People love the Falcata for its 19-20/x3 crit range. A monowhip is significantly better, with a crit range of 18-20/x3, plus it hits touch AC and does 2d6 damage at medium size. Unfortunately, the list price of a monowhip is 70,000 gold, before enchantment.
You can just buy a +1 Transforming light melee weapon for 12,500 gold and change it into a monowhip, right? Better still, a +1 Keen Transforming one for 18,500. Sure, batteries will jack that price up over the long run, but who doesn't like those savings? Heck, enchant it yourself and pay just 9,500.
Seems like a golden option for any slashing grace whip character, such as a dex-based warpriest. (The monowhip doesn't allow you to add strength to damage, but dex is fine). You can keep the dang thing in whip form when you don't feel like burning batteries.
If someone takes damage when attempting to activate a spell from one of the following magic items, must they make a concentration check to avoid losing the spell?
A spell completion item (like a scroll of cure light wounds--can the action fail, and if so is the scroll used up?)
A spell trigger item (like a wand of cure light wounds--can the action fail, and if so is a charge used up?)
A command word item (like a holy mask of the living god, which can cast cure light wounds 1/day--can the action fail, and if so is the daily use gone?)
A use activated item (like a potion of cure light wounds--can the action fail, and if so is the potion ruined?)
Greater Dispel Magic is cast as an area dispel in a zone that contains someone who has cast Shield, Magic Circle Against Evil and Undeath Ward. Assuming the dispel check is high enough to defeat all these spells, would all three be dispelled? The area dispel should affect all area effect spells plus one spell per creature--do the emanations count as spells on a creature or as area effect spells for this purpose?
Chains of Light doesn’t have the Force descriptor, so the spell has a 50% chance of not affecting an incorporeal creature. But even if the roll indicates the spell connects, will it have any practical effect on an incorporeal undead? According to the spell description, “The creature is paralyzed and held in place,” but undead are immune to paralysis, and I believe incorporeal creatures can pass through physical barriers, even those created by magic, with some exceptions that don’t seem to apply here (i.e. force effects, really thick things).
The spell description specifies that “The spell does not affect creatures that are already in ethereal or astral form when the spell is cast.” That doesn’t list incorporeal critters specifically, but I feel it supports the idea that incorporeals can pass through the chains if they are not paralyzed.
Chains of Light Spell Description:
School conjuration (creation) [good]; Level cleric 6, inquisitor 5, paladin 4, sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (a length of fine golden chain)
Range short (25 ft. + 5 ft./level)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw Reflex negates; Spell Resistance no
DESCRIPTION -- A creature targeted by this spell is held immobile by glowing golden chains composed of pure light. The creature is paralyzed and held in place, but may attempt a new saving throw each round to end the effect. While held by the golden chains, a creature cannot use any sort of extradimensional travel, such as astral projection, blink, dimension door, ethereal jaunt, etherealness, gate, maze, plane shift, shadow walk, teleport, and similar spells and spell-like abilities. The spell does not affect creatures that are already in ethereal or astral form when the spell is cast.
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Glibness is a spell that is only on the bard spell list, no other. Its listing says it only has somatic components, but the bard class description says all bard spells have verbal components. There are other, less commonly used bard-only nonverbal spells, like Resounding Clang and Borrow Skill.
Is this a case where the specific (the spell description) overrides the general (the class description)? Or do these spells have a verbal component when bards cast them?
If the spell description overrides the class description in these cases, is that also true of nonverbal spells like Mislead, which can be cast by other classes?
Is there any magic item for spontaneous casters that increases the number of spells they can cast per day, similar to the way Pearls of Power benefit prepared casters?
(I know that attribute-boosting items help a little, but that’s not really what I’m looking for.)
(This is meant not as a serious attempt to exploit a loophole, but as entertainment for those who are amused by rule exploits.)
A Theologian or Ecclesitheurge cleric with the Travel domain chooses a specific time of day when her spell slots replenish. Let’s say dawn.
She spends her adventuring career exploring the globe, and at some point after reaching 9th level ends up on the opposite side of the world from her childhood home. One dawn, after preparing her spells, she realizes she can be nearly twice the spellcaster she’s been up until now.
She has four hours to select spells and cast all she likes, save for a single memorization of Teleport. She can then spend eight hours on downtime activities such as sleeping, crafting, practicing her profession, performing religious duties, ruling a populace or whatever.
Then she teleports to the opposite side of the globe, where it’s dawn. Her spell slots replenish, save for the one she used to cast Teleport. Luckily, her archetype allows her to prepare Teleport in her normal spell slots. She once again has four hours to cast and eight hours to do other things. She could have two bases of operations on different sides of the globe, or she could teleport back immediately after replenishing spells.
