I've been late before more often than I've been early, and we have a clear favourite this time, so I figured why not get the unveiling a little early?
As usual for the showcase, these builds are intended to spur discussion and perhaps inspire a few people in the spirit of the old CO boards. They come from members of my gaming group - me, Radical Taoist, DisposableHero_, Andarious, Sionnis, and Seishi - and I'll always identify who wrote the build at the start, so do not assume I'm the guy behind all of them (because I'm not!).
Unless otherwise noted, showcase builds use 28 point-buy, and have their snapshots evaluated using fractional base attack / saves (because it simplifies the math). None of them actually rely on fractional to be built, though. The format I use showcases their progression at key levels rather than just presenting the build and showing off a few tricks at level 20; most of these are capable of being played 1-20 if you so choose.
With that out of the way, let's get started. This week, one of RadicalTaoist’s babies is up. He also helped quite a bit with this writeup, which should be clear when the writing style shifts.
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GNOWHERE GNOME
A little man who wasn’t there
Required Books: PHB2, Races of Stone, Lords of Madness, Complete Adventurer, Complete Mage, Tome of Battle, Spell Compendium, Magic Item Compendium. Unearthed Arcana used: None!
Background: RT played a single-classed kenku beguiler in a game a while back, capitalizing on beguiler stealth and misdirection when combined with natural kenku psychology and mimicry. The Gnowhere Gnome (yes, the silent G does make it deadlier) is a natural revision of that build – the sneakiest bastard that you’ll gnever find.
The Basics
Race: Whisper Gnome. Everyone’s favorite elusive little bugger, they’re hard to beat in this area. If you don’t have access to whisper gnomes, any race with decent stealth synergy (goblin, strongheart / ghostwise Halfling, kenku, etc) would be a passable substitute.
Ability Scores: 6/16/12/16/10/10, after racial modifiers. Intelligence and Dexterity are both quite important; put your 4th and 8th level stat increases into Intelligence, and after that figure out what your gear is likely to provide and pump accordingly.
Skill Gnotes: It goes without saying that you’re investing in Hide and Move Silently. Also max out the rest of the trapscout skills (Disable Device, Listen, Search, and Spot), as well as Concentration and Bluff. Plan yourself more as a scout than a caster on the skill front – you gneed 12 Spellcraft and a reasonable Concentration for your feats, but should be fine elsewhere. You should max out Use Magic Device, but not at first; you only need 12 ranks in Spellcraft, and by then your level-based stat increases should give you more skill points, so ignore UMD from levels 1-7 and then boost it more later on. If you can spare the skill points, look into some skill tricks in the mid-to-late levels; False Theurgy, Timely Misdirect, Group Fake-Out, and Swift Concentration come to mind.
Basic Equipment: Masterwork stealth gear (i.e. your gnome gninja outfit) is a good place to start. A light or heavy crossbow is a good fallback weapon to conserve early slots. You will need to have a melee threatened area later on; any basic weapon will work (dagger for style and preference, but a gauntlet works too – as does any magic staff or rod you’re packing at that point).
Magical Gear Goals: Your mundane and caster gear selection is pretty straightforward. I like the Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis here (it gives you a set of particularly nice stealth abilities that combine well with beguiler illusions – the real sell his Hide in Plain Sight, though, and you can get that through one of your Advanced Learnings), and you can save yourself a feat at the late game with the MIC’s Serpent Armor (preferably enhanced with Greater Shadow and Silent Moves). For reasons which will be discussed below, a Circlet of Persuasion is a better buy for you than for most beguilers. Similarly, you might want to pack a runestaff with Greater Dispel Magic on it – shockingly, it’s not on the beguiler list, but it’s highly desirable to have a dispeller who can’t be located, and it gives you some help against Mind Blanks and True Seers.
Do not underestimate the power of this feat. Although it’s online a little early here, it can make all the difference against most anti-stealth measures people will take.
Shock and Awe is an amazing spell from the Spell Compendium, but it’s normally pretty limited in when it can be employed – surprise rounds only. It’s a great fit for sneaky beguilers like yourself – cast it on whoever will raise the alarm or who can make or break an upcoming fight. Improved Diversion can keep you hidden while you cast – it speeds up your ability to create diversions to the point where you can cast spells and shout “look behind you, a three-headed monkey!” in the same round. You’re unfortunately limited to a 5’ step in hiding, but with Darkstalker and the right use of Silent Image, that will do.
