RUMBLETiGER
Adventurer
It's not close to the max damage output of other caster builds, but nothing beats the Warlock for Booms per day.
schools of magic
PureGoldx58
First Post
Simply put, the damage route is inefficient and when you are limited to (generally) one spell per turn, would you rather take out 1/10th of a few enemies' health or make your fighter Gargantuan, so he can keep them off you while you root them in place or sicken them or deal 5d4 strength damage (Moonbolt, my favorite spell, works like Magic Missile except it does strength damage, save halves.).
In an action economy like the D&D games having the most impact per use of your actions is important if not vital. That said, I would love to see some improved versions of the typical blast spells that do something additional, similar to how fireball starts fires and melts metals (which most people in my experience ignore or choose to disregard).
I personally would love to see a true Telekinetic or Kineticist style of caster who does primarily force damage and is able to impose penalties like pinning, etc with spells, but I grew up almost in love with Carrie.
The Psion, is far more powerful as a non-blaster, same as any caster. It and it's more powerful version Erudite are probably the most versatile of the blasters though, with the varying options and applications of their power points in addition to their "meta-psionic" feats applying to their spells.
Besides, if you want to deal damage, a Charging barbarian or an infinite attacker are the best options.
In an action economy like the D&D games having the most impact per use of your actions is important if not vital. That said, I would love to see some improved versions of the typical blast spells that do something additional, similar to how fireball starts fires and melts metals (which most people in my experience ignore or choose to disregard).
I personally would love to see a true Telekinetic or Kineticist style of caster who does primarily force damage and is able to impose penalties like pinning, etc with spells, but I grew up almost in love with Carrie.
The Psion, is far more powerful as a non-blaster, same as any caster. It and it's more powerful version Erudite are probably the most versatile of the blasters though, with the varying options and applications of their power points in addition to their "meta-psionic" feats applying to their spells.
Besides, if you want to deal damage, a Charging barbarian or an infinite attacker are the best options.
PureGoldx58
First Post
Infinite Booms is best Booms.
PureGoldx58
First Post
No, they have weak booms, barely booms really more...poofs. It's just they can do it all day, all night, and beyond.
PureGoldx58
First Post
That's great, but I'd like a class based around that with additional features that apply other bonuses and penalties beyond just the Maneuvers. That can help me get a foot in the door with a DM though, thanks.
Tequila Sunrise
Adventurer
I think the best out-of-the-box blaster caster is the kineticist -- when you get to higher levels, where many monsters have arbitrary energy resistances and/or immunities, those 'pick your own flavor' blaster powers really make a difference. (Of course, you'll also want to have as many knowledge skills maxed out as possible so that you know which energy type is best against which monster.)
But if you're willing to do a little splat-diving, I think the sorcerer is better. Spell casting is more rigid than power manifesting...but who are we kidding, how often were you not going to max out your energy balls? Casters get more bang for their spell slots than manifestors get for their power points, and sorcerers get more spell slots than anyone.
There's a feat that allows you to convert blasting spells to a chosen energy type...I want to say it's called Energy Substitution from the Complete Arcane. If you pick a good energy substitution type, let's say acid, it's as good as having blaster powers 99% of the time. In PHB 2, there's a Metamagic Specialist feature that allows you to swap out your lame familiar in exchange for ignoring the full-round casting limitation on using metamagic spontaneously, which allows you to Substitute freely, and to use other fun metamagics freely...even the amazing Quicken Spell, which is normally unusable for spontaneous casters!
The only real downside is that a sorcerer can't max out as many knowledge skills as a psion can, so you'll want to pick up a good divination spell or two at higher levels. Or ask the party cleric or wizard to cast theirs before each adventure. (When in doubt though, Substituting for acid damage is a pretty safe bet.)
I know evocation is "lesser" in the opinions of most, lets see with a little tweaking, maybe a lot, how we can change this
lets look at the spell fireball and just how nuts we can go with it (all but wiki)
Blistering spell + empowered + arcane thesis+ fiery spell + easy metamagic + practical spellcaster
righteous evocation +2 damage per spell level (Holy Scourge prestige class)
Sanctified One of Kord
Holy Fire (Su): Whenever you cast a spell with the fire subtype, you can choose to change all the fire damage it deals into raw divine damage that is treated as good-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. This choice must be made at the time of casting.
lets pimp the fireball spell whilst keeping level-cost down
eman
lets look at the spell fireball and just how nuts we can go with it (all but wiki)
Blistering spell + empowered + arcane thesis+ fiery spell + easy metamagic + practical spellcaster
righteous evocation +2 damage per spell level (Holy Scourge prestige class)
Sanctified One of Kord
Holy Fire (Su): Whenever you cast a spell with the fire subtype, you can choose to change all the fire damage it deals into raw divine damage that is treated as good-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. This choice must be made at the time of casting.
lets pimp the fireball spell whilst keeping level-cost down
eman
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