https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f0eO97NuDck&t=2583s&pp=0gcJCQMLAYcqIYzv
Time 43:05 the blue winged jay(?) using ants that spray acid(?) to clean parasites off wings.
Time around 42:00 squirrel fight orange vs black.
Around 30:00-35:00 bird bumps camera.
Early on may time 15:00 … something interesting with a squirrel i think. ??? What was it.
GET EM. But beware of this blogger's words, he may be a danger to us all: https://alldeadgenerations.blogspot.com/p/pdf-adventure-archives.html
Via his blog:
With all my malice and disdain,
Enjoy your games,
-- Gus L.
COLOR CODES
Anomalous Subsurface Environment:
These
adventures are set in the world of Patrick Wetmore's Anomalous
Subsurface Environment, the "Land of a Thousand Towers". The setting is
a gonzo science fantasy post-apoco0lypse and I still believe that the
Anomalous Subsurface Environment represents the best of OSR design,
especially in the transition phase between the forum based "Old School
Revival" and Google+ based "Old School Renaissance". I have long
enjoyed writing in this setting, and with it's cheerful anarchy and
absurdity had become the default OSR tone rather then grim darkness.
Someday I hope Patrick finishes his dungeon or I work up the courage to
buy the notes and maps off of him and spend three years doing so myself
(this is very unlikely).
Fallen Empire/Crystal Frontier
My
own "Off-Vanilla" fantasy setting, a sort of high magic apocalypse
where the remnants of the Successor Empire are plundered by the rising
"primitive" feudal powers of the Resurgent Kingdoms. Crystal Frontier is
the Western edge of that empire, but these adventures are set in
various other regions.
Other
Things written outside of any of these settings. Those frankly a lot aren't much outside of them.
Free Adventures
➽ Red Demon of the Vile Fens - 8/2012
A
lair adventure for levels 1 -5, using the ruined war machine motif. I
still think there's good ideas in here, but it's very much a Patrick
Wetmore influenced work. The design and writing are rather raw, as I'd
barely started talking to other creators. It's more typical of the
"off-vanilla" design popular in the early Old School Renaissance where
the basic elements of D&D's implied setting are used to create a
different sort of setting. For example, one of the dangerous special
munitions one can recover is described as powdered mummy dust that
inflicts AD&D's mummy rot -- rather then being the Martian
biological agent it was in own fiction.
➽ Prison of the Hated Pretender - 8/2012 An introductory lair adventure focused on monster encounters and a day and night activity cycle puzzle that allows movement through the otherwise very dangerous haunted location. The original uses the same sort of design as Red Demon, but the 2020 version linked here is much improved both in that it includes notes on how to run the adventure as a teaching dungeon, more art and better keying. It also includes a 5E conversion and some notes on the playstyle differences (though Prison is one of the rare OSR adventures I think can work in 5E as it's focused on encounters focused not exploration). I'm proud that it is frequently described as one of the three top OSR teaching dungeons, but it's still free. The tips go into my fund for buying other people's adventures mostly, and some tiny pittance goes to Hydra Co-op and offsets cost there.
➽ OBELISK OF FORGOTTEN MEMORIES - 9/2012 A level 1-3 adventure located on the ASE Denethix regional map proper (lower left corner), and the largest adventure I've written for ASE. A graveyard with a few mini-dungeons and faction intrigue with the representatives of three petulant orbital deities. At the time multiple tables and table nesting were very popular in OSR circles, and this
➽ Hel Crow's Final Rest - 9/2012 A Viking adventure. Low level, short, originally for a contest and I think a functional faction intrigue set up. Originally two pages. New version here is edited, and slightly longer due to layout considerations.
➽ Tempus Gelidum - 12/2012 A level 3-5 (more like 2-4) adventure on the Certopisan plains. Also a lair, an ancient clocktower home to a mechanical Gorgon. The treasure hoard is notable as is the experiment with description capsules covering room conditions.
➽ BritTLESTONE PARAPET -4/2013 My first entry I ever into the One Page Dungeon Contest and a winner (That year everyone won... it was a more egalitarian time) -- low level or something. I think it started my obsession with owlbears and the idea that they eat magic. Also includes crystals, magical pollution and cannibal bandits. A microcosm of every adventure I've ever designed. I'm not sure how playable it is, but think it works for a OPD.
