I've got a number of questions that I'm going to ask after the build. Note, though that it's under 2 restrictions: 1) No theme, and 2) Nothing from setting specific books/articles (FR, Eberron, Dark Sun, etc)
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Qirun, level 6 Tiefling, Sorcerer (Elementalist) Elemental Specialty Option: Fire Elementalist Hellfire Heir (Learn Supernal)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES STR 8, CON 19, DEX 13, INT 11, WIS 10, CHA 19
STARTING ABILITY SCORES STR 8, CON 16, DEX 13, INT 11, WIS 10, CHA 16
FEATS Level 1: Hellfire Blood Level 2: Superior Implement Training (Incendiary dagger) Level 4: War Wizard's Expertise Level 6: Implement Focus (Dagger)
ITEMS Shimmering Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing) +1 x1 Bracers of the Perfect Shot (heroic tier) x1 Eagle Eye Goggles (heroic tier) x1 Adventurer's Kit Potion of Healing Fine Clothing Incendiary dagger of Speed +1 x1 Backlash Tattoo x1 Potion of Mimicry (heroic tier) Fearsome Reputation (heroic tier) Brooch of Shielding +1 x1 ====== End ======
1) As noted before, no themes, no setting specific things (that will play a role later on). Also, Fearsome Reputation was granted as the result of a miniature quest, and, as far as he's concerned, the daily power has had the word "weapon" taken out.
2) Because of the way others are switching characters right now, I have the opportunity to rebuild him however I see fit. So if any answers below involve multiple retrainings or ability changes, feel free to toss them in.
3) In terms of the build from here, I was thinking about the following feats:
Level 8- Superior Will Level 10- something to retrain at 11 Level 11- Arcane Admixture (Elemental Bolt/Cold), Retrain Level 10 feat to Secrets of Belial (for Eagle's Cunning) Level 12- Lasting Frost, Retrain Implement Focus to Fiery Blood Level 14- Dual Implement Spellcaster Level 16- Wintertouched Level 18- Icy Clutch of Stygia Level 20- [Defensive feat- Improved Defenses? Dispater's Iron Discipline?] Level 21- Quickened Spellcasting
Look good? Something to change?
4) Alternatively, I had kind of liked the idea that has been thrown around (by Nirafelos, among others) to try and multiclass divine and pick up a Champion's Weapon to do radiant (and cold). The problem with that is that Morninglord is an FR thing. Am I right in thinking that not having Morninglord would make this pointless?
5) Which Paragon path? Academy Master (assuming I can get the DM to agree that the powers work)? Essence Mage? Switch things around to 12 Dex/12 Wis, Multiclass Seeker at 11, and take Crimson Hunter?
6) If Essence Mage- is it worth the feat to grab Reserve Maneuver and get rid of the paragon ecounter power? If so, is flame spiral the right move, even without forced movement?
7) Which enchantment for the main hand? Wyrmtooth might be good for the next couple of levels, but becomes much less valuable after 10th. Rebounding? Wyrmtooth for now, Jagged at 12 (though the Crit feature would be obsolete, or less effective, relatively soon)? Jagged has the advantage of allowing Ruthless Spellfury in epic with a 10% chance. The only other ways I can see of easily getting that would be Crimson Hunter as a PP or drop CON 1, make DEX and STR both 13, and pick up Sorceror Implement Expertise at Paragon. Or is the extra 5% to critical hit just not worth worrying about.
Your PP should probably be Demonskin Adept. Pending lots of party forced movement, it's your only way to get something vaguely resembling a nova.
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).
Alternatively, you could grab a PP with a terrible e11, and powerswap for flamespiral. Both work.
Yeah, I like Demonskin because it is usually one more hit than FS without shenanigans, but if your party is OK at tactics go with Flame Spiral and, uhhhhhhhhhh, some other PP all the way.
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).
It's a ludicrously feat and item intensive way to go, but I'm highly entertained by my extremely devout Fire Elementalist/Morninglord whose EB deals Fire/Cold/Radiant due to a Crusader's Mace and Admixture, using both vulnerabilities due to Morninglord 16 and frostcheese.
It should be noted, of course, that this isn't really optimized, just entertaining. It does do a lot of damage, but if your party had a separate morninglord, any divine MC and pervasive light would have much the same effect for muuuch less opportunity cost. You also give up using a superior implement for this build.
Turathi Highborn isn't all bad if you replace the encounter power - the massive damage boost vs bloodied comes up very often. Adding +2/+9 vs bloodied at level 11 is pretty sexy.
It's a ludicrously feat and item intensive way to go, but I'm highly entertained by my extremely devout Fire Elementalist/Morninglord whose EB deals Fire/Cold/Radiant due to a Crusader's Mace and Admixture, using both vulnerabilities due to Morninglord 16 and frostcheese.
It should be noted, of course, that this isn't really optimized, just entertaining. It does do a lot of damage, but if your party had a separate morninglord, any divine MC and pervasive light would have much the same effect for muuuch less opportunity cost. You also give up using a superior implement for this build.
Sadly, that's not going to happen, for the same reason Morninglord won't work for me (no FR stuff allowed).
Turathi Highborn isn't all bad if you replace the encounter power - the massive damage boost vs bloodied comes up very often. Adding +2/+9 vs bloodied at level 11 is pretty sexy.
