I created this build to take advantage of the new 1.67 Evard's Black Tentacles, which renders small creatures completely immune to the effects of the spell, and forces up to 18 d20+28 grapple checks against one creature when empowered. See the thread for the discussion of the new EBT here
Saves: Fort 19, Reflex 21 (evasion applies), Will 20, +11 vs Spells
Naked AC: 20 Buffed AC (no magic items): 45
Attack Bonus (Heavy Crossbow): +22/+17 Attack Bonus buffed with Divine Power Scroll, Haste, Cat's Grace, and Truestrike: +42 /+37 /+42 /+42 /+42
As stated in the Evard's thread, under 1.67 small creatures of any type are immune to the effects of Evards, which are now grapple checks, not pseudo attack rolls. This allows the gnome (or halfling, but I'd go halfling ES there) to run through fields of Evards as if they were summer wheat while opponents take up to 160 points of damage ignoring spell resistance, mantles, and doing all the damage in one blow at the end of the script, which can blow past Epic Warding for 100 damage each. The focus in Conjuration is there to get the save DC vs the EBT paralysis as high as possible so opponents will take the damage again. Multiple fields do overlap and cause damage seperately. Against Dex/Concealment builds, or other high caster builds without a lot of STR/AB, there is no avoiding at least some damage because EBT works like a hand grenade (close enough is close enough). Slapping the target with an empowered Negative Energy will reduce the target's ability to grapple by up to five. Fun, huh?
It's a bit of a theme build with the epic skill foci and points in craft, so you could replace those with more Great Int if you want. Or ramp up quicken/still spell and wear some chainmail (granted via Bard class). Whatever. However, this build can easily detect and disable PC laid traps, and set its own Epic Traps. On servers where Find Traps is nerfed to just find, not reveal traps, he will come in handy. He crafts and is good with disabling and using devices, hence the name "gnome mechanic". Craft wand is there for flavor, but he can craft wands of Evard's Black Tentacles if desired (at level 15, so the grapple DC will be 23+d20 vs unmodified BAB + Modified STR). The initial version used Wizard 35/Rogue 5 (with 4 rogue levels pre-epic and shortbow use), but seriously loses gnome flavor and discipline. The pixie is there to help with the locks and traps between levels. The epic spell focus: illusion creates a pretty neat 1.67 Mass Blindness/Deafeness DC, which now only affects enemies even on the hardest difficulty setting. Thoughts?
Added second version to title - Kail Pendragon _________________ Vulcano's Bard Studio (in beta, 1.67). *Updated* Compose, play, and save your own bard music dynamically in game!
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 04/13/06 01:45
I like this build, very slick. Personally, I'd go with a bit more STR, but that's just my preference. Cool build, and a great idea.
Looks like EBT is almost the new Implosion... _________________ Where I'm playing now: World of Greyhawk.
It's not overly dependent on DEX or CON, but I like the 18 starting INT (and taking the Great INT feats first) to maximize skill points. It would do just fine with -2/+2 along those lines. _________________ Vulcano's Bard Studio (in beta, 1.67). *Updated* Compose, play, and save your own bard music dynamically in game!
One question - why Bard? As far as I can see, it is just for Discipline dumps, right? Why not take Fighter for the armor prof and a few bonus feats?
Also, I would drop Quicken Spell for Still or Silent.
One question - why Bard? As far as I can see, it is just for Discipline dumps, right? Why not take Fighter for the armor prof and a few bonus feats?
Also, I would drop Quicken Spell for Still or Silent.
TM
I get the feeling that Vulcano plays some low magic servers. If that were the case, Quicken would be a good choice. _________________ Got Hommlet? World of Greyhawk Action Server (with 1/2 price ales on Mondays!)
One question - why Bard? As far as I can see, it is just for Discipline dumps, right? Why not take Fighter for the armor prof and a few bonus feats?
Also, I would drop Quicken Spell for Still or Silent.
