From the sound of it, it sounds like you have a pretty formidable Conjurer at your disposal as things stand.
With the critter spells, you already have the right tack with it - they serve as speedbumps to the bad guys, eating up thier actions to get rid of your critters rather than whomping on your meat shields (melee combatants) who are in turn probably rather enthusiastically whomping on the bad guys.
And while perhaps the ring of invisibility might not seem so grand, it is in turn granting you the "bird of prey" effect that is quite formidable when combined with the kind of firepower wizards generally represent.
While Sudden Quicken does chew through a *lot* of prerequisite feats, as you pointed out, they do come in awful handy in tight spots. I would strongly encourage getting Greater Spell Penetration as fast as possible. Highly spell resistant foes start coming thick later on.
An alternative to that is the sheer damage-dealing power that the Arcane Strike feat represents for you once you hit 9th level. Bad guys ignoring your spells and have a Protection from (whatever) up, stopping your summoned critters from nibbling on thier toes ? No problem - charge that staff up and annihilate them, one true striked bad guy at a time.
Scary stuff, especially coming from an alienist ... who has True Strike and later gets Archmage with Spell-like ability (True Strike) followed by the Quickened Spell-like Ability feat ...
I'm a little bit late to the party, but I highly recommend you supplement your Summon Monster spells with the Planar Binding series. Those spells are really the representative summoner spells even above and beyond Summon Nature's Ally/Summon Monster/Astral Construct.
In your particular situation, they have significant durations, so they can be cast well in advance and then buffed. They cannot be dispelled. There are risks associated with using Planar Binding to call creatures, but most of these (and quite a bit of DM annoyance) can be alleviated by carefully selecting the more controllable low-charisma outsiders and elementals within the hit dice limit.
In the case of the souped-up summons-destroyer Yuan-ti, a trio of large Air Elementals would seriously halt its progress. Even if the snake gets a Dismissal at range, 100ft perfect fly speed means they can harry the caster without trouble. Water or Earth Elementals would not be able to directly affect it, but they could attack other targets from cover to avoid the Dismissals.
As for Spell-Penetration.... well I wouldn't take it if I planned on using conjuration spells for direct damage, cause it is superfluous for them. For other "single-Shot take-down" spells, I would rather rely on a wand of True Casting//scrolls of the same then on wasting a rare Feat. because +10 from a 1st level spell sure beats +2 from a feat
A nice alternative to it may be taking a few levels in Paragnostic Acolyte (Compl. Champion, which should be rather accessible for a well rounded wizard, offers full spell progression, improved skill points (4+ Int) and.. some nifty powers, such as increased spell-penetration, bonus to ranged touch ray attacks and spell DCs' boots as choices of "applied knowledge".
Our wizard deviated into this recently and keeps whistling a happy tune ever since. Yes, it _does_look like a cleric PrC, but can easily be taken by a knowledgable arcane caster.
And the "Fast Healing" ability for any summoned creature would probably be straight up your neck of the woods, right ?
ohhh, and of course, if your GM allows it, take a close look at theArcane Demonwrecker PrC from Expedition to the Spiderwebs.... 5 levels and automatic SR-penetration vs. demons ? Maybe not the optimum choice in other campaigns, but in the STAP..... *wicked grin*
As for Spell-Penetration.... well I wouldn't take it if I planned on using conjuration spells for direct damage, cause it is superfluous for them. For other "single-Shot take-down" spells, I would rather rely on a wand of True Casting//scrolls of the same then on wasting a rare Feat. because +10 from a 1st level spell sure beats +2 from a feat
How long does it take to cast True Casting? I'm not familiar with teh spell as its in a book not considered cannon in my game but I assume it takes at least a standard action. If it does then this idea is really not much of a solution as it essentially slows the wizard down to casting a spell every second round. Thats a huge penalty.
Spell penetration might not seem like such a huge deal but consider that, in D&D, as one gains levels, you eventually get to a point where almost every single enemy has Spell Resistance. There are very few ways of getting past SR. Now a wizard can be designed so that they don't need to concern themselves with SR - but if your planning on trying to cast spells on bad guys as opposed to just on your buds then Spell Penetration is a very solid feat choice. I'd even go for the greater Spell-Penetration after word. Combined and ones mage a descent chance of having more then a 50% chance for their spell to work against high level undead, aberrations and outsiders.
As for Spell-Penetration.... well I wouldn't take it if I planned on using conjuration spells for direct damage, cause it is superfluous for them. For other "single-Shot take-down" spells, I would rather rely on a wand of True Casting//scrolls of the same then on wasting a rare Feat. because +10 from a 1st level spell sure beats +2 from a feat
How long does it take to cast True Casting? I'm not familiar with teh spell as its in a book not considered cannon in my game but I assume it takes at least a standard action. If it does then this idea is really not much of a solution as it essentially slows the wizard down to casting a spell every second round. Thats a huge penalty.
