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Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 10:57 am
by pwdcrk1
are these epic feats aviable here ? is it possible select them only on black guard epic level ups or even in other class epic level up ?

Improved Aura Of Despair

Type of Feat: Epic

Prerequisite: Cha 25, Aura of Despair.

Benefit: Your aura of despair causes a -4 morale penalty on all saving throws.

Use: Automatic

Widen Aura Of Despair

Type of Feat: Epic

Prerequisite: Cha 25, Aura of Despair.

Benefit: Your aura of despair extends to all enemies within 100 feet of you.

Use: Automatic

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 11:04 am
by Valefort
Neither of those feats exist on the server.

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 12:03 pm
by Storm Munin
:o

Well, there goes that toon Ive been working on for a year.
Thanks for the headsup though. :)

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 1:06 pm
by pwdcrk1
Valefort wrote:Neither of those feats exist on the server.
that's quite sad ... and also i cannot understand why those are not being implemented i don't see them too much powerful considering that they apply only to aura of despair and then only to black guards ... but ok then :?

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 1:15 pm
by chad878262
pwdcrk1 wrote:
Valefort wrote:Neither of those feats exist on the server.
that's quite sad ... and also i cannot understand why those are not being implemented i don't see them too much powerful considering that they apply only to aura of despair and then only to black guards ... but ok then :?

DC sorceror with 3 levels of Blackguard = +4 DC... Add in Shadow Adept, Blood Magus, and/or Archmage and Epic Spell Focus - Necromancy.

Sorry, but I would see this as a pretty darn powerful epic feat for such a character.

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 1:24 pm
by Storm Munin
Unlike EDM on a sorc bg gish melee build doing the same kind of tinkering to have effect on target (with +2 DC for spells vs the foe)?

Granted, the +4 DC would be permanent and affect a wide area.


I actually neutered a cleric caster build to make for the feats in question. :D

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 1:37 pm
by Akroma666
Hey, at least the sorc class would be usable again.. :lol:

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:07 pm
by chad878262
Akroma666 wrote:Hey, at least the sorc class would be usable again.. :lol:
Why is it not useable? I have players PM me all the time to help with their sorc build... armored casters, EDM gishes, Blasters, counterspellers and DC casters can all do well as a sorcerer, in many cases they can be better than wizard variants. In many cases, wizards I have played would be better as a Sorc variant, but I generally go with wizard due to the extra skill points. While having the variety available from wizard is certainly acceptable, you can do some very nasty things with a Sorcerer.

Sorry though, this is off topic, but hopefully my last post explained why the two feats listed by the OP might be a bit OP for our server. Sorc/BG/Shadow Adept/Blood Magus could get some very nasty DC's on Wail of the Banshee, for instance.

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:15 pm
by Akroma666
Show me a sorc build, and I'll show you a wizard that's better.
Higher skill points, more spell variety, ICE without the ability point investment, langues, ability to get new spells with new content, more spell slot items, pretty much all around better. Shoot I think we should add these feats. It wouldn't do much but help sorcs DC builds which are already super specialized wizards.

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 2:25 pm
by mrm3ntalist
Akroma666 wrote:Show me a sorc build, and I'll show you a wizard that's better.
Higher skill points, more spell variety, ICE without the ability point investment, langues, ability to get new spells with new content, more spell slot items, pretty much all around better. Shoot I think we should add these feats. It wouldn't do much but help sorcs DC builds which are already super specialized wizards.
The most important difference between wizard and sorcerer are their spellbooks. Nothing comes close to the ability to cast spells when you need them with a sorcerer/Archmage combo. If you choose your spells right you can be effective everywhere without having to rest.

A wizard for example, how many spells will you memorise? Spells like IMA, ShadowShield, contol undead, Destrou Undead, Avasculate, spell mantles, quicken spell mantles... the list goes on... and on... and on.

A sorceres can amke all those choices when he needs them. AM solved the big problem of spell selection for sorcerers making them a close to a spontaneus class as it can be.

You can compare builds all you want, but when the time comes and you dont have the right spell to cast, then even the caster best build can be as effective as a lvl1 fighter. Well that or either wait for the rest timer to reset in order to change your spell book and rest.

