Author Topic: Need help finishing build  (Read 2281 times)

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ZeroSpace

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Need help finishing build
« on: February 28, 2010, 12:40:59 AM »
Well, the Red Hand campaign is done, and I'm returning to full-time PC status. As a bit of a primer, we'll be playing a high-level campaign that pits us against the hordes of Erythnul. I'm going to be playing a Malconvoker build (Treantmonk's and Gnorman's guides on such pushed me that way), and I just need a few things finished off. But first, details.

Lvl 14
32 PB (as per DMG rules)
standard WBL
Mostly anything goes ('cept ToB  :( )

I've got most of my gold spent, with only about 13k left of my original 150k. The other thing I need help with is picking out good summons to add for Fiendish Summoning Specialist. I'm also not quite sure about 2 of my feats (Alacritous Cogitation and Sculpt Spell), so alternatives for those are also welcome. Character is as follows:

Human Focused Conjuror 3/ Master Specialist 5/ Malconvoker 6
Stats 8/12/14/22(28)/8/14(18)
HP 64 Saves 6/5/11

Feats
Augment Summoning (Traded Wiz feats)
Spell Focus Conj
Cloudy Conjuration
Alacritous Cogitation
Sculpt Spell
Fiendish Summoning Specialist/Quicken Spell (If DM nixes FSS)
Skill Focus Bluff (From Malc)
Skill Focus Spellcraft (From MS)
Greater Spell Focus Conj (From MS)

Gear
27500 GP in scrolls
43250 GP For +6 Int Headband with added Circlet of Persuasion
16000 GP Cloak of Charisma +4
14000 GP Ring of Mighty Summons
5000 GP Bolt Shirt
1000/2000 GP Anklet of Translocation
10 Identify Pearls (100gp each)
1 Defenstrating Sphere Pearl (100gp)
1 Howling Chain chain (500gp)
2000 GP Handy Haversack
200 GP Everfull Mug
350 GP Everlasting Rations

Spellbook

1
Summon Monster I
Obscuring Mist
Mage Armour
Shield
Blockade
Identify
Magic Missile
Protection From Alignment
Nerveskitter
Expeditious Retreat
Ray of Clumsiness
Deep Breath
Benign Transposition
Targeting Ray
Grease
Unseen Servant
2
Summon Monster II
Rope Trick
Ice Knife
Resist Energy
Cloud of Bewilderment
Frost Breath
Heroics
Glitterdust
3
Summon Monster III
Dispel Magic
Sleet Storm
Wind Wall
Fly
Haste
Slow
Icelance
Unluck
Great Thunderclap
Shatterfloor
False Gravity
Bands of Steel
Mass Snake's Swiftness
4
Summon Monster IV
Orb of Force
Solid Fog
Dimension Door
Scrying
Arcane Eye
Resilient Sphere
Orb of Fire
Assay Spell Resistance
Defenstrating Sphere
5
Summon Monster V
Cloudkill
Lesser Planar Binding
Teleport
Wall of Stone
Contact Other Plane
Baleful Polymorph
Telekinesis
Cyclonic Blast
Earth Reaver
Mass Fly
Overland Flight
6
Summon Monster VI
Superior Resistance
Planar Binding
Freezing Fog
Howling Chain
Greater Dispel Magic
Contingency
Disintigrate
7
Summon Monster VII
Stun Ray
Brilliant Aura
Ethereal Jaunt



The faster the reply, the better, since the new game starts this monday.


Edit: Forgot 2 things: First, I dropped Enchantment, Illusion, and Necromancy. This was intentional, as the party makeup is 2 Fighty McBeefcakes, one ClericZilla ripoff (guy is taking actual Fighter levels  ??? ), and a Radiant Servant Cleric piloted by a relatively new player who wants to be a heal-bitch. No need to overshadow those chumps too much.

Second, forgot to note that I also purchased and used a Tome of Clear Thought +1 (natural Int modified).
« Last Edit: February 28, 2010, 12:55:29 AM by ZeroSpace »
YAY! I get to go to the SPECIAL hell!

"The picks aren't breaking through, sir!"
"Alright men, time to break out the greatswords!"

