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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
 Posted - 07 Sep 2008 : 17:37:53
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Spells stilled, scribes:
I sit with my copy of the Epic-Level Handbook nearby,
and am looking at the spell description of Vengeful Gaze,
and am thinking to myself:
40+ level archlich with 60+ servitor liches and demiliches and
several unknown spellcasting servitor undead like vampires,
mummies,wights, corpse-template spellcasters, dracoliches, and I
assume some living apprentices cleaning the coffins and
maintaining the furniture to donate life energy, spell levels,
and experience points.
Does anybody else see Larloch having Vengeful Gaze ready for
a super-miscreant coming in and trashing the castle?
(Billy Crystal voice: Bye boys, have fun storming the castle!)
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2008 : 21:41:36
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that spell if the last ditch effort spell, in other words if im going down, im taking you with me.
im sure he knows it, not sure he would have it at the ready
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why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 01:19:25
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As I saw the descriptions of epic spells, it seems that
they do not have to be memorized, that they are at the
ready at all times unless an epic spell slot is not
ready, due to the level of understanding the caster has
with the epic seeds.
Also, he's a lich, he can just zoom back into any dead
or unanimated body just laying around. I think. |
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The Simbul
Learned Scribe
173 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 05:05:57
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Vengeful Gaze Of A God is not a spell that is actually intended to be cast by anyone. It was placed in the Epic Level Handbook as an example to show how the epic rule system, along with the epic spellcasting system, can scale infinitely without having an actual concrete level-limit for the PCs. Unfortunately, later supplements that included new epic spells, specifically the Player's Guide to Faerūn and Champions of Ruin, did not seem to quite get the point that triple-digit spellcraft DC spells are intended for characters with triple-digit levels.
The spell has a spellcraft DC of 419, and simply attempting to research it costs 3,771,000gp and drains 150,840 XP. By contrast, Larloch has a spellcraft modifier of +42 (which could be increased to +60 if you incorporate the Epic Level Handbook rules) which needless to say falls fairly short of the threshold needed to learn the spell. Meanwhile, while his game-breaking (and adventurer-enticing) listed wealth and arsenal of magic items can potentially cover the research costs, I cannot imagine he has an excess 150,840 XP just floating around unspent, specifically when it could just as easily be used to jump up 4 character levels, or increase all of his statistics by +5. Both of those options are far superior to learning a spell that vaporizes you whenever you cast it. |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 16:53:50
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Yes, however, he and his servitor spellcasters have a slew of experience points to
spend if they so desire, being 40+ levels and being part of a hivemind type of organization gives one the opportunity to spend exp (at 40+ level he has millions of exp he could play with), can sacrifice hundreds of unused spell levels from their allotment and from the spellpool if necessary to cast a lower DC (which he could research out of course), also most likely has epic level magic items to help lower the exp cost of the casting, probably can sacrifice all those servitor living apprentices to add as fuel if he wanted, could sacrifice some artifacts if necessary (remember he has made his own). |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 18:16:40
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| One of the many epic spells that are simply unusable IMO. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 20:18:59
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| Well the fact that Larlcoh only has +42 spellcraft is stupid and untrue. My lvl 22 wiz has +40 and larloch is atleast 10 lvls higher. Im my book he has +53 and having read the nether scrolls +30 so 83. but still far to low to reach Vengeful gaze. So IMO he does not have that spell! |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 22:22:45
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| He likely has a plethora of far more useful spells that he could cast much faster than the oh so slow process of casting Vengeful Gaze. Said spells could likely instantly kill or deal out a ton of damage, without damaging himself. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36909 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2008 : 23:26:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
He likely has a plethora of far more useful spells that he could cast much faster than the oh so slow process of casting Vengeful Gaze. Said spells could likely instantly kill or deal out a ton of damage, without damaging himself.
Indeed. He likely has Bigby's Crushing Tactical Nuke, among others.  |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 09 Sep 2008 : 02:08:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
He likely has a plethora of far more useful spells that he could cast much faster than the oh so slow process of casting Vengeful Gaze. Said spells could likely instantly kill or deal out a ton of damage, without damaging himself.
Indeed. He likely has Bigby's Crushing Tactical Nuke, among others.
HAHA I remember reading that in one of my Dragon magazines. The most potent spell in any wizard's arsenal!!! |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 09 Sep 2008 : 06:04:31
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Hmmmmm,
How could I forget Bigby's Crushing Tactical Nuke,
I have the Hackmaster Players Handbook, after all. |
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Neil
Learned Scribe
Canada
107 Posts |
Posted - 12 Sep 2008 : 16:28:42
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Yeah, I don't really see Larloch using anything that would actually put himself at risk.
On the other hand, I'm sure he'd be willing to spend a servitor lich, if the threat was great enough. It wouldn't surprise me to find that a few of his pets had something like Mycontil's Last Resort. |
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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 16:21:54
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| Mycontil's Last Resort what does that do? |
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Ayunken-vanzan
Senior Scribe
Germany
657 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 16:50:03
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| Detailed in Shining South. By converting any remaining spell slot in your mind into a blast of magical energy, creatures within 10 feet of you take 8, creatures between 11 and 20 feet take 6, and ceatures between 21 and 30 feet take 4 points damage per slot remaining while you take maximum damage yourself (no save). |
"What mattered our lives now? When our world had been torn from us? Folk wept, or drank, or stood staring out over the land, wondering what new horror each dawn would bring."
Elender Stormfall of Suzail
"Anyone can kill deities, cause plagues, or destroy organizations. It takes real skill to make them live on."
Varl
FR/D&D-Links 2ed Downloads |
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Neil
Learned Scribe
Canada
107 Posts |
Posted - 13 Sep 2008 : 17:00:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Nicolai Withander
Mycontil's Last Resort what does that do?
It's a 9th level spell that converts spell levels memorized into damage. The user has to make a system shock roll or die (I'm remembering from 2nd edition here), and takes damage as well. Basically, it's a suicide bomber spell. It also partially bypasses magic resistance, which could be handy. It was cast beforehand, and then it was on the wizard permanently until such time as he used it. Of course, an 18+ level magic user generally has better things to do than cast a spell that usually means his own death, and Mycontil's Last Resort is something of a rare spell.
Once upon a time we did have a great series of adventures relating to an archmage who researched a variant of the spell that he would cast on other wizards, turning them into living bombs. We brought some high-level characters that were semi-retired back into active service for the occasion. It was a fun quest, and in the end there was a lot of tension between the paladin in our group (who was dedicated to destroying the spell because it was too dangerous to remain in existance) and our wizard (who felt it would be blashphemy against Mystra to destroy unique magical knowledge). In the end, they ended up torching the tower over our wizard's objections. |
Edited by - Neil on 13 Sep 2008 17:02:05 |
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Larloch and Vengeful Gaze of God
