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View Full Version : Why should (3.5)I bother with "Pierce Magical Concealment"?



theMycon
2009-02-21, 10:50 PM
My current character's main shtick is denying enemies advantages. He's a Pathfinder monk in a 3.5 world (DM's attempt at balancing the class. I'd rate him a tier 4 or very high tier 5. He's good at locking down any humanoid in 10' and preventing them from doing nearly anything.), and was about to get Pierce Magical Concealment, a feat to let him ignore invisibility/mirror image, etc. Has pre-reqs of Blind-fight and a useful feat.

He already ignores darkness, casting defensively, 5-foot-steps, can fly 3x/day, has holy/lawful aligned attack, and all sorts of alchemical/bane shurikens, so invisibilty was the last of the big problems I found. Thanks to Pathfinder's adjustment, a monk actually makes a pretty good tripper.

However, the DM just gave me "blindfold of true darkness" (9000, MIC). In brief, when you wear it, you can't see, but have blindsight 30', automatically pin-pointing any concealed enemy in a 30' radius. No blur/displacement/invisibilty miss chance. Also, my listen is high enough to consistently (any roll but a 1) get a rough idea of enemy location- enough to get me in 30'. Finally, I picked up a magic crystal a while back that, when you hit an invisible enemy, they glow for 1 full round, highlighting them to the rest of the party.

It now strikes me that Pierce Magical Concealment is just about useless. So is blind-fight. Apparently my next & last feat are... entirely replaceable.

So...
1: What benefits, if any, do blind-fight & PMC provide when you've got blindsight 30 (as much as you like, dismissable, for an eye slot)?
2: What else is there for the Eye slot that might be better?
3: What should I do with those two feats instead?
Current ideas-rapid stunning (can stun twice a round), weakening touch (no-save -6 STR attack), something to up unarmed damage, something to up # of attacks, great fortitude (ups my weak save, AND Fist of the Forest*), Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain)... pierce magical protection (ignore & dispel magical AC)? Any other ability-denial abilities a non-spellcaster can get?


*Gives uncanny dodge, con to AC, more unarmed damage (probably- strange wording), and more movement on first level, full BAB, and some abilities I don't care about.

Keld Denar
2009-02-22, 12:18 AM
PMC also works against things that are Blinking or Greater Blinking and things that are Mirror Imaged or Greater Mirror Imaged. Thats pretty useful. Where it really gets good though, is when you yourself are Blinking. Normally, while Blinking, you suffer a 20% miss chance against everyone you fight, but nearly everyone who fights you suffers 50%. With PMC, you don't suffer any penalties, which is pretty golden. Get a Ring of Blinking and you'll be annoyingly difficult to hit.

Do note that the Blindfold is both horribly broken (for its price, its way too good) and also rather limiting. You can't see anyone out further than 30', which means you'll have to take it off or charge blindly at whatever it is that you preceive to be attacking you (probably via high listen checks). A creative DM could really screw you with that item, if he really wanted to.

theMycon
2009-02-22, 02:28 AM
Ah, yes. That is a very, very good idea. Having never played a spellcaster myself (and ours being a blaster/buffer and a blaster/debuffer, not seeing these things), "Blink" did not occur to me.

Given my current cash situation, and the prevalence of spellcasters in this game, I think I'm going with "pain touch" until I can afford a Ring of Blinking, then retraining it to PMC. And getting "pain touch" back the next feat.

What book(s) are Greater Blink & Greater Mirror Image from?

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Alternative answer, from digging through splat-books.

"You might want it because, even with the blindsight, blink still affects you (either 20% or 50%. Depends on if "ignoring invisibility" counts as "seeing invisibility"). However, you're spending two feats to overcome two situational 20% miss chances (coming and going).

"Whereas you could, instead, take snap-kick, which increases the number of attacks in a flurry by 20%, or doubles the number in an AoO/standard attack. It does, however, reduce to-hit by 2.
If you're really into the "deny everything around you actions" shtick, I recommend "pain touch" as another feat to consider. In brief, if a stunning fist succeeds, the round after they're stunned, they can only take a move action- effectively doubling the duration."

Keld Denar
2009-02-22, 02:37 AM
Yea, if you've already got all that other stuff going for you, I'd grab Pain Touch and Snap Kick.

I do believe MIC has a headband or face item that allows you to cast True Seeing once a day. This would be situationally more useful than dropping a whole 2 feats. Spending cash is better than spending feats.

Draz74
2009-02-22, 02:48 AM
I do believe MIC has a headband or face item that allows you to cast True Seeing once a day. This would be situationally more useful than dropping a whole 2 feats. Spending cash is better than spending feats.

Scout's Headband. Nice, but it does take a standard action to activate and lasts for 1 minute.