Going Archmage

[Brekki]

Hijack alert//

What form do you typically walk around in? I considered taking shapechange for my sorcerer, but 3.5 whittled the power of the spell sufficiently, I didn't bother. Just looking for ideas. Thanks.

hijack off//

[Hijack]
My mage is a goody goody, so I don't use shapes of creatures that are evil.

There are three forms I use a lot.
For usual all day adventuring I walk around like a Monadic Deva (fiend folio)
- immunity to acid, cold, electricity and fire
- immunity to petrification, death spells and effects, ability drain and damage, energy drain
- (improved) uncanny dodge as a 10th lvl rogue

For high magic combat I use the Chronotyryn (also from fiend folio)
- acid, cold, electricity and fire resistance 10, sonic immunity
- dual action ... two minds/heads/vocals, so two full round actions / round !!!!
- SR 31
- good stats and 22 natural armor

For brute melee I use the White Slaad from Epic, its 25 HD, so you might have to wait a while
- massive physical stats, 23 natural armor and fast healing 15
- acid, cold, electricity and fire resistance 10, sonic immunity
- DR 10/epic+law
[/Hijack]

 

[Count Arioch the 28t]

Hijack alert//

What form do you typically walk around in? I considered taking shapechange for my sorcerer, but 3.5 whittled the power of the spell sufficiently, I didn't bother. Just looking for ideas. Thanks.

hijack off//

3.5 didn't whittle the power away. It made shapechange godlike and awesome.

Shapechange into the following beings for mischievous mayhem.

1. Choker. They have 3.0 haste as an SU ability. You get SU abilities now with shapechange.

2. Zodar (Fiend Folio). Massive strenght, nigh-invulnerability, can bring your strength up to 50 for a round, don't tell me that ain't useful! Also, their wish ability is, you guessed it, SU in type, not SL. SU means you can use it.

3. Chronotrym is a good one, already mentioned. (Despite the fact that Brekki contradicted hinmself, he said that he didn't change into evil things, Chronotrym are fiends from Acheron, that pretty much qualifies it as iredeemably evil. )

Those are the more non-munchkiny shapechange things. I won't go into the things which I feel are abusive, since most DMs will say it doesn't work like that. (Using a chronotrym's adamantine feathers to sell for the adamantine, shapechanging into balrogs and getting as many +1 vorpal sowrds and flaming whips you want, because they are listed as abilities, for whatever reason, etc.)

 

[Brekki]

Grrr ... how could I have missed that ... another good shape down the drain.

Just like with polymorph, with shapechange most of the outsider forms are pretty good, lots of defensive abilities and resistances and flight ... fast healing and damage reduction are also very usefull.

 

[Count Arioch the 28t]

In general, that's a good rule of thumb, outsiders have really good abilities.

 

[andargor]

The feat is "Multispel [EPIC]" so you can't take it until you can take an epic feat.

Can't you take it as the 21st level feat?

If you don't know if you want Arcane fire yet, just leave the 5th Archmage level waiting for some epic levels to see if you would need it. It's not like you need to take all prestige class levels in a row.

That's a good suggestion. Maybe I'll take 10th ES before that last level of Archmage... I have a bit of time before that.

And don't forget to take the Extra Slot feat from T&B to get back some of those dearly missed slots to power AM stuff...

I think I'd rather go with Epic feats. In this case, it would be Improved Spell Capacity.

And the Shapechange suggestions are great! Choice, choices...

Andargor

 

[Sir Whiskers]

[Hijack]
There are three forms I use a lot.
For usual all day adventuring I walk around like a Monadic Deva (fiend folio)...
For high magic combat I use the Chronotyryn (also from fiend folio)...
For brute melee I use the White Slaad from Epic, its 25 HD, so you might have to wait a while ...

Fair enough - what about non-epic core? While the GM has just about every monster book printed, I only have the 3.5 MM. Thanks again!

PS - I missed the part about Su abilities - I just focused on the reduction in max HD (which I agree with, but that's a whole 'nother issue )

 

[Count Arioch the 28t]

Well, to aid in discussion, I ahve taken the liberty of looking up shapechang in the SRD to share:

Shapechange
Transmutation
Level: Animal 9, Drd 9, Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
This spell functions like polymorph, except that it enables you to assume the form of any single nonunique creature (of any type) from Fine to Colossal size. The assumed form cannot have more than twice your caster level in Hit Dice (to a maximum of 50 HD). Unlike polymorph, this spell allows incorporeal or gaseous forms to be assumed.
You gain all extraordinary and supernatural abilities (both attacks and qualities) of the assumed form, but you lose your own supernatural abilities. You also gain the type of the new form in place of your own. The new form does not disorient you. Parts of your body or pieces of equipment that are separated from you do not revert to their original forms.
You can become just about anything you are familiar with. You can change form once each round as a free action. The change takes place either immediately before your regular action or immediately after it, but not during the action. If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on your Disguise check.
Focus: A jade circlet worth no less than 1,500 gp, which you must place on your head when casting the spell. (The focus melds into your new form when you change shape.)

