How potent is imbue arrow for casters?

[Piggy Knowles]

I made this list a while ago, for obvious reasons. All area spells with long casting times that can be reduced to a standard action via Imbue Arrow.

AREA SPELLS WITH ABSURDLY LONG CASTING TIMES

Anticipate Teleportation
Apocalypse from the Sky (I was really hoping this would be first on the list - stupid Anticipate Teleportation!)
Blinding Glory (Long duration Daylight in a huge area... pretty cool to shout "let there be light!" and fire this off, but really not worth a level 9 spell.)
Consecrate Battlefield
Control Weather (The best effects still don't come online for another ten minutes, unfortunately, but this is the spell that made me look into this as a tactic.)
Desecrate Battlefield
Energy Transformation Field
Evil Weather (This one might actually be worthwhile.)
Fimbulwinter (Are you bored of weather spells yet? I am!)
Forbiddance
Glyph of Warding
Greater Anticipate Teleportation
Greater Glyph of Warding
Guards and Wards (Fun!)
Hallow
Hallucinatory Terrain
Hide the Path
Hindight (Know everything about an area, instantly.)
Mage's Private Sanctum
Nature's Rampart
Raise Hummock (Holy geez this is an expensive spell to cast - hope you like swamps!)
Screen
Shadow Landscape
Shifting Paths
Skyrift (Would be way cooler without the crazy focus.)
Spread of Savagery (Cool spell, but what is up with the material components from BoVD? Brain fluid? Really?)
Unhallow
Utterdark
Weather Eye (Probably the stupidest possible use of this.)
Zone of Respite

Re: how comparable it is to a divine archer, note that imbue arrow doesn't actually specify that the spell must be arcane or divine - you can actually already use it with divine spells as written. (However, you'll need some arcane casting to qualify.)

My favorite arcane archer build these days combines arcane archer with chameleon - imbue any spell up to sixth level, arcane or divine, from any list. Requires playing a half-elf and either flaws or the Half-Elf Paragon class to take both Human Heritage and Able Learner at first level. I've got a version of that build in my sig.

[TuggyNE]

Anticipate Teleportation

How would this even work?

[CyberThread]

It doesn't that is why I did not include it in my own list that I made up

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...php?p=16013662

[Renegade Paladin]

So spells that are better replicated with other spells. Got it. I guess I missed them because Fimbulwinter has a more impressing effect. So how many of these would make you think "OMG he's two CL behind and breaking the game!"? How many of those are present in the PF spell list? How many of them fit under both categories?

One CL behind, since PF arcane archer advances casting. Spells that have long casting times have them for a reason.

For extra hilarity you could cast greater glyph of warding, select the spell glyph option, and put geas/quest in it. Cut two ten minute castings down to a standard action, and whoever you shoot has to do your bidding. Or if you just want to kill him, bind harm into the glyph and the arrow takes care of the one hit point it leaves. Since the glyph spells are area effect and can have any other spell of their level or lower tied in, if an arcane archer has access to them it allows for shenanigans galore, ranging from bestow curse to plane shift.

Summon stampede could be amusing, though it's PF-only and a full round casting time. Shoot a dude, and he gets run over by a giant herd of cattle.

[avr]

Note that in PF in a moment without thought, the official line became that spell-likes can qualify you for PrCs requiring casting. Arcane Archer no longer requires you to be an elf or half-elf, either. So no arcane casting dip should be required for a PF arcane archer ...

[Snowbluff]

One CL behind, since PF arcane archer advances casting. Spells that have long casting times have them for a reason.

:smallslapsthatwinkoffyourface:

I know that. It's just that Arcane Archer takes forever to enter with raw Wizard.

For extra hilarity you could cast greater glyph of warding, select the spell glyph option, and put geas/quest in it. Cut two ten minute castings down to a standard action, and whoever you shoot has to do your bidding.

The other two weren't worth mentioning. This is a good idea, however.

Summon stampede could be amusing, though it's PF-only and a full round casting time. Shoot a dude, and he gets run over by a giant herd of cattle.

Pfft... HAHAHAHA!

Standard and full round aren't too far off in terms of usability. Spells made standard from minute+ casting times would have more effect.