TM
I suppose you are right about Bard. I was spacing out the epic levels a bit differently in testing (intending to go at 1, 17, 27, 32, and 37) and wanted to make sure I could max Tumble and UMD on whatever levels I wanted, which also provided for a more balanced experience from levels 1-40. Also, under 3.5, Bard is the gnome's favored class, but that is just flavor. Better off with fighter, and take Expertise and Improved Expertise (or focus: heavy xbow and Epic focus: heavy xbow if the server drops casters out of expertise mode). Quicken spell was intended for more Evard's uses (level 8, but it is really unnecessary) Let's take a look at how the build might look with fighter in it:
Starting Stats
STR: 12 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 18 WIS: 8 CHA: 8
Level/feat progression (raise INT every four levels)
1 rogue - Skill Focus: Disable Trap 2 wizard (Illusionist, pixie familiar) 3 wizard - Spell Focus: Conjuration 4 wizard 5 wizard 6 wizard - Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration, Extend Spell 7 wizard 8 wizard 9 wizard - Craft Wand 10 wizard 11 wizard - Empower Spell 12 wizard - Rapid Reload 13 wizard 14 wizard 15 wizard - Maximize Spell 16 wizard - Combat Casting 17 wizard 18 wizard - Still Spell 19 wizard 20 rogue 21 Fighter - Great Intelligence I, Expertise 22 wizard 23 wizard - Great Intelligence II 24 wizard - Great Intelligence III 25 wizard 26 wizard - Great Intelligence IV 27 wizard - Great Intelligence V 28 wizard 29 wizard - Great Intelligence VI 30 wizard - Epic Spell Focus: Conjuration 31 wizard 32 wizard - Automatic Still Spell I 33 wizard - Automatic Still Spell II 34 wizard 35 wizard - Automatic Still Spell III 36 wizard - Epic Spell: Epic Mage Armor 37 wizard 38 fighter - Improved Expertise 39 rogue - Improved Combat Casting 40 wizard - Epic Spell: Epic Warding
Ending Stats
STR: 12 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 34 WIS: 8 CHA: 8
Skills: Ranks (unbuffed modified): Concentration: 43 (47) Craft Armor: 8 (20) Craft Weapon: 8 (20) Craft Trap: 8 (20) Disable Trap: 42 (59) Discipline: 41 (42) Lore: 25 (37) Open Lock: 42 (43) Search: 42 (54) Set Trap: 42 (45 in robes, 37 in fullplate, 35 with large shield) Spellcraft: 43 (55) Tumble: 40 (41) Use Magic Device: 41 (40)
HP: 227 (no cheat) Max: 250
Saves: Fort 18, Reflex 20 (evasion applies), Will 20, +11 vs Spells
Naked AC: 20 (+1 small stature) Full Plate and Large Shield: 30 (+1 small stature) Buffed AC (no magic items): 55 (65 Improved Expertise)
Attack Bonus (Heavy Crossbow): +21/+16 Attack Bonus buffed with Divine Power Scroll, Haste, Empowered Cat's Grace, and Truestrike: +44 /+39 /+44 /+44 /+44
Yup. Fighter is better. Good call, .
One last note: More good conjuration spells to use with the higher DC: Cloud of Bewilderment, Stinking Cloud, Flame Arrow, Cloudkill, Acid Fog, and Greater Planar Binding (against a targeted outsider, the effective Will save DC is 41, unbuffed). _________________ Vulcano's Bard Studio (in beta, 1.67). *Updated* Compose, play, and save your own bard music dynamically in game!
I get the feeling that Vulcano plays some low magic servers. If that were the case, Quicken would be a good choice.
Yes, no permahaste items, so it would come in handy there and for additional EBT castings (using level 8 slots). If you really want to maximize the build, swap out Skill Focus: Disable Trap for Expertise at level 1 and take improved critical: heavy xbow on one of the fighter levels. I left it in my build for flavor. The only other appealing fighter feat is probably Epic Toughness, to get some (or all, if taken twice) of the hitpoints back from dropping CON. You get access to the fighter's epic bonus feat list by taking both fighter levels in epic, but nothing that really helps the mechanic all that much.
One more thing: If you are working with a party, carry around some lesser dispels/gust of wind. I dropped a timestop, laid down three patches, and instantly killed three AI ES's with it, all of them under mantle and warding. You don't want your human friends to be dead. _________________ Vulcano's Bard Studio (in beta, 1.67). *Updated* Compose, play, and save your own bard music dynamically in game!
Edited By Vulcano on 04/08/06 02:01
Well, you could take Expertise instead of Still Spell, take Imp Expertise at the first fighter level, then take Armor Skin at the second one. Just 2 more AC...
The reason I don't care for Quicken spell is that even in a low-magic environment with no permahaste, he's a level 36 wizard. Extended haste will last him 72 rounds, long enough for him to toss it off well in advance of a fight and have it last through. With his Craft Wand skill, he can even make a wand of it so he doesn't have to waste spellslots (or even extended mass haste if he's in a party - they will really love him then).
TM
I agree with TM here, Quicken isn't really that good.
Nice build! _________________ "And one calculates time from the dies nefastus on which this fatality arose from the first day of Christianity! Why not rather from its last? From today? Revaluation of all values!"
Nice little bugger we have here! I'll have to try it out in PvP
With the fighter version I'd get the fighter lvls preepic. Some fortitude save boost and earlier fighter feats never hurt.
Well done Vulcano and nice spell exploit.
Kudos to the Gnome Mechanic!
Cheers, Kail _________________ Stand and fight, live by your heart Always one more try, I'm not afraid to die Stand and fight, say what you feel Born with a Heart of Steel!
Nice build, you will create a lot of bald heads if PvP'ing. I would take fighter pre-epic too, since Discipline 41 won't help diddly squat vs anything anyhow. _________________ I see the fear you have inside, you can run but never hide. I will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb.
I run the Pre-Epic Builders guild. Join and share your experience.
Well, he's officially όber now that 1.67 patch is final and Evard's is as I stated. Discipline is not that high, no, but where else are you going to spend those massive skill points? _________________ Vulcano's Bard Studio (in beta, 1.67). *Updated* Compose, play, and save your own bard music dynamically in game!
The point wasn't really that the points were wasted in discipline per se, but that they won't help, so you might as well take the fighter levels earlier. _________________ Dragonlance ROH is back, better than before! and I spend a little time here WoG
Man, this build would *kill* with the PRC's arcane trickster. Wade into the mass of tentacles and sneak attack what's left of your paralyzed opponents.
