Tactics for Anti-Magic Zones

[Sieobahn]

My DM loves to use anti-magic zones to deal with PC spellcasters. I am looking for ideas on how to deal with this.

In the current campaign, the characters all have an offside, similar to gestalt in Arcana Unearthed. My character is a 14th level warmage, with a sorcerer offside. The warmage side gives me a wide range of destructive spells, and the sorcerer side gives me protective and buffing spells.

Currently my character is alone in the middle of a kobold lair (with a number of 12th level barbarian kobolds!). Most of the place is an anti-magic zone, but I am in a small zone where magic works.

I want to deal some damage before fleeing away, but the anti-magic area is from gems in the walls, so all they have to do is throw some at me to deprive me off spells (which is how I was caught in the first place).

Questions:
1. Does an anti-magic zone affect the ethereal plane? If I use a greater blink spell, what happens when moving through the zone, can I still blink to the prime material plane?

2. Force spells such as magic missle or orb of force will affect creatures on the entheral plane. But if cast on the ethereal plane, do they affect the prime material plane? And if they do, are they still affected by an anti-magic zone?

3. What about conjuration spells that are not subject to spell resistance such as the orb spells. If cast into an anti-magic zone, does the conjured energy just disappear, or does it still work?

4. Any other ideas to deal with an anti-magic zone? Besides luring them out.

 

[Thanee]

Teleport... now...

All abjuration spells extend to the ethereal plane.

You could dig a deep, narrow shaft with some spell (if you have something) and collect the gems and throw them in there.

Or you could hit your DM with the PHB for such a stupid setup.
Kobold... Barbarians... with dozens of gems emitting Antimagic Fields... Yeah, right!

Bye
Thanee

 

[shilsen]

Teleport... now...

Pretty good advice!

Here's one more option - grab some gems and stick them in a bag or box. Since Antimagic Field is an emanation, that will cut off line of effect and they won't affect you any more. If you can get some and them teleport out, you're liable to get very rich. A permanent antimagic field item would cost about 196,000 gp, according to the DMG pricing guidelines. Not to mention being a very useful item for an adventurer.

 

[Thanee]

LOL

Yeah, as if that would work with Mr I-like-to-skrew-the-mage DM.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Nim]

Hmmm.

Teleport out, before you're stuck in the anti-magic field.

Option 1: Block the cave entrances with Wall of Stone or Wall of Iron, which are instantaneous effects and won't be destroyed by an anit-magic field. Then flood the caves with a Decanter or Endless Water or equivilant. How long can a kobold tread water?

Option 2: Calling spells. Summoned creatures vanish in the anti-magic field, but called creatures do not. You'd need to select creatures carefully, though, to get ones that keep all of their abilities in an AMF.

Option 3: Teleport to large city. Hire company of mercenaries; tell them they can keep the anti-magic crystals after they kill the kobolds. Hurrah for subcontracting.

 

[shilsen]

LOL

Yeah, as if that would work with Mr I-like-to-skrew-the-mage DM.

Bye
Thanee

Probably not, but it would be worth it to see the look on his face for a few seconds before he starts to fumble around for an ad-hoc ruling

 

[Thanee]

True enough!

Bye
Thanee

 

[Jack Simth]

My DM loves to use anti-magic zones to deal with PC spellcasters. I am looking for ideas on how to deal with this.

In the current campaign, the characters all have an offside, similar to gestalt in Arcana Unearthed. My character is a 14th level warmage, with a sorcerer offside. The warmage side gives me a wide range of destructive spells, and the sorcerer side gives me protective and buffing spells.

Currently my character is alone in the middle of a kobold lair (with a number of 12th level barbarian kobolds!). Most of the place is an anti-magic zone, but I am in a small zone where magic works.

I want to deal some damage before fleeing away, but the anti-magic area is from gems in the walls, so all they have to do is throw some at me to deprive me off spells (which is how I was caught in the first place).

Questions:
1. Does an anti-magic zone affect the ethereal plane? If I use a greater blink spell, what happens when moving through the zone, can I still blink to the prime material plane?

Abjurations, like force effects, extend from the material to the etherial; no blinking or Etherial Jaunt for you in an AMF, sorry.

2. Force spells such as magic missle or orb of force will affect creatures on the entheral plane. But if cast on the ethereal plane, do they affect the prime material plane? And if they do, are they still affected by an anti-magic zone?

Nope, they don't. You might be able to convince your DM that a force effect originating on the Material Plane can be used by an Etherial critter to manipulate a critter on the Etherial, though - but you probably don't want that ruling, especially if you run around with Mage Armor up....

3. What about conjuration spells that are not subject to spell resistance such as the orb spells. If cast into an anti-magic zone, does the conjured energy just disappear, or does it still work?

Generally, Instant spells of the Conjouration(Creation) school are ruled to work inside an AMF provided they originated outside (so the Orb of Acid from outside the AMF can fly into the AMF) but individual DM's vary on this... especially if your DM has set the situation up to make the dedicated spellcaster kinda useless for the encounter.

4. Any other ideas to deal with an anti-magic zone? Besides luring them out.

As has been mentioned, Calling spells (although most of those take a fair chunk of time, and have to be prepared out in advance) block line of effect to the gems (wall of iron/wall of stone/mundane sack), a Disjunction to break up the AMF, or just Teleport out of there; why risk your character when he can't do anything?

 

[Sieobahn]

Thanks for the replies!
Teleporting out seems like the best option I have right now.

Or you could hit your DM with the PHB for such a stupid setup.

That is extremely tempting! I don't mind things like this happening occasionally, but out of the last six major encounters, this is the third time he has used anti-magic fields. So it is getting rather tiresome to go from a CR14 warmage to something like a CR6 warrior in every second encounter.

Option 1: Block the cave entrances with Wall of Stone or Wall of Iron, which are instantaneous effects and won't be destroyed by an anit-magic field. Then flood the caves with a Decanter or Endless Water or equivilant. How long can a kobold tread water?

I am going to try this idea out. As far as my PC knows, there is only one entrance. The kobold warrens are at a lower level, so I won't have to worry about getting my feet wet. Can kobolds swim?

Option 3: Teleport to large city. Hire company of mercenaries; tell them they can keep the anti-magic crystals after they kill the kobolds. Hurrah for subcontracting.

I love this idea! The only problem is the adventure is taking place on a moon, so unless the DM will allow a container to block line of effect, there is no way to get the crystals off the moon. The only way off is via magic.


Re-reading the spell last night, the fact that artifacts and dieties are not affected caught my eye. My character has a staff of the magi, so by RAW, I should be able to wander around and use that to blast anything within sight. I wonder if he will let me get away with that?

 

[Jack Simth]

I love this idea! The only problem is the adventure is taking place on a moon, so unless the DM will allow a container to block line of effect, there is no way to get the crystals off the moon. The only way off is via magic.

Of course, the teleport is still suppressed for the stone itself, inside the box - you and the box dissapear, but the stone remains.