Buffy the Orc (or, how high can we stack low -level buffs?)


Advice


Thought experiment: we have a tribe of orcs whose champion is a perfectly ordinary, plain vanilla orc... 6 HP, AC 13, one attack at +5 for 2d4+4.

However! This fortunate tribe also has two spellcasters -- one fifth level cleric, and one fifth level wizard. Both have 16 in their casting stats, so both can cast three third level spells, four second, and five first level spells. These guys both specialize in buff spells. Before a combat, they do nothing but cast buffs on the champion. Their goal is simply to make him as powerful as possible.

So, the obvious question: how far can they go? Let's say (by way of example) that the wizard casts Keen Edge, Fly, and Haste as third level spells; Bear's Endurance, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace and Boiling Blood as second level spells; and Enlarge Person, Magic Weapon, Moment of Greatness, Shield, and Unerring Weapon. At this point his AC is 13 +2 Cat's Grace + 4 Shield +1 Haste -2 Enlarge = 18, his hp are up to 8 (Bulls Strength), and he attacks at +5 +2 Bulls Strength +1 Boiling Blood +1 Moment of Greatness (once) +1 Enlarge +1 Haste +1 Magic Weapon = +12 for 2d6+9, critting on a 17-20 and rolling +3 on his crit confirmation roll. Now it's the cleric's turn...

You get the idea. Assume the orc is going into a straight melee combat, so there's no need for protection from energy or missiles. Just how alarming can we make him? (Don't forget to make sure we're using buffs with different bonuses, so they stack.)

Doug M.


I would point out that shield will not work on Buffy. It is personal only, if you get an alchemist orc you could get around that.


Shield of faith gives a deflection bonus. Resistance gives +1 to all saves. Guidance gives a single +1 to many things. If there's an alchemist with infusion and infuse mutagen, he can get a natural armor bonus and an alchemical bonus to strength, and the aforesaid use of a shield infusion.


False Life would be good imo


Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:
Shield of faith gives a deflection bonus. Resistance gives +1 to all saves. Guidance gives a single +1 to many things. If there's an alchemist with infusion and infuse mutagen, he can get a natural armor bonus and an alchemical bonus to strength, and the aforesaid use of a shield infusion.

I don't believe infuse mutagen lets you use the mutagen on others.


Heroism is good +2 Moral to all attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks.
This is a MUST from the wizard, ditch fly if he's facing another vanillorc.

Also, the cleric should cast on of the +4 buffs and let the wizard casl False Life for an extra 1d10+5 hp. Also the cleric could use Shield Other to soak 1/2 the damage the warrior might take...if he's w/in 40 feet of the warrior during the fight.

The cleric should also save a Gentle Repose, so the have time to raise their champion should something go HORRIBLY wrong.


+ marionette possession > Expeditious retreat, shield, eruptive postulates (if you get hit they take damage), Beast shape Velociraptor (3 attacks per round 2 of which are 17-20 to crit with keen if it works w/natural attacks) go back to your body and enjoy the show

Silver Crusade

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We need to choose the right combination of buffs that the orcs might standardize on. Counting domain and specialty school spells, the available spells are:

*********** Total buff load ***********
Wizard spells 3rd Level: 3
Wizard spells 2nd Level: 4
Wizard spells 1st Level: 5

Cleric spells 3rd Level: 3
Cleric spells 2nd Level: 4
Cleric spells 1st Level: 5

Here's my mediocre attempt:

One set of buffs, copy above and post your own improvements:

****************************************
Wizard spells 3rd Level: 2+S
Ablative barrier, Haste S?, Keen Edge
Wizard spells 2nd Level: 3+S
Protection from Arrows S?, Cushioning Hands, False Life, Cat's Grace,
Wizard spells 1st Level: 4+S
Enlarge Person S?, Infernal Healing, Mage Armor, Expeditious Retreat,

Cleric spells 3rd Level: 2+D
Prayer D?, Communal Resist Energy, Wrathful Mantle
Cleric spells 2nd Level: 3+D
Aid D?, Bull's Strength, Weapon of Awe, Shield Other
Cleric spells 1st Level: 4+D
Protection from Good/Evil/Law/Chaos whatever D?, Shield of Faith (won't stack, but do it anyway), Ant Haul, Sun Metal, Magic Weapon

Start with a basic 1 HD orc with the Combat Reflexes feat, STR 18 DEX 12 CON 14 wearing no armor (Mage Armor) and carrying, say, a glaive.

Unbuffed this 'champion' would be AC 11. He would have 11 HP. He would get one attack per round with a glaive at +5 to hit for 1d10 + 6 damage. He would also get two possible AoOs at a 10 ' reach and exert minor battlefield control.

Fully buffed our champion would still have Combat Reflexes, STR 22, DEX 14, CON 14, and AC 20. He has 31 HP and DR 2/piercing, converts first 5 HP of each hit to non lethal, and the Cleric ally (hiding nearby, possibly self-healing) takes half of net damage sustained. Our champion could sustain roughly 70 - 80 HP of damage and still be up. He would get two attacks per round at +9 to hit for 2d8 + 1d4 + 14 damage. He would also get three possible AoOs at a 20' reach and exert considerable battlefield control.

If all five possible attacks hit that's 5 hits x 25.5 damage/hit = 127 HP total damage output. Not bad for a standard orc.

Stand some short meat-shield orcs in front of the champion, with bows, spears, and shields. So long as they stay adjacent, the 13' tall champion can strike over them for 2 attacks and 3 AoOs. This is both RAW and RAI. The nearby short orcs protect the champion, and the champion protects the short orcs from melee.

The Wizard and Cleric remain totally hidden nearby. If the champion is slain they flee, using some prepared distraction. They could do this over and over, if they were smart and careful.


David Neilson wrote:
I would point out that shield will not work on Buffy. It is personal only.

Dang it, I always forget that.

Quote:
marionette possession > Expeditious retreat, shield, eruptive postulates (if you get hit they take damage), Beast shape Velociraptor (3 attacks per round 2 of which are 17-20 to crit

Okay, points for originality.

Doug M.


Magda, aw yeah. This is exactly what I was looking for. You've tweaked the basic orc from the PFSRD a bit, though? I think a vanilla orc has Str 17?

Fully loaded, Buffy looks to be about CR 6 or so. He's still vulnerable to save-or-suck spells, but he'd be a formidable challenge for a group of 3rd-4th level PCs. Standing off and plinking him with arrows doesn't work, and closing to melee will involve eating some serious damage. The PCs' best bet is probably to throw Grease and hope for the best.

Doug M.

Silver Crusade

I figured they'd find a 'champion' 1 HD orc to boost ...

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