Spell penetration might not seem like such a huge deal but consider that, in D&D, as one gains levels, you eventually get to a point where almost every single enemy has Spell Resistance. There are very few ways of getting past SR. Now a wizard can be designed so that they don't need to concern themselves with SR - but if your planning on trying to cast spells on bad guys as opposed to just on your buds then Spell Penetration is a very solid feat choice. I'd even go for the greater Spell-Penetration after word. Combined and ones mage a descent chance of having more then a 50% chance for their spell to work against high level undead, aberrations and outsiders.
I think that for an invoker spell penetration makes great sense, but for a conjuror, who primarily uses summons, the penetration feats seem a bit like a waste.Also, for Tristan, who has a ring of invisibility, boots of levitation, and very few damage dealing spells (that need to beat SR) normally memorised spell penetration dosen't make a lot of sense. Magic missiles and fireball are the only two spells that she usually has to worry about. Until Tristan comes across creatures that can see through/ignore the invisibility, Tristan should have time to cast buff spells like this. Also, seeing as it's a first level spell, it's far less of a sacrifice then a feats.
Certainly one can design a wizard that does not need to get past SR but I'd say its not a frat chain particularly keyed to invokers. More like a feat chain that should be given at least strong consideration for any wizard that plans on trying to cast spells on the opposition. Essentially it helps keep ones options open. Most spells that effect the opposition allow SR - if you can't beat SR at least 50% of the time then your closing off a lot of spell options for one self and one of the great things about wizards are that they are versatile. Closing the door on a huge number of spells seems counter intuitive.
I simply prefer minmizing the chance of the SR beyond 50% to something like 10% or 20% at least, especially since the BBEG usually need SR rolls like 16 (to beat their humungous SR 36in the first place (given a level 20 caster ). +2 or even +4 from investing to feats won't really do much here.... but having to roll 6+ only on a D20 ?
I rather prefer to go into "slow Mode" (and perhaps have soem quickened "turecasts" available as 5th levels standbies.
Probably a matter of taste and tactical choices.
I simply prefer minmizing the chance of the SR beyond 50% to something like 10% or 20% at least, especially since the BBEG usually need SR rolls like 16 (to beat their humungous SR 36in the first place (given a level 20 caster ). +2 or even +4 from investing to feats won't really do much here.... but having to roll 6+ only on a D20 ?
I rather prefer to go into "slow Mode" (and perhaps have soem quickened "turecasts" available as 5th levels standbies.Probably a matter of taste and tactical choices.
I like the quickened true casts for those spells that just have to work but not the idea of having to cast a 1st level spell just so you can effectively cast another spell a round later. That is just way to big a price to pay. If something has SR that good do something that does not involve SR.
Also SRs of 36 is usually an exaggeration. SR is all over the place but a good rule of thumb is CR+10 = SR. You'll be in the right ball park 80% of the time at least.
Just a note off my head. In the OP's post, it seems like your character gets visible when ordering her summoned creatures to attack. Isn't that one of the examples in the PH of things you can specifically do while invisible and not break the spell?
I simply prefer minmizing the chance of the SR beyond 50% to something like 10% or 20% at least, especially since the BBEG usually need SR rolls like 16 (to beat their humungous SR 36in the first place (given a level 20 caster ). +2 or even +4 from investing to feats won't really do much here.... but having to roll 6+ only on a D20 ?
I rather prefer to go into "slow Mode" (and perhaps have soem quickened "turecasts" available as 5th levels standbies.Probably a matter of taste and tactical choices.
I like the quickened true casts for those spells that just have to work but not the idea of having to cast a 1st level spell just so you can effectively cast another spell a round later. That is just way to big a price to pay. If something has SR that good do something that does not involve SR.
Also SRs of 36 is usually an exaggeration. SR is all over the place but a good rule of thumb is CR+10 = SR. You'll be in the right ball park 80% of the time at least.