This feat allows you to move and cast a spell as a single standard action. Improved Diversion and the Beguiler’s Surprise Casting allow you to bluff to feint or create a diversion as a move action. You can, in a single round, vanish from the sight any foe without the Sense Motive or Spot to match your Bluff and Hide checks; casting a Fog Cloud or Invisibility and moving is hard to counter when you’ve got Darkstalker.
This is a lovely save-or-up-yours that grapples for an extended period of time against foes who fail their save. Action advantage and denial of Dex? Hell yes!
Improved Invisibility appears, allowing you to be more aggressive. Boost your Int score again and start putting ranks into UMD. Freedom of Movement also appears, protecting you from sticky situations.
A magnificent spell; it entangles enemies and lets you hide while observed in its effect. Probably hands down the best spell in your arsenal for when you gneed to both make life difficult for your enemies and disappear GNOW.
This PHB2 feat gives you two benefits while invisible. One, enemies take a -5 penalty to Listen checks to locate you. Two, you can make an Attack of Opportunity against any foe who attacks the square you occupy (though it tells them where you are and removes any miss chance). The first benefit is useful now; the second not quite yet.
In addition to that nice little DC boost, two things are worth gnoting. First, you gain access to Project Image at this level, which is just unfair in a beguiler’s hands. See how Project Image combines with other illusions. You can create more decoys by casting Greater Mirror Image through your projected image, change its appearance with Disguise Self and make the enemies believe there’s a traitor in their ranks, or just enjoy another invisible point of origin for your spells by casting Greater Invisibility on it. Second, if you’ve been boosting UMD since level 8, by this point you should have a fairly good amount of ranks in there (especially since we haven’t had to spend skill points on Spellcraft for five levels). Get a Circlet of Persuasion and a few useful wands to deal with enemies that are immune to mind-affecting effects.
Evasive Reflexes allows us to take a non-provoking 5’ step in place of an AoO. Remember that second benefit to Spectral Skirmisher? Yes, that's right; they attack the square you’re in, and you’re suddenly gnot in it anymore. This is the level by which Serpent Armor becomes very handy, but only wear it if you can get that enchanted with Greater Shadow and Silent Moves enhancements; the primary function of armor for us is to boost our Hide and Move Silently checks. Also take any enhancement that would remove ACP. We don’t care about our Armor Class; a guy who can’t be targeted doesn’t gneed to worry about being hit. Alternatively, with your UMD you can use an Eternal Wand of Heroics to supply yourself with Combat Reflexes, and forget the Serpent Armor.
As a second point, Simulacrum can cause… problems if the DM isn’t prepared. Not only can it produce decoys or body doubles (including duplicates of yourself – see everything up there with Project Image? Now double it and shave off a few levels from the double), it can also duplicate NPCs. Expect a clever player to be able to do great things with this spell.
You acquire Moment of Prescience at this level. If you’ve got a Ring of Evasion, this is the spell that will save your bacon when they stop trying to look for you and start blasting the area with explosive magic.
17 – Beguiler
18 – Beguiler – (Combat Reflexes OR Extraordinary Concentration) *Show
Combat Reflexes is the last piece of your “gnever touch me” engine. With it, you can use Evasive Reflexes more than once per round, allowing you to dodge multiple attempts to attack your square. If your GM allows you to get Serpent Armor modified with the appropriate enhancements, or if you have an Eternal Wand of Heroics, then you do not need to take Combat Reflexes. In such a case, take the Extraordinary Concentration feat from Complete Adventurer. This lets you concentrate on a spell (like Scintillating Pattern or Major Image) as a move action. Remember Mobile Spellcasting? You can move, cast, and concentrate all in the same round, and that doesn’t even affect your swift action.
Excuse me while I add about half of the Conjuration school to my beguiler spell list.
