Optimize or Die, Playgrounders! [E6 Balor Challenge Thread]

[Swordguy]

What about teleport? The balor can probably make the concentration check to cast it, so how fast does that trap take?

Falling less than 200 feet is considered to be instantaneous by the rules.

Secondarily, it's not on an initiative count, so technically it doesn't get things like move or standard actions (which the Balor's Greater TP requires). Specific action types only apply once initiative has been rolled unless you have something that specifically allows you to take one outside of combat, which the Balor doesn't. It's just normally not an issue because when you're not in combat, you've basically guaranteed yourself to have the time to cast whatever you need to.

Finally, to avoid the obvious point "why doesn't the Balor Teleport straight into the basement?" Why would it? From the Balor's perspective, what the heck does it have to fear from a bunch of pathetic mortals - and they're literally pathetic compared to it, instead of rhetorically pathetic like the usually BBEG claims. Kicking its way into somebody's sanctum, walking through all their carefully prepared defenses, seems a LOT more like something the Balor would do rather than "Teleport in, Blasphemy, Teleport out". This way, from its line of thinking, it gets to savor the fear of its victims - totally a demonic trait, yes?

We're just using that thinking against it. Monsters are supposed to be roleplayed too, y'know.

[Malakar]

Okay, 1) Swordguy, Balor easily avoids trap by flying, because yes, he can just use good maneuverability to stay in place.

2) So, to be clear. Because apparently I have to spell this out:

a) If you have an infinite value for anything, or a value of NI.
b) If you are casting spells that are above level 4 (I'm being generous here, it should be 3).
c) If you think your build would never be accepted by any DM who choose to play in e6, like for example, because he doesn't like the way that higher level D&D works.

I don't care. I literally don't care enough to run the encounter three times against you. It's not worth my time.

Yes Yes, Pazuzu Pazuzu Pazuzu. I get it, you know how to make Pun Pun, or otherwise destroy the game by getting infinite Wishes, or CL Infinity, or Infinity damage, or Infinite spells with Infinite DC, or to Cast 9th level spells at level 4, I don't care. Go play that character in an e6 game and get back to me after a DM has accepted it.

[Swordguy]

Okay, 1) Swordguy, Balor easily avoids trap by flying, because yes, he can just use good maneuverability to stay in place.

No headroom. It's a 10' tall corridor, and a Balor is explicitly 12 feet tall. He can hunch a bit to get down the corridor, but no flying room there, my friend. Re-read the original post.

Once he starts falling, because falls of 200 feet or less are considered instantaneous, he won't be able to take off and fly - he'll effectively instantly slide down the corridor and through the wall. And he has no way of knowing the trap is there until he physically goes through the door - true seeing doesn't help you pick up stuff that's physically hidden, and no Spot Check allows you to see through an opaque object (door).\

Other than that, I agree with your points regarding builds. That's explicitly not the point of E6. Think outside the box, not with your calculator.

[dextercorvia]

Okay, 1) Swordguy, Balor easily avoids trap by flying, because yes, he can just use good maneuverability to stay in place.

2) So, to be clear. Because apparently I have to spell this out:

a) If you have an infinite value for anything, or a value of NI.
b) If you are casting spells that are above level 4 (I'm being generous here, it should be 3).
c) If you think your build would never be accepted by any DM who choose to play in e6, like for example, because he doesn't like the way that higher level D&D works.

I don't care. I literally don't care enough to run the encounter three times against you. It's not worth my time.

Yes Yes, Pazuzu Pazuzu Pazuzu. I get it, you know how to make Pun Pun, or otherwise destroy the game by getting infinite Wishes, or CL Infinity, or Infinity damage, or Infinite spells with Infinite DC, or to Cast 9th level spells at level 4, I don't care. Go play that character in an e6 game and get back to me after a DM has accepted it.

A lot of anger there. You see, the way I see it...I wasn't asked whether a Balor should be in E6, I was asked if I could use the rules of E6, to build a party that can beat a Balor. So I used the only thing I really know about E6 (you get a crapton of feats) and some TO, and yes I think I could do it.