Well, in "Into the Maw" (current party level 16-17thish ), there is a bunch of BBEGs with SR 30 ( the fallen deva, the advanced Belshamoth) - affetcively a roll of 13-14 for the current levels - even should they advance a level during this installment, still rolls of 12-13 as the default. Shami Amourae, only another installment later has SR 32- and I Guess a bunch of groups are going to fight her, after all she is a) considered to be weakened, which makes her a good target of opportunity to take an ex-demon duchess/princess/whatever out of the business.. can't check on some of EoEs major players but folks like the general (SR 36), Gorgonar (SR 30), the stupid undead crawling haed of orcus (SR 31) and, most nubile but not least .... Malcanteth at a whopping (SR 41) - at CR 28...... Well she isn't meant to be attacked at that precise moment of the campaign, but her statblock will be just as relevant an installment onwards.... *sigh*
As far as I judge some comments from other threads, ther are groups who will actually pick a fight with Orcus etc. if they get a reasonable chance...
by the way, A "ring of mighty summons" might just be up Tristam's alley - Maxes out the HP of a summoned monster (10k gp app.) , although halving its time on site.... then again, at level 10 and above, that might not really be all that much of a problem.
Oh, and perhaps check out the Planar summoning options presented in the "Planar Handbook" - the Energons available with a Summon Monster V might be really dangerous (and flexible - damage wise) with a pseudonatural template and augmented summoning. if summoned right on top of a victim, 4 melee touch attacks in the first round for app 3D6 damage each..... ouch !
Just a note off my head. In the OP's post, it seems like your character gets visible when ordering her summoned creatures to attack. Isn't that one of the examples in the PH of things you can specifically do while invisible and not break the spell?Tristan can summon and command my creatures without becoming visible. When she targets enemies with spells or attacks she looses her invisibility. It takes a standard action to regain it.
In the fight I described earlier Tristan lost her invisibility when she targeted the enemy spell caster with a dispel magic. She lost it again when she targeted the Yaun-ti with magic missiles (even though it failed to penetrate SR).
Ok, I don't think I would have let Dispel Magic break invisibility (it targets spells, not creatures), but that is a DM call. As a DM, I run a very lenient game.
Well, in "Into the Maw" (current party level 16-17thish )
CR+10 = SR, not party level +10 = SR. While I don't want to discuss details of the AP I'll note that Into the Maw presents players with challenges that are not meant to be routinely overcome through the simple expedient of yanking out ones sword.
Furthermore my contention is that this is a rule of thumb. There are exceptions but most exceptions are with creatures that don't have SR at all as opposed to ones with extremely high SR compared to their CR. This is one of the reasons why one might consider going for a spell penetration route. It means ones spells meant to incapacitate the enemy still have a good chance of working in most encounters and in some of those encounters they will work for sure. Only in a small minority of encounters is the spell slinger going to come up against something with a near unbeatable SR and in those cases its questionable whether one should even bother with casting a spell to raise ones effective caster level on the next spell simply because your still dealing with a descent chance of spell failure. Its just not really viable to have the mage cast 4 spells over 4 rounds in the hope that 1 gets through.
Guys, OP hasn't gotten that far. Please put that kind of stuff in spoiler quotes, please.
I realized that an hour after posting it, but due to the board's structure, could not edit anymore or but a "Spoiler" mark around it. Sorry.
Although I guess the names of random NPCs should not have too much of a disruptive effect.
At least I hope - would be nice if the board-admins could either mark the relevant entries or allow editing after more than a few hours.
@jeremy
In my experience it is with the "non-routine" encounters (aka, the memorable personalities and villains ) that the importance of getting "through" that one decisive spell does come into effect. With the hired help, a well played group should usually be able to compensate for one or two major shots going awry.
Maybe its just that I value Feats pretty highly and usually reserve them for stuff I cannot easily duplicate with more common means.
*Stops short of doing a spit-take.*
That presumes, dear Watson, Mr Two-Brains is (a) susceptible to magical compulsions, and (b) Miss Squid-face survives trespassing his superior reach to deliver a touch spell. Not to mention whatever critterbeasties he pulls in to fill the floorspace...
Asides from game mechanics, your story of the character has been a blast to watch unfold. KUTGW !
You see this is why I wanted sudden quicken: Sudden d-door in, defensive cast Otto’s dance, Hop-Toy Dan (pseudonatural familiar with true strike) delivers the touch attack, and barring any immunities (just the usual poison, electricity, and petrifaction according to dragon 357 but Tristan should have a knowledge planes high enough to know if there are any additional immunities added for dungeon 150) the two headed ape will be reduced to cutting a rug and gaze attacks for 2 to 5 rounds.*Stops short of doing a spit-take.*
That presumes, dear Watson, Mr Two-Brains is (a) susceptible to magical compulsions, and (b) Miss Squid-face survives trespassing his superior reach to deliver a touch spell. Not to mention whatever critterbeasties he pulls in to fill the floorspace...
Asides from game mechanics, your story of the character has been a blast to watch unfold. KUTGW !
You do realize that you will need to Sudden Teleport ? D-Door leaves you room to do nothing but look funny after you use it IIRC.