[Jack_Simth]

How might one "spam" this Imbue Arrow for maximum arrow-ey goodness?
Might a Custom Magic Item be in order?

Scratch that, thought it was a spell.
Though a way to gain additional uses of it would be nice.

...

The 3.5 version has no listed limit, and is thus usable as long as you have spells to power it.

Come to that, I just checked, and the Pathfinder version is the same in that regard.

[TuggyNE]

For extra hilarity you could cast greater glyph of warding, select the spell glyph option, and put geas/quest in it. Cut two ten minute castings down to a standard action, and whoever you shoot has to do your bidding. Or if you just want to kill him, bind harm into the glyph and the arrow takes care of the one hit point it leaves. Since the glyph spells are area effect and can have any other spell of their level or lower tied in, if an arcane archer has access to them it allows for shenanigans galore, ranging from bestow curse to plane shift.

If you can merge this with (some of) the tricks from The Master of Glyphs, you'd get even more awesomeness.

[nedz]

"My friend is in trouble, I need to get him out of there.
I shoot him with an Imbued Arrow — Phantom Steed"
(Phantom Steed has a very long casting time)

Imbued Arrow — Dimension Door is another amusing get out.

Imbued Arrow — Heal, would also be funny.

For offensive uses

Imbued Arrow — Plane Shift is an amusing attack.

Imbued Arrow — Summon X could also be hilarious.
First they get him by an arrow, then they get full attacked by some (large) critter.

[Chronos]

Remember, it needs to be an area spell.

[jaybird]

Consider if you were leading an army, you could drop a mass cure X wounds spell on any squad that was taking a beating from a distance. Likewise if you were facing an army you could blast them with mass inflict spells (or mass cure spells if they are undead).

There's GOT to be better spells than the Mass Cure/Inflict line for doing damage. In fact, I'm pretty sure they make vanilla Fireball look good.

[Renegade Paladin]

"My friend is in trouble, I need to get him out of there.
I shoot him with an Imbued Arrow — Phantom Steed"
(Phantom Steed has a very long casting time)

Imbued Arrow — Dimension Door is another amusing get out.

Imbued Arrow — Heal, would also be funny.

For offensive uses

Imbued Arrow — Plane Shift is an amusing attack.

Imbued Arrow — Summon X could also be hilarious.
First they get him by an arrow, then they get full attacked by some (large) critter.

It has to be an area spell. That's why I was bringing up the spell glyph version of glyph of warding, since it allows single target spells to be bound into it and it's an area spell that qualifies for Imbue Arrow. And glyph of warding specifies that the spell must be harmful, so no heal or dimension door allowed.

[Snowbluff]

It has to be an area spell. That's why I was bringing up the spell glyph version of glyph of warding, since it allows single target spells to be bound into it and it's an area spell that qualifies for Imbue Arrow. And glyph of warding specifies that the spell must be harmful, so no heal or dimension door allowed.

Excuse me? If you can't figure out how to hurt someone with DDoor, you haven't met gravity. Or water. Or rocks.

The spell isn't (Harmless), anyway. Too bad about Heal being Harmless while it clearly isn't to zombies.

[Renegade Paladin]

Excuse me? If you can't figure out how to hurt someone with DDoor, you haven't met gravity. Or water. Or rocks.

Creatures brought with dimension door must be willing. I suppose if your definition of "harmful" means "doesn't have (harmless) in the save entry," you could do it, but it would do nothing.

[Snowbluff]

Creatures brought with dimension door must be willing. I suppose if your definition of "harmful" means "doesn't have (harmless) in the save entry," you could do it, but it would do nothing.

You're right, but here comes the second part.

You've just triggered a magical trap? Teleport Y/N?

Spoiler

Show

Some spells restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time (even if you’re flat-footed or it isn’t your turn). Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing, but a character who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing.

[ZamielVanWeber]

There's GOT to be better spells than the Mass Cure/Inflict line for doing damage. In fact, I'm pretty sure they make vanilla Fireball look good.

Mass Heal/Harm is hilarious.

[jaybird]

Mass Heal/Harm is hilarious.

I suppose it's a better option than Meteor Swarm