20 – Beguiler – (Cloaked Casting (SR Breach))
Snapshot: Let’s toss on the +6 items on Constitution, Dexterity, and Intelligence, and assume you pumped Intelligence all the way (i.e. all five pumps into Int, along with a +5 tome, as opposed to amping up Dexterity) – the long game version. We also discussed, above, that your ‘ideal’ armor is probably Serpent Armor (mechanically +1 leather) with Greater Shadow and Greater Silent Moves, and a Circlet of Persuasion. (While this does give the Gnowhere Gnome a bit more equipment than usual for snapshots, I group these particular on the “+skills” heading that I usually use when discussing skillmonkeys, although they are a touch pricier. No one blinked when we gave +Concentration items to Diamond Mind specialists - same thing here). This finishes off with 152 HP, +10 base attack (or ray +16), and saves of 10/12/12, with a spell save DC of 21+spell level (+2 if you catch ‘em off-guard, which is, er, likely) – rather good for a baseline without further gear or buffs on a spellcaster, albiet slightly skimpy on straight-up HP. Skillwise you’re looking at 228 total skill points and no changes in skill list from 1-20: this is plenty to max out Concentration, Hide, Move Silently, Bluff, Disable Device, Search, Spot, Listen, and Use Magic Device, with points left over to hit Spellcraft 12 (required for your feats). This approach leaves you with 9 skill points left, which you can use to pick up four skill tricks; our recommendation is Timely Misdirection, Clarity of Vision, Swift Concentration and any other one that seems useful to you (i.e. Listen to This).
Taking a step back, let’s look at those skill bonuses. Adding in the gear above, synergy, and racial modifiers, you’re looking at trapscout skills of +34/+34 and sense skills of +25/+25, along with a Bluff of +28 and a Use Magic Device of +30. Those are very good. But the real victor here? Stealth. Hide is +52, Move Silently is +48, and you’ve got the full suite of Beguiler misdirections (Project Image, Simulacrum, and assorted Invisibility tricks), plus Darkstalker (+Hide in Plain Sight from Nightmare Terrain or equipment), Shadow Striker + Evasive Reflexes (+Serpent Armor's Combat Reflexes), and Mobile Spellcasting (+Rapid Metamagic +Silent Spell + Still Spell).
Let me put it in perspective. On the left, you have your common ninja. On the right, you have the Gnowhere Gnome.
Fig. 1a: Ninja
Fig. 1b: Gnowhere Gnome
Any questions?
Overall Strengths: You’re gnot exactly an easy guy to pin down. Able to hide from just about anything, including a direct target, and able to do so in the middle of combat in an open plain should you so desire, the Gnowhere Gnome is basically a paragon of what the beguiler can be. It’s also simple enough to fly at any table – and with his skill list, he’d have no problem being welcome at many tables either. Stick him in your stealth/scout roles and watch him shine (…or, okay, gnot see him shine – let’s be honest here); later on his magic grows to the point where he can even play at being a wizard, particularly with Shades or runestaff fun.
Overall Weaknesses: What do your opponents do when they fight someone who can’t be pinned down? That’s right, they nuke the site from orbit bring on the area effects. Your Reflex and Fortitude saves are your natural weak points as a result – they’re all that stand between you and a very painful Fire Storm or Cloudkill. Look into Rings of Evasion, or the much cheaper (but less spammable) Diamond Mind rings linked to the appropriate counter, and don’t be afraid to use that Moment of Prescience effect to stay alive. There’s also the usual issues with beguilers in specific or illusionists/enchanters in general, gnamely, the host of things immune to your spells. You’re better equipped than most to handle that (Use Magic Device), but this can get costly really quick. (Thankfully, you’re Beguiler 20, so SR usually isn’t a factor.)
Variants: As a Beguiler 20, the points of variation here largely fall on feats and Advanced Learning choices. Your feats largely fall in two categories (deceptive spellcasting and stealth/misdirection), and there’s no direct synergy between them that depends on these particular sets of feats (they work well together, but they don’t depend on each other), you can rotate them around as you see fit. The only potential problem is that with so (relatively) few degrees of freedom, the further you deviate, the more likely it is to run into another beguiler 20 build.
There you have it. I think, quite possibly, that the Gnowhere Gnome is the iconic Beguiler. Go ahead, tell us how you’d beat this.
…And gno apologies from us on the random silent G. It’s required, ye’see.
Looking for feedback, and, as always, a vote!
Next up: Take your pick from [DH] Eat Sleep Gank, [RT] Edge of the Light, and - shock of shocks - [TS] Flip the Bird. (Yes, it's been too long since I contributed a build!). Depending on how on the ball we are this week, I'll try to get [AR] Uberflank up as well.