Would I play either of my builds in an E6 game, or even a standard game? Not unless the DM asked for us to do some crazy stuff in a one-shot.

[Malakar]

No headroom. It's a 10' tall corridor, and a Balor is explicitly 12 feet tall. He can hunch a bit to get down the corridor, but no flying room there, my friend. Re-read the original post.

You don't need to have headroom to fly.

I'm completely ignoring your entire "Balor must only do the incredibly stupid things that I want him to." thing, and skipping right to the part where anyone with a fly speed of good or higher can just be hovering all the time, even if they are hovering a millimeter off the ground. And in fact, there is absolutely no benefit to the Balor to ever not be hovering, so he would be.

There's also the whole, "Balor derp derps around" thing that I don't understand at all why you think that a grease spell which explicitly offers a saving throw somehow automatically makes him slide across the room and down a chute even though it only forces a DC 12 reflex save, and he can just make that on a 2.

[Eronai_Jantig]

At least at this point, I'm not going to enter, so many other good builds have been brought up, and frankly, I built a character a few weeks ago to kill Tiamat, and that was incredibly boring, and I don't want to have to do so again for an equally mind numbing exercise where I don't even get to tell someone "I told you so."

I'll admit though, this is much more challenging, at least at face value. Personally I'd probably utilize some sort of Charger/Mailman using Orb of Force (If I could figure out how to get the spell on my list)/Generic Healer Dude/Bard

I think for the most part that would work, it would require heavy searching for ways to reduce metamagic. Of course the best way is probably to replace the mailman with a Shivering Touch build as was mentioned earlier, I'd rather do it via damage.

Some combo of actual metamagic feats, arcane thesis, easy metamagic, and sudden metamagic would do it I think. Anyway, I'll continue reading, this is a fun thing to read.

[Malakar]

A lot of anger there.

You know what, for the first time ever on this forum, I am angry.

I am angry at all the people constantly claiming I am angry.

No, nothing about that post was angry. I was weary, because I am weary of seeing the same eight builds for 9th level spells at DC infinity proposed as a solution for everything, but I was not angry.

Now can we please stop going "Stop being so angry!" everytime someone disagrees with us?

[ex cathedra]

No, nothing about that post was angry. I was weary, because I am weary of seeing the same eight builds for 9th level spells at DC infinity proposed as a solution for everything, but I was not angry.

My build only gets 4th or 5th level spells.

[Wings of Peace]

My theoretical idea was only 3rds.

[dextercorvia]

You know what, for the first time ever on this forum, I am angry.

I am angry at all the people constantly claiming I am angry.

No, nothing about that post was angry. I was weary, because I am weary of seeing the same eight builds for 9th level spells at DC infinity proposed as a solution for everything, but I was not angry.

Now can we please stop going "Stop being so angry!" everytime someone disagrees with us?

Would you rather we proposed a middle aged Cook with a broken chair leg? I actually took down an ascending Strahd with that "build" once. Actually I was playing a level 5 wizard whose mind had been sent back in time to witness the ascent. But the only reason I succeeded there was the 5% chance of succeeding at anything.

So, you were weary, but not angry. I'll remember that.

[awa]

so with all the same defensive measures mentioned in early post replace bag of holding with dust of choking and sneezing even on a save it will shut him down for between 5 and 20 rounds.
fighter and rouge begins unleashing massive barrage of arrows with wounding bows

Potion of protection from energy for everyone

wizard casts buffs.
cleric directs skeletons so they don't do something stupid
skeletons throw extra dust every 5 rounds. Eventually his con will hit zero and he will die.
The dust is dirt cheap with the wealth we have so give it to every one make

every one wears full body concealing robes to hide the important people
leadership provides decoys

edit never mind that second bit they would need to be in melee

[ex cathedra]

I don't really use my extra spell levels. It just seemed like the easiest way to pad my CL, and I really just depend on my third level slots, mostly. Assay Spell Resistance, too. I haven't thought of any fifth level spells I would even use in the build yet.

