Thanks for feedback! Some responses.
- Personally, I'd always get Wizard over Sorceror at these levels. But to each his own.
-- I realize that wizards are substantially better, mechanically...especially at these levels. However, I've always been a sucker for sorcery. I can't help it.
- Don't buy epic +x items. The money is much better spent buying stuff that doesn't get the x10 penalty.
-- Normaly I do that...but we had -five million gp-. I could buy the entire contents of the PHB for that, and have nowhere near enough slots to use it all.
- No Disjunction? Even after I nerfed it, it is still the only uncapped Dispel effect at lvl 30. Chain Spell caps at 20, if I remember correctly.
-- Chain Dispel caps at 25. Disjunction doesn't -have- a cap. It merely dissassembles any magic in its path. But it also eats treasure. Unless the party wants me madly disenchanting all the cool lewt, I figured Disjunction was a bad choice.
- Gotta have Shapechange. And Time Stop.
-- I didn't want to deal with Shapechange, though I considered it. Tracking down all those high power monsters, working out the stat changes...it's a pain. I decided to go with other strategies. Time Stop is okay, but it's mainly a self-buffing spell. Most of my critical buffs can be Quickened or cast as Immediate actions, so I don't have to rely on Time Stop to get them up.
- Shore up your saves. At level 30 a well-crunched character should have +35 or so at least. I suppose the easiest way for you is to Shapechange into something with Cha-to-saves.
-- Hehe. My saves aren't as critical as you may think. I've designed the character to rely on stopping incoming spells and attacks before they can require saves. Moment of Prescience awaits in the wings, for situations where other defenses fail. However, I shall look again for places I can improve. Shapechanging may not be an option...though I suppose perhaps I could lose Gate for it. Will planar travel be important in the game?
- On the same note, if you're gonna have a high Cha score, then you should have a few more Cha-to-x effects going. A level of Cleric + Divine Feats, maybe, or Marshall.
-- What would you say to a level of Monk, and the Ascetic Mage feat from Complete Adventurer? It's shameless cheese, but if you're okay with it, I'm okay with it.
- Quickened Spell should go in a non-epic slot. Epic slots are expensive opportunity-cost wise.
-- Yeah, that HURT. But the progression of feats in non epic slots is completely eaten by prereqs for the PrC's. I COULD take an epic feat -other- than Quicken Spell...but the fact is, I didn't see anything I wanted -more- than Quicken. I suppose I could drop Wild Mage...it's unlikely that I'll NEED that extra layer of protection, and I could easily cast Nondetection on my own... I shall consider it. But Wild Mage fits so well with the whole "madness mage" concept.
- With only one Improved Spell Capacity you shouldn't get Improved Heighten. Also you're too feat-starved to have Ignore Material Components. Look into more ISCs, Multispell, Permanent Emanation and Additional Magic Item Space (Amulet).
-- I have to have one ISC and Improved Heighten in order to counterspell 9th level spells. Because metamagic feats don't increase the level of spell required to counter, with Improved Heighten, one ISC, and Improved Counterspell, I can counterspell any spell in the game. And in most cases reflect it back at the caster. This dynamic is the whole central strategy of the character.
- Feats you should consider getting:
Practiced Spellcaster
-- Wouldn't do me any good...all my classes grant full caster progression. I don't think it'd compensate for the Wild Mage reduction, since that's not technically a loss of caster levels per HD. Your call, I s'pose.
Persistent Spell
-- Most of my spells last long enough or can be recast enough that I didn't feel the need...
Arcane Strike
-- Hugely not a melee caster.
Arcane Disciple
-- This is a PrC isn't it? It's from Faerun though...not on your approved list.
- Items you need:
Rods of Metamagic
-- Yar, I seriously considered this, and I may yet add some. Equipment is still a bit fiddly...
Boots of Swiftness
-- Nearly got 'em. Decided not to. Instead I got the same boost from gloves, and with Overland Flight and Boots of Levitation arranged to simply never, ever, touch the ground. Thus ground movement speed becomes irrelevant...as do Jump, Climb, etc...
Luckstone
-- Yar...I'd intended to get one. Musta forgotten.
Pale Green Ioun Stone
+6 items for every single stat. they're only 36,000 each.
-- True true...though they can eat item spaces I'd rather sometimes spend on other items.
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I realize this character is a bit oddball at first glance.
However, the munch in her is stronger than it first appears. Think of her as practicing the Aikkido of magic. Her design principle is to use the strength of her attacker against him. Not via the highly unpredictable, easily circumvented, and quickly exhausted tactic of Spell Turning, but via the nearly impossible to prevent tactic of Improved/Mastered Counterspelling. This is augmented by the epic feats required to make sure there is no (nonepic) spell she can't handle, and the Ring of Spellbattle, which allows her to counterspell once per day even if it's not her turn (vital if she loses initiative).
Naturally, even with the counterspells, "Waiting for the other guy to go first" is a dangerous strategy at these levels. Hence the PrC's, Initiate of the Seven Veils and Wild Mage. Initiate gives her the ability to erect, even when it's not her turn, a curtain of energy that can block any attack except an actual melee strike from a creature...and even then the creature risks some very bad effects. That works 4 times a day. She can also use Wild Mage abilities to cause incoming ranged attacks and targeted spells to randomly be shifted to any targets in her vicinity. And of course, Wildstrike gives enemy casters a flat 50% of failing to cast effectively in the first place.
Shard's own spells are decent, if not spectacular. What makes her unique is that the cheesier -her foe- is...the more dangerous she becomes.
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That's the idea anyway. I'm not opposed to redesigning if you honestly think the concept won't work in this game. And again, thanks for the feedback!