➽ Adrift on The Sea Of Love - 9/2013 A level 1-3 pirate adventure. Generic enough, but I enjoy it. The dungeon in it is very much a set of traps, but I think they work, as does the island. Some of the ideas (such as the search for a boat) are borrowed from "N1-Treasure Hunt, a later TSR adventure I enjoyed in the 90's. It's nothing special design-wise, very standard B/X, but the keys are startign to get long and disorganized -- showing more "trad" influence then I'd like, though frankly this may be an issue for sea voyage based adventures. This was written quickly for Erick Jensen to use at a con I think so I suspect that I started regressing to the design style of all the early 90's dungeon magazines I read back in the day -- like a feral parrot sipping too much dark rum.
➽ Wreck of the ANubis - 2/2014 Level 2-3 and Written for an ASE Campaign, I don't know how successful it is largely because the key lengths are quite long, and it includes a matrix style intro key for each area that is far more elaborate then it should be. Otherwise it's a ASE wizard tower in another wrecked vessel with a swamp theme.
➽ Thunderhead Manse - 4/2014 Another one page dungeon and I think a finalist in the 2014 contest. I floating castle missing its wizard and now ruled by an increasingly slovenly band of flying monkey guards. Not explicitly and ASE adventure, but very much one in spirit and execution.
➽ Stone ShipS - 4/2014 A two page adventure that is my only experiment with procedural generation. Build an entire fleet of half sunken arcane warships. I like the idea, but this is too little space to do it justice. A failed design experiment that I should finish revisiting. There's no shortcut to a well designed dungeon adventure.
➽ KUGELBERG FLOOD - 5/2014 Another small adventure, that like Stone Ships started as a one page dungeon attempt and wouldn't fit. A sunken location suddenly revealed by a once a decade flood, with a time limit imposed by the returning waters. It could be a Fallen Empire location, and it's rather complex for an 11 key location, a dense and fairly terse four pages that manages to still have sufficient flavor. The text is lengthened by the same matrix style room description as a lot of my design from this time period, but it's more useful here then in some other examples.
➽ Along the road of Tombs - 7/2014 A larger sandbox and faction intrigue dungeon for 3rd - 5th level characters (I think - it has some nasty cultists in it) but designed rather organically without any attention to level balance -- meaning that it is rather dogmatic about mid-OSR design conventions. It's also a mess. One of my favorite messes, and something I mean to revise and republish without the constraints of the contest it was written for and which never finished (Road of Tombs was one of four finalists). It could be improved with editing, a less restrictive map, some new illustrations and a selection of smaller tombs (See The Grieving Road as an example of the style I think would work). With this I think it would make a very interesting sandbox with strong faction conflict firmly set in the Fallen Empire. I have thought of relocating it to the Crystal Frontier, but I think it's best if it remains within a few days walk (or more likely within the walls) of the Successor Empire's Capital. It's also an interesting adventure in the evolution of my design process - the keys are too long and disordered, it needs an edit, and again this is partially a process of quick writing, but it also drops the matrix design in favor of a bolded keys and stat blocks. This would evolve into my current style of bolding and sub paragraphs and to me represents an efficient and accessible way to write keys for complex and non-standard locations.
➽ Lone Colossi of The Akolouthos Sink 9/2014 Similar in design to Along the Road of Tombs (3rd level? There's a 10HD monster in there) a smaller dungeon in one of my favorite locations -- a wrecked war machine. I like some of it, but think the giant arcane "mecha" of the Successor Empire deserve something bigger. Also returns to the matrix keys of Kugelberg Flood, and less successfully as the longer description means each key is broken into two unconnected parts spread over almost a whole page. Usability isn't high here.
