Emirikol said:
Figure 75% of games don't go over about 12th level, what's broken beneath that so the rest of us can get some fixes?
The majority of the combos I listed above were intended for below 12th level, but here are some tricks and combinations I’ve run across, mostly for low level (10 and under) characters utilizing only the core rules (PHB, MM & DMG):
- Power attack + True Strike = Full Power Attack without missing.
- Lance + Spirited charge + smite = Triple damage smite attack. Great for Paladins. Combine this with Power attack & True Strike for ungodly damage.
- Wand of Speak w/ animals + Bag of tricks (grey) = A small furry scout to check out areas before you go in (giving you surprise, or at least forewarning).
- Thrown weapons + Quick draw + Rapid shot + Two weapon fighting = Three ranged attacks. Especially good because it's easy to get a full attack action with ranged attacks.
- Improved trip + Enlarge = High bonuses, and you can trip others w/ AoO's before they reach you (stopping their attack). Good for High Str characters
- Reach weapon + Enlarge + combat reflexes = Covering a 50'x 50' area means a lot of AoO's. Combine with a tripping weapon for obscene battlefield control.
- Improved disarm + spiked chain = Good for high Dex characters with Finesse. Not only does a Spiked chain give you +2 to disarms, it's a two-handed weapon (that can still be finessed), giving another +4. Its reach also allows you to AoO disarm someone before they reach you (stopping their attack).
- Explosive runes + Dispel magic = A PC could potentially make hundreds of Explosive runes between adventures (at no cost), and a well timed dispel magic could set most of them off at once.
- Explosive runes + Metamagic = If casting explosive runes between adventures, one might as well Empower and/or Maximize them. Lesser metamagic rods make this especially easy.
- Identify + Cleric w/ magic domain = Bypasses 100 gp Arcane Material Component cost to identify magic items.
- Animate dead + high HD (dead) creatures = Powerful skeletons to bolster your party's fighting strength (possibly to an overpowering degree).
- Desecrate + animate dead = 20 HD servant (titan skeleton?) at 5th level
- Animate dead + Bullete skeleton = Retains its burrowing ability. Inventive characters might find a way to ride inside it.
- Animate dead + nightmare skeleton = Retains its flying ability (a Pegasus zombie would work also, but not as well).
- Leadership + Cohort = A lot of extra power for just one feat.
- Leadership + spell casting followers = Low level buffing spells can be cast by followers, saving your actions for better things.
- Scrub + Flank + Aid = low level followers or summoned creatures can be good for both flanking and ‘Aiding’ your heavy hitters. This often gives better results than anything else they might do.
- Caltrops + pursuing enemy = slows them down, maybe even splitting their forces.
- Tanglefoot bag + fleeing enemy = Slows or stops them, preventing them from warning others.
- Readied ranged attack + opposing spell caster = A well-timed attack can disrupt a spellcaster even if he was casting defensively.
- Wand + 1st level spells = Cheap (about 15 gp each shot) and easy to use spells. Wands of cure light wounds are a must. Wands of Enlarge, Protection-Evil etc. are also handy.
- Barbarian + 1st level = the barbarian class is front loaded and especially good for fighting characters to take as their initial level.
- Rope trick + ambush = besides making a handy spot to hide and rest, the Rope trick spell can also have more inventive uses.
- Sneak attack + spells = The SA bonus applies to attack spells… which are often touch attacks that ignore DR, Also good with acid flasks or alchemist’s fire.
- Craft magic items + 1 lvl. behind other PC’s = Being a lower level than the rest of your party will give you more XP during adventures, which can be used to create more magic items… which increases your party’s strength (but not their level)… which should in turn result in an easier accumulation of XP overall.
- High AC + provoking AoO’s = Since most monsters only get one AoO, your highest AC character can (deliberately) provoke it rather than a fellow PC that plans to move through the threatened area.
- Levitation + Decanter of Endless Water = Rocket pack.
- Outdoor adventure + Warhorse = great mobility and it can cause decent damage all by itself.
- The shrink spell allows you to take a 3’ to 4’ wide boulder and shrink it to about the size/weight of a cue ball. On average, a good boulder will likely weight about 200 lbs. per cubic foot, and you can shrink 2 cubic feet per caster level. Dropping something from 10’ feet will do 1d per 200 lbs. (so about 2d6 per caster level). Meanwhile, a (custom made) big lead ball would weight about 600 lbs per cubic foot, so it would do about 6d6 per caster level if dropped from 10’.
- Explosive runes cost nothing to cast and lasts indefinitely. A spellcaster with a lot of free time could fill a book with explosive runes. If he later casts dispel magic on the book, about half of these could go off all at once (causing potentially hundreds of d6 damage).
- Black Tentacles + Acid Fog
- Cloudkill + Forcecage
- Alter self and Troglodyte form (+6 Natural armor) or Locathah form (+3 natural armor, swim 60’)
- Ring gates and portable hole to transfer characters or large items
- Using wands of cure light wounds like disposable batteries. In my group, each person carries their own wand (even if they can’t use it) and after battles we just mark off 1 charge per 5 hp we need to recover (assuming there is anyone still conscious that can use it).
- Put a portable hole into a bag of holding while inside the Tarrasque.
- Dimension door’ing the whole party: have all the characters delay until just after the spellcaster, and then do a full attack at whatever enemy they are now nearby.
- Dust of choking and sneezing: use on BBEG. No saving throw fight ender
- Boots of Levitation + overland flight: long duration flight while still being able to hover.