And re: the other forums: Due to circumstances both unforeseeable and predictable (read: we're all Canadian, and last week was our Thanksgiving holiday), our group didn't meet last week for game night, which means the final say is a bit delayed. Not forgotten, not procrastinated, just delayed. This really should be the last delay; you'll get an answer before the next build is showcased.
These are NOT all my creations! The lead authors are identified as follows: [TS] Tempest Stormwind, [AR] Andarious Rosethorn, [RT] Radical Taoist, [SN] Sionnis, [DH] DisposableHero_, [SH] Seishi.
[TS] The Pinball Brothers: Large And In Charge (Melee, Lockdown, Charge, Juggling) [TS] Ashardalon Reborn: I Will Swallow Your Soul (Melee, Fear, Negative Levels, AoE, Theme) [AR] "A"-Game Paladin: Play That Funky Music, Knight Boy! (Team Support, Melee, Theme, Single-Class) [RT] Uncanny Trapsmith: Get in, make it look like an accident, get out. (Skillmonkey, Stealth/Scout/Infiltration, Unorthodox Methods, Theme) [AR] Wizsassin: *Everything* is permitted. (Spellcaster, Support, Sneak Attack, Utility) [TS] Phantom Rush: General Gish Gouda. (Gish, Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Early-Entry PrC) [TS] Storm Knight: Another kind of gish. (Melee/"Gish", Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Unorthodox Methods) [TS] Inevitable Nightmare: The weapon you only have to fire once. (Melee, "Unorthodox" Methods (no charging), Reliability) [AR] Captain Constitution: The number one threat to America. (Melee, TOUGHTOUGHTOUGH, Defense, Theme) [AR] Nuker: I casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down! (Spellcaster, damage, blasting, damage) [TS] Dread Lord of the Dead: Let the Reaping Begin! (NPC-only, Variable (combat/casting/leadership), Iconic Villain, Theme) [AR] Heavy Crusader: No Rest. No Mercy. No Matter What. (Melee, Damage (No charging), Variable, Theme). [TS] Gun Fu: It's bullet time (Ranged, THEORETICAL, Twin weapons, Theme) [RT] Face First: We should talk. (Psionic, social, mind-control, info-management) [SN] Chaingun Porcupine: Never Enuff Dakka. (Ranged, Skirmishing, Spike Damage, Incarnum) [RT] Always On Edge: The Mortal Draw deals death. (Melee, Generalist, Dungeoneering, Stunt) [AR] Feral Druid: Real feral taste. Zero druid calories. (Melee, offense, damage, murder) [RT] Rusty!: Man's Best Friend (Sentry, Support, Backup, Rearguard) [RT] The T3 (Tashalatora Triple Threat): My Kung Fu is More Powerful (Hybrid, Flex-Function, Melee, Caster) [RT] The #1 Snoipah: Boom. 'Eadshot. (Caster, Theme, Spike, Trapscout) [AR] Dreamblade: Rest in Pieces. (Melee, Damage, Single-Class, Combo/Momentum) [AR] Evasion Tank: “When fighting angry blind men, is best to stay out of the way.” (Melee, Tank, Unorthodox Methods (attack negation), Theme) [DH] Psycarnum Warrior: ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA Start (Melee, Tank, Psionics, Incarnum, 1337 h4x) [AR] Heavy Weapons Elf: WHO TOUCHED MY BOW? (Ranged, Cohort, Damage, Unorthodox Methods (ranged ToB)) [RT] Gnowhere Gnome: A little man who wasn't there (Caster, Stealth, Single-Class, Elusive) [AR] Uberflank: I got your back. (Melee, support, stunt, teamwork) [TS] Flip the Bird: Everyday I'm shuffling (Ranged, harrier, unorthodox methods (ranged ToB / off-turn movement), support) [DH] Eat Sleep Gank: Real Ultimate Power (Stealth, Assassination, Spike, Magic Versatility) [AR] Slash and Burn: Mind, Body, Blade, Flame / Aspects of a greater whole / which delivers death. (Melee, Theme (flex-style), Damage, Stunt) [RT] Edge of the Light: Cut, Fade to Black (Melee, Defense/Offense, Momentum, Tactical) [RT] Quiet Murder: Cut throats, not corners. (Melee, Stealth, Harrier, Tactical) [TS] Wand Overdrive: Say Hello to my little friends. (Caster, support/artillery/variable, wand specialist) [RT] God Hand: What did the five fingers say to the face? (Melee/Gish, Unarmed, SAD, Theme) [AR] Zero Buff Time Gish: Try to keep up! (Gish, Speed, Movement, Opportunity) [TS] Robo Tackle: I Am Iron Man. (Melee, setting-specific (Eberron), positioning, theme, stunt)
Very nice. Too bad I don't have LoM. :/ I've got a question about the use of Silent Image: is it possible to place it (for example) hiding behind a bush on the opposit side of a clearing? The intent would be to make it appear to be a sneaky character who succeeded on a Move Silently check, but failed the Hide check.
