Fire Shield vs. Fires of Purity

Devilkiller

First Post
It has been a while since I've had time to use the message boards much. I just found that my account at the WotC site doesn't seem to work. I guess the Gleemax brain ate my login. Anyhow, on to the business at hand...

I'd like to figure out how Fire Shield and Fires of Purity should interact. Fire Shield itself is an interesting spell since it has two versions. My assumption is that you can't stack the Fire and Cold versions of Fire Shield in terms of either halving energy damage or causing counterattack damage. I think this because they're the same spell, Fire Shield. I figure most DMs would probably allow the doubel protection but not the double damage.

The situation seems a lot less clear with Fires of Purity though. The counterattack damage effect is very similar, +1*level instead of 1d6+(1*level). It isn't actually the same though, and they are two different spells. Is there any rule against stacking effects which occur upon a specific event (like getting hit)? I mean, I don't think anybody would question whether Babau Slime and Fire Shield stack.

I kind of figure that I could stack the fire version of Fire Shield with Fires of Purity. I'd take half damage from both fire and cold and do +1*level and 1d6+(1*level) to anybody who hit me with a natural weapon or without reach. Am I missing something here?

I know there are better spell combos out there. This would just really fit my sorcerer's style, which is fire and fire combined with fire and a little more fire. If he meets a monster which is immune to fire his reaction is to try to set it on fire. Since he has Searing Spell it even sort of works ;)
 

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FireShield + ChillShield don't stack as they are technically the same spell.

However, Acid Sheathe (SC) + Fires of Purity (SC?) + Fire Chill-Shield = Sorc who isn't likely to get hit more than once by any particular (non-suicidal or energy-immune melee type). Throw in some Life-boosters (False Life being the only one that comes to mind for Arcane) and Tenser's Transformation for a wicked tank.

edit: I used Chillshield for second example only to cover another Type of damage used... there is no reason you couldn't have it be fire and stack with Fires of Purity... or even use Energy Sub: Fire to make "Fire Sheathe" and toss that into the stack.
 

Ok, that matches up with what I thought. For your combo toss on Stoneskin (or Heart of Earth) and you're likely to do more damage than you take when you get hit. Toss in Electric Vengeance and the best offense is a good defense ;)

Acid Sheathe + Stoneskin is a wicked combo I once used on an NPC bad guy. Actually he Energy Subbed it to Cold and used Lord of the Uttercold to make it half negative energy damage. An interesting side effect of that is that he'd heal any skeletal mount he was riding each round.

Of course all this stuff is only good until somebody casts Greater Dispel Magic...hey, where's my super melee ability and the 4 high level spells I just cast? ;)

On the other hand, a lot of people never think to dispel...

EDIT: regarding healing skeletal mounts, skeletons are immune to cold, so they just get healed by the negative energy damage, anything undead with at least some cold resistance could benefit
 

Devilkiller said:
Ok, that matches up with what I thought. For your combo toss on Stoneskin (or Heart of Earth) and you're likely to do more damage than you take when you get hit. Toss in Electric Vengeance and the best offense is a good defense ;)

Acid Sheathe + Stoneskin is a wicked combo I once used on an NPC bad guy. Actually he Energy Subbed it to Cold and used Lord of the Uttercold to make it half negative energy damage. An interesting side effect of that is that he'd heal any skeletal mount he was riding each round.

My current PC (a lich) uses the Acid Sheathe + Chillshield with an Amulet of Retribution and DR 15 Bludgeoning & Magic.

30acid + 18 (average dmg) cold + half damage dealt by my attacker (I take half, he takes half)... and well, DR. Tonight he was hit twice for 20damage (after everything) and my attacker took 69 (twice).

Lord of the Uttercold + Black Lore of Moil is good stuff with a Necromancer-type... especially if you're undead or Tomb-Tainted.
 
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Devilkiller said:
Of course all this stuff is only good until somebody casts Greater Dispel Magic...hey, where's my super melee ability and the 4 high level spells I just cast? ;)
That's why every self-buffer of note should wear two rings: Ring of Counterspelling (with Dispel Magic cast into it) and Ring of Counterspelling (with Greater Dispel Magic cast into it). At higher levels, replace Dispel Magic with Arcane Disjunction (though that requires a modified ring, IIRC).
 

Why wouldn't the damage from Fire-Shield and Chill-Shield stack? Or even from two Fire-Shields? If I cast Melf's Acid Arrow on a target 4 times, won't it take 4x damage each round (assuming none of them has expired yet)?

You're using resource (spell slots and actions), so I don't see the balance issue with multiple damage.

If the spell applied a hit-point penalty, I'd see it not stacking. But pure damage?
 

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