell school's Counterspell Mastery class ability. Due to knowing all core spells of 8th-level and lower, and having arcane bond, he is nearly guaranteed to have an appropriate spell ready to counter with.
2) Sela knows every spell in the core rulebook and then some. Combined with his contingency spell, multiple long term buffs, and arcane bond class feature, he is prepared for almost any situation that might arise. Though I ran out of starting funds, if I get the chance to play him, one of the first things I intend to do is craft even more spell scrolls so as to be even further prepared.
3) Sela's spell combinations, particularly his summon and polymorph spells. Imagine facing Sela on his own turf: the desert. He starts off by dispelling a single buff and stun-locking your entire party as a swift action. He then transforms into a huge earth elemental (a giant statuesque version of himself) and earth glides beneath the desert sands. Since he has fingers, and can speak, he retains his spellcasting and buffs up with the benefit of total cover. When he's ready, he casts summon monster VIII, bringing forth as many as five other huge earth elementals, all of which look like identical statuesque versions of himself. While you are busy figuring out which of the six mountains is really him, his minions are eating away at your hit points or grappling/pinning you. Fighting back is difficult thanks to earth glide. Should you determine the true caster (perhaps he cast an obvious spell, taking out one of your comrades) he and the others simply retreat underground, rebuff, and rise again, once again confounding everyone as to which is which.
Sela could also cast quickened shield, activate his boots of speed, and turn into a huge air elemental instead. This gives him an AC of 42. A 15th-level fighter with +25 to hit would need a 17 or better on his opening attack, and a natural 20 on his iteratives. That doesn't matter, however, as Sela can move away 150 feet as a move action and bust up any fighter with his long range spells.
If a fighter's primary weapon or an enemy wizard's staff proves to be more annoying than the fighter/wizard himself, a quickened greater dispel magic and a shatter spell can prove to be an excellent remedy.
Thanks to his 120 foot darkvision, Sela can drop a darkness spell on the enemy and gain an instant and obvious advantage, should his foes not likewise possess darkvision.
Permancied arcane sight and a Spellcraft modifier so high he auto succeeds at identifying all of your spell buffs at a glance means he knows exactly who to target first. Since he can quicken his greater dispel magic spell, he can spend a standard action learning about the party wizard or cleric's spellcasting capabilities AND drop a dispel bomb in the same round. Should his enemies be stunlocked, he might even have the time to follow up with save or suck spell before your massive save penalties disappear.
As per all builds in MY group's games, it was made with 25-point buy, 3/4 of the maximum variable hit points, and used crafting prices on any magical items for which he possessed an item creation feat (or equivalent).
if you wanna get a +30 on the dispel checks you can add empower spell if i am reading it right
I'm not certain that would work for the same reason you can't give scorching ray a substantial attack roll bonus with the same feat.
No further replies in nearly 12 hours?
Is my build perfect then? Or is everyone just busy with Black Friday?
I'd love to see this broken down in a character progression chart. I've actually been thinking about making a similar character and this is exactly what I needed for inspiration.
I'd love to see this broken down in a character progression chart. I've actually been thinking about making a similar character and this is exactly what I needed for inspiration.
Well, let's see...
Levels 1-4, the build is non-existent as you don't have any reliable ability to dispel.
Levels 5-8, you can have Dispel Synergy, and with a little luck, start debuffing your enemies' saves. The problem here is that not a lot of enemies will be relying on magical buffs at these low levels. You also get Improved Counterspell at 6th, which is neat, but it's still generally better to ready an action to blast your foes when they cast. Counterspell Mastery, however, means you get to laugh at your foe's attempt to cast against you...at least once per day.
Levels 9-10, by now you likely have an orange ioun stone and the Spell Specialization and Greater Spell Specialization feats for dispel magic, allowing you to really wreak havoc on foes that rely on spell buffs. Dispelling and counterspelling become noticeably easier to pull off thanks to your higher-than-normal caster level. You also have Destructive Dispel now, allowing you to stun lock an enemy or further reduce their saves with your dispel attempts. You might even have a metamagic feat or two to apply to your dispel magic spell.
Levels 11-14, you finally get access to greater dispel magic and some fun "save or suck" spells, allowing you to really put the hurt on whole groups of enemies that might rely on spell buffs (which are becoming more and more common in enemies). What's more, you can now alter the entire battlefield in your favor, completely shutting down the kill zones and walls of enemy control casters. Permanency and arcane sight and a high Spellcraft modifier guarantees you know exactly where to target your dispels first. Contingency, arcane bond (any item), and blessed books full of almost every spell you could ever want, and lots of scrolls, all help to protect you from the unexpected.
Levels 15+, thanks to Spell Perfection, when it comes to dispelling and counterspelling you are the top dog. You now dispel things with such ease that even level 20 casters fear for their buffs. You can counterspell as an immediate action 3 times per day, meaning no spell goes off without your explicit permission. You now have a host of metamagic feats at your disposal that can be spontaneously applied to greater dispel magic, allowing you to widen the dispel area while also excluding your allies from the effect. You can also quicken your greater dispel magic spells, allowing you to take out most foes with a one two punch of dispel + save or suck. Such metamagic is often also useful on other spells as well.
Not even enemies that don't rely on buffs can escape your wrath, for even physical brawlers and monks rely on powerful magical items at this level--powerful magical items you can dispel and shatter with ease.
At this level, there should be few things you fear. Conversely, there are few things that don't fear you.
I'm not certain that would work for the same reason you can't give scorching ray a substantial attack roll bonus with the same feat."All variable, numeric effects of an empowered spell are increased by half including bonuses to those dice rolls.