"Today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same. If you are too attentive to the former, you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter." -Condoleezza Rice
"My fellow Americans... I've just signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. Bombing begins in five minutes." - Ronald Reagan
This user has been brought to you by the letters "O-R-C" and the numbers "2, 3, 4, and 6"
Resident Pithed-Off Dragon Buttler of the House of Trolls
"Today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same. If you are too attentive to the former, you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter." -Condoleezza Rice
"My fellow Americans... I've just signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. Bombing begins in five minutes." - Ronald Reagan
This user has been brought to you by the letters "O-R-C" and the numbers "2, 3, 4, and 6"
Resident Pithed-Off Dragon Buttler of the House of Trolls
It only uses Darkstalker from there, and that feat is extremely straightforward (namely, Hide works against special sense techniques such as Scent, Blindsense, and Tremorsense). Basically the only thing that'll spot you is feat-exclusive sensory measures like Mindsight or Life Sense.
I've got a question about the use of Silent Image: is it possible to place it (for example) hiding behind a bush on the opposit side of a clearing? The intent would be to make it appear to be a sneaky character who succeeded on a Move Silently check, but failed the Hide check.
If you have line of sight and line of effect to the location, then yes, you can do that. Silent Image is one of those really good spells that rewards lateral thinking; being able to adapt to unexpected stuff like this on the fly is the mark of a good DM.
Single-class elegance, for one. Certain Advanced Learning choices (i.e. all but Shades) are actually outside of the Shadowcraft Mage's legendary ability to mimic (beguiler-based shadowcraft mages can't even use the super-cheesy Arcane Disciple trick to grab them); this is most dramatic early on with Nightmare Terrain (read: hide in plain sight) and most dramatic later on with Simulacrum). Better skill use. The beguiler's unique (and underrated) capstone ability. The beguiler's skill list and skill points. And most of all, tight feat use (you need four feats - Spell Focus: Illusion, Earth Sense, Heighten Spell, and Earth Spell - to qualify for and employ the shadowcraft mage's signature trick, and not only are those four feats not spent on being GNot There, two of them require 13 Constitution). The list isn't insignificant.
Of course, I probably could have mentioned that as a natural variant, if you aren't relying quite so much on being frustratingly hard to locate. I left it out because that's drifting pretty far from this build's concept and into just about Every Other Gnome Beguiler. That's really it.
If you want to see why that's so significant, try to build this character and actually use its tricks at the table. Surprisingly many of them rely on more than just your magic - your skills (Move Silently and Bluff in particular) and your feats (Spectral Skirmisher + Evasive Reflexes on the active side, Darkstalker and Mobile Spellcasting on the passive) will be getting quite the workout while you remain hidden. If you're doing your job right, you won't be detected at all except, perhaps, for strobe-light-flashes of confusion and whatever illusions you allow to be seen. The Shadowcraft Mage branches out from this: They largely rely on concealment, straight-up Conjuration support, and straightforward, hyper-pseudo-realistic blasting. It's quite the jarring shift in style.
These are NOT all my creations! The lead authors are identified as follows: [TS] Tempest Stormwind, [AR] Andarious Rosethorn, [RT] Radical Taoist, [SN] Sionnis, [DH] DisposableHero_, [SH] Seishi.
