Optimized mage combos

[Nightfall]

I should have known a Thayan would have some idea of the best spell tactics/combos.

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Self Defense & Rogue Buffs

3. combo of spells - to get greater effects than just casting them alone

Mage armor and shield are a cost-effective "classic" defense ... but they work better when combined with mirror image, displacement, and/or stoneskin.

Haste and improved invisibility will turn your party rogue into a veritable killing machine ... assuming, of course, that their targets are susceptible to sneak attacks.

-Samir

 

[The Thayan Menace]

A Humble Request

I am looking for ways to make my wizard more effective....

Come to think of it, could you post your character info?

-Samir

 

[The Thayan Menace]

The Thayan Sarcophagus

3. combo of spells - to get greater effects than just casting them alone

Use hold person (or hold monster) and then entomb your paralyzed victim in solid rock with stone shape.

It's quicker than downing someone and initiating a coup de grâce ... plus, it has style.

-Samir

 

[Jack Simth]

You really want to take someone out with style?

Flesh to Stone
Transmute Rock to Mud
Dispel Magic

They're not dead, so they can't be raised.
If they're ever returned to flesh, they're in a non-viable shape, and die. First, though, you have to figure out that the slab of rock is, indeed, the person you're looking for. As they're still technically a creature, you can finish it off with a Plane Shift to elsewhere. The Positive Energy Plane is a good choice.

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Flesh to Sludge

They're not dead, so they can't be raised.

What? A flesh to stone / transmute rock to mud combination definitely kills most targets.

-Samir

 

[Jack Simth]

What? A flesh to stone / transmute rock to mud combination definitely kills most targets.

-Samir

Strictly speaking, you could grind someone who's been the victim of a Flesh To Stone into sand and, if you were to put all the pieces back together properly, the subject would be fine after a Stone to Flesh spell (assuming a passing roll on the standard Fort save for Stone to Flesh). The Transmute Rock To Mud is completely undone by the Dispel Magic; he's entirely stone. Good luck putting him back together properly, but if you can manage it, he's technically unharmed.

A Heightened-to-6th Stone Shape will do the job as well.

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Flesh to Sludge (x2)

Strictly speaking, you could grind someone who's been the victim of a Flesh To Stone into sand and, if you were to put all the pieces back together properly, the subject would be fine after a Stone to Flesh spell (assuming a passing roll on the standard Fort save for Stone to Flesh).

Short of a limited wish, you can't really transform the sand grains back into a complete statue.

The Transmute Rock To Mud is completely undone by the Dispel Magic; he's entirely stone.

Yeah, he's a lump of featureless stone that can never be restored to life.

Good luck putting him back together properly, but if you can manage it, he's technically unharmed.

This seems a little too literal ... props to you, if your DM allows it though.

I just have issues with the interpretation that flesh to stone can effectively imprison a victim's life force when their statue form is completely destroyed ... even trap the soul isn't that harsh.

-Samir

 

[Jack Simth]

Short of a limited wish, you can't really transform the sand grains back into a complete statue.

Technically, you don't need to - they just have to be held in their proper place. No glue necessary. You've just got a trillion piece 3-D puzzle. A few centuries of work and a DC 40 Intelligence or Wisdom check should do the trick. Or Wish him back into shape (undo misfortune clause).

Yeah, he's a lump of featureless stone that can never be restored to life.

That's actually covered in the spell and status descriptions:

Flesh to Stone

Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 6 Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) Target: One creatureDuration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Fortitude negates Spell Resistance: Yes

The subject, along with all its carried gear, turns into a mindless, inert statue. If the statue resulting from this spell is broken or damaged, the subject (if ever returned to its original state) has similar damage or deformities. The creature is not dead, but it does not seem to be alive either when viewed with spells such as deathwatch.

Only creatures made of flesh are affected by this spell.

Material Component: Lime, water, and earth.

(emphasis added)
and

Petrified: A petrified character has been turned to stone and is considered unconscious. If a petrified character cracks or breaks, but the broken pieces are joined with the body as he returns to flesh, he is unharmed. If the character’s petrified body is incomplete when it returns to flesh, the body is likewise incomplete and there is some amount of permanent hit point loss and/or debilitation.

(emphasis added)

Don't get me wrong - restoring such a set of transformations is a quest suitable for Hercules (or maybe Hesphestius) - but RAW, it works.

This seems a little too literal ... props to you, if your DM allows it though.

I just have issues with the interpretation that flesh to stone can effectively imprison a victim's life force when their statue form is completely destroyed ... even trap the soul isn't that harsh.

-Samir

Trap the Soul doesn't actually kill the subject either - if you break the gem, he's released, live. You have one effect to eliminate to revive the subject, as a result of one action. Seems fair.

The combo is actually closer to Soul Bind (must kill and cast), or Animate Dead (must kill and cast) - with any of the three, you need to get rid of one effect, and then raise the subject (two status changes, two status restorations). With Animate Dead, you have to destroy the undead critter, then cast Ressurection or better on the subject (get rid of two effects). With Soul Bind, you need to smash or dispell the gem, and then cast Reincarnate or better on the subject (get rid of two effects). With this combo, you need to: Restore the "rock" to flesh, which finally lets the subject die, then cast Reincarnate or better (get rid of two effects). If you work quickly enough, Regenerate or something from the Polymorph line could remove the need for a Reincarnate or Ressurection. Okay, so it's less expensive in terms of material components to pull off. It takes more spells, though. It's a trade off.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Strictly speaking, you could grind someone who's been the victim of a Flesh To Stone into sand and, if you were to put all the pieces back together properly, the subject would be fine after a Stone to Flesh spell (assuming a passing roll on the standard Fort save for Stone to Flesh).

What happens if you cast Flesh to Stone on someone, break off their little finger, take the finger a mile away, and cast Stone to Flesh on the finger?

Is this casting Stone to Flesh on a petrified creature, thus reversing the entire Flesh to Stone spell (resulting in the nearly-intact statue a mile away returning to life, minus a finger)?

Is it casting Stone to Flesh on a petrified creature, resulting in all of the creature within range of the spell - one finger - returning to life, and then immediately dying as a result of having no heart, brain, or much of anything else (leaving the statue a mile away as lifeless stone, no longer a dead-not-dead petrified creature)?

Is this casting Stone to Flesh on something that is no longer part of a petrified creature, resulting in an inert fleshy finger-shaped lump (leaving the petrified creature a mile away in the same state as it was before)?

-Hyp.