Monks, Mage-Killing and SR Improving

[Artoomis]

Hmmm, maybe I was thinking of Turn Resistance. Honestly, though, it wouldn't be hard to make one. Giving +2 per time the feat is taken or something like that. Wouldn't be a big deal unless you took it a lot. And even if you did you'd miss out on plenty of other abilities. It's D&D incarnate.

Anyone see unbalance? It could be dropped to +1 if needed.

I agree it would be fine. Unfortunately, as it now stands, you can increase your chance of penetrating SR pre-Epic, but increasing your SR is only possible by:

Epic feat (+2), may take multiple times
Exalted feat (+4 vs. Evil stuff)
Vile Feat (?? - would never apply to my characters anyway)

I am a bit surprised that you cannot increase your SR pre-Epic, but it seems to be left out of every pre-Epic book, and no times at all do this.

 

[Lela]

To be fare, SR can get alarmingly high in mosnters pre-epic. Thus the need to boost your check.

But, you're right, if you want to be effective against magic then you should be able to give up your other feats to do it.

 

[Thanee]

[Thannee, I assume you're refering to the dicussion not pertaining to the above?]

Yes, of course. The stuff that's not really about SR.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Thanee]

I am a bit surprised that you cannot increase your SR pre-Epic, but it seems to be left out of every pre-Epic book, and no times at all do this.

I think that's done on purpose. SR should offer a chance to be unaffected by most spells (except for some expecially powerful creatures), but that chance shouldn't be overly high.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Lela]

I completely agree. But, very often you'll find SR so high above what a party of that CR can handle, it's amazing. The Juggernaught from MMII is my favorite example (and my player's least favorite). CR 11, SR 36.

 

[Thanee]

Well, some monsters are virtually immune to magic. That's ok, if the rest of the stats is lower than for an average monster of that challenge level (to be fair). Most monsters have some very specific weakness, so it's ok for some to have exceptional strengths as well.

PCs - OTOH - should never be almost immune to magic.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Lela]

Well, to be fair, the PC in question would be much weaker in other areas. Feats absorbed by improving SR would give a small blow to other areas.

And, as a side note, trust me, the Juggernaught is by no means weak in other areas.

[And yes, I've consciously decided to leave the repetitive use of "other areas" as is. I'm not ignorant. Just lazy.]

 

[Krafen]

I checked both Masters of the Wild and Savage Species. Neither contain feats to increase SR. Both books have feats to increase DR, though, so that might be what some people are thinking of. It looks like your only option pre-epic is the feat from BoED or an item of spell resistance.

A few other mage-slaying options you might consider:

Spellblade enchantment on one or more weapons: You are immune to a single, targeted spell. If you are targeted by the spell, you may direct the spell at a new target as a free action on your next turn. Cost: 6K flat (Players Guide to Faerun)

Spellcasting Harrier (epic feat): Any spellcaster you threaten has a penalty equal to half your character level applied to Concentration checks to cast defensively. (prerequisite: Combat Reflexes) If you could combine this with some way to do continuous damage, you might be able to shut down everything but quickened spells.

 

[Thanee]

Spellcasting Harrier sounds like a horrible feat. That's epic!?

There actually is a feat that disallows casting defensively completely (altho, that's probably a bit too much for just a feat) somewhere in a recent book (Complete Warrior? Player's Guide to Faerûn?).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Anabstercorian]

There sure is, Thanee. In this case, it's Spellcasting Harrier - it got reworked when the 3.5 Epic SRD came out. Now anyone who tries to cast defensively provokes an AoO - just like that! No chance of success! Perfect for monks who want to make wizards cry.