Author Topic: Easy steps to Infinite effective Caster/Manifester/Initiator/etc level  (Read 547 times)

Offline Promorthia

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Bloodlines are a mess and here's how to make it worse:

I'll be taking the most nerfed reading of the bloodline rules I possibly can for this trick. For our Purposes, bloodlines are each real levels that take up space in the 1-20 limit, don't give skill points, don't increase HD, Don't increase saves, Don't increase BaB, Don't increase spell-slots/spells-known/power-points/powers-known/etc, but increase all level based calculations by your bloodline levels.

Under normal circumstances this reading makes bloodlines utter garbage for the vast majority of classes, as they make casters worse at casting, Martials worse at tanking/dps, skillmonkeys worse at skills, and Everyone worse at surviving Save-or-Dies. A few builds can make it work(binder) or even profit(hellfire warlock), but the majority of classes have a net loss.

Enter the Super-progression classes: Uncanny Trickster and Legacy Champion. Simply by taking these classes normally, a character could progress bloodline levels without sacrificing nearly as much in HD, BaB, Saves, and skillpoints. With legacy champion you can even progress a bloodline higher than +3 and actually profit("Bloodline" is not a prestige class, so the epic prestige rules wouldn't apply).

However, there's a funny little fact about both Uncanny Trickster and Legacy Champion.

Both of them progress other classes via a Level based calc.

If one were to build a character with [any-class]2/Bloodline1/[any-class]2/uncanny trickster2/[any-class]4/Bloodline1/[any-class]8, then uncanny trickster would progress bloodline by 1 level(total +2 level to all calcs before UC), the second level in the actual bloodline "class" would then apply to UC(increase all Level based Calcs +3), uncanny trickster would than act as if it were adding +4 levels to Bloodline(total increase to all calcs +6), Bloodline would then calculate as adding +6 to UC(All calcs +12), etc.

This creates a looping error that results in infinite bonus effective levels to Level based calcs.
This mean infinite barbarian DR, At-Will bardic music, Etc.
For spells with infinite caster level, this mean everything is permanencied for free and undispellable, bad news is CL/Area effects are out unless you're cool with effecting the entire Plane of Existence you're on and Your spell are Undispellable, probably even by you, so be very picky with your effects, and you'll need to be Very Careful where you aim your CL/Damage spells, the terrain's ludicrous HP is no longer a factor.
Manifesters aren't eating as good. Their new manifester level doesn't contribute to Power-points, so your powers are still capped pretty hard, but you can now Nova everything into a single power and if you're an ardent with dominant ideal...may the gods have mercy on the souls of your enemies.