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Shapechange is hands-down the most powerful Sor/Wiz spell. I'd say it's more powerful than Wish, even. It gives you ridiculous defensive flexibility, and lets you fight without spending spell slots all day. For the hard fights, you still have 9th level spells to fall back on. Plus it gives you...

Why not use the spell to create billions of platinum pieces and expend the rod permanently all at once, then use the money to buy a new rod? At 2000 gp a day, you're certainly not getting the best use of that rod.

A cloud giant who fell to my mighty level 11 dragonmarked heir/archer. It was comically easy because of the staff of illusion I found in a previous encounter. I saw the Giant coming and cast mislead, invisibly finding a good spot to attack from, while the illusionary me greeted the giant...

I think mounted archery is the way to go with mounted combat. You can get a full attack every round even if your mount moves, and you're almost guaranteed to be at a distance if you want to be. Scout/Highland Stalker is an excellent combination for this build, since you can get the Skirmish...

My DM really hates me for all of the unexpected moments I pull, mostly to kill his BBEG when he is attempting to get away. First was probably when we ambushed a cabal of evil mages lead by a powerful senator of the local parliament. He was wounded and cast gaseous form to escape. We were only...

I think using the amulet's size modifier (probably diminutive or fine) would be a fair concession to the monkey. Other than that, let the dice fall where they may. A low-level guy would get his amulet snatched, but fighters with a couple of levels under their belts shouldn't be too vulnerable to...

One of my favorite archetypes that you didn't cover is the Martyr. I personally find stories of heroes who make personal sacrifices for the greater good to be the most compelling. There's something very bittersweet about a victory so hard fought that the hero has to give up something he finds...

I love this description! I might be in the minority, however, but many times this frustrates me. I have personally never seen a magic missile spell, so I have no idea what it looks like. My 7th level character has quite likely seen and experienced a few of them, it's only fair if he understands...

Naturally. ;) I'm one of the players, but the DM has been pretty dirty about people tracking us down. More than one assassin has come in the night for our personal rail cars. We're a pretty cautious bunch though... and I'm particularly proud of how my character used his fame as a weapon. He's a...

Funny you mention that. In my Eberron game, the party did get famous right around 5th level because of their heroics. First we killed a giant centipede that attacked the Lightning Rail, and then tracked back through the wilderness to its lair and wiped out the hatchlings. The drooling masses...

I always just took it as Knowledge (local) and assumed it was knowing the odds and ends of various cultures and areas, kind of like having a farmer's almanac in your head.

Not in 3.5.

Like Hypersmurf said, the evocation version of Darkness doesn't produce enough darkness to actually hide anything, just to give things partial concealment. As DM, I'd grant someone with Darkvision or a light source a save. The people in the illusion don't know why everything suddenly turned...

Yup. So does fire and gases. Also utter darkness. You can disbelieve in your own darkness and function fine, enemies are blinded unless they disbelieve.

The animal hit dice are indeed part of the ECL. +3 LA for all the benefits of a powerful animal (Dire Tiger, for instance) isn't balanced, but with the rationale that higher-hit die animals are more powerful, having to buy the (not-as-good-as-class-levels) animal hit dice makes it fair. In...

I'd rule that they can. Their ability to make any magic item with a UMD check means that they can make ANY item they have the feat for regardless of other requirements. And the lich template doesn't do anything funky that requires spellcasting, so the rules work just fine. Do it, it's cool!

I agree with Pendragon. It's a strong +1 or a weak +2, for the same reasons. My inclination would be to throw in a few extra perks and make it a solid +2. From half-celestial, the energy resistances or the DR might make a good candidate.

Looks pretty good to me. Compare to Wind Walk and Ghostform (from Tome & Blood). Wind Walk is much faster, with a longer duration, but less of the funky utility. Ghostform is similar in what it can do, lasts a shorter period of time, but slightly more powerful while it lasts. I'd probably give...

I second the advice to take Mass Suggestion. There are very few "will save or be screwed" spells that affect multiple targets. Mass suggestion does double-duty as a combat spell and an out of combat ace. While it won't take down the BBEG, few wizard tricks will (quicker than a fighter will...

I'm amazed that someone could call the modified half-celestial a "phenomenal deal" at +4 to +6 LA... +5 LA is a huge handicap on a character. That's two full spell levels for casters, one full iterative attack on fighter-types, and a ton of hit points regardless. Being a half-celestial...