Maximize Acid Arrow - Some help wanted!

[Nazrelle]

Hey there guys!
We all know the Sorcerer Bloodlines, that cause some damage spells deal more damage per die. (Draconic, Orc, Primal)
Using this with Fireballs and Burning Hands early is buisness as usual.

But it seems kinda funny and maybe effective with Acid Arrow. We can get 2 or 4 damage per tick and with the Burning Magic metamagic feats a bit more, dependant on the spell level.

And so it started... Now I want to know, what further increases the damage and makes it more effective. Are there good feats/traits? Some nice items? Some tricks and stuff?

Would really like some help with that! Thanks in advance!

[avr]

Damage? No, you want dazing spell. With that it can lock down an enemy more than long enough to kill it.

You can add a flask of acid to make the spell last 1 round longer (alchemical power component, Adventurer's Armory) if you like.

[Goblin13]

Apart from the usual 2 traits for the -2 Metamagic Level, maybe Extend spell ? Double Duration is more DoT ( side question the duration is 1 Round + 1 Round / 3 CL, with the double Duration is now 2 Rounds + 2 / 3 CL or 2 Rounds + 1 / 3 CL ? ).

Then Empower, Dazing and another Metamagic for +1 Level, Spell Perfection at 15, and a Lesser Rod of Maximize

Go Admixture Wizard for the Free Elemental Swap Evocation School Ability and watch them slowly melt, or burn, or freeze !

[Nazrelle]

avr wrote:

Damage? No, you want dazing spell. With that it can lock down an enemy more than long enough to kill it.

You can add a flask of acid to make the spell last 1 round longer (alchemical power component, Adventurer's Armory) if you like.

Looks nice. Is the flask consumed for each spell I cast? And ye, Dazing Spell seems brutal.

Goblin13 wrote:

Apart from the usual 2 traits for the -2 Metamagic Level, maybe Extend spell ? Double Duration is more DoT ( side question the duration is 1 Round + 1 Round / 3 CL, with the double Duration is now 2 Rounds + 2 / 3 CL or 2 Rounds + 1 / 3 CL ? ).

Then Empower, Dazing and another Metamagic for +1 Level, Spell Perfection at 15, and a Lesser Rod of Maximize

Go Admixture Wizard for the Free Elemental Swap Evocation School Ability and watch them slowly melt, or burn, or freeze !

Yes, lesser rods can be used easy - it's still a 2nd Level spell.

Do you mean splashing one level of Admixure Wizard or going full Wizard instead of Sorcerer?
I can also take Lesser Elemental Rod for type changing.

[avr]

Yeah, it's effectively another material component. At 10 gp each you can afford to use a flask on each casting, though there might be a move action required to get one out.

Though it's goblin's suggestion - I'd go full wizard in order to get dazing spel (w/metamagic reducers) available from character level 5 rather than character level 7. Unless it was a lower optimisation game of course.

[Metux]

You can get false focus feat, to get those components for free.

Also dwarves sorcerer favored class bonus get +1/2 acid damage

[Goblin13]

One level Sorcerer Crossblooded for the extra damage on dices, Admixture Wizard the Rest ! so you get +2 Damage per Dice of the Spell, Intense Spell from the Evocation applies in full to Acid Arrow, and generally with a Ring of Wizardry II, Pearls of Power and Spell Perfection you can't run out of acid xD

[Nazrelle]

The false focus seems nice. Not even too hard for a feat.
Probably it's going to be a dwarven sorcerer - and yes, not optimized campaign. So the sorc will keep CHA as casting stat.

avr wrote:

Though it's goblin's suggestion - I'd go full wizard in order to get dazing spel (w/metamagic reducers) available from character level 5 rather than character level 7. Unless it was a lower optimisation game of course.

Which reducers you mean?

Goblin13 wrote:

One level Sorcerer Crossblooded for the extra damage on dices, Admixture Wizard the Rest ! so you get +2 Damage per Dice of the Spell, Intense Spell from the Evocation applies in full to Acid Arrow, and generally with a Ring of Wizardry II, Pearls of Power and Spell Perfection you can't run out of acid xD

With intense spell you mean the 1/2 wizard lvl on damage? I don't think it is applied to every tick of the acid arrow.

[Timdog]

I've always understood that you have to use a rod appropriate for the modified level of the spell i.e. of you empower a fireball, you'd have to use a regular maximize rod as it's now an effective level 5 spell. It expressly says you use the level as either original or higher whatever is WORSE for the caster.

[avr]

Reducers - the traits wayang spellhunter (aka metamagic master) and magical lineage.

[Kefler]

why not take elemental bloodline , switch it to cold and add :

Rime Spell (Metamagic)
Creatures damaged by your spells with the cold descriptor become entangled.

Benefit: The frost of your cold spell clings to the target, impeding it for a short time. A rime spell causes creatures that takes cold damage from the spell to become entangled for a number of rounds equal to the original level of the spell.
This feat only affects spells with the cold descriptor. A rime spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.

seems like it would be a great debuff for acid arrow errrh cold arrow
notice there is no save for the entangled condition

[Nazrelle]

avr wrote:

Reducers - the traits wayang spellhunter (aka metamagic master) and magical lineage.

Well, that are the obvious ones.

But what's the correlation with "available from character level 5 rather than character level 7". Thats what don't get.

[avr]

Nazrelle wrote:

avr wrote:

Reducers - the traits wayang spellhunter (aka metamagic master) and magical lineage.

Well, that are the obvious ones.

But what's the correlation with "available from character level 5 rather than character level 7". Thats what don't get.

With those traits Dazing Acid Arrow is a 3rd level spell. If you get the Dazing Spell feat as soon as you can use it then you are a 5th level wizard or a wizard 1/sorcerer 6 or a sorcerer 6 - but a sorcerer 6 doesn't get a feat at 6th level then so they wait until 7th level. 5th level as a wizard or 7th as a sorcerer or multiclassed sorcerer.

[Goblin13]

My tought on Intense Spell is because the damage is applied "once per spell and not once per ray or missile" other than that nothing, but the damage of the Acid Arrrow is 2d4, that repeats itself like an echo, so maybe you can apply it !

Uhmm If you go Sorcerer 1 Wizard 2+ at 6 you can get Dazing with your
3rd level slots ... Or you can go Wizard 5 and the 6th will be
Sorcerer !

I would prefer the damage early game, so Sorcerer as 1st, and because
on a side note is easier to explain ( at least to me ) why I choose to multiclass Wizard ( Fluff thing ) than suddenly gain a Crossblooded
Bloodline ( But again, is more Fluff )

[voideternal]

Timdog wrote:

I've always understood that you have to use a rod appropriate for the modified level of the spell i.e. of you empower a fireball, you'd have to use a regular maximize rod as it's now an effective level 5 spell. It expressly says you use the level as either original or higher whatever is WORSE for the caster.

Metamagic rods don't change the level of the spell. So a Metamagic rod-empowered fireball is still a level 3 spell.

Core Rule Book, Rods, Metamagic Rods wrote:

Metamagic rods hold the essence of a metamagic feat, allowing the user to apply metamagic effects to spells (but not spell-like abilities) as they are cast. This does not change the spell slot of the altered spell.

If rods increased the level of the spell, and if you had to use a rod of the FINAL spell level, then there would be little point for the existance of a Lesser Metamagic Rod of Quicken, because Quicken Spell normally requires you to use a spell slot 4 levels higher.

For reference, the Lesser Metamagic Rod of Quicken is available in the Core Rulebook at 35,000 gold.