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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cheiromancer" data-source="post: 1475322" data-attributes="member: 141">Now Graz'zt has been around for a long, long time, and has undoubtably developed some epic spells over that time.  Here's the suite of spells that I suggest Graz'zt would use to buff himself with.  He would buff his intelligence before researching and casting other spells. Waxing clarity is the first buff he casts, and only if he is not already buffed. Immediately upon completing it Graz'zt casts sustained clarity.  Immediately after casting sustained clarity he casts the first 2 of the mind spells, and the following day he casts the other three.  This gives the dark prince a 188 Intelligence indefinitely, provided he spends 4 days out of every 35 casting sustained clarity and the mind spells.  (The mind spells can be cast at any time during the month).  Note that thanks to his amulet, no 7 day period ever sees him spend more than 15 000 xp from his "float."Graz'zt has 39 ranks in spellcraft, a synergy bonus of +4 from having 25+ ranks in Knowledge (arcana) and +30 from a minor artifact (his amulet).  So a base of 73 + Graz'zt's intelligence bonus.  The amulet can pay 2000 xp 1/day of spellcasting costs.Waxing Clarity To Develop: Seed: fortify (17 DC). Factors: enhancement bonus of 83 points to intelligence (+164) DC). Increase Duration by 400% (+8) (to 4 days 4 hours): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 3 days 10 minutes (-26 DC), burn 6800 xp (-68). Final spellcraft DC: 95(boosts intelligence by 83, to 118. New Spellcraft score is 73+54= 127)Sustained ClarityTo Develop: Seed: fortify (17 DC) Factors: enhancement bonus of +83 to intelligence (+164 DC). Increase Duration by 4100% (+82) (to 35 days): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 3 days 10 minutes (-26 DC), burn 10 000 xp (-100). Final spellcraft DC: 137Profane Mind To Develop: Seed: fortify (23 DC) Factors: profane bonus of +12 to intelligence (+66 DC). Increase Duration by 4100% (+82) (to 35 days): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 10 minutes (-20 DC), burn 1400 xp (-14) Final spellcraft DC: 137(new spellcraft score is 133)Insightful MindTo Develop: Seed: fortify (23 DC) Factors: insight bonus of +13 to intelligence (+72 DC). Increase Duration by 4100% (+82) (to 35 days): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 10 minutes (-20 DC), burn 1400 xp (-14) Final spellcraft DC: 143(new spellcraft score is 139)Lucky MindTo Develop: Seed: fortify (23 DC) Factors: luck bonus of +14 to intelligence (+78 DC). Increase Duration by 4100% (+82) (to 35 days): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 10 minutes (-20 DC), burn 1400 xp (-14) Final spellcraft DC: 149(new spellcraft score is 146)Circumstantial MindTo Develop: Seed: fortify (23 DC) Factors: circumstance bonus of +15 to intelligence (+84 DC). Increase Duration by 4100% (+82) (to 35 days): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 10 minutes (-20 DC), burn 1300 xp (-13) Final spellcraft DC: 156(new spellcraft score is 154)Immoral MindTo Develop: Seed: fortify (23 DC) Factors: morale bonus of +16 to intelligence (+90 DC). Increase Duration by 4100% (+82) (to 35 days): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 10 minutes (-20 DC), burn 1100 xp (-11) Final spellcraft DC: 164(new spellcraft score is 162)These mind spells add a total of 70 more points to Graz’zt’s intelligence, for a total of 188. New spellcraft score is 73+89= 162.The spells he will research and cast while buffed have a DC of 172 or less (which would take 31 days to research, so can be learned within the time when he is fully buffed.) Graz'zt's 15000 xp cushion works out to be about 2100 xp per day; he has an amulet that provides 2000 xp for spell costs 1/day; I include it for every spell that takes at least a day to cast.  The epic level handbook says that backlash damage is taken each round of the effect of a spell.  Sepulchrave thinks (and I agree) that it should be each round of spellcasting.  So you can increase your spell casting time or take damage, but not both.  (In fact, to reduce casting time to 1 round requires a +18 DC).  This would improve his spells even more.Cooperative spellcasting is not Graz'zt's style, so there are no spells involving secondary casters.So anyway, he spends 4 days out of 35 casting Sustained Clarity and the Mind spells.  Really only 3 days are taken up by chanting.  The epic spells/day of two more days could send the rest of his stats through the roof:Profane BoostTo Develop: Seed: fortify (17 DC) Factors: profane bonus of +47 to one ability score (+92 DC). Increase Duration by 4100% (+82) (to 35 days): Mitigating factors: increase casting time by 10 minutes (-20 DC)  Final spellcraft DC: 171Likewise for Spell Resistance!Note that on the days when Graz'zt is casting the mind suite of spells and profanely boosting his other abilities, he is quite free to do other things; they only take up 30 minutes per day.  He probably spreads these spells through the month so that he will still be able to cast two epic spells on any given day (he can cast 3 total).His buffed stats will be: Abilities:Str 73, Dex 77, Con 75, Int 188, Wis 69, Cha 96Saves: Fort +52, Ref +55, Will +49Save DCs for spells and spell-like abilities will be 53+spell level.  His spell resistance is 85.Combat-wise his stats are as follows:Hit Dice: 36d8 +1152 (1314 hp)Initiative: +37Speed: 40 ft.Armour Class: 68 (-1 size, +33 Dex, +6 insight, +13 natural, +7 shield), touch 48, flat-footed 35Base Attack/Grapple: +36/+71Attack: +5 acidic burst keen unholy bastard sword +71 melee (2d8 +36/15-20 plus 1d6 acid plus 1 vile)Full Attack: +5 acidic burst keen unholy bastard sword +71/+66/+61/+56 melee (2d8 +36/15-20 plus 1d6 acid plus 1 vile)Pretty awesome, huh?  Unless the buffs are dispelled, Graz'zt will be quite a challenge to any opponent.  He undoubtably knows some kind of epic counterspell to prevent a superb dispelling or greater magic from affecting him.  Even so, it might be wise to tweak the spells so that they have a +6 bonus to resisting enemy dispel checks.  That way they would work even in an anti-magic field.  (Dispel check in an AM field is 1d20+20 vs 11+ caster level.  Graz'zt is a 24th level sorcerer, so with a +6 bonus that is a DC of 41- the AM field will never work.  See ELH 73 for interactions between an AM field and epci spells.)Now think how different the situation would be if these epic buff spells were nerfed like the anibuff spells were?  Instead of a base duration of 20 hours, they would have a base duration of 20 minutes, and none of this would be possible.  A common house rule makes the duration in 10s of minutes- in this case the duration of the buff would be a base 200 minutes.  Instead of lasting for 35 days, they would last a little less than 6 days.</blockquote>

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