[Swordguy]

You don't need to have headroom to fly.

I'm completely ignoring your entire "Balor must only do the incredibly stupid things that I want him to." thing, and skipping right to the part where anyone with a fly speed of good or higher can just be hovering all the time, even if they are hovering a millimeter off the ground. And in fact, there is absolutely no benefit to the Balor to ever not be hovering, so he would be.

There's also the whole, "Balor derp derps around" thing that I don't understand at all why you think that a grease spell which explicitly offers a saving throw somehow automatically makes him slide across the room and down a chute even though it only forces a DC 12 reflex save, and he can just make that on a 2.

Because you know what I'm doing? I'm presenting a plan that you would actually see in play, instead of a totally focused build based solely around getting spell DCs up so high that they're impossible to hit, or taking advantage of rules loopholes to give you aa huge number of 9th level spells, or similar theoretical optimization. I'm presenting something that's using the spirit of the game, rather than tearing apart the letter. The other stuff is totally more effective, but they're more Theoretical Optimization rather than something - anything - more practical that a given DM might be willing to allow.

Moreover, I'm assuming that the game in question cares at all about verisimillitude. If you believe that the rules are the final word in how the physics of the game world operate, you're not gonna like that. The Balor can't fly in a space smaller than it is because there's nowhere to go. The Balor slides down the corridor because it's coated in an incredibly slippery substance that it had absolutely no idea to expect (and you'll also note there's a contingency in place in case it were to NOT slide). The Balor is taking the actions that appropriately suit a demon - not necessarily the most optimal actions, but the ones that are most true to its nature in an E6 environment.

In short, I'm playing by the spirit of the rules here. I figure that you, of all people, railing against the theoretical optimization that lets a 6th level wizard cast 28 9th level spells to beat anything in the game, would appreciate that. My plan has room for failure...and it's also going to be a far better story and experience when it works, as opposed to "*yawn* - my wizard casts the following 8 spells and wipes it out. Next challenge."

Heck, at least mine is interesting.

[Eronai_Jantig]

I don't really use my extra spell levels. It just seemed like the easiest way to pad my CL, and I really just depend on my third level slots, mostly. Assay Spell Resistance, too. I haven't thought of any fifth level spells I would even use in the build yet.

Out of curiosity, some of these feats I'm not familiar with care to explain them? I only ask because I figure you can jot down one liners explaining them much quicker than I can look them up individually.

Swift Metamagic: Invisible, Empower, Maximize, Twin ( I presume these allow you to cast these metamagics without increasing casting time? If so why not Rapid Metamagic from CM? If not, what are they :P)

Skill Beyond Your Years: Spellcraft, Knowledge (Arcana)
Archmage Training
Arcane Reach
Improved Arcane Reach
Spell Like Ability [Assay Spell Resistance] (More so curious what book this is out of)
Ability Training (Con, Cha, Dex)
Ability Advancement (Con, Cha, Dex)
Arcane Mastery

[Milskidasith]

Read what Swift Metamagic does. It's basically just sudden X.

[awa]

actualy after the wizards done buffing he can get out his wounding bow (hes an elf) and start taking shots to with his true strike

also change the rouge to a ranger as a skill monkey they have better base attack

[ex cathedra]

Those are all E6 feats, with the exception of Arcane Mastery, which is a feat from Complete Arcane that allows me to take 10 on caster level checks (for example, to bypass SR).

[dextercorvia]

Out of curiosity, some of these feats I'm not familiar with care to explain them? I only ask because I figure you can jot down one liners explaining them much quicker than I can look them up individually.

Swift Metamagic: Invisible, Empower, Maximize, Twin ( I presume these allow you to cast these metamagics without increasing casting time? If so why not Rapid Metamagic from CM? If not, what are they :P)


Skill Beyond Your Years: Spellcraft, Knowledge (Arcana)
Archmage Training
Arcane Reach
Improved Arcane Reach
Spell Like Ability [Assay Spell Resistance] (More so curious what book this is out of)
Ability Training (Con, Cha, Dex)
Ability Advancement (Con, Cha, Dex)
Arcane Mastery

You can't qualify for Rapid Metamagic in E6

It sounds like he is using a Feat based Archmage "PrC", and some Epic Feats.

