Yes. Everything in the DMG just about that isn't summarized as +x to y stat (stat boosters, resistance to saves, skill boosters...) is utter garbage, overpriced for the effect, or both. It's only natural that everything reprinted without change is similarly ineffective. The SR just is not high enough to have a meaningful effect.
If you use the rules presented to create a SR item... SR 31 costs 190k I believe it was. That's huge, and it only works half the time if your opponent isn't boosting CL at all. Seeing as CL boosts aren't hard to get, it's really not doing much at all to protect you and save boosts, immunities etc would protect you cheaper, and against SR: No spells. This is without touching non OGL stuff like Assay Resistance. Every point after that costs 10k.
Most foes faced in an adventure aren't of equal level to you, though.
For instance, in the Age of Worms endgame, the party (21st level by this point) has to fight twelve liches. For space considerations, these were the example liches in the MM (CR 13, EL 20 overall). Still a challenge (12 magic missile spells all targeting the poor rogue equals a dead rogue), but the caster level for each was only 11. SR 19 could have blocked 40% of the damage, and kept the rogue alive.
Many monsters have spell-like abilities at lower caster levels, too. Dragons, demons, devils. Plenty of High CR foes with a caster level of twelve.
So. It won't help against a dedicated caster of equal level, but that doesn't mean it's worthless.
It costs anywhere from 35,000 to 75,000 gold to get SR 19, depending on what other enchantments are on that item. Still too little for the cost. Besides, a simple Shield spell would have blocked every single Magic Missile. A Brooch of Shielding (which costs far, far, far less) would have absorbed 101 points. Seeing as MM averages 3.5, it's eating 33 missiles out of 60. Most importantly, the spell Spell Resistance is SR 12 + CL, meaning even a completely non optimized Cleric is giving SR 33. Do the math.
By the way, 1d20+11 = liches pass on an 8. 35% fail chance. Also, mooks are not a valid argument for it. Mooks by their definition are intended to be non threats. Obviously, it didn't work.
Seeing as CL = HD for that kinda thing, and even lower CR stuff is managing more HD... huh?
It costs anywhere from 35,000 to 75,000 gold to get SR 19, depending on what other enchantments are on that item. Still too little for the cost.
I'm not arguing that it's not the most cost-effective protection.
Had said spell been cast before the ambush, sure. But it wasn't. The armor enhancement is always on.
Who wears brooches of shielding at those levels? He was wearing an amulet of natural armor +5 with some extra ability thrown on (It's been over a year since that campaign wrapped up, so I don't specifically recall what it was).
The party was a changeling rogue 10/cleric 1/skullclan hunter 10, human sorcerer 11/dragon prophesier 10, human barbarian 11/frenzied berserker 11, and a shifter ranger 11/ barbarian 5/were-touched master 5. I was just the DM. Not my fault they went without a cleric.
If mooks are meant to be no threat, then why include them at all?
Huh? That last sentence didn't make much sense. Can you clarify it?
Mooks exist to buy the BBEG a round or two, if they work. The Brooch of Shielding was mainly just there for completeness. The group's only spellcaster is a sorcerer who I hope hasn't lost any CLs. No wonder they had trouble at epic levels.
The CL/HD bit refers to the simple fact anything anywhere near CR 21 has more than 12 HD, and the CL for SLAs and such is generally = enemy HD. Example: The CR 20 Balor has a CL of 20 with his stuff, because he has 20 HD. To have a CL of 12, a creature would have to only have 12 HD. How many creatures at this level only have 12 HD and still pose a remotely meaningful threat?
Spell Resistance is broken. It's an extra protection that should be handled exclusively by Saves.
That said, PCs are hard pressed to even get SR of any valuable level. I don't even try until level 21, at which point a Mantle of Epic Spell Resistance is ~300,000, and it's SR 40. That, unfortunately, only lasts for a couple levels.
Spell Resistance is a horrible, horrible mechanics that was patched on to make monsters more powerful. It needs to be taken out.
Just for the sake of eliminating an extra roll, I wouldn't mind seeing it gone. Modify saves if you must show that some creatures are "magic resistant" although I personally never saw the point in that trope.
It's just another roll. There should have been a design guideline that prevented people from making three rolls on the same "concept". Attack roll and Damage roll is plenty of random arithmetic for me, thanks.
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I'm wondering if SR shouldn't be reworked as a miss chance for spells, like concealment is a miss chance for mundane attacks. I realize that it's an additional subsystem, but on the other hand, it's fairly straightforward, and it might provide a more useful ability without making it overwhelming.
Just a bit of Bean brainstorming.
I may be remembering wrong, but isn't that how SR used to work before 3rd Edition?
I may be remembering wrong, but isn't that how SR used to work before 3rd Edition?
In AD&D, magic resistance was largely the same; a magic-user with a higher caster level had a higher chance of penetrating the resistance.
Right, but was it a percentage?In AD&D, magic resistance was largely the same; a magic-user with a higher caster level had a higher chance of penetrating the resistance.
I may be remembering wrong, but isn't that how SR used to work before 3rd Edition?
In 1st edition, it was a percentage. For every level over 11th a caster possessed it went down by 5. Daemons also lost 5 for every level of a spell over 1st.
In OD&D and 2nd ed, it was a flat percentage. You beat it or you didn't. And that was how MR (magic resistence) worked.
Thus speaketh a grognard.
Thanks. I knew I was remembering something shadowy from the back of my mind.
You're welcome. Someone has to remember these bits of trivia, might as well be me.