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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 1138938" data-attributes="member: 2629">Wow. I have a large number of points to make. Sorry.How good is II? Remember 3.0 haste? The big problem with 3.0 haste was that it gave you an extra action. The most important limiting factor in D&D is the limitation on the number of actions that may be performed.When II puts your initiative ahead of a foes, it effectively gives you an extra action. This is a *huge* benefit. Some combats last a single round (for instance, a cleric facing off against a bunch of undead). If the enemy goes before you, you're going to take on attacks that you could completely avoid. In addition, those that go first dictate the positioning of the battle. They can take the best defensive positions or ready an attack to disrupt casting. How often will it have an impact? That depends on the combat situation, but between 15 and 20% of the time is a good estimate against one foe and much more often against multiple foes with separate initiatives. I consider this a *must have* feat for spellcasters with low dexterities. If the dex is high enough, it may not be a must have, but it is still useful.********The one feat suggestion that people seem to be ignoring is cleave. This is a *key* feat for any melee specialist. It may not be useful if your DM tends to throw only single monsters at your party, but if he throws groups at you, this feat will make a huge difference. Don't overlook it. My melee cleric massively increased his average damage per round after taking this feat.*********As for persistent spell: The cost is huge, but the benefit is also large. Divine Favor is a strong spell. Making it last far beyond the intended duration makes it an incredibly strong spell. Unfortunately, this has diminishing returns as you advance. First, you begin to have more control over when a combat begins. If you know when the combat is to begin, you can cast divine favor right before combat and have it for 10 rounds ... enough time to end most combats.Secondly, luck bonuses can come from other sources. There are not many, but if you find something else that gives a luck bonus to attack/damage, you lose some of the benefit of that new aquisition. Third, The higher you advance, the more likely you are to face antimagic (as in the spell or a beholder's main eye), dispel magic (as per the spell or the special ability of many outsiders) or the dreadful MD. What does this mean? That it has a high cost that prevents you from getting it at low levels. By the time you get it and can use it, the benefit of using it begins to run up against serious drawbacks. It has a strong effect at the mid-levels, but once you get to high levels, it is not worth it.On the other hand, it is an excellent spell for a time priest to use with contingency ...</blockquote>

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