Traveling via Teleport 2-4 times a day carries considerable risk in the long term, even if both spots are very familiar. However, these risks are cut in half at level 11, when she can Word of Recall to a sanctuary for one leg of the journey. (Also at this level, any cleric with the Travel domain can use this trick, teleporting on one leg and recalling on the other.) The travel risk is eliminated at level 13 when she learns Greater Teleport.
At level 17, any cleric regardless of domains might consider using Interplanetary Teleport (and perhaps a method of tracking daylight over multiple planets) to pull off the same trick.
I’ve been wondering if Greater Glyph of Warding could be used for the same purposes as certain scrolls, more economically and to greater effect.
How useful a glyph can be depends on the interpretation of “a harmful spell”. Positive energy spells like Heal can harm undead--can they therefore be placed in a glyph? If they can, that opens up possibilities.
For example, a level 11 cleric could have taken the Scribe Scroll feat, and spend a day and 825 gold to scribe a Scroll of Heal. Or she could spend ten minutes and 400 gold to place a Greater Glyph of Warding on a scroll case that will cast Heal on the first creature to opens it. The higher the cleric’s level, the better a Greater Glyph looks, because scribing a scroll with a higher caster level costs extra, but the cost of the glyph is fixed.
A scroll has situational advantages over a glyph. When you use a scroll, you pick targets and choose effects as if you cast the spell. With a glyph, the target is the opener, and the effects are set. But a glyph can be used by anyone, much like a potion, only without the spell level limit of potions. Alternately, you can create glyphs that only trigger for someone who shares your race or alignment or religion.
Whether or not positive energy spells can be put into a glyph, surely negative energy spells like Harm can. Such glyphs could be triggered by undead creatures to heal themselves. Dhampirs could gain the same benefit.
Other uses worth considering are a glyph that surrounds the opener with a Blade Barrier, or targets the opener’s immediate area with an effect one expects the opener to be immune to, such as Undeath to Death or an alignment-selective spell like Holy Smite.
Something I like to know when coming up with a character concept is whether there will be plenty of downtime in the adventure when characters can make use of crafting feats.
Since Iron Gods seems to focus on artifacts and constructs, I would guess there will be time for folks to craft items. Is that correct?
That would be useful information to include in the player's guide to the adventure path, along with favored enemy hints and so on.
Enemy’s Heart is an interesting little spell that lets you gain temporary hit points, a profane bonus to strength, and a bonus to caster level by performing a coup de gras on a helpless living target.
It has a full-round cast time. But I’m pretty sure it can made into Oil of Enemy’s Heart via Craft Potion.
So let’s say you have an Orcish witch with the Slumber hex whose Imp familiar carries a vial of Oil of Enemy’s Heart and a whetted sickle. You take your action to Slumber a nearby enemy; your familiar then swoops in as a move action and applies Oil of Enemy’s Heart as a standard action. As part of that action, it gets to perform a coup de gras.
Okay, an imp’s going to deliver a pretty crappy coup de gras. 1d3+1 x4 is only a DC 22 on average. That’s pretty easy to pump, though...every +1 damage from bard song or whatever adds 4 to the DC with a sickle’s modifier. Or maybe one of your party members would like be the designated annointer.
Applying the oil provokes AoOs, as does a coup de gras. Still, the ability to move and coup de gras in the same round is a nifty option.
The trick is a little pricey, 300g a pop...half that if your witch takes the Cauldron hex.
First, the subject gains a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves. Both these bonuses apply against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures.
Second, the subject immediately receives another saving throw (if one was allowed to begin with) against any spells or effects that possess or exercise mental control over the creature....This saving throw is made with a +2 morale bonus, using the same DC as the original effect.
Do the +2 resistance bonus to saves and the +2 morale bonus to saves vs. mental control effects stack, giving the target of Protection from Evil a total of +4 on saves versus mental control effects from evil creatures?
This is kind of a public service message, as I almost didn't get the word until too late.
Lots of y'all will remember a video game called Planescape: Torment. Those of you who have played it need no reminder about how awesome it was. The rest of you might want to Google a bit to see how many "best games of all time" and "games to play before you die" lists it's ended up on.
A team of game designers are creating a game they intend to be its successor--Torment: Tides of Numenera. Judging by these folks' resumes, they'll do an incredible job.
Best of all, they're going to be hiring Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind, to script some of it. (He talks about it in his blog here.)
Mounted Combat: Once per round when your mount is hit in combat, you may attempt a Ride check (as an immediate action) to negate the hit. The hit is negated if your Ride check result is greater than the opponent's attack roll.
Quote:
Trick Riding:While wearing light or no armor, you do not need to make Ride skill checks for any task listed in the Ride skill with a DC of 15 or lower. You do not take a –5 penalty for riding a mount bareback. You can make a check using Mounted Combat to negate a hit on your mount twice per round instead of just once.
You may only make one immadiate action per round.
