Eldritch corruption early entry shenanigans? 4th level arcane spells at level 2.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

More Heroes of Horror taint tricks.  In this special episode, a stupid early entry trick!

So, the HoH feat Eldritch Corruption gives you, among other benefits, sudden heighten (two levels up) 3/day, which costs you or an ally four points of con damage each time.  It requires another metamagic, and moderate depravity.  Moderate depravity is a cinch with the undead type  - you just need to have more charisma than wisdom. 

So, let's see what we can do with this.

Necropolitan Human (Druid 2)

Feats

Human: Magical Training (cast 2 cantrips, gain arcane CL 1)
First level: Precocious apprentice (cast a single second level spell)
Flaw: Some metamagic of your choice
Flaw2: Open slot
Necropolitan Taint Feat (free with every purchase of moderate taint): Eldritch corruption

What does all that get you?  The ability to cast a single fourth level arcane spell, that's what.  Your animal companion is a squishy source of sacrificial constitution, so keep it safe.  There's no range limit to the feat, so if you can keep it locked up and strapped onto a Bed of Lesser Restoration (stronghold builder's guidebook), why not?

Or you could get some chickens, feed them, and succeed on a handle animal check to make them like you.  Then, when they least expect it (and have no idea what's going on), rip their life force out to power your spells.  Keep a portable hole full of them, and never look back.

[Tshern]

This calls for Elder evil devotion! Could this be combined with Insane defiance? One party member has that, you cast a fourth level spell, say, Dominate person (Bard 4) at him and he then proceeds to deflect it to some NPC. This could easily be used to get some crazy DCs...

[The_Mad_Linguist]

You, sensibly, can't consider summoned/charmed creatures allies for the purposes of this feat.

The nice thing about not using elder evil devotion for this is the DM is less likely to smack you upside the head, and you can still have a good alignment, which allows more choices.

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

Necropolitan Taint Feat (free with every purchase of moderate taint): Eldritch corruption

Huh?

Btw Very Nice. I'm a little sleepy right now but I love what I'm seeing.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

When you get moderate taint, you get a bonus feat for free.  Becoming a necropolitan makes you undead, giving you automatic taint, and thus an automatic bonus feat.

[Akalsaris]

Hmmm...well, it's a decent trick for dual progression at least.  Something like druid 7/nar demonbinder 1/arcane hierophant X, for example.  (Nar demonbinder needs 10 skill ranks or it'd be sooner).

I'm AFB right now, but maybe this would work well with shadowcraft mage?

[awaken DM golem]

Very Nice.
[tangent alert]

Wasn't one of the TO-builds, something like Class X 5 / UA Tainted (??) 1 , gain the moderate corruption , and then heal it , and then repeat.
Infinite feats = good stuff.

So for this you'd just need to add a gainer action , and a healing action , to do it over and over ... earlier.
I don't know the details ( ).
 
**

Obviously, some early entry into PrCs can happens with your build.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

IIRC, you lose the tainted feat when your taint decreases.

[Endarire]

Why would a Druid want to have a lower WIS than CHA?

[jameswilliamogle]

IIRC, you lose the tainted feat when your taint decreases.

From what I read, the feat only deactivates when under the "taint threshold".  Also, Undead have taint set as a fixed number according to their Cha (1/2 Cha +1 if undead).  Thus, as a Necropolitan, one can have an appropriate Cha, then put on and take off a Cloak of Charisma ad infinitum, gaining bonus feats at the rate of 1 / 2 rounds, and then just keep it on for all of the feats to activate.  The funkiness is that its any feat for which the prereqs are met, not just the tainted feats...  Moderate and Severe Taint are determined by Con or Wis score (whichever is lower), and those limits are low, so the average Necropolitan almost always has a bonus feat or two (or nearly every feat in the book if clever).  They could even cast Eagle's Splendor to start the bologna off early on (@ ECL 3).

I wrote a bit about it in the DN handbook: don't play with Taint in a real game.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

The wording is "when", not "whenever", so I'm sensibly parsing it as being a one-time thing.

[jameswilliamogle]

The wording is "when", not "whenever", so I'm sensibly parsing it as being a one-time thing.

I guess thats your call.  I just look at the text as "if this happens then this bonus feat thing happens" and cross back and forth across that line as much as possible.

Well, since its relevant...

Taint and Bonus Feats
When a character reaches moderate taint, and again when he reaches severe taint, he gains a bonus feat. This can be any feat for which the character has the prerequisites.

Since taint is cumulative, a character with a feat whose prerequisite is a specific level of taint retains access to that feat even after she acquires enough taint to rise to the next taint level. For example, a sorcerer with the Corrupt Arcana feat (see page 120), which has mild depravity as a prerequisite, still benefits from that feat if her depravity rises to moderate or even severe.

By contrast, falling below the specified taint level for a feat renders that feat inoperative. For example, a character with the Tainted Fury feat (see page 124), which has moderate corruption as a prerequisite, cannot benefit from that feat if his taint falls to mild but regains access to the feat if his corruption later rises to moderate again.

Bolded the section I was referring to.  Doesn't lose the feat, regardless.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Um, that "renders the feat inoperative" language refers to feats which have taint as a prereq in the description.


Regardless, let's get back on topic.  What PrCs can we use this on to cheese into early entry?


EDIT: Of course.  Rainbow servant.

[PlzBreakMyCampaign]

Bit of a bump.... this was a little long for an edit:

Okay, this checks out. Very nice MadLinguist.

By the way why would they ever specifically allow a heighten (at all, even with a 2 level cap) that does not "increas[e] the level of the spell"?

Is WotC nuts? They know that's gonna allow early entry!

[BowenSilverclaw]

WotC nuts?

You seem surprised