➽ Pretender's Dread Machine - 10/2014 I think this is a good 3rd-6th level adventure. A multi-session expedition featuring a region to explore, and containing two dungeons. Like Prison of the Hated Pretender it involves the legacy of a rather nasty despot and one of his magi-tech creations. In this case a building size machine (the primary dungeon) that can resurrect the dead. As a piece of adventure design, I rather enjoy the ideas in it, but think both the experiment with isometric mapping in its first dungeon fails, long keys and the matrix also make another unwelcome appearance. It deserves a editing pass, redesign and rerelease I think. I'd also like to add the 5th - 8th level third part of the Pretender sage "The Divine Wight" which I started but never finished because I couldn't figure out how to write a certain puzzle. Perhaps one day there will be an omnibus.
➽ FALLEN THRONE - 4/2015 I dislike this adventure. Mid-level maybe, a one page dungeon contest entry that I wrote in about 3 hours. It's basic idea, a throne of heaven (sort of a divine marble space station) falls into a city and begins to destroy it with angelic cruelty. The issue is that that's a big idea, as in it needs a big dungeon. One page can't offer a big dungeon so instead it's the sketch of an idea and terse compromises with a region based map. Honestly it reminds me of many of the small Post-OSR adventures that I don't have much time for, big ideas done too fast, too sloppy and without the space, design knowledge, or diligence to complete them. It is also my only OPD contest entry so far that hasn't placed. Read it only as a lesson in how not to design adventures (or OPDs).
➽ Comes the Mountain - 5/2015 A short (failed OPD) adventure for higher levels based solely on the drawing/map included. I think it's got a good idea, but the scope is too big for four pages. Again a sandbox about climbing up a walking volcano to turn it away from it's destructive path could be a very good high level adventure, but running this would require a lot of work. ➽ HMS APOLLYON PLAYER'S GUIDE - 8/2016 Not a dungeon. Perhaps the most time consuming piece here. The most detailed set of my house rules (an old version) for a setting based variety of LBB/OD&D. Contains such nonsense as steam powered mech suits and a lot of mid-OSR mechanics borrowed, stolen, modified and tested over several years of online play. It has some good rules, I still use many, but it's not streamlined in ways I'd like it to be and doesn't include various modifications that I think make this sort of ruleset better and have been using since.
➽ GRAVESAND BEACH - 4/2017 A one page dungeon that I submitted, but there was a typo in the license so it wasn't included in the contest I think. I enjoy the washed up sea elf pirate/giant turtle wreck, but am not sure where the seagull things came from. Fun ideas, but once again badly constrained by the OPD format.
➽ Maw of snails - 8/2020 Another One Page Dungeon, 2nd place I think in the 2020 OPD contest. It works, but it's fairly sparse. I've written a whole post on its design here so I don't think I will go into detail. I like it, but it's a One Page Dungeon which means a design test at best and usually a stunt.
➽ THE GRIEVING ROAD - 6/2022 2022 One Page Dungeon entry -- as a OPD it's a stunt, but a fun way to test out side-view maps and a 90's style jewel tone palette (faded for proper 2020's retro vibes). I think it would make a decent set of companion tombs for Along the Road of Tombs, or a small Crystal Frontier location set along the descent from the Maiden Tombs.
Down in the Dungeon / Exploring Zarakan's Dungeon, 1981, but art was late 1970s says AZmountaineer. Absolutely awesome stuff. So inspirational, I gotta use it soon.
This artist/author combo loved reptiles, I approve. Maybe b/c they (the company making this) were from Texas?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=--XFX2U4PJE&t=382s
https://www.vintagerpg.com/2020/05/down-in-the-dungeon-1981/
Better views of art at monsterbrains https://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2010/10/down-in-dungeon.html?m=1
Found art via https://unwinnable.com/2022/12/05/down-in-the-dungeon/
Orcs at Time 6:25.
BTW, buyer beware here, but seems to host some free 1 page dungeons: https://alldeadgenerations.blogspot.com/p/pdf-adventure-archives.html
Need Burning Hands... note my CL is 2 instead of 1 due to Varisian Tattoo. SO I can't use their default calculation, eh? And I get +3 per die dmg (on fire spells, it'd be +2 per non-fire).
