I need some ideas...

[blacklitelust]

I got a player challenging me to build is 18th level build faster than he can... Meaning he wants to prove to me that he has to go 18 levels to get what he wants...

Simply put, he wants 360 damage from a fireball (or similar spell) which he converts to a ray via spellwarp sniper.
I've found a few ways to do this already and so has my dear friend Bloody Initiate.

We got it down to 15th level, any ideas on how to do it sooner?

(he wants to cast as many times as possible, btw. Not just once a day.)

[Bloody Initiate]

A 6th level artificer can do it, the player in question just isn't looking hard enough.

However, if he prefers it to be spellwarped then using one of the many "Higher level spells before you're supposed to get them" tricks will do it as well. Ur-Priest is easy, beholder mage can handle it too

[archangel.arcanis]

First could you post your current build for it so we aren't re-inventing the wheel here. Second you say or similar spell could you clarify that for us, i mean i could probably get scorching ray up to 360 pretty easy and not require spellwarped at all but he does give up some range.

Lets see if this is what he really is after: Big damage (360 points worth) as a ranged touch attack as many times a day as possible. Correct?

edit: Also what kind of limitation do we have? Books, weird stats, must be race/class x, ect...

[PhaedrusXY]

That's... pretty specific. It has to be a Spellwarp Sniper? What about just using a heavily metamagic'd Scorching Ray, cast by a metamagic focused mage? I'd bet you could get that earlier with an Incantatrix/Halruuan Elder by layering Metamagic combined with Arcane Thesis.

Twin/Empower/Maximize/Energy Admixture gets you 48d6 maxed (288) + 24d6 (avg 84), half fire/acid. 2nd level +3twin+3admix+1emp+2max = 11th level spell slot. So you'd have to reduce it further. The incantatrix capstone, halruuan elder capstone, Practical and Easy metamagic feats, Metamagic School Focus, and metamagic rods should help there.

[Bloody Initiate]

edit: Also what kind of limitation do we have? Books, weird stats, must be race/class x, ect...

I'm not sure what limits the player imposed on himself but as a member of that group I can say we don't use Dragon Magazine much (preferably not at all) and books of exalted deeds and vile darkness are out most of the time as well. There are exceptions that blacklite works with us on, but there's no reason to go to those sources most of the time anyway.

[blacklitelust]

He is a stubborn player. In the campaign we are playing in, I have decided that instead of giving players feats on their normal levels, they get them on the same levels that fighters get bonus feats. HE decided he didn't like that feat system and is opting out in favor of the old ways...

With that said, he wants to be a spellwarp sniper, he wants to do mad damage. He thinks he has to be level 18 to achieve this.

By similar spells, I meant AoE that deals damage based on caster level... Fireball, lightning bolt, cyclonic blast, wings of flurry, etc.

Also, I am allowing the book of erotic fantasy if any of you are familiar with it.

[Bloody Initiate]

Also, I am allowing the book of erotic fantasy if any of you are familiar with it.

Good ol' metaphysical spellshaper. That just got even easier.

However, my ways are old and boring to me. I'm way more interested in everyone else's methods.

[blacklitelust]

Precisely why I posted here, lol

[archangel.arcanis]

well i think we can pull it off but i doubt he will use anything we did. He is insisting on self nerfing which leads me to believe there is an underlying problem we don't know about. In my experience it is probably 1 of 2 things. Either he believes he is superior to the rest of the group and has to gimp himself for them to be able to play (in his mind at least), or more likely he doesn't want to play the game and is there for more social reasons or because he would rather be playing a different game and wants to show how bad this one is.

I'll have a decent Spellwarp build in a while, but here is one of my characters that is similar (sneak attack based spellcaster) that i am actually playing right now.

[blacklitelust]

well i think we can pull it off but i doubt he will use anything we did. He is insisting on self nerfing which leads me to believe there is an underlying problem we don't know about. In my experience it is probably 1 of 2 things. Either he believes he is superior to the rest of the group and has to gimp himself for them to be able to play (in his mind at least), or more likely he doesn't want to play the game and is there for more social reasons or because he would rather be playing a different game and wants to show how bad this one is.

I'll have a decent Spellwarp build in a while, but here is one of my characters that is similar (sneak attack based spellcaster) that i am actually playing right now.

Nah, his self nerfing is because he sees my feat system as an adaptation of 4.0, which he hates... Otherwise he is just like the rest of my players, urging me to start ASAP.
Also, do note the great synergy between Naberious and the Metaphysical Spellshaper from BoEF. (Not that original though...)

[Operation Shoestring]

maximize Fireburst?  (the one that is 15d10)  that gives you 150, right off.  Now admixture (does maximize stack with admixture?), and you have 300.  60 more to go.

[PhaedrusXY]

maximize Fireburst?  (the one that is 15d10)  that gives you 150, right off.  Now admixture (does maximize stack with admixture?), and you have 300.  60 more to go.

All metamagics stack, and you can stack them in whatever order you want (except for Maximize and Empower). So yeah, that would do 300 damage.

[blacklitelust]

lol, easily done by level 15 then. I would use wings of flurry. No cap on damage, it's a force spell so it hits incorporeal creatures, and since he's likes spellscales so much, it will cast as a +1 caster level.

[blacklitelust]

Oh, one further note. I allowed this particular player to play the Generic Spellcaster Class for UA, so feel free to use that if you want. Really, all 3.5 books are fair game. I just don't like Dragon Magazine or The Book of Exalted Deeds or Vile Darkness...
Heh, we convinced him to take the extra feats, and I came up with a 15th level build for him. I'm still interested in seeing it done faster so if anyone can make it happen, please post it. I'll post my build as soon as I figure out google spreadsheets, lol.

Here's my build... I hope

Bee Tea Dubya, we use fractional saves and BAB, Eff Why Eye.

Edit: It should be shared now. As I said, I'm new to google spreadsheets, lol

[telehax]

1. I think you forgot to share your google spreadsheet.

2.
Silverbrow Human
Generic Spellcaster 1|Sneak Attack, Invisible Spell, Halruaan Adept, F:Point Blank Shot, Split Ray
Generic Spellcaster 2
Generic Spellcaster 3|Scribe Scroll (Retrain into Maximize Spell at 12)
Generic Spellcaster 4
Generic Spellcaster 5|Spell Thematics
Generic Spellcaster 6|Invisible Needle
Spellwarp Sniper 1
Spellwarp Sniper 2
Spellwarp Sniper 3|Arcane Thesis: Wings of Flurry
Spellwarp Sniper 4
Spellwarp Sniper 5|(Otyugh Hole: Iron Will)(Metamagic Storm: Twin Spell)
Halruaan Elder 1|Craft Contingent Spell
Halruaan Elder 2
Halruaan Elder 3
Halruaan Elder 4|Easy Metamagic(Maximize Spell)

+5 CL on Wings of Flurry
+1 CL Ioun Stone
+4d6 SA on ray spells (Which are suddenly much easier with greater invis and invis spell)
0 Cost for Split Ray and Maximize
At Level 15
 Maximized Split Ray SA Wings of Flurry Ray - Level 4 Spell, 300 damage and Daze
 Twinned Maximized Split Ray SA Wings of Flurry Ray - Level 7 Spell, 600 damage and Daze
 1/Day Empower it

I'm sure you can do better.

[blacklitelust]

That's not bad. I'm not familiar with that last class, but I'll check it out. I didn't fully calculate the final damage for my build, I just know it exceeds 360, so I was fine, lol. Yours probably beats mine for damage.