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For dispelling magic, there is the 9th level spell disjunction which automatically succeeds. Setting that aside, CL 35 is practically impossible to achieve in the Pathfinder ruleset. Epic level play is not officially supported and there is no way to get more than 20 levels in a single class. If you want to play above 20th level, don't be surprised if some rules need adjustment.
Vital Strike feat is poorly worded (Paizo stopped using that wording after the core rulebook precisely because it was confusing). The feat only activates when you make a standard action to make a single attack. If you are full attacking it doesn't do anything, and if you're using another feat that involves making an attack roll it also doesn't work. Vital Strike is a terrible feat and is only used by very specialized builds.
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Yeah, the useless interpretation you give on Vital Strike is another one I saw, in which case I couldn't for the life of me see why anyone would want to take it. It's so damned specific in its use that it just seems a waste when you could get more generally useful feats.
That isn't an interpretation. It is how it works. Read the FAQs.
Vital strike is useful for creatures that make a single attack and roll a lot of dices. There are plenty of monsters like that and it can be useful for some druid build.
Not all the feats are meant to be beneficial for the PCs.
That isn't an interpretation. It is how it works. Read the FAQs.
Vital strike is useful for creatures that make a single attack and roll a lot of dices. There are plenty of monsters like that and it can be useful for some druid build.
Not all the feats are meant to be beneficial for the PCs.
And Barbarians.
Furious finish, power attack, furious focus, the vital strike feats, and several rage abilities all stack together to give you a fairly decent massive damage guy that can hit heavy ac guys for all of their attacks in one and not suffer the penalties of several of their rage abilities; IE once per rage.Add weapon abilities like furious and impact, or whole arch-types like Titan Mauler and you've got a beast that takes down things in a hit or two.
Vital Strike is pretty lame unless you're a two-handed Fighter using Gorum's divine fighting technique.
Would also be quite useful as a sniper build. Looking at the description of the feat now says nothing about it requiring a melee attack, just an attack. Thus ranged attack should also work fine. Would be helpful with a crossbow attack thus helping to offset the reload time.
Except that all the spells to actually dispel magic have caps on how much of your own caster level you can add (max of 10 for standard dispel, 15 for greater dispel and break enchantment)
There are no such caps in Pathfinder. That got tossed in the transition from 3.5e. Does this alleviate any of your concerns?
Vital Strike
This is simpler than it looks at first.
If you take the "Attack" action, a specific type of standard action with its own subheading in the Combat chapter, you can Vital Strike. This is not the same as making an attack, such as an attack of opportunity, an attack made as part of activating the Spring Attack feat, an attack at the end of a "Charge" action, or an attack made as part of a "Full Attack" action. Only the "Attack" action qualifies for use with Vital Strike*. Once you internalize that rule, everything else falls neatly into place.
It isn't useless by any means, as (1) most creatures can't always make full-attacks; (2) iterative attacks after the first have a tendency to miss more often; and (3) most creatures have to move from time to time during combat. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of Vital Strike over the years, particularly with large-die ranged weapon wielders (e.g., heavy crossbow, musket) or more mobile fighty-types with large-die melee weapons (e.g., greatsword, butchering axe) or reach weapons. It isn't an either-or situation--Vital Strike means that those situations where you have to move and then attack don't feel like you're wasting a turn, but you still full-attack when you can get away with it. If you're running TWF daggers, of course, it'll be much less useful.
*with very, very few exceptions that specifically call themselves out as exceptions
If a caster is actually above level 35 (unlikely to happen outside of epic game play) ...
The Coven hex of a witch and some other similar abilities of other classes can easily blow the CL limits.
Look up the death star coven with a CL of 514,000. :-)
/cevah
If a caster is actually above level 35 (unlikely to happen outside of epic game play) ...The Coven hex of a witch and some other similar abilities of other classes can easily blow the CL limits.
Look up the death star coven with a CL of 514,000. :-)
/cevah
Thanks for giving me the missing piece of my campaign!
@Danny StarDust: Give some details on that campaign usage. Give other GM some ideas. :-)
/cevah
@Danny StarDust: Give some details on that campaign usage. Give other GM some ideas. :-)
/cevah
In the previous campaign (where I was just a player), we had a CN god (Azatoth the destoyer) visit our planet every +- 1111 years to destroy and recreate the planet. There was one guy (undead Oracle) who wanted to stop that and for 7000 years, he conjured a plan to posses Balthazar and do battle woth Azatoth to stop him from destroying the world. (extra info, the big bad build a interdimensional caste in which he had acces to the mana regulation for our planet, so he had ample mana to perform the possesion).