Arcane Mastery lets you take 10 on Caster level checks, I believe it is in Complete Arcane.

Edit: Ninja'd

[ex cathedra]

Swift Metamagic doesn't actually do anything for the build. It's a remnant of the build before I added in Assay Spell Resistance for my swift action and manually applied Twin Metamagic, rather than using SM to use it. A lot of the feats are a bit superfluous, now.

[Milskidasith]

I don't think this challenge is really fair. The challenge is "Kill a Balor in E6" but then the rules get modified so LA isn't used (even though it seems well within the intent to use LA), and so that anything that wouldn't be played in a "real game" can't be used, which makes this rather impossible since anything that can kill a Balor won't be playing in a real game at level six.

[Eronai_Jantig]

You can't qualify for Rapid Metamagic in E6

Honestly forgot that had a prereq other than spontaneous casting, sorry :P

As for the Swift Feats (And some others), didn't notice they were from E6, hence why I'm not familiar with them. Anyway, thanks for dropping some proverbial knowledge on me.

[Cespenar]

If I'm not mistaken, there's an easy way out of this.

Four Rogue5/Assassin 1s, hiding (rather mundanely) and death attacking all at once.

-The characters need to have a +58 to Hide & MS to guarantee success, and if even I can get to the high 40s without trying, the optimizers won't have any trouble by this.

-Death attack DC. It increases with Int besides anything else, and keeping in mind that there's four of these guys, it's rather hard for the Balor to succeed at four Fort saves, even with his +22.

-DC 30 Reflex save for reducing the throes to 50 damage is fairly doable for a dex-focused rogue too, I imagine.

-Other nitpicks could easily be answered with UMD and the appropriate spells, e.g. Wraithstrike and such.

Any real reasons why this won't work? Like an immunity I'm not aware of?

[Boci]

Yes Yes, Pazuzu Pazuzu Pazuzu. I get it, you know how to make Pun Pun, or otherwise destroy the game by getting infinite Wishes, or CL Infinity, or Infinity damage, or Infinite spells with Infinite DC, or to Cast 9th level spells at level 4, I don't care. Go play that character in an e6 game and get back to me after a DM has accepted it.

I've got to agree with Milskidasith on this last bit. You say we need to find a DM who will accept it, but then we could just say find a DM who would put a balor in an E6 game. Yes, Pun-Pun would be boring, but no one has seriously recommended him yet. A little TO does not seem out of place in such a challange.

[jseah]

awa:
Dust of Sneezing and Choking will certainly work. It is also the most houseruled thing in existence besides sarruhks. (ok, I exaggerate, but a no save daze is probably up there in the broken stuff)

[Zen Master]

Last technical question: minor artifacts have no listed price...20x0=0, yes? Or are we going by the effective caster level for said artifacts?

Secondarily, I'd argue that the point of E6 isn't to beat big bads as a virtue of your build, but via wacky plans, outside-the-box thinking, and actively going and questing for "the one item that the BBEG is weak to".

In that vein of thought, I present the following:

-1 party of 4, 6th level characters, of any build, as long as one of them has the capability to build a false wall. Additionally, one character must be optimized for Intelligence - having at least a +5 modifier.
-1 stone structure, with a long ramp with low headroom leading downward for over half their distance, then making a hard 90-degree turn at a small landing. The ramp must be behind a door. The hallway containing the ramp must be no larger than 10 feet tall by 4 feet wide (large enough for the Balor to compress himself to get through).
-1 false wall (paper-thickness) in line with the initial flight stairs at the landing.
-Several vials of Oil/Salve of Slipperiness (well within WBL guidelines)
-One Sphere of Annihilation that your party has engaged in a difficult quest to retrieve (partially why you've got 35 bonus feats and your WBL is so bloody high).

