So I like playing characters with an arcane spell faliure chance. Just personal preference I like full arcane casters, and casters in general. So it's no longer 2011, it's 2017. What are my options if I want to reduce arcane spell failure chance?
Methods I'm aware of:
-Make the armor out mithral.
-Make the Armor out of darkleaf.
-Arcane armor training
-Arcane armor mastery
-Hellknight Caster type prestige class.
None of these really do it for me though. What I want to do is wear Quilted Cloth armor and have no penalty, and not need to spend two feats and a swift to get there. The prestige class doesn't help as you need the feat to qualify. Though if I took it it would work as Dark leaf negates 5% of the spell faliure. Then it would be two feats and a dip. A high price for a small prize.
So are there say armor enhancements now that decrease arcane spell failure? Something?
Oh and if you are wondering why I want the armor: read the description it gives you a limited DR.
There are a few armors/shields that have 0 ASF, magic and mundane. Those are your best bet but i don't know of ANY that are quilted armor.
There are also several classes that lower or ignore ASF, but again, none are full casters.
may I ask what quilted armor brings to the table that's important enough to dig this far? Seems like a lot to get DR/3 vs small ranged piercing weapons.
You say that you like full casters in general, so have you considered the Psychic class? No ASF for psychic casters.
There is also the Psychic Bloodline for Sorcerers. You would be a psychic caster rather than an arcane caster, but you would still use the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list (with some very nice bonus spells from the Psychic list).
There is also the Psychic Bloodline for Sorcerers. You would be a psychic caster rather than an arcane caster, but you would still use the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list (with some very nice bonus spells from the Psychic list).
Ah, good catch. I forgot the Psychic Bloodline.
One of my fellow players swears by the Djezet Skin.
There's also the vastly more expensive Wizard's Mail.
A mithral buckler completes the ensemble, providing you're not wielding anything in your other hand.
Well, depending on how your GM feels about odd races, you could play a Piper. Their Mystic Voice racial perk is huge. Plate armor? Tower shield? Not a problem, unless you're using an attack roll spell. Make it out of honey, for all the difference it'll make. You could literally have 100%+ ASF chance, and this eliminates it completely. The downside to it is that Silent spell would be a wasted feat, and you can't do stealth checks while casting.
There is an issue with that race. What creature type is it? Humanoid? Fey? Outsider? What are its subtypes? They can be kind of a big deal.
One of my fellow players swears by the Djezet Skin.
There's also the vastly more expensive Wizard's Mail.
A mithral buckler completes the ensemble, providing you're not wielding anything in your other hand.
Mundane Haramaki and Silken ceremonial have NO ASF, so no reason to have to get magic items to have armor and no spell failure. It's why I figured he wanted the "DR/3 vs small ranged piercing weapons" for quilted.
There is another reason why I can't use the piper. Third party material...
The Djezet skin is cool. I mean it's not what I want, but AC of three is nice.
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Oh and if you are wondering why I want the armor: read the description it gives you a limited DR.
I usually steer away from this armor mainly because the DR requires an extra paragraph on my character sheet. Lazy, I suppose, but just a very poorly defined DR with limited practical application. Dropping prone is usually the best option against the list of attacks this defends against, rather than wearing special armor.
If my Caster needs DR, Chillblight Emissary is so much easier to use. Less DR, but it applies to almost everything.
Anyway, to your question, the one overlooked is that spells without Somatic Components do not trigger arcane failure at all. There's a decent list of non-somatic spells, plus you can always use the Still Spell metamagic feat. And for cantrips, many of them really don't matter if they fail 10% of the time (like any out of combat cantrips). If you do go this route, a common trait to take is the Magical Lineage, which makes you ignore the level adjustment for Still Spell on your favorite spell.
The Psychic bloodline kinda solves it. I mean, you are ignoring the arcane spell failure, but you are only doing so by ceasing to cast arcane spells. That's like me suggesting you play a cleric for the same reasons. And that bloodline arcana only applies to sorcerer spells, as per it's description, so you can't level dip to use this bloodline for a wizard or other arcane class.
Beyond those, the Bard or the Magnus have some degree of ability to ignore arcane failure, but only with spells specific to those classes.
The Djezet skin is cool. I mean it's not what I want, but AC of three is nice.
I fail to see how anything that gives a smaller armor bonus than mage armor is "nice."
The Djezet skin is cool. I mean it's not what I want, but AC of three is nice.I fail to see how anything that gives a smaller armor bonus than mage armor is "nice."
I'd guess mainly because of the time limit? not every adventure/encounter happens in the limit of 1hr/level. So you have to make sure you have enough to cover the whole day and possible having to recast it during combat [duration ends, dispelled, ect].
So a simple bonus listed on the sheet vs slots/gp used several times a day seems 'nice' to me. It's also a 'base' for armor enchantments, something the spell can't do. There are several +gp enchants that are pretty good. [Burdenless can help any low str character, Comfort helps with environmental issues without a spell, Hosteling stores your familiar, ect]
Why would an intelligent wizard and seasoned adventurer be entering any dangerous area without having cast his hours long buff spells first?
From Extend Spell to pearls of power, there are numerous ways to keep it up all day long, even at low levels.
Whenever I play a spellcaster with that spell, we all just assume it is precast at the start of combat. The villains do it, so it's totes okay. ;)
Why would an intelligent wizard and seasoned adventurer be entering any dangerous area without having cast his hours long buff spells first?
From Extend Spell to pearls of power, there are numerous ways to keep it up all day long, even at low levels.
Whenever I play a spellcaster with that spell, we all just assume it is precast at the start of combat. The villains do it, so it's totes okay. ;)
Sometimes a "dangerous area" lasts DAYS or WEEKS. You can't expect to limit danger to JUST the duration of your hr/level spells.
Secondly, Extend Spell to pearls of power cost something. Time, effort, gp, feats and/or spells known. You assume a wizard, but what of a sorcerer? That's a spell know required. What if it's in a wizards opposition school or worse in a Thassilonian Specialist's opposition school? A simple one time expense for armor is often MUCH easier and less expensive plus it has possible enchantments.
Thirdly, you're lucky to be able to 'assume' precasting. Getting attacked while sleeping at 3rd level and precasting breaks verisimilitude quite badly. I wouldn't assume precasting is a standard practice.
If you can just take the spell and write +4 AC on your sheet that's one thing but THAT is the main reason for the armor: you actually get to write that down and not worry about it again. Some people prefer to bypass all the hoops you jump through to 'assume' constant/continuous mage armor, especially at lower levels.