D&D 3E/3.5 known-abusable 3.5 combos/techniques/etc.

[RigaMortus2]

Are you allowing other 3.5 sources like Magic of Incarnum? Because there is a level 20 build I am working on that deals about 44d6 in 1 round, then 88d6 in subsequent rounds. With only using Magic of Incarnum, PHB and Complete Adventurer.

Other than that, here is a way to cast Miracle (a 9th level spell) as a 6th level Cleric:

(Stolen from WotC boards. Shhh, don't tell)

Premise: Spell level requirements for anything can be met with lower level spells heightened to the appropriate level.

Build:

Illumian (Naenhoon) Cleric 6
Feats: Heighten Spell (1), Sanctum Spell (3), Extra Slot (6)

Thats it.

So whats the trick?

That 6th level feat is Extra Spell for a 9th level spell slot

How?

Here goes:

The Illumian Runeword Naenhoon from Races of Destiny gives the character a limited version of divine metamagic, whereby they may spend turning attempts to apply metamagic. Specifically with heighten spell the illumian may spend one turning attempt per level to be heightened, but cannot increase past 9th level.

Sanctum Spell allows us to cast a spell without adjusting its slot level. If this spell is cast in a designated sanctum it functions at one level higher than normal, if cast beyond that, it functions one level lower.

So when we get to taking that level 6 feat, we select extra slot, which tells us that we may choose any spell level up to one less than the highest level spell we can cast.

What is the hightest level spell we can cast. Well if we cast in our sanctum, and use our runeword, we can actually cast a 10th level spell. Now, its actually a 3rd level spell, but it counts as a 10th level spell (save DC is 20+casting mod and everything). By the wording of extra slot, we can select an extra 9th level spell slot, taking us to a grand total of 1 in that regard.

Now if we have 19 wisdom, we can prepare spells like miracle, gate, implosion, mass heal, energy drain. You know, the fun stuff.

There it is folks, Miracles as a Cleric 6.

 

[PallidPatience]

If you cannot cast 4th level spells, you cannot heighten a 3rd level spell to 4th level. Therefore, your build is incapable of doing what you say it can. Besides, being able to heighten a 3rd level spell to 9th level is not being able to cast a 9th level spell. You do not gain virtual spell slots from divine metamagic, just because you don't cast it as a higher level spell.

 

[Sejs]

Pun-Pun relies on Assume Supernatural Ability, which is in Savage Species (a 3.0 book). I think there are also some other parts of the Pun-Pun build that depend on 3.0 stuff, but that's the key one I can think of. So Pun-Pun doesn't work if you stick to 3.5 materials only.

Nah, it's not even that. Pun-Pun relies on an amazingly ill-concieved ability of the Sarrukh progenetor race from Serpent Kingdoms, a forgotten realms setting suppliment. Remove that ability, play in a setting other than FR, tag the Sarrukh with the Archtypical Form ability, or stipulate that you can't transform into a creature that you're not familiar with (Sarrukh are basically extinct), and Pun-Pun gets effectivly neutered.

 

[RigaMortus2]

If you cannot cast 4th level spells, you cannot heighten a 3rd level spell to 4th level. Therefore, your build is incapable of doing what you say it can. Besides, being able to heighten a 3rd level spell to 9th level is not being able to cast a 9th level spell. You do not gain virtual spell slots from divine metamagic, just because you don't cast it as a higher level spell.

Normally this is true with metamagic spells, as they typical force you to use up your higher level spell slots to cast them. But we have to remember a couple things.

1) Heighten spell changes the effective spell level of the spell.
2) Naenhoon replaces the need for spell slots with turning attempts (much like Divine Metamagic)
3) You don't need to actually cast the spell at the time of picking the Extra Slot feat. You just need to be capable of doing so. Which, with this combo, you can do.

So, you can cast 4th (or in this case 9th) level spells when you combine the Illumian Naenhoon ability with Heighten spell feat. Heighten spell feat raises the effective spell level. Normally you would need an open spell slot to Heighten the spell into, just like with all metamagic feats. However, Naenhoon replaces the need to have an open higher level spell slot with the ability to use turning attempts in the place of those slots. So instead of using a 9th level spell slot to Heighten a spell, we are using 9 turning attempts thanks to Naenhoon (which works similiar to Divine Metamagic).

So, spend 6 turning attempts, turn a 3rd level spell into a 9th level one. Cast it in your Sanctum to raise it to 10th level. You are now capable of casting 10th level spells. Pick Extra Slot feat, with allows you to gain a spell slot 1 level lower than you can cast. What can we cast? A 10th level spells. So we can get a 9th level spell slot out of this.

That's all you need to do.

 

[PallidPatience]

Naenhoon does no such thing. It merely behaves like Divine Metamagic: spend turn/rebuke attempts instead of increasing a spell's level to cast it using metamagic. That doesn't make spell slots invalid any more than Divine Metamagic does.

 

[Benimoto]

As explored, IIRC, on the Wizards site, in a column about a troll:

Regeneration + immunity to subdual damage + immunity to the damage type that bypasses regeneration = general immunity to damage.

 

[Fieari]

The regen flaw could have been fixed by WotC stating that regen requires a Con score to work, but I think that they didn't really expect players to be attempting to get it, and a DM should know better than to try, since he can just make anything he wants immune to damage ANYWAY.

 

[Jack Simth]

The regen flaw could have been fixed by WotC stating that regen requires a Con score to work, but I think that they didn't really expect players to be attempting to get it, and a DM should know better than to try, since he can just make anything he wants immune to damage ANYWAY.

It *does* specify it needs a Con score to function; but there are other ways to get immunity to nonlethal damage than just losing your Con score; a few prestige classes that head in that direction .... but you stop advancing in the PrC before going all the way.

 

[domino]

Hulking Hurler +gobs of strength + improvised weapon damage by weight.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Naenhoon does no such thing. It merely behaves like Divine Metamagic: spend turn/rebuke attempts instead of increasing a spell's level to cast it using metamagic. That doesn't make spell slots invalid any more than Divine Metamagic does.

You kind of lost me here. I think I agree with you. But aren't you saying exactly what I just said?

A level 6 Cleric can cast and Maximize a 3rd level spell using Divine Metamagic (Maximize). Instead of costing him a 7th level spell slot, it cost him the usual 3rd level spell slot for the spell plus 5 turn attempts. He could not normally Maximize a 3rd level spell in this way at 3rd level.

Well the same philosphy holds true with Naenhoon and Heighten spell feat. The spell that is Heightened has a higher spell level than normal (up to a maximum of 9th level). Unlike other metamagic feats, Heighten Spell actually increases the effective level of the spell that it modifies.

Now Divine Metamagic has an explicit restriction that it does not work with the Heighten spell feat. Naenhoon does not. In fact, it specifically tells you HOW Heighten spell would work when using the Naenhoon ability.