Battle: Angel Summoner vs BMX Bandit

[Gazzien]

All through, when you think about it. Him using bows is actually a handicap.
One of the biggest stop points for spellcaster offense is the Rod of Absorption. However, he uses bows which are two-handed weapons and the Rod must be held in your hand to benefit from it. Think about that for a moment...

He claims that you don't need it in your hand and even if you do he can quickdraw it as a free action.

Just prepare yourself a little (Greater) Dispel Magic/ Mordenkaiden's Disjunction, target it on the rod/ him in general with... what's that targeting feat, again? Then poof.

Or just walk up with a toroid AMF, and watch it sputter and fail to stop your [conjuration] spells.

[Halinn]

All through, when you think about it. Him using bows is actually a handicap.
One of the biggest stop points for spellcaster offense is the Rod of Absorption. However, he uses bows which are two-handed weapons and the Rod must be held in your hand to benefit from it. Think about that for a moment...

He claims that you don't need it in your hand and even if you do he can quickdraw it as a free action.

Absorption requires no action on the part of the user if the rod is in hand at the time.

Get around quick draw with silent, still spells. I also suggest inviting a third party to be a rules arbiter for the duel.

[OutlawPhilosopher]

Attached to the top of your staff is a ring gate. On the other side of the ring gate is a room. That room is filled entirely with the results of greater planar bindings (with a reliable control method) for planetars, all of whom have been polymorph any object-ed into fine-sized diamonds. Before being PAO-ed, they were ordered to use miracles to replicate contingency on themselves (with a sensible trigger.) Assuming you use 1/10th of an inch diameter diamonds, you can easily fit a few thousand into line of effect of the ring gate.

Combat begins. 2000 contingent spells trigger. The glowing ring atop your staff explodes in a maelstrom of magic as the fighter is simultaneously targeted with a thousand or so greater dispels and save or dies. Three hundred Gates open from which a legion of Solars swoop forth to protect you. Every cleric buff or buff that can be replicated with miracle springs into existence around you all at once.

Then you start casting.

I don't think this should be that difficult with unlimited preparations, somehow...

EDIT: Ring gates do not work across planar boundaries. Oh well. A room works just fine.

[SorO_Lost]

All through, when you think about it. Him using bows is actually a handicap.
One of the biggest stop points for spellcaster offense is the Rod of Absorption. However, he uses bows which are two-handed weapons and the Rod must be held in your hand to benefit from it. Think about that for a moment...

He claims that you don't need it in your hand and even if you do he can quickdraw it as a free action.

I can see Quickdraw honestly. Free Action I can haz draw does kind of require a DM to step in. But Quickdraw isn't Quick-Puts-It-Back-In, he'll have to spend the Move action to put it away (preventing his full-attack, no mic for belt of battle) or Free to drop it (in which case cannot quickdraw). So there again, either acts as a performance handicap or at one round defense for 50k a severe WBL handicap.

But I'd remind him of the text, it's quite direct with it's in hand statement. "Absorption requires no action on the part of the user if the rod is in hand at the time." Which only leaves rooom to argue what action is it if it's not. And the answer to that isn't free (that's same as no action) or swift/immediate (don't exist in core) but can only be default action for using a magic item (standard).

[Necrosnoop110]

All through, when you think about it. Him using bows is actually a handicap.
One of the biggest stop points for spellcaster offense is the Rod of Absorption. However, he uses bows which are two-handed weapons and the Rod must be held in your hand to benefit from it. Think about that for a moment...

He claims that you don't need it in your hand and even if you do he can quickdraw it as a free action.

I can see Quickdraw honestly. Free Action I can haz draw does kind of require a DM to step in. But Quickdraw isn't Quick-Puts-It-Back-In, he'll have to spend the Move action to put it away (preventing his full-attack, no mic for belt of battle) or Free to drop it (in which case cannot quickdraw). So there again, either acts as a performance handicap or at one round defense for 50k a severe WBL handicap.