&{template:default} {{ Burning Arc=Insert an image or flavor text here }} {{ Range=[[ [[ floor((@{Selected|caster1_level}+2)/2)*5 ]] + 25 ]] ft. }} {{ Save=Reflex }} {{SR=[[ 1d20 + @{Selected|caster1_level} ]]}} {{ Primary=[[ [[@{Selected|caster1_level}]]d6 ]] Fire **DC** [[@{Selected|caster1_dc_level_2}]] }} {{ Second=[[ [[floor(@{Selected|caster1_level}/2)]]d6 ]] Fire **DC** [[@{Selected|caster1_dc_level_2} - 2]] }} {{ Third=[[ [[floor(@{Selected|caster1_level}/4)]]d6 ]] Fire **DC** [[@{Selected|caster1_dc_level_2} - 2]] }} {{ Note=All targets must be within 15 ft. of each other }}
&{template:default} {{ Burning Arc=Flames Erupt!}} {{ Range=[[ [[ floor((@{Selected|caster1_level}+2)/2)*5 ]] + 25 ]] ft. }} {{ Save=Reflex }} {{SR=[[ 1d20 + @{Selected|caster1_level} ]]}} {{ Primary=[[ [[@{Selected|caster1_level}]]d6 ]] Fire **DC** [[@{Selected|caster1_dc_level_2}]] }} {{ Second=[[ [[floor(@{Selected|caster1_level}/2)]]d6 ]] Fire **DC** [[@{Selected|caster1_dc_level_2} - 2]] }} {{ Third=[[ [[floor(@{Selected|caster1_level}/4)]]d6 ]] Fire **DC** [[@{Selected|caster1_dc_level_2} - 2]] }} {{ Note=All targets must be within 15 ft. of each other }}
WORKS NEEDS MODIFY (remove SR, fix DC):
&{template:default} {{ Burning Hands=Flames Erupt!}} {{ Range=[[ 15 ]] ft. }} {{ Save=Reflex }} {{SR=[[ 1d20 + @{Selected|caster1_level} ]]}} {{ Fire Dmg =[[ [[@{Selected|caster1_level}]]d4+6 ]] Fire **DC** [[@{Selected|caster1_dc_level_2}]] }} {{ Note=Burn baby burn }}
GOOD:
&{template:default} {{ Burning Hands=Flames Erupt!}} {{ Range=[[ 15 ]] ft. }} {{ Save=Reflex }} {{SR=[[ 1d20 + @{Selected|caster1_level} ]]}} {{ Fire Dmg =[[ [[2]]d4+6 ]] Fire **DC** [[16]] }} {{ Note=Burn baby burn }}
/me raises forth a hand, palm down with fingers spread, and utters, "Oth Zevrill"!
&{template:default} {{ Burning Hands=Flames Erupt!
}} {{ Range=[[ 15 ]] ft. Cone }} {{ Save=Reflex }} {{SR=[[ 1d20 + @{Selected|caster1_level} ]]}} {{ Fire Dmg =[[ [[2]]d4+6 ]] Fire **DC** [[16]] }} {{ Note=Burn baby burn }}
BASIC:
Fire Dmg =[[ [[2]]d4+6 ]]
INSIDE THIER THING, just CLICK NAME OF SPELL:
[[{(1*@{2}),5}kl1]]d4+6
[[{(1*2),5}kl1]]d4+6
[[{(1*@{caster1_level}),5}kl1]]d4
[[{(1*@{caster1_level}),5}kl1]]d4
[[{(1*2),5}kl1]]d4+6
WORKS:
/me cups his palm as though he were standing on a mound in a field and chants the verbal component "Uncto"!
[Grease]
DC[[14]] Ref Neg | SR:No
[[10]]ft. radius or single object for [[2]] minutes
/me raises forth a hand, palm down with fingers spread, and utters, "Oth Zevrill"!
[Burning Hands]
DC[[16]] Ref Neg | SR:Yes
[[15]]ft. cone
Hit:[[1d20+5]] for [[1d6+3]]dmg.
Hit:[[]] for [[2d4+6]]dmg.
