Got my events for Gen Con, and one of them is the AD&D second edition High-Level Allnighter. Well, I hope it is, anyway; I have to make it through the qualifying round first.
The parameters are as follows:
1. 3.75 million xp
2. 87 point stat distribution
3. 3,000 xp worth of magic items
4. Banned books include: Psionics, Skills & Powers, Player Options, Combat Tactics & Dark Sun
So the question is: what to do?
The 3,000xp worth of magic items is sort of unexpected, since that means (barring abuses like "Thor's Hammer doesn't have an XP value!") that these are going to be extremely high-level characters with almost no magic items. I asked about items which have no listed XP value (like, for instance, the Deck of Many Things) and was told that some of them do have an XP value in later publications, but otherwise, they'd be kosher.
I'm at a serious disadvantage, in that I don't have the Encyclopedia Magica or the Spell Compendiums--I'll just have to work with what I have and hope it's enough.
Here are my initial thoughts:
The baseline of power is going to be Wizard 20; 3.75 million is exactly enough to reach that level as a wizard, and nothing else really compares to ninth level spells in a game where cleric spells stop at 7th level.
Therefore, the question becomes: how much can I gain above the baseline, while sacrificing as little wizard spellcasting as possible?
My initial thought was to create a beefed-up version of an old second edition character of mine: a Human Shade Fighter 9/Wizard of Nimbral 19 who wears a cloak that ensures he's always in shadow (and thus always gets the stat bonuses, magic resistance, and other nifty benefits of a shade.) However, the background information released thus far makes me think I might be mistaken for one of the enemy and killed right off the bat by the other players.
My tentative build at the moment is as follows:
Human dual-classed Druid 10/Priest of Math Mathonwy 24
STR: 7
INT: 19
WIS: 19 (20)
DEX: 11
CON: 16
CHA: 15
Tentative Magic Items: Pale Green Ioun Stone (+1 level of experience,) Pearl of Wisdom, Ring of Spell Turning
In a lot of ways, priests of Math Mathonwy aren't so hot. No Turn Undead, no armor, and the only weapon they can wield is the dagger. They get access to most spheres, but they're restricted to minor access in Healing and Divination, which hurts.
However, they get one very important ability: they cast wizard spells as a wizard 5 levels lower than their priest level.
The way I look at it, I'm not BUILDING a priest character; I'm building a wizard who gives up one level of wizard spellcasting for 10 levels of Druid spellcasting, 24 levels of clerical spellcasting, and better attack and hit point progressions.
However, I have some significant concerns. The character is an EXTREME case of "Armor Class is meaningless"--there is NO way I can get his AC down to a meaningful level, so I'm not even trying. He's going to be running around with an AC of 6, and relying on damage mitigation and getting away from attackers for survival.
What I need to do here is figure out ways I can better my chances of survival without going utterly cheesy.