Outsiders mop the floor with spellcasters

[Al'Kelhar]

Outsiders (the creature type), by design have:

- spell resistance;
- energy resistance;
- good saves across the board.

Thus, by design, outsiders are spellcasters' worst nightmares. It seems to me that spellcasters faced with outsiders are best advised to assist their companions with spells rather than endeavour to affect the outsiders directly. How does your party fight outsiders?

Cheers, Al'Kelhar

 

[Crothian]

They run. But then again they are first level and that Pit Fiend did ambush them tilting the odds of the battle in its favor.

 

[ForceUser]

Spellcasters facing outsiders would do well to pick up feats such as Spell Penetration and Purify Spell to even the odds. Also, research is key: if the outsider is immune to fire, use acid. And maximize it. Naturally, investing in spells that significantly aid allies in such encounters will do wonders on the battlefield--but that's a teamwork issue.

 

[Dalprin]

It's definitely a tough fight. The wizards in my party would buff the fighters then cast various protections on themselves and others as needed. If we were ambushed then both wizards protect themselves first then throw the buffs.

 

[Victim]

While outsiders have all good saves, they also tend to pack a few less HD than other monsters of their CR. Therefore, their saves aren't as high as they might be.

Our casters tend to use a few more buffs, and then whine when their attack spells fail. They both have Spell Pen though.

 

[Corsair]

Knowing your foes weaknesses (or at least what they aren't strong against) is key. You can get around SR with conjuration spells, so you really just have to get the right element.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Also, research is key: if the outsider is immune to fire, use acid. And maximize it.

[sigh]

In a game I'm in at the moment, research is our speciality. We know we'll be facing a powerful evil fey, a vampire (and possibly vampire minions), and an ancient demon somehow related to cold and water.

All of which would be really, really useful to know if the battle wasn't going to be tonight, giving us no time to prepare specialised spells. We found out about this earlier in the evening... our spell loadouts were picked for a day relaxing in the city, not fighting undead and demons!

We were at a party!

All I'm asking for is eight hours' sleep and an hour to prepare before we have to save the world

-Hyp.

 

[Numion]

All I'm asking for is eight hours' sleep and an hour to prepare before we have to save the world

-Hyp.

Hindsight is 20/20, but you should've left half your slots empty if you were just going to relax. Then you can later fill the slots as need be at 10 minutes a pop

At least in 3.0 there were such rules.

 

[Li Shenron]

- spell resistance;
- energy resistance;
- good saves across the board.

They are not a nightmare to me, they provide a good challenge!

 

[glass]

Antimagic field can also be usefull. Admittedly after you've cast it you can't do much else (except maybe buff an archer), but it'll shut down a fiend's SLAs and usually DR as well. And thanks to all those extra abilities, they usually don't have many hp for their CR so the fighters can just wail in.

Okay the fighters lose there belts of giant strength etc, but better that than being hit by by a blasphemy every round.


glass.