============================================================
To calculate the Spell DC:
10 + spell level + ability modifier (e.g. Wizards use INT, Clerics use WIS, Bards use CHA)
stormbringer.fandom.com
https://stormbringer.fandom.com › wiki › Melniboné
Treasury of Archaic Names: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fcKH25MNJE
Hand drawn weapons time 5:55 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--XFX2U4PJE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ-8_dwoglU&t=320s
I am curious, even if it's a perfect poll, it's a pretty good one.
Have to wait to get imprvd familiar feat at level 7 for Faery Dragon (altho i might wait till Level 13 bcuz i need them other feats yo) . ONly level 3 for the Beheaded familiar, and it is GOOD.
Normal FamiliarImproved familiars https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p4h4 and https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2tq34
It has been argued that way but the 2 lines in the description that states "using a common language" & "can communicate verbally" pretty much kills that idea. A common language lets them discuss anything their intelligence score can handle and a command word is exactly that, a single word that activates the magic item.
Worst case imaginable with the worst GM in the game you just have the command word on that wand/item be in that shared language the wizard/familiar use and keep going.
Mike Brock made a post about it on This thread
Wand use doesn't require the book for those few improved familiars - brownie, faerie dragon, imp, lyrakien azata, mephit, quasit, sprite familiars - gained with the Improved Familiar feat
It can use a wand since it is slotless. It uses its master's UMD. No other animal companions or familiars can activate a magic item.
Faerie dragons fall into the biped category of familiars, meaning wand use is no problem (I know it's weird, but dragons can use their front feet as hands, and a faerie dragon is still a dragon). Having them become a target may or may not be a problem. The share spells class feature can do a lot to protect a familiar, but so can stuff like natural flight, which a lot of familiars get. Also false life on the familiar can be a life saver.
As for best, Faerie Dragon, or if they're not available, Lyrakien Azata is my personal favorite.
https://people.math.wisc.edu/~jheim/Pathfinder/
This smooth, lusterless gray ring is crafted of dark glass and has the image of a body carved into its band. Once per day, the wearer of this ring can perform a complex mental and verbal ritual, repeatedly whispering the ring’s command word, while touching any humanoid corpse that has been dead for less than 1 week. The creature must have had 7 Hit Dice or fewer in life. This ritual can be as short as 1 round or could last up to 24 hours. It requires both total focus and constant contact between the ring, the wearer, and the target corpse. Interruption of any kind spoils the ritual, requiring the wearer to begin anew. The wearer of the ring chooses how long this ritual will last, but that decision must be made before she begins the ritual.
On the ritual’s completion, an illusory duplicate of the creature touched—partially real and formed of animate ice cloaked in magical shadow—springs into existence. This functions as lesser simulacrum in all ways unless stated otherwise. The wearer of this ring gains a +10 bonus on the Disguise check when performing this ritual. The shadow creature appears in all ways to be hearty and full of life, equipped with all of the gear and clothing that was carried or worn by the corpse throughout the ritual. At the same moment the shadow creature is completed, the targeted corpse and all of its attendant equipment vanishes, melting away like snow.
The false creature brought into existence by the ring of the shadow victim has the same base ability scores, type, and subtype as the targeted corpse. It appears in all ways to be the same individual as the corpse touched, and it retains the general personality, attitude, abilities, and intellect of that creature.
However, this duplicate doesn’t possess any memories that the wearer of the ring doesn’t also possess, has no spell-like or supernatural abilities, can’t use activated extraordinary abilities, can’t gain the benefits of healing, can’t gain levels or increase its abilities, and can’t have more than 3 Hit Dice.
This false creature behaves much like the target did in life, except it has a starting attitude of helpful toward the ring’s wearer and is generally willing to assist the wearer in any endeavor. The shadow creature will take nearly any action to aid the wearer of the ring, including dangerous, foolish or suicidal actions. This semi-illusory creature remains in existence for a duration equal to 7 × the length of the initial ritual that created it, until the wearer removes the ring of the shadow victim, until the wearer activates the ring again, or until the creature is destroyed by violence, whichever comes first. At that time, the duplicate vanishes and the original corpse, unchanged from when the initial ritual was completed, appears in its place.