Publicize that you know said Balor's true name, and publicize that you have regular meeting in the basement of the aforementioned stone structure. The Balor will find you.

Behind the door at the top of the stairs, and every few yards afterward, you place your Oils of Slipperiness. Balor goes through the door (cause it's a damn Balor, people - what does it have to fear from an E6 environment?), knocks over the vials (which spill down the stairs, coating the area. As there's no headroom for a Large creature down the stairs, the Balor cannot fly and will fall down the ramp, breaking open yet more Oils of Slipperiness and continuing its slide. Upon reaching the landing, it continues sliding through the paper-thin false wall...right into the Sphere of Annihilation you've conveniently left there.

Meanwhile, your party member with the highest INT bonus who controls the Sphere takes 20 to establish control over the Sphere and holds his action. If he sees the Balor appear on the landing NOT in a high-velocity prone position, he immediately cashes in his held action to move the Sphere 10' up the stairs at the Balor. Under the "Inescapable Situations" section, saves and such don't matter when there's nowhere to go. As the 12' tall Balor is still in the tight hallway (10' tall 4' wide), there's nowhere for it to move to to avoid the 3' wide Sphere - thus no Reflex save is allowed.

Bamf. Balor gone.


Is it a perfect plan? No. Is it fun? Yes. Is it more in keeping with the intended tone of E6 than finding a bunch of rules loopholes? You'd better believe it.

For what it's worth, I love this plan.

I like the thought of luring the balor with the knowledge of it's truename. It's not going to send a minion, who might then also learn it's truename. So yea - it will come.

If we want to avoid using an artefact, how about wounding damage, or ability damage? How about holy damage - can that be produced in the required amount?

Also, do avoid the discussion of whether a sloped corridor will allow it to fly, are there any good ways to restrict it's flight? I'm thinking a simple net - but then again, it's flight may be magical and have nothing to do with its wings.

Then again, without the elaborate trap everything would come down to initiative, and doing enough damage before the balor acts to win.

[jseah]

My idea is pretty strange and incomplete, but someone else could use it.

It involves having some way to bait a balor to get into a magic circle (with a diagram) facing inwards.
This means the balor cannot affect anything outside the circle:
"A creature cannot use its spell resistance against a magic circle prepared with a diagram, and none of its abilities or attacks can cross the diagram"

All you need then is to pass a cha-check to keep it inside then you have 1 entire day to kill it at your leisure.


This idea got a lot harder when 4+ level spells got disapproval. Since my original way involved Gate-ing the Balor into the circle using the unique creature summons clause.
(contrary to normal expectation, the magic circle spell only suggests the planar binding line, not require it. The exact description outside the suggestion was "a spell that calls the creature" which Gate certainly fits)
If I could garuantee a way for it to work first try, you could eat the 20x cost and get a scroll.

Complete team here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=244

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Pixie Dread Necromancer 6, according to E6 you would get 0 point buy stats and +0 LA as per the FAQ spoiler in the second post on the OP's E6 link.

38 feats available:
General: Dragontouched, Versatile Spellcaster, Spell Focus: Necromancy, Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration, Arcane Thesis: Enervation, Improved Unarmed Strike, Ascetic Mage.

Metamagic: Sanctum Spell, Heighten Spell, Fortify Spell, Ocular Spell, Split Ray, Twin Spell.

Metamagic Improvers: Practical Metamagic: Split Ray, Practical Metamagic: Ocular Spell, Practical Metamagic: Fortify Spell, Easy Metamagic: Fortify Spell, Metamagic School Focus: Necromancy, Metamagic School Focus: Necromancy, Metamagic School Focus: Necromancy, Metamagic School Focus: Necromancy.

E6 Specific Feats: Swift Metamagic: Fortify, Swift Metamagic: Split Ray, Swift Metamagic: Split Ray, Swift Metamagic: Twin Spell, Swift Metamagic: Twin Spell, Ability Training: Cha, Ability Advancement: Cha, Ability Training: Dex, Ability Advancement: Dex.