But I'd remind him of the text, it's quite direct with it's in hand statement. "Absorption requires no action on the part of the user if the rod is in hand at the time." Which only leaves rooom to argue what action is it if it's not. And the answer to that isn't free (that's same as no action) or swift/immediate (don't exist in core) but can only be default action for using a magic item (standard).

Now he says he can sovereign glue the Rod of Adsorption to his bow and it counts as being "in his hand."

[Quillwraith]

... You can just let him. He doesn't stand a chance anyhow.
Almost every tactic posted works despite the rod of absorption.

[Halinn]

Now he says he can sovereign glue the Rod of Adsorption to his bow and it counts as being "in his hand."

Consider arguing for the magic item slot protection. The rules only specify magic items on the body, but it might work. Otherwise, ask him for a rule that shows it to be in his hand. If he is gluing it to his bow in such a way that it is physically in his hand, he won't be able to grip the bow properly to shoot arrows.

As noted by Quillwraith, though, arguing this path is mainly to concede the point later, and show that even when you allow him to skirt the edges of the rules, you beat him severely.

[Necrosnoop110]

Ok, the battle has been set, New Years Eve day. Will report back. Thanks everyone.

[phaedrusxy]

All through, when you think about it. Him using bows is actually a handicap.
One of the biggest stop points for spellcaster offense is the Rod of Absorption. However, he uses bows which are two-handed weapons and the Rod must be held in your hand to benefit from it. Think about that for a moment...

He claims that you don't need it in your hand and even if you do he can quickdraw it as a free action.

I can see Quickdraw honestly. Free Action I can haz draw does kind of require a DM to step in. But Quickdraw isn't Quick-Puts-It-Back-In, he'll have to spend the Move action to put it away (preventing his full-attack, no mic for belt of battle) or Free to drop it (in which case cannot quickdraw). So there again, either acts as a performance handicap or at one round defense for 50k a severe WBL handicap.

But I'd remind him of the text, it's quite direct with it's in hand statement. "Absorption requires no action on the part of the user if the rod is in hand at the time." Which only leaves rooom to argue what action is it if it's not. And the answer to that isn't free (that's same as no action) or swift/immediate (don't exist in core) but can only be default action for using a magic item (standard).

Now he says he can sovereign glue the Rod of Adsorption to his bow and it counts as being "in his hand."

The fact that he is even heading down this road of absurdity shows that he is going to lose badly... A Rod of Absorption isn't going to be nearly enough to save him... You should be able to use exactly the tactics outlined in Lycanthromancer's post and beat him soundly. You won't even be in danger at all during the fight.

I'd still go ahead and say you cast CoP a half a dozen times before the fight to find out exactly what his strategy is, what his magic items are, etc. Just for fun.


Edit: Oh yeah, another strategy he'll almost certainly be hopeless against:

0) Go first (contingency, etc)
1) Time Stop (maximized via a rod)
2) Shapechange (share spells) on your familiar, to turn it into a beholder.
3) Gate in some horrible beasts which he has no hope of being able to defeat, especially while stuck inside an antimagic area.
4) Hole up inside a Wall of Stone inside of a Prismatic Sphere or whatever, and wait.
5) Time Stop ends, your gated creatures grapple him and turn him into paste, while your familiar is hovering above him and aiming its antimagic eye at him.

[linklord231]

Don't forget to Scry your familiar, so you can watch it all happen from within your safety bubble.

[Quillwraith]

I'd still go ahead and say you cast CoP a half a dozen times before the fight to find out exactly what his strategy is, what his magic items are, etc. Just for fun.

Contact other plane has a chance of wrong answers, and doesn't give detail. Is there some way around that that I don't know of?

0) Go first (contingency, etc)
1) Time Stop (maximized via a rod)
2) Shapechange (share spells) on your familiar, to turn it into a beholder.
3) Gate in some horrible beasts which he has no hope of being able to defeat, especially while stuck inside an antimagic area.
4) Hole up inside a Wall of Stone inside of a Prismatic Sphere or whatever, and wait.
5) Time Stop ends, your gated creatures grapple him and turn him into paste, while your familiar is hovering above him and aiming its antimagic eye at him.