Bonded Items, let's straight compare them.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/
The standard rules don’t allow item creation feats to recharge charged items such as wands. This is because wands are the most cost-effective form of expendable spellcasting in the game (the minimum price is 15 gp per charge, as compared to a minimum price of 25 gp per use for a scroll or 50 gp per use for a potion). Allowing wand recharging devalues scrolls and potions in the game, especially as using a wand does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A wand‘s lower price increment would also mean that partially recharging the wand is easily done with a short downtime period (10 charges per day for a 2nd-level wand, 4 per day for a 3rd-level wand, and 2 per day for a 4th-level wand), making the wand even more useful and cost-effective.
A GM who wants to allow wand recharging can require a minimum of 25 charges added to the item to help offset this advantage, as it forces you to spend a larger amount of gold at once instead of smaller amounts more frequently.
RINGS
Can u trade them out… retrain for gp?? Yes. But keep reading.
Omg, woke up from nap, realized i never checked nonbonus feats … u totally get a lot - a feat every odd level so 10 feats or 11 feats for humans by level 19!!! https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/character-advancement/
Btw, 3400 ish feats total https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/12e4aqf/how_many_feats_total/
Btw, weird options with Wood and Metal schools
http://legacy.aonprd.com/ultimateMagic/spellcastingClassOptions/wizard.html#_arcane-discoveries
Pathfinder
Shit. Need 8 feats, only get 5 feats by lvl 19. So what to pick. Isnt Varisian tatoo a feat (that requires spell focus feat)? So he skips Varisian. He talks about Varisian later, but doesn’t list as main feats. What?? Retrain feats is a thing, gp and 1 week and trainer.
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2nyxp?Fire-themed-mage
Reposting:
Paizo BLASTER CASTER build:
Goal: Pile on the hurty-hurt with direct damage spells. You don't need battlefield control if the enemy is dead.
Level 1: Take Sorceror: Crossblooded Orc/Draconic, Human, take Varisian Tattoo, take Trait: magical Lineage (pick spell), Reactionary (+2 Init)
Then take Wizard/Evoker -Admixture Specialist for your remaining levels. Why Admixture? Because you can change the element of any of your blasting spells on the fly to get around elemental resistances/immunities.
If you want to superspecialize outside of Evoker, take Sin Magic, lose two schools (Conjuration/Abjuration), gain yet another spell slot per level of raw power.
Key Feats: Intensify Spell, Empower Spell, Quicken Spell, Spell Perfection, Spell Penetration, Spell Specialization, Greater Spell Specialization.
End result: Crossblooded sorc orc/dragon bloodline 1, Wiz/19, Admixture Evocation specialist.
Note: Can use Sin Magic for more slots. Sorcerer level allows use of spell devices from denied schools (Conj/Abjuration).
Magical Lineage Trait allows Intensify for free on chosen spell.
Spell Perfection allows free Quicken at higher levels.
===============================================
Play Hints:
Take Burning Hands or Magic Missile as a Specialized Spell early. Burning Hands will deal more damage, Magic Missile has better long-term utility and keeps you out of danger. Every other level, you can change your specialized spell.
Add Greater Spell Specialization at level 7 or 9. Why? You can then memorize utility spells, and trash them for your blaster spell.
Change your specialized spell up to Scorching Ray or Fireball when you can, depending on campaign, typically at 5 or 7.
At level 12 or higher, change it to Fire Snake.
Use Admixture specializing to change the element on the fly.
Use Fire Snake until higher levels. Why? High damage base and level 5 spell still leaves room for metamagic, esp Quicken.
Mechanics behind Choices: Orc blooded, Draconic: +1 to all damage spells, +1 to element of choice, retasked by Admixture = +2 dmg/die on blasting spells.
FEATS
Intensify Spell: Increases caster level damage cap +5 to apply to a specific spell. Burning hands goes up to 10d4+20. Magic Missile goes to 7d4+7. Fireball to 15d6, Fire Snake to 20d6+40.
Empower Spell: Increase dmg by 50%.
Quicken Spell: Hit enemy with two spells/rd.
Spell Specialization: +2 to caster level with a specific spell. Helps bring the damage earlier and faster.
Varisian Tattoo: +1 to Caster level with a specific school (Evo). This buys off your sorc level.
