Build a Better Buff Bot

[Jack Simth]

Hey all,

I designed a DMM(Persistent Spell) Buff Bot Cloistered Cleric-15 for a short campaign (which is expected to be over), with the goal of him being an enabler - a buff bot, essentially.

I considered him to be a success - two 15th level characters took down a CR 17 Green dragon (given the DM's proclivities with other monsters, it likely either had class levels, or was advanced a little).

The ones I was using were Prayer (with DMM Persist), Blessing (regular persist, in a 7th level slot), and Mass Lesser Vigor (DMM persist). After the (probably final) battle, I picked up the ability to get another spell DMM persisted.

Qustion: What are the best party-level Cleric buffs to use Divine Metamagic(Persistent Spell) on, of 8th level or lower (and note, I can only do one 8th level spell until I hit next level, where I get two more)?

And yes, I know about the Divine Favor, Divine Power, Righteous Might combo - but I don't want to use DMM(Persist) with any personal combat buffs - they have to be things that will cover the entire party (voluntary challenge).

The other party member was a Fighter/Psychic Warrior/Elocuter that was a melee machine (routinely did 50 damage per hit, was routinely getting two or three hits per round against AC 30, in the case of the dragon - but then, that's when I was using Prayer, Bless, and Greater Magic Weapon to help him, so that his wealth could be spent on things like Flaming, Frost, and so on to add damage; I was likewise using Magic Vestments on his armor so he could have Heavy Fortification, rather than having it all go to enhancement - a modification that he thanked me for the first encounter after it was noted that the DM had dice that hated him).

 

[roguerouge]

Could you explain how DMM/Persistent spell works?

Spells to look at: ability boosters (STR, CON, WIS, CHA for clerics), Hide from Undead, Protection from Evil (must-have), Shield of Faith, Align weapon, Find Traps, Resist Energy,

Delay poison at your level, doesn't even really need anything more than an extend on it to make it delay poisons until you memorize the next day. Same deal with: Shield Other, Status, Magic Vestment,

 

[Jack Simth]

Could you explain how DMM/Persistent spell works?

Spells to look at: ability boosters (STR, CON, WIS, CHA for clerics), Hide from Undead, Protection from Evil (must-have), Shield of Faith, Align weapon, Find Traps, Resist Energy,

Delay poison at your level, doesn't even really need anything more than an extend on it to make it delay poisons until you memorize the next day. Same deal with: Shield Other, Status, Magic Vestment,

Persistent Spell happens to be in the SRD, so that one's very easy:

PERSISTENT SPELL [METAMAGIC]
Prerequisite: Extend Spell.

Benefit: A persistent spell has a duration of 24 hours. The persistent spell must have a personal range or a fixed range. Spells of instantaneous duration cannot be affected by this feat, nor can spells whose effects are discharged. You need not concentrate on spells such as detect magic or detect thoughts to be aware of the mere presence of absence of the things detected, but you must still concentrate to gain additional information as normal. Concentration on such a spell is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A persistent spell uses up a spell slot six levels higher than the spell’s actual level.

Divine Metamagic is a feat that you select for a specific metamagic feat - you burn turning attempts equal to (spell level adjustment+1) to apply the metamagic feat on the fly to the spell without increasing the spell's level. This is specific to a particular metamagic feat - if you want to be able to use Divine Metamagic on more than one metamagic feat, you need to take it multiple times.

In the case of Persistent Spell, this means it costs seven turning attempts, but if the spell is "personal range or a fixed range" then whatever spell I use it on keeps going all day - so you can Persist Bless, Prayer, Mass Lesser Vigor, Holy Aura, Find Traps, and so on - but not Imposion, Delay Death, Summon Monster, and so on - they all have variable ranges. You can Persist Divine Favor, Divine Power, and Righteous Might (the standard three for this), but as those are personal only buffs, I want to avoid them for this bit of optimization - I don't want to be outshining the rest of the party, I want to be making them shine better.