But yes, presuming you are correct, you otherwise have a horrifically valid tactic in the wings. Here's hoping it works! ^_^ (Although the Dance may only affect one of his halves, the other may well remain free to do as it wishes, depending upon how the GM rules this facet of ol' monkey-faces. That and what the GM elects to do with monkey-faces' magic item crafting capabilities ... ol' monkey-faces may well put a wrench in the works with certain other capabilities of his as well ...)
One of my favorite characters of all-time (25+ years) was a gnomish conjurer I built to summon evil extraplanar denizens (the character took great delight in forcing evil creatures to do his bidding, usually good works, but the twisted pleasure of using evil against itself ensured a lot of moral ambiguity.
To make him more fun, evocation was one of the prohibited schools (I forget the other at the moment and am away from my notes). Augment Summoning and Spell Focus, Conjuration were musts, but knowing evil extra-planars would be involved, Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration were musts. To deal with grapples, I chose to forgo a familiar and take the Immediate Magic option from Complete Mage that allowed essentially a 10' dimension door several times a day.
I know there were two prestige classes involved, four of five levels of Fatespinner, for the forcing extra rolls (the build was prior to the luck feats of Complete Scoundrel) and the full progression of Mystic Thaumaturge (rewritten for arcane casters, but very similar) that essentially gave some of those conjuration feats as bonuses.
Perhaps one of the most important facets was a feat (or perhaps an ability of a prestige class) that allowed one to take ten on spell penetration rolls - that in itself was so incredibly useful, after trying once to see if I could overcome SR to know nearly every spell would work after that was priceless (except to the DM). The spells that lower resistance are nice, but they allow SR to start.
Initially, the unfortunately-named Yob was purely a support character, but slowly grew into a character that nearly broke the game. Between Yob and a half-fiend/saint dread witch imbued with demonic traits adn favors, those two characters could handle nearly any foe alone. The other player and I often held back our pure power for the enjoymnet of the group. Conjuration can be immensely powerful, especially once you start getting 6th-level and higher spells. Prior to that, you may have to settle for a supporting role, adn a control the battlefield through superior tactics role. If you like tactics (and I love them) conjurors cannot be beaten.
With planar binding spells and extra-planar chorts, one easily doubles the party size. With acid fog adn various walls, one controls the battlefields, and at the least soaks up a round or two of movement. For those pesky "teleport at will" foes, dimensional lock and its ilk rule, especially with the amped spell penetration. And the first conjuration spell I took at 9th level was perhaps the most underutilized in the game - Imprisonment. Our DM ended his campaign with us facing the tarrasque, and while that was an impressive battle, a few rounds to figure out the SR and saves, and the tarrasque was handily defeated not by death, but by imprisonment. I have seen very few uses of that spell in the game, but the few have made a very powerful impact (and can easily seed side quests to learn of, find and free previously-imprisioned beings). And just wait until you can cast SPhere of destruction - essentially it is disentegrate that you cast once, with a duration of a few minutes (by the time you can cast it). Think flaming sphere, but with distenegrate. Just evil for damage output, even if you do not load up d3 demons and devils from SMVII and up.
Yob ended up being so rediculously powerful and controlling of the battlefield, that I next played a series of three characters purposely designed to be pure support so as to relinquish the title of power gamer. I heartily recommend sticking with the conjurer, especially if you have as much fun role-playing him as in battle.
@guyhumual
As for "Sudden Dim-Door"
Quickened "Dimension Hop" or "Dimension leap" (level 2 both). Neither has the disorientation effect of "Dimension Door". Range of 100+' (at level 20) should be sufficient , and you get to use a lesser spell slot.
Otto's dance ? Have ABBA's "Dancing Queen" at the ready on your I-pod, speakers attached.......... that alone should humiliate Demogorgon into eternal disintegration *wicked*
@guyhumual
As for "Sudden Dim-Door"
Quickened "Dimension Hop" or "Dimension leap" (level 2 both). Neither has the disorientation effect of "Dimension Door". Range of 100+' (at level 20) should be sufficient , and you get to use a lesser spell slot.
Otto's dance ? Have ABBA's "Dancing Queen" at the ready on your I-pod, speakers attached.......... that alone should humiliate Demogorgon into eternal disintegration *wicked*
Dancing Queen ... ROFLMAO, quite humiliating for an aeons-old demon lord to be vanquished by ... ABBA ... :)
And without elbows, "YMCA" is just NOT an option!
So long as it is not 'that' track from Pulp Fiction being played .. or Duelling Banjos .. which would be the only 2 I can think of that would top getting pwn3d by YMCA or ABBA ...