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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Werebat" data-source="post: 3966321" data-attributes="member: 40158">Remember that the ability to multitarget can be seen as an advantage, too!  Rainbow Beam doesn't have this valuable feature!Dazzle is almost a non-ability.  -1 to hit, -1 to Spot and Search checks.  Woo.  Worth a 50% reduction in average damage?  No, no, no...So far the ONLY reason I can see to take Rainbow Beam over Scorching Ray is for those rare occasions when you are fighting something with fire resistance.  That's it.  And even then there's a greater then 1-in-8 chance that you'll be hitting it with fire damage anyway.This makes the spell seem pretty sucktastic to me.  Would you choose it over Scorching Ray?I *can* think of a (convoluted) way to make it useful over Scorching Ray.  You'd need Arcane Thesis (Rainbow Beam), Split Ray, and Ocular Spell.  Arcane Thesis puts you at +2 caster level for purposes of casting Rainbow Beam, so that narrows the gaping chasm between damage a little bit.  Let's say you're 7th level (doing 8d6 fire damage with a Scorching Ray and 2d12 with Rainbow Beam).  Now because you have AT Rainbow Beam, you are actually casting it at 9th caster level so it does 3d12 damage.  Woo.OK, now you have to memorize two Twin Ocular Rainbow Beams.  Cast one in each eye.  Now you can spend a full-round action to shoot two twinned rainbow beams out of your eyes -- that's four beams for a total of 12d12 damage.If you tried this trick with the scorching ray, you would only get one extra 4d6 damage ray from split ray, which would bring your damage up to 24d6.  Yep, about the same as the Rainbow Beams.So, if you use a very specific trick involving three feats, Rainbow Beam is actually a bit better than Scorching Ray.But only if you use that specific trick.  And, again, only if whatever you are fighting has resistance to fire damage.   - Ron   ^*^</blockquote>

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