Uses for Time Stop?

[jokamachi]

My creativity isn't working today and I need help. What are some uses for this spell? If single round effects don't hurt targets during a time stop, what can I do to make things hard for an opponent?

 

[Nifft]

If you're relying on direct damage at 17th level, your arcanist is doing it wrong.

- Summoning
- Buffing
- Battlefield control

That's the basics.

Cheers, -- N

 

[s-dub]

Would force cage work? That'd be a nice battlefield control spell for starters.

 

[Piratecat]

When being charged by an angry dragon, my party's alienist cast time stop followed by a gate to the negative material plane immediately in front of the dragon. Then he readied an action to dismiss the gate as soon as the dragon flew through.

Problem solved!

 

[Jack Simth]

When being charged by an angry dragon, my party's alienist cast time stop followed by a gate to the negative material plane immediately in front of the dragon. Then he readied an action to dismiss the gate as soon as the dragon flew through.

Problem solved!

Until it comes back as a dracolich, or the DM decides it gets a reflex save to stop....

But yes - the basics:

1) Combat Control:
Wall up your opponents so that you only need to face them one at a time, or trap them with long-duration effects (Fire Storm, Acid Fog, and Cloudkill are popular for the long-duration effect).

2) Self-buff:
La la la... I can now put up Greater Mirror Image, Superior Invisibility, and Displacement all in one round.

3) Summon Allies:
Gate in a few things, or just spam Summon Monster - regardless, the idea is that you'll outnumber your opponent when time resumes.

Now, you can use Delayed Blast Fireball in a Time Stop, but it's not the most effective use of resources.

 

[Piratecat]

Until it comes back as a dracolich, or the DM decides it gets a reflex save to stop....

Well, in this case it came back as a different sort of undead dragon - and they managed to trick it into the positive material plane using time stop, gate, and some very clever tactics. Stupid players! :shakes fist:

There's no cause for a reflex save, though. It was a nifty tactic.

In general, time stop is ideal for self-buffing, summoning, and escape.

 

[Jack Simth]

There's no cause for a reflex save, though. It was a nifty tactic.

So it was a no save, no SR, no attack roll, fatal loss for the dragon. Twice. That really is a bad idea in the long run.

 

[Nifft]

So it was a no save, no SR, no attack roll, fatal loss for the dragon. Twice. That really is a bad idea in the long run.

Momentum is a house rule.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Piratecat]

So it was a no save, no SR, no attack roll, fatal loss for the dragon. Twice. That really is a bad idea in the long run.

Not at all. It was great tactics, a clumsy but fast-flying foe, and a number of 9th level spells. If the dragon had spells, it would have just plane shifted to safety; instead, this was a satisfying finish to a really good fight. The whole table had fun, and this tactic hasn't been abused since. I'm okay with that.

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[Corsair]

Momentum is a house rule.

Cheers, -- N

Basic physics in general is a house rule, for that matter.

While yes the idea of something doing x4 moves with a 200' fly speed (800' per round, approx 91 miles per hour) coming to a solid stop on its turn and then dropping like a rock when it stalls may be kind of suspension of disbelief breaking, I find that setting a precedent of playing fast and loose with a heavily rules based system will result in three possible and not mutually exclusive outcomes:

1) Players will expect to be able to get away with almost anything.

2) Balance will go out the window. The DM will then have to start breaking basic rules in favor of the bad guys to keep up.

3) Consistency becomes a pain to maintain.


#1 is not a problem if that is the type of game you want to play (though I'd argue you're not using a rule set best suited for it), but #2 and #3 will become a bigger problem in terms of maintaining a fun game. I find that players will not be happy when they realize turnabout is fair play in an effort to maintain balance, and will squeal like unhappy piggies the first time the DM fudges a not-quite-rules-legal trick for the monsters.




As for the OP though: Time Stop for buffing and battlefield control is pretty darn awesome. At high levels extra actions equals extra win. There are a lot of very strong defensive buffs with short durations that are difficult to get up in combat, but Time Stop gets around that nicely.