[TS] The Pinball Brothers: Large And In Charge (Melee, Lockdown, Charge, Juggling) [TS] Ashardalon Reborn: I Will Swallow Your Soul (Melee, Fear, Negative Levels, AoE, Theme) [AR] "A"-Game Paladin: Play That Funky Music, Knight Boy! (Team Support, Melee, Theme, Single-Class) [RT] Uncanny Trapsmith: Get in, make it look like an accident, get out. (Skillmonkey, Stealth/Scout/Infiltration, Unorthodox Methods, Theme) [AR] Wizsassin: *Everything* is permitted. (Spellcaster, Support, Sneak Attack, Utility) [TS] Phantom Rush: General Gish Gouda. (Gish, Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Early-Entry PrC) [TS] Storm Knight: Another kind of gish. (Melee/"Gish", Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Unorthodox Methods) [TS] Inevitable Nightmare: The weapon you only have to fire once. (Melee, "Unorthodox" Methods (no charging), Reliability) [AR] Captain Constitution: The number one threat to America. (Melee, TOUGHTOUGHTOUGH, Defense, Theme) [AR] Nuker: I casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down! (Spellcaster, damage, blasting, damage) [TS] Dread Lord of the Dead: Let the Reaping Begin! (NPC-only, Variable (combat/casting/leadership), Iconic Villain, Theme) [AR] Heavy Crusader: No Rest. No Mercy. No Matter What. (Melee, Damage (No charging), Variable, Theme). [TS] Gun Fu: It's bullet time (Ranged, THEORETICAL, Twin weapons, Theme) [RT] Face First: We should talk. (Psionic, social, mind-control, info-management) [SN] Chaingun Porcupine: Never Enuff Dakka. (Ranged, Skirmishing, Spike Damage, Incarnum) [RT] Always On Edge: The Mortal Draw deals death. (Melee, Generalist, Dungeoneering, Stunt) [AR] Feral Druid: Real feral taste. Zero druid calories. (Melee, offense, damage, murder) [RT] Rusty!: Man's Best Friend (Sentry, Support, Backup, Rearguard) [RT] The T3 (Tashalatora Triple Threat): My Kung Fu is More Powerful (Hybrid, Flex-Function, Melee, Caster) [RT] The #1 Snoipah: Boom. 'Eadshot. (Caster, Theme, Spike, Trapscout) [AR] Dreamblade: Rest in Pieces. (Melee, Damage, Single-Class, Combo/Momentum) [AR] Evasion Tank: “When fighting angry blind men, is best to stay out of the way.” (Melee, Tank, Unorthodox Methods (attack negation), Theme) [DH] Psycarnum Warrior: ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA Start (Melee, Tank, Psionics, Incarnum, 1337 h4x) [AR] Heavy Weapons Elf: WHO TOUCHED MY BOW? (Ranged, Cohort, Damage, Unorthodox Methods (ranged ToB)) [RT] Gnowhere Gnome: A little man who wasn't there (Caster, Stealth, Single-Class, Elusive) [AR] Uberflank: I got your back. (Melee, support, stunt, teamwork) [TS] Flip the Bird: Everyday I'm shuffling (Ranged, harrier, unorthodox methods (ranged ToB / off-turn movement), support) [DH] Eat Sleep Gank: Real Ultimate Power (Stealth, Assassination, Spike, Magic Versatility) [AR] Slash and Burn: Mind, Body, Blade, Flame / Aspects of a greater whole / which delivers death. (Melee, Theme (flex-style), Damage, Stunt) [RT] Edge of the Light: Cut, Fade to Black (Melee, Defense/Offense, Momentum, Tactical) [RT] Quiet Murder: Cut throats, not corners. (Melee, Stealth, Harrier, Tactical) [TS] Wand Overdrive: Say Hello to my little friends. (Caster, support/artillery/variable, wand specialist) [RT] God Hand: What did the five fingers say to the face? (Melee/Gish, Unarmed, SAD, Theme) [AR] Zero Buff Time Gish: Try to keep up! (Gish, Speed, Movement, Opportunity) [TS] Robo Tackle: I Am Iron Man. (Melee, setting-specific (Eberron), positioning, theme, stunt)
Interesting build...looks pretty hard to pin down, but there's something that worries me about it - namely, how does it deal with enemies who don't try to pierce its hide mod, but simply reduce it outright? If memory doesn't fail me, Glitterdust is a -40 to Hide checks for instance. Granted, you have to get sniped by it, in theory, but in practice there would be ways to arrange that. Anything the Gnome can bring out to defend itself from effects like that one?
PS: Also, voting for Edge of the Light.