Saving throws and opposed rolls are not affected, nor are spells without random variables."I am assuming that the +20 would be covered under the bonus. at least, that's how i ruled it reading the way the feat is worded.
Caster Level Checks are by definition Opposed Rolls.
Besides explicitly being barred, that check is not an EFFECT of the spell, it determines if the spell's effect takes place or not...Overall... This works but I have to say that the +5 to CL isn't some uber amount given the opposing rolls, it's less significant than a similar boost to spell DC... And given the single check approach of dispel, you will regularly just have no effect at all.
I'm not certain that would work for the same reason you can't give scorching ray a substantial attack roll bonus with the same feat."All variable, numeric effects of an empowered spell are increased by half including bonuses to those dice rolls.
Saving throws and opposed rolls are not affected, nor are spells without random variables."I am assuming that the +20 would be covered under the bonus. at least, that's how i ruled it reading the way the feat is worded.
Caster Level Checks are by definition Opposed Rolls.
Besides explicitly being barred, that check is not an EFFECT of the spell, it determines if the spell's effect takes place or not...Overall... This works but I have to say that the +5 to CL isn't some uber amount given the opposing rolls, it's less significant than a similar boost to spell DC... And given the single check approach of dispel, you will regularly just have no effect at all.
Though I agree that it doesn't work, I don't think your reasoning is terribly sound in this case.
An opposed roll is a defined game mechanic that requires two opposed rolls, such as a Perception check versus a stealth check. That isn't the case here. The DC to dispel something is a static 11 + caster level. You make a caster level check, 1d20 + your caster level, against said DC. That is only one roll, not two. Therefore it is not considered an opposed roll as far as the RAW are concerned.
Yeah... I officially blame the opposed check thing on my using an iPad thingy for the first time and it being weird ;-)
But the main point is really that the CL check isn't an EFFECT of the spell...
CL is obviously invoked all the time to determine effect... Duration, damage dice, or possibly flat damage bonuses... Those are all effects. But the dispel check is not a 'variable numerical effect', if you want to view it as an effect of the spell at all, when it is really on par with Saving Throws or Spell Resistance, it is a binary effect of success or non success.
The number of spells stripped would seem like the number of Magic, Missiles, I.e. not affected by Empower...
Is there some other Metamagic that does affect that kind of stuff?
For those of you who downloaded the character, you should know that I have updated the character sheet. Most of the new changes deal with Sela's ongoing spells.
I always like to read full character sheets and yours is well made (too bad there is no background story).
However you've already added spells like ride the waves that last 15 hours. Do you assume you have those spells that are crossed active at all times?
Also I would like to know if this build does well to kill ennemy wizards. I know, the answer seems obvious but I just want to make sure.
I always like to read full character sheets and yours is well made (too bad there is no background story).
However you've already added spells like ride the waves that last 15 hours. Do you assume you have those spells that are crossed active at all times?
Also I would like to know if this build does well to kill enemy wizards. I know, the answer seems obvious but I just want to make sure.
Yes, if a spell is crossed out, assume it is already pre-cast (though since he doesn't like people knowing he is a wizard, some spell effects such as unseen servant and phantom steed hide in the background, ready to rescue their master at a moment's notice). The leftover hours of the day (where some of the spells' durations have run out) usually fall into the middle of the night, when is sleeping. Mind you that he will adjust the timing on certain spells. If he is expecting to be out at night doing some dastardly deed, he may not cast them until later in the day so as to be protected at the right times. As an abjurer, Sela is not at all shy about casting additional buffs as needed. For example, if he is going to the market place to duel another wizard, he likely also has spell turning and similar spells pre-cast.
I haven't play tested it yet, but I like to think he would excel at killing enemy wizards. They are generally overconfident due to their buffs and contingencies, which this guy turns against them. The biggest weakness I know of at the moment is his low initiative modifier. A powerful enemy wizard might stand a good chance of going first, which can potentially mean everything in a spell battle.
As for background story, he is essentially Disney's Jafar (cunning, devious, manipulative, power mad) or Lord of the Ring's Wormtongue (the former being the inspiration for the character). He will be the power behind throne. The sultan will have the Charisma and the power, but Sela would act as the adviser and head of state, having the fool of a sultan routinely charmed and manipulated into acting towards the Grand Vizier's own ends.
It just occurred to me that moment of presence can help him get around his weak initiative in critical life or death circumstances since initiative is undoubtedly an opposed ability check. That will give him a +18 initiative once per day, but thanks to his arcane sight and high Knowledge: arcana and Spellcraft modifiers, he would most certainly know he is facing an enemy spellcaster at a glance (even identifying some of his buffs and magical items, which he can use to gauge his foe's power), and thus will almost always know when it is warranted.
|
Ravingdork, on the initiative front, would a dueling cestus be an option? +8 is quite a bit better than +4.
lol. Not bad. I'd make it a gauntlet though. More intimidating I think.
I've updated the character sheet. I exchanged 5 ranks of Appraise for 5 ranks of Knowledge (dungeoneering) for thematic purposes. I also added some extremely interesting new combat gear (which should indicate to you why I gave him ranks in Dungeoneering). Thanks to explosive runes, he is now a passable blaster (60d6 force damage is nothing to sneeze at).
I have also adjusted his languages to account for his high intelligence.
The link in post #18 above should load the updated sheet.
If you were to change from human to elf you could take the elven spellbinder archetype to be able to spontaneously cast your dispels.
If you were to change from human to elf you could take the elven spellbinder archetype to be able to spontaneously cast your dispels.
That's the one from the ARG? If so, that's not true spontaneous casting. You need to spend a full round action to replace one spell with another, THEN you need to spend the action to actually cast it.
Versatile yes. Spontaneous no.