Author Topic: Most versatile gnome ever?  (Read 1970 times)

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Shadowhunter

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Most versatile gnome ever?
« on: August 30, 2008, 06:02:20 PM »
Well, I'm not sure I'm the creator of this build. Honestly. It came to me, but I might have gotten the idea from seeing it on gleemax before. So, I don't take any credit for it if someone knows they have posted something like this before.

My question though:
Is there a more versatile gnome around (barring Pun-Pun gnomes and other TO) ?


Gnome Illusion Focused Specialist 2/Binder 1/Focused Specialist +1/Anima Mage 3/Mindbender 1/
Shadowcraft Mage 5/Anima Mage +7


which would end up:

Focused Specialist 3/Binder 1/Anima Mage 10/Mindbender 1/Shadowcraft Mage 5

Middle Age, True Neutral

Starting Stats, 32pts buy.
[spoiler]Strenght:8
Dexterity:10
Constitution:13
Intelligence:18
Wisdom:13
Charisma:14[/spoiler]

Focused Specialist
Banned Evocation, Necromancy and Conjuration

Feats:
[spoiler]1: Heighten Spell
3: Improved Binding
6: Spell Focus (Illusion)
9: Earth Sense
12: Earth Spell
15: Extend Spell
18: Persistant Spell[/spoiler]

Noteworthy things:
Binder level 11, 13 for vestiges granted. Vestiges 1-6th level available.
That's missing like, 4-5 of them.

Arcane Caster Level 19
This ought to please people.

Telepathy as a Supernatural Ability
Always handy.

Doing the regular Shadowcraft Gnome tricks
Don't need to tell you that's good :p


Gain Persistant Spell as a Swift Action on any spell, regardless of level with no adjustment
by loosing acess to all abilites from a vestige for a very short while.

Persistant Shapechange by loosing binder powers for less then a minute at the beginning of each day?
Yes please.

Granted, I know one thing that would make this even more gross.
That'll be any flaw, push down Extend Spell to level 1 and include Arcane Diciple so that we can mimmic Wish, but that's all I can think of at the moment. But flaws are an optional rule, so I tend to stay away from them.

Just thought I'd share, might be interesting for someone to play, what do I know :D
[Spoiler]
Quote from: Runestar
the most effective optimization is the one you can actually get away with.  :smirk

Quote from: Vinom
(A group of nerds are called a murder because like crows we are anti-social, like shiny things, and often squack at each other over nothing for hours)

I often have to remind people not to underrate divination.  The ability to effectively metagame without actually metagaming beats the ability to set things on fire more times than not.
[/quote]
[/spoiler]

Binder? You're Welcome

Zceryll makes Binders go from tier 3 to tier 2.
Cagemarrow is a Genius

Before giving the advice that build X would be better of with Fist of the Forest, take a long, good look at Primal Living. Twice.

Omen of Peace

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Re: Most versatile gnome ever?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2008, 09:01:32 PM »
Banning conjuration ?????????????????????

Yes, you're a SCM. That still means no low-level BC, no teleportation for a long while (till Dantalion for personal ports and you may not want to bind him all the time, till Shades for group ports), sole reliance on vestiges when faced with magic-immune critters.

If you don't take Mindsight, I'd drop Enchantment and Mindbender with it. If you do (with flaws for instance), I'd drop Abjuration if you have a Cleric around or switch to simple specialist otherwise.

Missing out on both Arcane Thesis and Residual Magic is a shame too, but Binder is indeed great for versatility and it requires Improved Binding. A SCM abusing Arcane Disciple (Luck) and Residual Magic is likely more versatile but it's also way cheesier.

I think JaronK has posted stuff similar to that since he's a fan of SCM and Anima Mage - and he probably wasn't the first either.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2008, 09:03:05 PM by Omen of Peace »
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Dictum Mortuum

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Re: Most versatile gnome ever?
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2008, 05:16:31 AM »
And you also need the 1st wizard gnome sub class to take silent image as a 0 level spell. I believe that illusionist 5/incantatrix 3/SCM 3/incantatrix rest/SCM rest is better, although you lose on the vestiges.
Dictum Mortuum's Handbooks: My personal character optimization blog.


Shadowhunter

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Re: Most versatile gnome ever?
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2008, 08:07:49 PM »
Yes, banning conjuration. I thought it could contribute enough until it gained the 3rd level in SCM.
I'm not sure. So be my guest, ban something else if the situation seems to favor it. :D

Mindsight, source?

Arcane Thesis is nice, but I feel like there is not enough low-level metamagics going on for it to be really useful.

Residual metamagic, that's a trick I didn't think of. It is most definitly an alternative, probably a superior one too.



Sub.level to gain silent image at one lower spell level, that nice. I like.


Though I do dissagree on the Incanatrix route, even with arcane thesis and it's class abilities, we're nowere near the +6 adjustment of Persistant. Which I think makes the difference, due to the fact that a SCM are at a serious disadvantage if he somehow is prohibited from touching the ground. Just shapechange into something that'll help you get out of there.

Granted, as an advancing build and providing resources for the player over the course of the game, it might be better.
I haven't played it, so I can't say whether this build is "top-heavy" or not.

As a "pure" SCM, Incantatrix-SCM is better. But this is a hybrid.

Anyway, we can still get vestiges, even if someone steals/destroys our spellbooks.
 :P

All in all, a few good tips, a few different oppinions and overall solid advice.
Somehow I'm not suprised ;)
[Spoiler]
Quote from: Runestar
the most effective optimization is the one you can actually get away with.  :smirk

Quote from: Vinom
(A group of nerds are called a murder because like crows we are anti-social, like shiny things, and often squack at each other over nothing for hours)

I often have to remind people not to underrate divination.  The ability to effectively metagame without actually metagaming beats the ability to set things on fire more times than not.
[/quote]
[/spoiler]

Binder? You're Welcome

Zceryll makes Binders go from tier 3 to tier 2.
Cagemarrow is a Genius

Before giving the advice that build X would be better of with Fist of the Forest, take a long, good look at Primal Living. Twice.

Ubernoob

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Re: Most versatile gnome ever?
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2008, 08:14:57 PM »
Though I do dissagree on the Incanatrix route, even with arcane thesis and it's class abilities, we're nowere near the +6 adjustment of Persistant. Which I think makes the difference, due to the fact that a SCM are at a serious disadvantage if he somehow is prohibited from touching the ground. Just shapechange into something that'll help you get out of there.
Screw persist.  Look at quicken.  Arcane thesis+incantatrix+earth spell means that we get something like this:
6th level slot: 0th level spell+2 levels(quicken reduced by two) +4(heighten bumping it up to a 5th level spell).
With earth spell that becomes a 6th level spell.

Effectively, we get quicken on a whole shitload of spells at +1 cost.  Heck, empower is free.
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