BeKay's page

Not just arrows.
So yeah, fill that badboy up - unless they changed the wording, the text only goes on to give a description of the room available.
There's a lot of creative ways to use this quiver. ;)

I know quite a few view them as extraordinary efficient for storing wands, rods and staffs.

Well, you could use those the theorem and do the calculations based on 5' increments.
Thus you have 2 cathetus of length 3 and 6, rounded up you end with a hypotenuse of 7 (6.708...).
Since range increments is based on 5'... :)

Gambit wrote:

Caineach wrote:

Just a note, as was discussed in the Eldrich Knight thread, the staff is a double weapon. Double weapons can be wielded in 1 hand but only 1 end can attack. I don't like that justification, but that is the way it works.

Correct, that is lamesauce.

The ruling was a staff was not a weapon unless ya used it as a double weapon...so it could be held one handed as it was not a twohanded weapon yet......yeah

I'm just glad I didn't got through with my idea for my Wizard.

...If it's a bonded weapon like a greatsword, than TPTH have ruled that you must be 'wielding' the weapon to cast, so you can't one hand it while casting if a wizard.

So by extension, indeed, a Wizard with a bonded quarterstaff can't cast somatic spells w/o the severe concentration check applied when trying to cast spells while not wielding his bonded weapon.

The penalty for not having the bonded item when casting is (imho) already insanely high, at least high enough that it is almost a complete gamestopper to lose.
It's a bit pathetic, as I see it.

Have a familiar? It dies? Well, too bad, he was cute, I'll miss him, in a
week I can get a new one. Luckily I saved some cash for a rainy day.

Have a bonded item? It's a weapon? Can't bring it into the audience with the king, can't cast in the surprise round without a high conc check (or use it to draw you weapon in the event that you didn't expect opposition), you've been imprisoned and thus "relived" of your weapons, too bad, suck it up and suck at getting out. It's a necklace? Too bad the thief spotted in the night, now you'll have to find it again while your spellcasting is in the gutter. Ditto for a ring.

And now on top of that, if if your chosen bonded item is a 2handed item, even if you liked the flavor, RAW will prevent you from casting somatic spells as a familiar-enabled Wizard would.

Yeah for TM.
Loved the old 3.5 guides, happy to see the old optimizers turning up here as well. ;)

Now, you've convinced me to finally try playing a Wizard; I've always been kinda "scared" of doing the non-spontaneous caster types.

Although I too like the idea of summons, the cast time has always been a big turnoff for me, just too many thing seems to happen during a whole round to feel safe doing it - and add to that the rather short duration on low(er) levels (never been past level 15 in those some 5 years of 3.5).

Thus I'd love some more input on tips and tricks for optimizing cast time and/or duration.
Quicken Spell (Metamagic) isn't an option: "A spell whose casting time is more than 1 full-round action cannot be quickened."
For duration there's of course Extend Spell (Metamagic), but like others have pointed out, that's mainly a problem on the low levels, also there's a few options for buffing caster level.

Bottom line is: what to do about the inherent threat of spending a round summoning?

I can see what you mean, but that being said, I think this is one of those situations where your players should be better at using the rules to their advantage.

By this I mean using the rules for take-10 (and take-20 for applicable situations).

If he was trying to climb the ladder without any stress or forced circumstances, he should just take-10 and climb it.
Or just GM rule that he climbs it, it's not really hard to do, if you're just a bit focused on what you're doing.
Of course, if a player wants to roleplay an easily distracted and absentminded wizard, you might still opt for the roll... ;)

Now, if this played out during combat, fleeing from enemies or some other stressful situation a take-10 can't be done - and wouldn't make sense either.
And with a low climb skill, the character could end up with a foot on the wrong side of a step and the groin closer than comfort allows to the ladder. Add other circumstances that would raise the chance of missing ones footing; a moist wooden ladder and trying to hurry up while being chased is a recipe for disaster... :D

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I guess what I'm trying to say is that your examples carries their own penalties if the situation calls for it.
The Ogre King wants a great performance? Don't do it well enough and off with the head.
Knowledge check; again, it's gradual what you get while a complete miss isn't the end of the world.
Climbing a dry ladder in full daylight with no reason to hurry; just do it.
Get chased during a monsoon during night time with arrows flying past your ears and it a whole other ballpark of failures.