Now, we as a party wanted to prevent the possesion (we saw the future were Azatoth no longer destroyed the world...but....the entire world was undead). So we set out our adventures to stop big bad guy, and in the prosess, almost everyone party member became evil. Not that the wanted to join the big bad, but the wanted the godly powers for themselves. This al worked out, instead of the big bad possessing Balthazar, one of our party members, the 16 year old gunslinger Roy Firebinder, became the new ruler of Hell. 3 other party members became kings and their countries evil aligned and worshipping Roy Firebinder. My character became a king aswell, but of CG country and worshipping Cernunnos. Eventually Cernunnos and my character were killed by the 3 other kings and an emissary of Roy Firebinder.
Now in the campaign I'm DM'ing (called "The Devil's Bleeding Crown" {like the Volbeat song}), during the possesion of Balthazar, a small portion of Balthazar's soul escaped and created a small demiplane (Infernus) below the city were the possesion took place. Roy Firebinder and the other gods are unawere of this and in secret, Balthazar is gathering souls and defecting devils who refuse Roy's rule. In order to reclaim his crown and throne, Balthazar is manipulating the Abyss and Abaddon to start wars and infuriate the good gods, all in Roy Firebinders name (so he'll get the blame). More and more devils flock to the side of Balthazar, he even manages to get one of the 3 kings on his side (the one who took over the castle from the previous big bad), as he has been in his close proximity. Once all the planes are at war with oneanother, Roy will be weakened to such an extend, that Balthazar will seize the opportunity to reclaim his throne (Yes, it will be a divine heavy campaign).
The thing I was stuck on is what to do after the throne has been reclaimed. But now, the mother of one my players will be a Coven Witch, powerfull enough (with your +541.000 CL) to remake the net that was created around Hell, to prevent the devils from escaping again and sealing Balthazar back in his throne, making the world a save place again (if all works out ofcourse).
All my players (4) will have a divine or powerfull connection:
- 1 is a descentdant from a Azatoth child, which was one of my first characters (during the recreation of planets, small lingering portions of his divine energy were the source of some spontaneous generation of people (these people are called Stardusts, the big bad was a Stardust))
- 2 sisters (not IRL, but in game) are Silversmiles (descendants from a powerfull family, who in secret regulate the welbeing of the planet after the previous campaign) and their mother will be the Witch
- the last one I'm still pondering on what to do with her, she playes a bard gnome. I was thinking of something like in GAme of Throne, were she's some sort of Dragon Queen.
Hope this is some inspiration for others :D
@Danny StarDust: Give some details on that campaign usage. Give other GM some ideas. :-)
/cevah
Storyline:Now in the campaign I'm DM'ing (called "The Devil's Bleeding Crown" {like the Volbeat song}), during the possesion of Balthazar, a small portion of Balthazar's soul escaped and created a small demiplane (Infernus) below the city were the possesion took place. Roy Firebinder and the other gods are unawere of this and in secret, Balthazar is gathering souls and defecting devils who refuse Roy's rule. In order to reclaim his crown and throne, Balthazar is manipulating the Abyss and Abaddon to start wars and infuriate the good gods, all in Roy Firebinders name (so he'll get the blame). More...
Extra info: The first Arc (and current Arc) is where a city is attacked by Goblins. These Goblins never (except rare occasions) never attacked the city before, but are now organized, effective, and cheering Roy Firebinder's name. The common folk obviously blame Roy and his followers for these attacks and want them to stop. So, the mayor of the city organized a hunting mission for two teams (one for each goblin cave). One team will be lead by a paladin, and the other by an Anti-paladin of Roy Firebinder. During the night prior to the mission, when both teams are spending the night in the castle of the city, the castle is being invaded by rogues who intend to kill everyone, in Roy firebinder's name (which they will find out after they return from the caves). During the night, the Anti-Pal is killing some of these rogues (which would be odd, if they were on the same side), but also regular guards (because, well, he's an Anti-Pal). After the night is done (and the anti-pal is killed by the Pal, but his before he actually dies, his body lits up in flames and leaves smoldering sign of Roy Firebinder), the party leaves for the golbin caves in the morning, and will find out that the goblins were being manipulated to kill, rape, and steal by devils who support Balthazar. That's were the fun begins, they will be the first ones to figure out that Balthazar is alive and kicking.