At the moment, I can DMM(Persist) four different spells, and because I've got spell slots going up to 8th level (but only one at that level, at the moment), I can also persist a few low-level spells in the normal manner.

What are the best party-level buff spells for doing this with?

As for the specific suggestions...
The standard ability boosters aren't particularly useful - the rest of the party has ability boosting items, and being enhancement bonuses, they don't stack (also, most ability boosting spells are either touch-range single target, which don't affect the entire party, or are variable range, and not subject to Persistent Spell)

Hide from Undead is very situational; Protection from Evil is again single-target (but Holy Aura is not, and does all the same stuff plus a bit); Shield of Faith is again single-target - Holy Aura covers it completely, for the entire party. Align Weapon is handy... when you're fighting critters with DR/Alignment - but again, single-target, I'm looking for stuff that'll get everyone, as I've got a sharp limit on how many of these I can do. Find Traps, while personal, is one of the few I'm willing to burn a DMM(Persistent Spell) on - but only when there's no Rogue in the party. It's a highly situational one. Resist Energy is single-target - but then, it's also mere hit point damage. If I can be reasonably assured that the party will survive a single encounter, then a Persistent Vigorous Circle or Mass Lesser Vigor is a better choice - it'll put everyone at full HP after each battle (it takes 20 minutes to recover 200 hit points with Mass Lesser Vigor - Vigorus Circle takes 10 minutes to recover 300).

Delay Poison is pointless - I'm using an Extended Hero's Feast which, among other things, makes everyone who partakes immune to poison for 24 hours (also grants Immunity to Fear, grants some temp HP, and a grants +1 Morale bonus to attack rolls and Will saves). Shield Other is variable-range, and not subject to Persistent Spell. Status is mostly only useful for people who will be separated by a great distance (confusion, stunning, nausea, and so on will generally be relatively obvious from close range - which, as a game for a party, will be the normal case). Magic Vestments and Greater Magic Weapon I'm not bothering to metamagic at all - I can squeeze out caster level 20 briefly in the morning, and 20 hours of them is generally enough (especially with the judicious use of Wall of Stone and Stone Shape to prevent most nighttime disturbances).

My current list of spells I'm Persisting (after some suggestions on another forum) are Holy Aura (+4 Deflection to AC, +4 Resistance to saves, SR 25 vs. Evil spells and spells cast by Evil creatures, and any Evil creature that succeeds on a melee attack against someone who's affected must make a Fort Save or go Blind; applies to the entire party), Mass Lesser Vigor (Fast Healing 1; applies to the entire party), Recitation (+2 or +3 (depending on what deity the follow) Luck bonus to AC, saves, and attack rolls), Find Traps (those four with Divine Metamagic(Persistent Spell)), as well as Detect Magic (persisted normally in a 6th level spell slot). I'd use Vigorous Circle rather than Mass Lesser Vigor, but there isn't all that much difference between fast healing 1 and fast healing 3 in combat, and after combat, I'm using spells where the duration is very large, so there's no particular concern with waiting five or ten minutes longer for full health.

If I'm ever allied with a Rogue, I'll replace Find Traps with Elation (+2 Morale to Strength and Dexterity, +5 foot move; affects the entire party) - and as it's only second level, I'll likely Persist it normally (in an 8th level spell slot) next level, rogue or no rogue.

 

[s-dub]

Mass Darkvision would be handy in many campaigns.

Maybe you could give us a list of the spells you use daily already on the party.

 

[Jack Simth]

Mass Darkvision would be handy in many campaigns.

While that would be subject to Persistent Spell, according to my printing of the Spell Compendium, Mass Darkvision is a Sor/Wiz spell, not accessible to the Cleric normally.

Maybe you could give us a list of the spells you use daily already on the party.

Well, besides the ones I included in the OP (Prayer (with DMM Persist), Blessing (regular persist, in a 7th level slot), and Mass Lesser Vigor (DMM persist)), I'm also making use of Magic Vestments (freeing up money to use properties on the armor, rather than straight +'s) and Greater Magic weapon (likewise), and Heroes' Feast (extended).