Hm, I hadn't noticed this one- a bonus +6 damage against bloodied enemies definitely helps at 11 (as I'll be at +5 CHA bonus then, +6 at 14), and a bonus 2d6 on action points is interesting as well. Where are you getting the +2/+9 from?
As for Armisael's comment- they're not particularly good at tactics, but there's an Illusionist mage who can probably add knock a few folks through a flame spiral.
Here is a similar character that I built. I am sure there are ways it could be better, but it might give you a few ideas. I MC'd Wizard for fire support. Especially Burn Everything, which doesn't help a whole lot before epic, but the big thing is it turns immune into resist, and then the level 24 feature of Prince of Hell ignores resist, so basically nothing will be immune to your fire attacks.
Obviously admixing another element would take care of that, but I wanted to keep his attacks all fire. Nova turn is 4 attacks with base +48 damage, which isn't bad. Plus I took Icy Clutch of Stygia and Hellfire Master to make saving vs. ongoing fire attacks deal 33 damage. Again, I'm sure there is room for improvement, but I like it.
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Havoc, level 30 Tiefling, Sorcerer (Elementalist), Turathi Highborn, Prince of Hell Elemental Specialty Option: Fire Elementalist Fire Elementalist Option: Lightning Bolts of Bedevilment Option: Bolts of Bedevilment Charisma Thrall of Turath Option: Thrall of Turath Charisma God Hater (+2 to Intimidate) Theme: Infernal Prince
FINAL ABILITY SCORES STR 12, CON 26, DEX 13, INT 15, WIS 10, CHA 28
STARTING ABILITY SCORES STR 10, CON 16, DEX 11, INT 13, WIS 8, CHA 16
Hm, I hadn't noticed this one- a bonus +6 damage against bloodied enemies definitely helps at 11 (as I'll be at +5 CHA bonus then, +6 at 14), and a bonus 2d6 on action points is interesting as well. Where are you getting the +2/+9 from?
For attack bonuses: +1 from Bloodhunt Tiefling Racial +1 from Impending Victory (at-will attacks only) For damage: +7 from Turathi Highborn (less if you didn't start with a 19-20, and of course starting with a 20 is probably silly. Mine was a LFR character, so I started it with a 17+2.). +2 from Gauntlets of Blood (heroic tier)
To be clear here, however, the +1+CHA damage vs bloodied is the ONLY good thing in Turathi Highborn (for elementalists). Everything else is pretty much garbage. There are other better sources of +damage, but they're either disalowed in your game (Lyrandar Wind-Rider) or key off of the wrong stats. It's probably not the optimal choice if you're trying to solve the game, but it's better than the default elementalist PP.
I also actually managed to combo the E11 nicely with a pacifist cleric's Pacify from Messenger of Peace as well. I was weakened and the elite was insubstantial, so it was worth giving up 1/4 normal damage to stun it for a round (after it had already chosen not to attack to avoid being stunned!).
Hm, I hadn't noticed this one- a bonus +6 damage against bloodied enemies definitely helps at 11 (as I'll be at +5 CHA bonus then, +6 at 14), and a bonus 2d6 on action points is interesting as well. Where are you getting the +2/+9 from?
For attack bonuses: +1 from Bloodhunt Tiefling Racial +1 from Impending Victory (at-will attacks only) For damage: +7 from Turathi Highborn (less if you didn't start with a 19-20, and of course starting with a 20 is probably silly. Mine was a LFR character, so I started it with a 17+2.). +2 from Gauntlets of Blood (heroic tier)
To be clear here, however, the +1+CHA damage vs bloodied is the ONLY good thing in Turathi Highborn (for elementalists). Everything else is pretty much garbage. There are other better sources of +damage, but they're either disalowed in your game (Lyrandar Wind-Rider) or key off of the wrong stats. It's probably not the optimal choice if you're trying to solve the game, but it's better than the default elementalist PP. .
Hmm, I'd been thinking about going with Gloves of Ice, if I'm going full on frostcheese on Elemental Bolt. Gauntlets of Blood apply only to bloodied targets.
The other PPs I was considering (until Demonskin and Turathi got tossed out there) were Academy Master and Essence Mage. If AM works then the encounter is decent, though the same is not true on EM.
As a side point- if I do grab Reserve Maneuver/Flame Spiral, what do people think of taking Howling Zepher at 9? It would be less accurate (non-fire/non-RBA/non-Reflex), but it would give a bit of forced movement. As an action point nova with Turathi Highborn, the sequence could go something like:
Flame Spiral AP Howling Zepher (which now gets fire bonuses due to TH's action point feature) Weapon of Speed- Elemental Bolt/Elemental Escalation
Escalation could instead be done on the Zepher if I can get enough people surrounding him, though I'd probably stop doing that after level 17 to make sure that the primary target gets hit with cold, as well.
Demonskin Adept or Academy Master are probably the best straightforward choices on a PP then. I tinkered with an Elementalist MC Seeker for Crimson Hunter's expanded crit range and bonus to hit, Reserve Maneuvering the e11, but decided Melegaunt's/Jagged dagger worked better.
By Epic, you want an expanded crit range to pair with Ruthless Spellfury.
Wizard multiclass is also strong, giving you access to Wizard's Wrath to strip immunities/resists for a turn, or to turn fire immunity into resistance (Burn Everything), which can be dealt with as normal.
Dispater's Iron Discipline + Superior Will lets you laugh off conditions, very worthwhile.