Does Trick Riding give you a 1/round free action that works like the immediate action from Mounted combat? Does Trick Riding allow you to spend an immediate action to both make a ride check to avoid an attack, and make another later in the same round? Does Trick Riding allow you make two checks when you use the Mounted Combat action to negate a single hit? Or is Trick Riding actually unusable?
I'm planning to ask my GM to let me create a new metamagic feat for my Illusion specialist wizard, as shown below. Before I do, can anyone offer any advice on its design and balance?
Deceptive Spell (Metamagic)
Your spells seem to be mere figments, disguising their true force.
Benefit: A deceptive spell’s physical effects appear to be translucent and hollow, much as a figment does to someone who has successfully disbelieved it. A suspicious observer may attempt to see through this illusion (glamour) effect as a Will save that requires a move action. Creatures subject to the deceptive spell’s effects realize it is not a figment.
In addition, creatures using Spellcraft to identify a deceptive spell as it is being cast suffer a -4 penalty.
Level Increase: +1 (a deceptive spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell’s actual level.)
Among the spells a high-level caster can mimic with Shades is Create Demiplane. There are a couple of advantages: Create Demiplane has a casting time of four hours and requires a 500 gp focus. Casting Shades takes only a standard action, which means you can whip up a demiplane in the middle of combat and escape there with as many of your allies as can form a circle of linked hands. Furthermore, while it’s not the huge money-saver that using Shades to mimic Trap the Soul is, you do save yourself 500 gp.
One complication is that unless you’re a Shadowcaster or a 20th level Shadow bloodline sorceror, your demiplane is only 80% real. What does this mean? Who even knows? I imagine there’ll be as many interpretations as DMs.
Still, unless your DM is the sadistic sort you would expect to rule you have only an 80% of being able to breathe the air, or the ground has only an 80% chance to support your weight, this seems like a pretty fun toy to play around with.
Once you’re bored of free Trap the Souls, that is.
I like the look of the Flagbearer feat and the Banner of Ancient Kings wondrous item. They’re very flavorful and provide a substantial all-day bonus. But in battle against enemies that know that the flag raises morale--or against any enemies, really, if your GM’s a bit antagonistic--the flag could be a serious vulnerability. Aside from the hour-long penalties if it is destroyed, a player needs to come up with an CL 16 Make Whole spell to fix a destroyed Banner--that’s a 1,600 repair bill, assuming you wind up buying a scroll of the right level.
By my reading, a flag or Banner has 0 hardness and 2 hit points, leaving it vulnerable to dagger stabs, torch hits and stray arrows.
What are some ways to protect a flag or Banner from harm? I suppose characters could just stash it most of the time, and only take it out when fighting constructs and animals and magic beasts, but assume the goal is to use it even when facing enemies highly likely to target it, such as orc barbarians and undead cavaliers. Also assume the pole is pretty well protected: a impervious adamantine longspear in a locking gauntlet, say. What spells, feats, and tactics will help?
Also, are there inexpensive ways to restore a destroyed (not merely broken) Banner?
My party entered and was driven away from a ruin; we plan to return once we’ve finished a few tasks and have leveled up to 7th.
While we were there, we found a open stone wall safe with a metal box inside. We had no chance to open the box: the disable device DC was given as 50. In a move that seemed to make sense at the time, we put it back in the safe and closed it--the safe also needs a disable device of 50 to open. We have reason to believe both box and safe are effectively indestructable, and the keys to both forever lost.
Can you help us come up with a combination of stacking buffs that will allow us to take 20 to open these locks at level 7? Our DM will probably cap us at one or two people aiding the action. We’ll have time to buy or craft a few level-appropriate magic items, and have access to most spells and class features via an insanely large stable of PCs (only 5 or 6 characters will go, but we can choose from a pretty large variety of characters). The primary lockpicker will most likely have an unbuffed disable device of +14. Alternately, the same character could UMD a pair of knock scrolls, but I believe that rules out taking 20.
I’m planning to play a CG wizard, stack the use magic device skill, and get a Lyrakien improved familiar, reasoning that since she shares my skill ranks and has a good charisma bonus, she should be able to wield wands and other magic items reliably.
I figure I’ll get her an efficient quiver and stock her with a wand for every occasion, plus a few scrolls for uncommon situations.
So far, I’m considering getting:
Wand of Obscuring Mist
Wand of Cure Light Wounds
Wand of Silent Image
Wand of Vanish
Wand of Mage Armor
Wand of Resist Energy
Wand of Lesser Restoration
Wand of Delay Poison
Wand of Longstrider
Wand of Expeditious Retreat
Wand of Protection from Evil
Wand of Enlarge Person
What these all have in common is they’re on some class’s 1st level list and they generally don’t require a save or a SR check to have a significant effect. Many of them I can get at the crafted price, too.
I’d like everyone’s advice on:
1) What other wands, scrolls and magic items could she wield that would be a good return on the gold invested?