Note that this is from the pre-errata shapechange, pretend it says "One HD per caster level" instead of two.

And note a few passages from Shapechange that makes it so munchable:

You gain all extraordinary and supernatural abilities (both attacks and qualities) of the assumed form, but you lose your own supernatural abilities.


[Note: Notice that you keep your own EX type abilities, as well as gaining the EX and SU type abilities of what you shapechange into]

Parts of your body or pieces of equipment that are separated from you do not revert to their original forms.

[Hence the precedent for the rather abusive balor mining and chronotrym mining stunts.]

 

[green slime]

A mere +10 to Disguise...

The original (1e) allowed shapechanging into a puddle of water. Which would have been fun if it had carried over:

"Hey, I've seen that puddle of water somewhere before! It looks remarkably like Bill the Sorcerer!"

 

[Brian Chalian]

I considered taking shapechange for my sorcerer, but 3.5 whittled the power of the spell sufficiently, I didn't bother.

Combined with magic jar, 3.$ shapetjange makes you win. Let me see if I can remember Frank's order of operations....

Take over one of the BBEG's flunkies. Shapetjange into a phoenix. Use the immolate ability to inflict (20d6?) damage to everyone around. The flunky is dead, and his ashes will turn into a NG creature in a few rounds. The BBEG is hurt. And you are sent back to the jar to do it again next round. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Oh, and on topic:

You can still use their spell-like ability ability to negate the time component of spellcasting. For example - you can have an instantaneous major creation several times a day.

That means that you can in one action create 15 cubic feet of Lava in an admantite cage around some poor fool - no save, no SR.

The lava is completely real and does 20 dice of damage a round to everything it is in contact with - which in this case is the victim and the cage. It will melt through the cage in somewhere between 8 and 12 rounds - during which the victim will have taken somewhere between one hundred and sixty and two hundred and forty dice of fire damage.

Did I mention no save and no SR? And all you have to do is make a Craft Check DC 20? At that level you can't even fail that on a one!

 

[Dthamilaye]

Two things

First, As I understand Arcane Fire: The character has to permanently lose one ninth level spell slot to acquire this feature. For the cost of that spell slot, however, a wizard character can say I know I memorized Ray of frost in a level zero slot but instead I will use that spell to power a level zero arcane fire bolt, and do 0d6 + 1d6 for each archmage level. Since the sorcerer does not have to memorize spells he simply decides in the moment that he will take any onf of his level (fill in the blank) spell slots and instead use arcane fire. I think this is what you are saying in your post but I am unsure.

Second:

What the #$%^! do you mean that arcane fire is not (easily) metamagiced?

I know of no way to make arcane fire metamagiced. Please explain this whole "(easily)" thing.

Yes, taking Arcane fire will remove permanently one 9th level slot from the caster. This is still no big deal for sorcerer, as he will have 5 slots left at 20th level, before counting bonus spells from high stat.
For wizard, it is bit tougher decision, but still worth it IMHO, as he will gain ability to change in the fly any memorized spell to a quite reliable damage spell.

Uhm. You lose 9th level slot for this ability, but thats it. After that, the caster (wiz/sorc) just can say that "I use arcane fire" and then pick ANY ONE spell / slot he has not used that day and use that to power the bolt. Ie, take a 20th lvl wiz or sorc in the morning, with all spells/slots just refreshed. Now, the wiz or sorc can proceed to use Arcane fire with all spells/slots that he has.
A wiz could make 4 bolts with 0th lvl spells, 4 bolts with 1st lvl spells, ... , 3 bolts with 9th lvl spells. (Of course, 1 bolt/round)
The sorc could do the same, but 6 bolts with 0th lvl spells, 6 bolts with 1st lvl spells, ... , 5 bolts with 9th lvl spells. (of course, 1 bolt/round)

Wizard or sorcerer can use only one spell/slot to power the bolt. Ie, assuming 5th lvl archmage, using 0th level memorized spell (wiz) or 'memorized' slot (sorc), the bolt will do 0 + 5d6 damage. Using 8th lvl spell(wiz)/slot(sorc) will make the bolt do 8d6+5d6 damage. Ie, wiz and sorc work exactly the same, except that wiz uses memorized spells when sorc uses memorized slots.

Lastly, I am sure that there are several feats that 'metamagic' Spell-Like Abilities. But I also recall that there was some feats that modify supernatural abilities too. I don't have books here though. Some books that could be worth checking are Savage Species, Monster manual I, II and Fiend Folio.