Mountain Cleave Rule: You can have any sort of fun, including broken, silly fun, so long as I get to have that fun too (e. g., if you can warp reality with your spells, I can cleave mountains with my blade).
Gnow make a single classed warmage as effective as this :P. A pesky little gnome this one is. I have always felt that beguiler was the best of the three similar classes (dread necro and warmage being the other two). The spell list is just so much better, and the class features are also very "build around me". Plus illusions are a lot of fun in both roleplaying elements and combat.
"Today's headlines and history's judgment are rarely the same. If you are too attentive to the former, you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter." -Condoleezza Rice
"My fellow Americans... I've just signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. Bombing begins in five minutes." - Ronald Reagan
This user has been brought to you by the letters "O-R-C" and the numbers "2, 3, 4, and 6"
Resident Pithed-Off Dragon Buttler of the House of Trolls
Interesting build...looks pretty hard to pin down, but there's something that worries me about it - namely, how does it deal with enemies who don't try to pierce its hide mod, but simply reduce it outright? If memory doesn't fail me, Glitterdust is a -40 to Hide checks for instance. Granted, you have to get sniped by it, in theory, but in practice there would be ways to arrange that. Anything the Gnome can bring out to defend itself from effects like that one?
That's a good question - there are some really good anti-stealth effects there (notably Glitterdust and Faerie Fire, largely because of their low levels and huge effects. You have a hard time dealing with them at low levels, like most, but as levels go up, they're less of an issue - the beguiler's spell access gives you a lot of good options at any time, most dramatically on effects like Project Image and, in this build, Nightmare Terrain. These spells, plus your tactics for Mobile Spellcasting, automatic and rapid Silent Spell, mean that most of the time the Gnowhere Gnome isn't even in the battle, and if he is, you're never sure where he is on a given round (you're constantly moving unless you're casting a full round spell, and if you're not using Silence (you're a whisper gnome, remember) or equipment that lets you levitate, Spectral Skirmisher and your racial bonuses give you a big advantage on the Move Silently front). So your first line of defense is to simply be Gnowhere when they look for you with these effects.
If you are successfully pegged with such an effect, I'd suggest looking into specific spell immunities or scrolls. I'm less familiar with this aspect of the build, but that's one of the things that UMD is there for. A specific immunity to Faerie Fire and Glitterdust should protect you from most effects pre-True Seeing, then it gets tricky and you have to rely on Hide or dispels.
Gnow make a single classed warmage as effective as this :P.
We're not miracle workers. The warmage would be fine if damage wasn't quite such a dead strategy, so you're not fighting for a class so much as fighting against the system there.
These are NOT all my creations! The lead authors are identified as follows: [TS] Tempest Stormwind, [AR] Andarious Rosethorn, [RT] Radical Taoist, [SN] Sionnis, [DH] DisposableHero_, [SH] Seishi.
[TS] The Pinball Brothers: Large And In Charge (Melee, Lockdown, Charge, Juggling) [TS] Ashardalon Reborn: I Will Swallow Your Soul (Melee, Fear, Negative Levels, AoE, Theme) [AR] "A"-Game Paladin: Play That Funky Music, Knight Boy! (Team Support, Melee, Theme, Single-Class) [RT] Uncanny Trapsmith: Get in, make it look like an accident, get out. (Skillmonkey, Stealth/Scout/Infiltration, Unorthodox Methods, Theme) [AR] Wizsassin: *Everything* is permitted. (Spellcaster, Support, Sneak Attack, Utility) [TS] Phantom Rush: General Gish Gouda. (Gish, Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Early-Entry PrC) [TS] Storm Knight: Another kind of gish. (Melee/"Gish", Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Unorthodox Methods) [TS] Inevitable Nightmare: The weapon you only have to fire once. (Melee, "Unorthodox" Methods (no charging), Reliability) [AR] Captain Constitution: The number one threat to America. (Melee, TOUGHTOUGHTOUGH, Defense, Theme) [AR] Nuker: I casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down! (Spellcaster, damage, blasting, damage) [TS] Dread