"You may not make money being a bad-ass!"
-My DM

CantripN

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2010, 03:28:48 PM »
27500 GP in scrolls -
Seems wrong. Why buy scrolls, when you can copy spells at 50 gp per Spell Level. And buy either a Blessed Book or the Crystal that costs 1/2 and has 1/2 as many "pages".

43250 GP For +6 Int Headband with added Circlet of Persuasion -
why? 36K for the Circlet + 4500 for the CoP = 41.5K (INT bonus doesn't require a +50% price). Besides, you're not DC based, so having 2 less INT and 20,000 Gold More at his level is better.

For instance, a Robe of Mysterious Conjuration is IMPORTANT.
Also, look at more threads and books about spells, as you need more and better spells, as well as more of the summoning items.
Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.

Black Knight

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2010, 10:42:00 PM »
Alternate feat choices:

Beckon the Frozen, from FrostBurn:  Useful for you if the creatures you send your summons against don't have Cold Resistance.
Summon Elemental, from Complete Mage:  Really a useful, although situational, feat.  Allows you to summon elementals all day long.

And I have to agree with CantripN, your spell choices need some work.  Please don't misunderstand... you have a lot of great spell choices, but you've left gaps in coverage.

Take personal protection for example.   Mage Armor and Shield just aren't going to get the job done.
Consider adding these spells:
2 - Alter Self
4 - Celerity

With Alter Self, a +8 Natural Armor isn't too bad for a 2nd level spell. 

And as a malconvoker, you're only effective if you've got your summoning spell off... so if you lose initiative, that's a bad thing.  So think about picking up Celerity.  So what if you're dazed after you cast it, at least you got your summoning (or other awesome) spell off, right?

And I'd really reconsider banning  Illusion. 
And if you're invisible, you can still summon your evil creatures and stay invisible.   Greater Mirror Image from PHB II is an immediate action to cast, so cast it when you need it on someone else's turn.  It makes you much less squishy.  And the Shadow Conjuration/ Shadow Evocation spell lines give you a lot of flexibility.

As far as items go, I'd look at picking up a Runestaff, since they let you cast spells even from banned schools.  Maybe a Runestaff of the Assassin, which would give you access to Greater Invisibility.

Cheers.
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CantripN

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2010, 03:23:43 AM »
Tome of Clear Thought? At this level? Gods, why? Are you trying to be poor on purpose?

Where are the Lesser Rods of Extend/Rapid/Chain Spell? Worldmeet Glade (Magical Location, CM), maybe? A Defending Weapon? There are a lot of items you've neglected here.

Ex:
Ring of Enduring Arcana
Handy Haversack
Deathguardian Bracers (MIC 93)
Rainbow Falls (CM 152)

Also, Contingency has a 1.5K Focus.
Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.

ZeroSpace

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2010, 02:13:20 PM »
I'll reply to stuff in order, FYI.

(Stuff about extra spells) I doubt the DM would let me get away with the cheap spell copying, so I'm not going to change that. Don't look forward to recalculating cost for spells. A Blessed Book sounds interesting, and since we're using Core deities for once, it's actually available.

(Circlet of Thoughtful Persuasion) The whole cost is 36k for the Int+6 and the persuasion should be 6750gp. So, total is off about 50 gp, but the persuasion is priced as is because of item stacking rules. Although, you do make a good case for saving 20k.

(Robe of Mysterious Conj) I'll consider it, but what book is it in?

(Beckon the Frozen) Don't have the book, so no dice.

(Summon Elemental) DO'H! I did take that feat! I just left it off the list for some reason.

(Spell stuff) That's partially why I posted the build, to get advice on stuff like that. I'll likely use the cash I 'saved' on some item reselections to buy those. However, I won't take Celerity on principle. That spell is utterly ridiculous! I agree it's a good spell, but the DM is new-ish, and I don't want chairs thrown at me.

(More item stuff) Extend/Chain meta-rods look interesting. Rapid not so much, as I did take the conjuration rapid summoner feature out of UA. I also already have a haversack, are you suggesting I pick up another one? The ring of enduring arcana sounds good, I'll look into that too. As for the Contigency focus, thanks for that.
YAY! I get to go to the SPECIAL hell!

"The picks aren't breaking through, sir!"
"Alright men, time to break out the greatswords!"

"You may not make money being a bad-ass!"
-My DM

Anklebite

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2010, 02:23:29 PM »
I'll reply to stuff in order, FYI.

