Level Up: Chapter IX

[Mike]

I think I'm going to go out on a limb and go with a level of Bard this time.

Pat question: this may seem like common sense, but I've never leveled up mid-encounter before. I assume that we add on our new capabilities, but we are still down whatever resources we've used for the day. So right now, Dothan is down 8 rounds of performance and 2 first level spell slots. So she will gain 2 rounds and 1 slot with the new level and still be down 8 and 2 respectively.

[Elle]

Two fighter feats this round. One is weapon specialization. Should the other be Disruptive or is that not as awesome as I think it is. DWYN has been Praying On It post-snakes.

[Tahlvin]

Moving this from the Important Links thread.

This came at a very fortuitous moment. I took a 5th level of ranger, which means I got to select another favored enemy, as well as adding a +2 bonus to one of my favored enemies. So I took Giants as my new favored enemy, and added the additional +2 bonus to the Giants favored enemy, meaning I now get a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls against giants (including ogres), as well as bluff, knowledge, perception, sense motive, and survival checks. That will really come in handy in the immediate future.

For the feat, I was torn between taking Far Shot or Rapid Shot. Far Shot will improve my ability to hit at long distances; but very few of our combats have been at long distances. Rapid Shot will allow one extra attack per round, but all of my attacks that round would be at -2. And given the way I roll, the -2 is a concern. But it is being offset by the favored enemy bonus I just got (at least for the upcoming combats). And if the combat is within 30 feet, it is also being partially offset by the Point Blank Shot bonus. Plus, that means if I'm hasted and I use a full attack action and the Rapid Shot feat, I get 4 attacks per round, 3 of which are at the highest attack bonus (with the -2 penalty for rapid shot). That's assuming I'm right that all of these things stack on top of each other like I think they do.

[Tahlvin]

[DMDarcs]

[Mike]

New 3rd level spell for Dothan. I want something useful (obviously), but don't want to duplicate our other spellcasters. My choices right now are:

Arcane Concordance: Lasts 9 rounds. Any arcane spell cast within 30 feet of me (even my own) get +1 DC and either double range or double duration (my choice).

Clairaudience-Clairoyance: Seeing OR hearing at a distance. Range of 760 feet.

Confusion: 15 ft radius burst, all within must Will save or be confused. Confused characters have equal chances each round of A) Act normally, B) Babble inchoherently, C) Attack self, D) Attack nearest creature. Duration of 9 rounds.

Displacement: All attacks against the target have a 50% miss chance. 9 rounds.

Invisibility Sphere: Can make the whole group invisible at once... as long as we all stay within a 10 ft radius.

Tiny Hut: Intended for camping, it also has combat use. Creates a sphere of force with 20 ft radius. Inside the sphere is protected from the elements (rain, dust, temp, etc) and lasts for 18 hours. Combat use: physical stuff passes through the sphere without problem, but it is transparent from the inside and opaque from the outside. So anyone firing from inside has 100% concealment.

Witness: See and hear through the eyes of my target for 9 minutes.

[Mike]

Also, just offhand, does anyone have a fair estimate of how much cash we have coming from our loot?

I need 3 grand to make myself the magic Memory Journal I want.

I need about 7 grand to get the bow I want (unless someone here can craft magic weapons).

I need 27 grand to make myself some fairy wings.

I'm guessing there ain't 35-40 grand waiting for me in that pile of stuff.

[Bluedevyl]

Mike, I've got Displacement and Confusion, so I'd lean towards something like Tiny Hut (one of my personal favorites) or Arcane Concordance.

[Mike]

And that's exactly the sort of thing I needed to know.

I'm actually leaning towards Tiny Hut. Arcane Concordance is cool, but it's just one more round of buffs before getting to stuff. I don't mind that for buffs that last minutes, but when mine all seem to be measured in rounds... it's too much.

[Elle]

That was my first thought too. Tiny Hut gives a bunch of people at the back of the group some instant cover (does it move with you though?). The other one stacks up with all the other things you want to cast in a series, so it's a long time before you can do anything else. Can the hut have chicken legs - I assume that's what they have in mind, yes?

[Mike]

Hut does not move.

[Bluedevyl]

I love Hut for resting at night and whatnot... I've always loved the rope trick/tiny hut/secure shelter type of spells.

I'm split on my second 4th level spell... I've taken Greater Invisibility, but I can't decide if I want something like Emergency Force Sphere, Communal Darkvision, or a boomier spell than Fireball (which, admittely, isn't great)

I'm also giving serious consideration to Craft Magic Arms and Armor for my 9th level feat. Would it be useful?

[Mike]

It would for me personally. I'm wanting a +1 Short bow that deals +1d6 sonic damage when bardsong is active. Not exactly something I can get off the shelf. But that's me being selfish. Although I imagine it will help others in the group as we look to acquire arms and armor greater than +2.

[Bluedevyl]

It seems like a really interesting way to add some variety to our weapons and layout, and its a feat I've never taken, even with all of the arcane casters I've played.

Unless there's something counterspell-related, I think I'll probably do that.

[Mike]

But while we're on the subject, I have Craft Wondrous Item, which I will first use to create my Bardic Memory Journal, but after that, I'm willing to take requests as we figure out what we have time and money for.

[Mike]

[Elle]

That sounds awesome, crafting magic weapons. Dwyn could seriously use an AC boost via better armor, and it's never bad to have a more powerful Lucille. Would that feat work to boost pre-existing magic items? Basically if you can do that you can have most all my loot!

[Mike]

Yea it can.

[Mike]

If Dwyn hasn't chosen her last feat yet, she may want to consider the Cleave chain of feats. Extra attacks with Lucille are devastating.

And of course, if you're looking to just pile on damage on the large opponents... let's you add increasingly larger damage bonuses the more times you hit a single foe in a single round.

[Elle]

Long ago when I had that opportunity to retrain a feat, I retrained Cleave and I wasn't sorry because (and I kept track of this) I was rarely in a situation where the enemies were actually adjacent to one another, versus separated by a square or two. But NOW I have Channel Smite and I very rarely use it. I also have things like Dodge and Improved Initiative that don't seem to help me much in this fine company - when I rolled a raw 20 I was able to get to the top of the move pile, but normally I'm stuck way down there in it anyway, and maybe it's not so bad if spellcasters get to move first and start boosting things and singing and whatnot before I go.

In short, what I'm saying is that not only do I get two feats this round, but I am able to retrain a feat and I might just do that.

I am really interested in the possibilities of Cleave and Great Cleave again, yes, now that we are facing larger groups of opponents and sometimes they cluster up.

I like Blind Fight to work against enemies who are concealed, except that it would take a while for me to reach the higher versions of those feats by sinking all my skill points into Perception. It's a cool thing though and one that I could RP to explain, which I like.

Similarly on RP grounds I've been prepping Dwyn for the possibility of taking Disruptive, Spellbreaker, and Teleport Tactician. But I would only be able to take Disruptive right now until she's at a higher level.

I also really like the possibility (which I believe Zen suggested and I observed via watching Kay) of following the tree opened up by Mobility. Just out of Reach, Spring Attack, and Whirlwind Attack could follow right after that.

Or maybe keep it simple and just add another Combat Maneuver pairing like Overrun or Bull Rush. I could be potentially knocking enemies prone for the rest of you, or eventually attacking them myself in the process.

Things like Improved Iron Will (or improved Fortitude and Reflexes) are always handy for being able to reroll that one fatal saving throw.

Do I want to Step Up and eventually be able to Step Up and Strike?

And then of course there's trusty old Weapon Specialization and Weapon Focus that would slap bonuses on my attacks and damages with Lucille and her siblings.