Greater Spell Specialization: Sacrifice spells to power your chosen blaster spell. Means you can memorize utility spells freely.
Spell Perfection: Doubles fixed feat bonuses, apply one metamagic for free. An Empowered/Intensified spell with Magical Lineage is still its original spell slot. SPell Penetration doubles to +4. Varisian Tattoo to +2. Spell Specialization to +4. Effectively, you've got +10 on Spell Resistance rolls, and are casting at 5 levels higher then your own.
Top End Damage: 30d6 +60 from Fire Snake, empowered, Intensified, average 165 dmg, save 1/2, level 5 slot.
Quicken for another hit, 5th level slot, 20d6 + 40dmg, avg 165.
= 330 blasting dmg in one round, save for 1/2. If you've a Rod of Maximize, you can lift this to 215 base damage.
Base level 5 spell slot is 20d6+40 dmg, 165 dmg.
BY LEVEL
At level 1, your Burning Hands should be 2d4+4 (avg 9)
At level 2, its unchanged.
At level 3, Spell Specialization kicks in. 5d4+10 (22.5). This tops it unless you Intensify it.
At 4th, 6d4+12 (27), Intensified BH.
At 5th, Intensified BH, 7d4+14 (31.5).
At 6th, you can shift Spec to Scorching Ray. 2x 4d6+8 (44). Your Fireball is 5d6+10 as well, or 7d6+14 if specced.
At 7th, 6d6+12 fireball, or 8d6+18 if spec. An Empowered, Intensified Burning Hands, if still the spec spell, is 13.5d4+27 (about 60).
8th - Empowered Scorching Ray, 2 x 6d6+12. E/I BH is 15d6+30 (74, max)
9th - Intensified, Specialized Fireball is 11d6+22 (51).
10th - Firesnake. E/Spec Fireball is 15d6+30 (74). Emp Scorching Rays are 3 x 6d6+12, or 18d6+36 (99 dmg). You can now Quicken a Burning Hands or Magic Missile as kicker damage in a round, although you've few slots.
12th - E/I/Spec Fireball is 21d6+42 (115) damage. You can now Quicken a 12d6+24 Scorching Ray.
14th level - A Specialized Firesnake now exceeds/equals an intensified Fireball. Fireball caps at 22.5d6+ 45 (123~) damage. An Empowered Firesnake is 24d6+48 (132) damage. You can now Quicken a 10d6+20 Fireball. Intensified, Empowered Scorching Ray tops out at 24d6+48 (132 dmg)
15th level - Spell Perfection. You can now add a Meta for Free. This will be Quicken or Empower. Intensified might be free if Magical Lineage applies to it. Caster level buffs for spec spell exceed +5, so top out at 20d6 dmg at 15th level. You will miss Spell Resistance rolls against CR appropriate enemies on a 1.
Assuming Firesnake, you can now cast a Quickened Intensified Firesnake for 20d6+40 (110) damage out of a 5th level slot, and an Empowered Firesnake out of the same slot for 30d6+60 (165) damage. Using a 7th level slot, you can Empower both.
16th+ - Damage remains the same, higher level spell slots are open for use of other Metas or control spells.
Conceivably you could use Disintegrate to get a higher damage total, but the delay isn't worth it, and you'd lose the Varisian tattoo bonus.
If your DM allows you Twin Spell from 3.5, you can very, very easily clock in at 495 raw dmg/round. IF he allows Arcane Thesis, god help your enemies.
==+Aelryinth
Eideann | Apr 18, 2012, 09:59 pm |
Elemental Bloodline (Fire) Gnome Sorcerer with Pyromaniac Racial Trait would be my first opinion. The ability to turn Cone of Cold and Chain Lightning into fire spells means as you get spell levels you are really collecting different shapes to do different amounts of d6 per caster level (+1 extra d6 due to pyromaiac) to (also once Fireball caps actually still be doing d6 per caster level (+1 extra d6) with the higher level spells.) Pick up Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus, Elemental Focus and Greater Elemental Focus along with Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration and you'll be lighting people on fire all over the place.
Also a Sorcerer who runs into a Fire Elemental can always cast Cone of Cold as cold damage, whereas a Wizard who has