He might say that his arrows disjoin prismatic spheres and walls of stone.
Not remotely true, but that doesn't stop some people.

[Cyclone Joker]

Then just Stone Shape a sphere around your Prismatic Sphere.

[phaedrusxy]

He might say that his arrows disjoin prismatic spheres and walls of stone.
Not remotely true, but that doesn't stop some people.

Which he fires while being grappled by a pair of great wyrm gold dragons, while inside an antimagic cone? The turtling part of the strategy is pretty unnecessary. 

[Halinn]

He might say that his arrows disjoin prismatic spheres and walls of stone.
Not remotely true, but that doesn't stop some people.

Because Wall of Stone has an instantaneous duration, the walls it makes are explicitly not magical.

Instantaneous
The spell energy comes and goes the instant the spell is cast, though the consequences might be long-lasting.

or in other words, after it's cast, there are no remaining magical energy to disjoin.

Some AMFs on the outside of the half-sphere would also do a good job of preventing such shenanigans, since there's only a CL% chance of the disjunction working, and it won't kill anything but the AMF

[littha]

Some AMFs on the outside of the half-sphere would also do a good job of preventing such shenanigans, since there's only a CL% chance of the disjunction working, and it won't kill anything but the AMF

Bonus points if you have a load of summoned creatures hidden inside the AMFs

[brujon]

Some AMFs on the outside of the half-sphere would also do a good job of preventing such shenanigans, since there's only a CL% chance of the disjunction working, and it won't kill anything but the AMF

Bonus points if you have a load of summoned creatures hidden inside the AMFs

You know how a turned inside out bag of holding spills it's contents all over? With unlimited prep time, you could fill a bag of holding to the brim with Black Lotus Extract, gated solars and what have you, and just contingency celerity, go first, time stop, turn over the bag of holding on top of the fighter, use the other rounds to cast Fabricate and make you a nice throne to watch the thing unfold...

"You can't even win against my shopping bag, what makes you think you can somehow destroy me, Mortal?"

[Tohron]

Just another way to screw with him during Time Stop - teleport in a Shrink-Itemed adamantine pointed block (max size for the spell), positioned so it is right over his head.  Combine with a Shaped Wall of Iron/Stone to trap him in. 

Unfortunately, I can't find any rules for getting hit by a falling, pointed object - guess a baseline could be the damage of a medium battleaxe (6 dmg, 6 lbs.) vs a small battleaxe(4 max dmg, 3 lbs.) - so using the formula that double weight increases damage by 50%, you could get an approximate damage value (for a 1.5 ton object, that's 202 damage max, so about 34d6).  Of course, the amount of houseruling needed might make this more trouble than it's worth.

[Halinn]

Unfortunately, I can't find any rules for getting hit by a falling, pointed object - guess a baseline could be the damage of a medium battleaxe (6 dmg, 6 lbs.) vs a small battleaxe(4 max dmg, 3 lbs.) - so using the formula that double weight increases damage by 50%, you could get an approximate damage value (for a 1.5 ton object, that's 202 damage max, so about 34d6).  Of course, the amount of houseruling needed might make this more trouble than it's worth.

I'd go by the improvised weapon damage rules from Complete Warrior, page 159

[Cyclone Joker]

Unfortunately, I can't find any rules for getting hit by a falling, pointed object - guess a baseline could be the damage of a medium battleaxe (6 dmg, 6 lbs.) vs a small battleaxe(4 max dmg, 3 lbs.) - so using the formula that double weight increases damage by 50%, you could get an approximate damage value (for a 1.5 ton object, that's 202 damage max, so about 34d6).  Of course, the amount of houseruling needed might make this more trouble than it's worth.

Or, you could just read the rules

[muktidata]

This is probably the single easiest fight I've ever heard of.