BFM Tank Ideas

[phalthallus]

As mentioned in the other thread, I feel like tank BFM's really took it in the teeth, and are just RDD tanks with Tenser's now. Funky mentioned a pending update to Brands, and I'm not familiar with what it is, and maybe it will help, but it's more likely a change for less damage per brand, which still doesn't help them much.

So I'd like to propose a change that makes them more "tanky" and less "casterish", similar to the bonus Bards get from their own Bard Song. I'd like to see their Flame Weapon give themselves more fire damage, and/or making it unresistable. Unresistable causes balancing issues though I suppose, so maybe just upping the damage, based on RDD levels.

Maybe move it from 1d4+20 at CL40, to something like 1d4 + 20 + (RDD levels, including LL's). This would give the builds with more RDD levels more advantage over the ones with fewer.

And/Or maybe adjusting the Elemental Shield somehow would make sense. I believe it's currently unchanged, at 1d6 + 1 per BFM level, not including LL's. Maybe have the fire portion of that damage be upped to 1d6 + 2 per BFM level (not including LL's), or something like that.

Other ideas?

[FunkySwerve]

Feb 22, 2010 22:13:31 GMT phalthallus said:

As mentioned in the other thread, I feel like tank BFM's really took it in the teeth, and are just RDD tanks with Tenser's now. Funky mentioned a pending update to Brands, and I'm not familiar with what it is, and maybe it will help, but it's more likely a change for less damage per brand, which still doesn't help them much

The change is the following -
1)max brands is back up to 35
2)first brand on target does CLd6, each subsequent brand on that target has its number of dice decreased to 3/4, minimum of 1d6, which is reached by the 13th brand at 60, total damage at 60 to a single target is 251d6, which is just a bit under what a 150 lore max orb can do (any DR at all, which some abyss critters have, and orb is the superior single-target spell).

For a group of 5, it'd do 7 per target, or 205d6 per target, averaging 717 per target, where DBF does 525 average per target with maxed lore.

Essentially, it's a small-group spell, that does well against single targets as well, but which orb will exceed for resistant targets.

Funky

[Acaos]

In addition, other changes:

- BFMs are getting Orb of Force, Greater Orb of Force, and Detonate added to their spell list
- DSMs are getting Lesser Orb of Sound, Orb of Sound, and Greater Orb of Sound added to their spell list

Brief description of Detonate (which may change before actual release): Detonate (Sor/Wiz 9, Evocation): If you succeed in a touch attack against the target, it must make a Fortitude save or explode messily. Even if it makes the save, the target takes CLd10 fire damage, boosted by Lore. If the target explodes, all enemies in a Gargantuan radius take CLd8 fire damage, with a Reflex save for half. Targets which are immune to Disintegrate are also immune to Detonate. As with Disintegrate, Accursed Pariahs are barred from learning Detonate. Detonate is a Bloodfire Mage spell.

Acaos

[bhao]

Feb 23, 2010 3:34:20 GMT Acaos said:

If the target explodes, all enemies in a Gargantuan radius take CLd8 fire damage, with a Reflex save for half.

enemies of the caster or enemies of the target?

[Acaos]

Feb 23, 2010 16:42:04 GMT bhao said:

enemies of the caster or enemies of the target?

Enemies of the caster.

Acaos

[Deleted]

Will Detonate be an Evocation spell or some other school?

Also will the Orbs use Evocation like the Fire Orb please?

[niarte1]

AWESOME!