Lord of the Dead: Let the Reaping Begin! (NPC-only, Variable (combat/casting/leadership), Iconic Villain, Theme) [AR] Heavy Crusader: No Rest. No Mercy. No Matter What. (Melee, Damage (No charging), Variable, Theme). [TS] Gun Fu: It's bullet time (Ranged, THEORETICAL, Twin weapons, Theme) [RT] Face First: We should talk. (Psionic, social, mind-control, info-management) [SN] Chaingun Porcupine: Never Enuff Dakka. (Ranged, Skirmishing, Spike Damage, Incarnum) [RT] Always On Edge: The Mortal Draw deals death. (Melee, Generalist, Dungeoneering, Stunt) [AR] Feral Druid: Real feral taste. Zero druid calories. (Melee, offense, damage, murder) [RT] Rusty!: Man's Best Friend (Sentry, Support, Backup, Rearguard) [RT] The T3 (Tashalatora Triple Threat): My Kung Fu is More Powerful (Hybrid, Flex-Function, Melee, Caster) [RT] The #1 Snoipah: Boom. 'Eadshot. (Caster, Theme, Spike, Trapscout) [AR] Dreamblade: Rest in Pieces. (Melee, Damage, Single-Class, Combo/Momentum) [AR] Evasion Tank: “When fighting angry blind men, is best to stay out of the way.” (Melee, Tank, Unorthodox Methods (attack negation), Theme) [DH] Psycarnum Warrior: ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA Start (Melee, Tank, Psionics, Incarnum, 1337 h4x) [AR] Heavy Weapons Elf: WHO TOUCHED MY BOW? (Ranged, Cohort, Damage, Unorthodox Methods (ranged ToB)) [RT] Gnowhere Gnome: A little man who wasn't there (Caster, Stealth, Single-Class, Elusive) [AR] Uberflank: I got your back. (Melee, support, stunt, teamwork) [TS] Flip the Bird: Everyday I'm shuffling (Ranged, harrier, unorthodox methods (ranged ToB / off-turn movement), support) [DH] Eat Sleep Gank: Real Ultimate Power (Stealth, Assassination, Spike, Magic Versatility) [AR] Slash and Burn: Mind, Body, Blade, Flame / Aspects of a greater whole / which delivers death. (Melee, Theme (flex-style), Damage, Stunt) [RT] Edge of the Light: Cut, Fade to Black (Melee, Defense/Offense, Momentum, Tactical) [RT] Quiet Murder: Cut throats, not corners. (Melee, Stealth, Harrier, Tactical) [TS] Wand Overdrive: Say Hello to my little friends. (Caster, support/artillery/variable, wand specialist) [RT] God Hand: What did the five fingers say to the face? (Melee/Gish, Unarmed, SAD, Theme) [AR] Zero Buff Time Gish: Try to keep up! (Gish, Speed, Movement, Opportunity) [TS] Robo Tackle: I Am Iron Man. (Melee, setting-specific (Eberron), positioning, theme, stunt)
Interesting build...looks pretty hard to pin down, but there's something that worries me about it - namely, how does it deal with enemies who don't try to pierce its hide mod, but simply reduce it outright? If memory doesn't fail me, Glitterdust is a -40 to Hide checks for instance. Granted, you have to get sniped by it, in theory, but in practice there would be ways to arrange that. Anything the Gnome can bring out to defend itself from effects like that one?
With a 1st level spell slot, you can cast a Silenced Ghost Sound and create the noise of footsteps in the area where you want them to waste that spell. Once you have Evasive/Combat Reflexes, you should be hiding among the enemies so that the threat of friendly fire protects you from their area blasting. You should be dropping Fog Clouds and Mind Fogs to create total concealment they can't True See through (reminds me; you need a wand of Listening Lorecall, that spell is handy). You should be giving them Simulacra and Projected Images to send their spells towards. You've got Spider Climb; why are you not on the ceiling? Hell, in tight quarters at the high levels, you should be freaking ethereal.
It is not enough to conceal; you have to mislead. You're not just sitting invisible in a room moving out of the way when they get close and casting save-or-lose spells. You should be spending your actions on spells that cost them more actions to compensate for the effects of yours. You're the spell duel equivalent of a tank: if the whole opposition is spending their actions and spell slots just trying to find you, you're doing your job. You're a beguiler. Freaking beguile already.
In general, against targeted effects like Glitterdust, as long as they can't see you before they cast the spell, you should be fine as long as you keep on the offensive. Glitterdust is frightening to this build, but True Seeing, Mind Blank, and Spell Turning frighten me more.
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