(Stuff about extra spells) I doubt the DM would let me get away with the cheap spell copying, so I'm not going to change that. Don't look forward to recalculating cost for spells. A Blessed Book sounds interesting, and since we're using Core deities for once, it's actually available.

(Circlet of Thoughtful Persuasion) The whole cost is 36k for the Int+6 and the persuasion should be 6750gp. So, total is off about 50 gp, but the persuasion is priced as is because of item stacking rules. Although, you do make a good case for saving 20k.

it is in the players handbook. 50gp per spell level is the listed core cost of copying spells from another wizard's spellbook. it isn't "cheap" copying, it's the listed price.

as for the circlet, the MIC has special rules for stacking on basic enchantments like int +6; namely, no extra cost for doing so.
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Garryl

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2010, 09:04:47 PM »
(Beckon the Frozen) Don't have the book, so no dice.

Beckon the Frozen is available online if your DM allows that.
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ZeroSpace

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2010, 03:13:54 AM »
Interesting development, DM has seen fit to give us some time to tinker with our builds. I've got some things I'm fiddling with right now, but I'm curious as to some good spells to chain. I have a Lesser rod of Chaining, but so far the only thing I've used it for is chaining a Nerveskitter spell. It's nice, but it just leaves me wanting more. I'm sorta unsure about Chain Spell because I've heard it doesn't apply to ray spells. Any suggestions/advice?
YAY! I get to go to the SPECIAL hell!

"The picks aren't breaking through, sir!"
"Alright men, time to break out the greatswords!"

"You may not make money being a bad-ass!"
-My DM

Anklebite

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2010, 03:23:13 AM »
Interesting development, DM has seen fit to give us some time to tinker with our builds. I've got some things I'm fiddling with right now, but I'm curious as to some good spells to chain. I have a Lesser rod of Chaining, but so far the only thing I've used it for is chaining a Nerveskitter spell. It's nice, but it just leaves me wanting more. I'm sorta unsure about Chain Spell because I've heard it doesn't apply to ray spells. Any suggestions/advice?
chained GMW is handy for the party, especially if you abuse +1 defending weapons.
I do not suffer from paranoia; I enjoy every second of it.
Pioneer of the Ultimate Magus + Sublime Chord + Ultimate Magus combo

ZeroSpace

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2010, 04:43:26 PM »
And I may have to do that too, since our self-proclaimed war-cleric (of Kord!) has not once seen fit to cast even a simple Divine Favour on himself. Gods forbid he cast it on his own weapon. At least our Radiant Servant of Pelor has seen fit to dispense the buffs as needed. The only fault I can find with the RSoP Cleric is casting Brilliant Blade on the meleers weapons when fighting a Gargantuan Red Dragon.

Oh well, at least the open slotted Orb of Cold put the hurt on. Critting with that spell for 130-ish points is fun.
YAY! I get to go to the SPECIAL hell!

"The picks aren't breaking through, sir!"
"Alright men, time to break out the greatswords!"

"You may not make money being a bad-ass!"
-My DM

NiteCyper

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2010, 04:58:08 PM »
Conjurer - Immediate Magic ACF - Abrupt Jaunt?
Caveat: I edit my posts, ever and anon after.

ZeroSpace

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2010, 08:31:07 PM »
Couldn't take that originally, since I had swapped my familiar for standard action summons. However, I've since dropped that portion of the build, and whaddaya know, I've got that durn familiar back!  ;)
YAY! I get to go to the SPECIAL hell!

"The picks aren't breaking through, sir!"
"Alright men, time to break out the greatswords!"

"You may not make money being a bad-ass!"
-My DM

Black Knight

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Re: Need help finishing build
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2010, 01:39:48 PM »
You might consider adding Friendly Fire from Exemplars of Evil (pg 27) to your list of 4th level spells.

How does effective immunity to all ranged attacks and ranged touch attacks sound?

This includes ray spells, force bows and such.  Best yet, you can cast it as either an immediate or a full round action.  Immediate = protection from one attack.  Full round = 1 round/level of protection.

The only downside is that you must have a target to redirect the attack to within 30' of you, so keep a handy minion nearby.
If you are an ethical person, you do the right thing even when no one is watching...