Contingency?

[Artoomis]

A useful high-level contingency is

"antimagic shell if anyone casts disjunction at me". Best chance of avoiding being shafted by the disjunction - other than teleporting home if anyone casts disjunction at me, obviously

This might be valuable if you really expect to be hit with Mage's Disjunction. However, given the fact that "...You can use only one contingency spell at a time,..." I would think this a poor choice normally.

 

[Vyshaan]

This might be valuable if you really expect to be hit with Mage's Disjunction. However, given the fact that "...You can use only one contingency spell at a time,..." I would think this a poor choice normally.

Unless you are using the Craft Contingent Spell feat, in which case it becomes almost a vital contigency.

 

[kerbarian]

One of the favorite ones I've seen was "Cast Tenser's Transformation if I make a melee attack with my sword."

It works well with buff spells in general. I find the easiest way to key it is "cast spell X if I speak the word Y". Then you can get greater invisibility, polymorph, etc. as a free action, even out of turn (since you can speak out of turn). Then just recast contingency after each fight (that part works best as a sorcerer rather than wizard).

It's definitely a useful spell as an actual contingency -- protecting against disjunction or other nasty conditions -- but I think it's usually more effective as an extra better-than-quickened spell.

 

[glass]

Unless you are using the Craft Contingent Spell feat, in which case it becomes almost a vital contigency.

I keep meaning to check for myself; how does Craft Contingent Item compare cost-wise with Contingency (gold and XP).


glass.

 

[Artoomis]

Unless you are using the Craft Contingent Spell feat, in which case it becomes almost a vital contigency.

How's that work? I understand it costs XP. Is it subject to Dispel Magic? Can they be triggered by a spell that is being cast (obviously once the spell has been cast it is too late).

If one uses the general rule of whatever can be detected normally by the caster can be used as a contigency, then so long as it was possible to make the spellcraft check to know that MD was being cast, then this should work.

A very nice, if possibly expensive and imperfect, defense against the possibility (however remote it might be) of a Disjunction being cast against your party.

edit: Keep in mind that with Disjunction "...You also have a 1% chance per caster level of destroying an antimagic field..."

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I think the only one Contingency spell in place at any time makes this tactic fair. If they want to use their Contingency on detecting scrying then I say let them. It just means that the Contingency isn't being used to Teleport them away when they are almost dead for example. I'm sure there are much better uses for Contingency than dectect scrying.

Olaf the Stout