On topic, it is high unlikely such a feat to be implemented on BG. -4 on saves is the same with +8 on your casting ability, without the cap issues. And it can be taken by everyone, not just sorcerers.

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 3:03 am
by NegInfinity
Akroma666 wrote:Show me a sorc build, and I'll show you a wizard that's better.
Higher skill points, more spell variety, ICE without the ability point investment, langues, ability to get new spells with new content, more spell slot items, pretty much all around better. Shoot I think we should add these feats. It wouldn't do much but help sorcs DC builds which are already super specialized wizards.
You're comparing a living weapon of mass destruction (sorcerer) with a master strategist (wizard) here. Those classes have different synergies and different play styles. ICE, languages, skillpoints - all this doesn't matter when you can just blow everything up.

Sorcerer is one of the top classes and is extremely powerful when the player knows what he/she is doing with it. If you call "sorcerer" useless... well, you might not have figured how to play it, yet.

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:44 pm
by lilani
chad878262 wrote:DC sorceror with 3 levels of Blackguard = +4 DC... Add in Shadow Adept, Blood Magus, and/or Archmage and Epic Spell Focus - Necromancy.

Sorry, but I would see this as a pretty darn powerful epic feat for such a character.
When people can dip 3 levels into Shadowdancer for HiPs and evasion, most other talks of power build seem rather inconsistent.

Plus, if you looked at it more closely, you'd see improved aura isn't as bad as you indicate.

The feat in question reduces DC's by 2, people can already take aura of despair by dipping 3 ranks into black guard, but the reason they usually do is to wear full plate & have charisma bonus to saves. They don't usually play DC sorcerers.

To achieve a DC sorcerer build with black guard, a player requires 3 of his 6 pre-epic feats to be invested in PA / Cleave and PrcSc and needs to spend points in a dump stat (str = 13).

If he's maxing DC checks, then his remaining 3 feats are SCP, SF & GSF which leaves 0 feat slots for any meta magics. (1 if he's human but then his int is 2 lower anyway).

Not even a human DC build can make the pre-requisits for both BM & SA as well as BG without investing epic feats or sacrificing on their DC.

In closing, the feat really isn't that powerful compared to other alternatives (yes, i'm looking at you SD) and means a caster is either sacrificing epic feats to allow him to build into BM / AM etc and is also playing without any meta magic options (again, unless he sacrifices DC). What it would do is make other alternatives viable (choice is a good thing) or allow a player to create a black guard character to team with casters (surely an appealing option).

Re: Improved aura of despair / widen aura of despair

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:00 pm
by lilani
lilani wrote:
chad878262 wrote:DC sorceror with 3 levels of Blackguard = +4 DC... Add in Shadow Adept, Blood Magus, and/or Archmage and Epic Spell Focus - Necromancy.

Sorry, but I would see this as a pretty darn powerful epic feat for such a character.
When people can dip 3 levels into Shadowdancer for HiPs and evasion, most other talks of power build seem rather inconsistent.

Plus, if you looked at it more closely, you'd see improved aura isn't as bad as you indicate.

The feat in question reduces DC's by 2, people can already take aura of despair by dipping 3 ranks into black guard, but the reason they usually do is to wear full plate & have charisma bonus to saves. They don't usually play DC sorcerers.

To achieve a DC sorcerer build with black guard, a player requires 3 of his 7 pre-epic feats to be invested in PA / Cleave and PrcSc and needs to spend points in a dump stat (str = 13).

Edit: If he's maxing DC checks, then his remaining 3 feats are SCP, SF & GSF which leaves 1 feat slots for any meta magics and/or PrC qualification. This severely limits a sorcerer.

Only a human DC build can make the pre-requisits for both BM & SA as well as BG without investing epic feats or sacrificing on their DC but then they've already sacrificed 1 DC because they start with 2 chr lower and are also giving up all meta magic feats.

In closing, the feat really isn't that powerful compared to other alternatives for a DC caster.

What it would do is make other alternatives viable (choice is a good thing) or allow a player to create a black guard character to team with casters (surely an appealing option).