Equipment: Circlet of Rapid Casting, Lesser Metamagic Rod of Maximize, Orange Prism Ioun Stone, Ring of Arcane Might, Cloak of Cha +6, Gloves of Dex +6, Potions of Snowsight, Eternal Wand of Obscuring Snow.


Versatile Spellcaster: At level 6 you can spend two 3rd level spell slots to cast any spell you know Heightened to 4th level. This proves access to 4th level spells, thus you gain knowledge of all 4th level spells on your Dread Necromancer class spell list. You can now spend two 3rd level spell slots to cast Enervation unmodified.

Sanctum Spell: When you cast a spell modified by this feat outside of your designated sanctum, it lowers the spell's level by one, as though the opposite effect of Heighten Spell were applied to it. For example, a Sanctum Enervation would be considered a 3rd level spell and thus be a valid target of a Lesser Metamagic Rod. While it would normally still require a 4th level spell slot to cast, Arcane Thesis lowers the required spell slot by one, to a minimum of the spell's level, which is 3rd. Sanctum Enervation is a 3rd level spell, once Arcane Thesis has been applied it can be cast from as low as a 3rd level spell slot.

Ocular Spell or The Setup: Cast two Sanctum, Twinned, (Rod of) Maximized, Split Ray, Ocular, Fortified (+7), Enervations, up to eight hours before expecting an encounter. Metamagic values are as follows, keeping in mind you can apply your own bonuses and penalties in the most beneficial order:

Sanctum Enervation: 3rd level spell requiring a 4th level slot
Swift Metamagic: Twinned: no modification (4th)
Lesser Rod of Maximized: no modification (4th)
Practical Split Ray: +1 level spell slot, reduced by 1 for Metamagic School Focus to +0 (4th)
Practical Ocular: +1 level spell slot, reduced by 1 for Metamagic School Focus to +0 (4th)
Practical Fortified (+7): +6 level spell slot considering Practical, reduced by 1 for Metamagic School Focus to +5 (9th)
Arcane Thesis: Sanctum, Twin, Maximize, Split, Ocular, Fortified is six metamagic feats, thus reducing the level of the spell slot required to cast it by six to a 3rd level spell slot, and also granting +2 caster level.

This spell is at caster level 10 (6 base, +1 ring, +1 ioun stone, +2 arcane thesis), gets +4 vs SR due to Greater Spell Penetration, and an additional +14 vs SR due to Fortify Spell. The roll to overcome SR is 1d20+28, so you're guaranteed to overcome the Balor's SR. It has a range of 50 feet.

The character's Dex score is 24 (8 base, +8 race, +2 feat, +6 enhancement) for a +7 ability bonus, with a BAB of +3 and a +1 size bonus for a total ranged attack bonus of +11.

The Balor's True Seeing has a range of 120 feet, so the Pixie will likely not be noticed outside that range. Before engaging the Pixie will drink a potion of Snowsight, and send one or more undead minions to distract the creature as he uses the wand to cast Obscuring Snow. If in the dark the Balor will be blind out to 60 feet, whereas its body and weapons shed enough light to make it clearly visible from a distance. It would not even be aware of the Pixie's presence, it would have no means of identifying that Obscuring Snow had been cast, and it would not even be aware of the spell's effect until the Pixie approached closer. With Obscuring Snow he will have total concealment from the Balor, so its touch AC without Dex bonuses will be 9, and the Pixie will get an additional +2 to hit because the Balor will be blind relative to the attack. As long as he doesn't roll a natural 1 he'll hit on all attacks, assuming the Balor attacks his undead minions instead of dispelling the snowstorm.

Full Round Action: Discharge both spells from his eyes, four attack rolls at 95% chance to hit, guaranteed to overcome SR, no saving throw, 8 negative levels per ray, so 32 negative levels if all four hit, or 24 negative levels if only three hit.
Swift Action: If two rays miss, use the Circlet of Rapid Casting to cast a Sanctum, Split Ray, Rod of Maximized, Fortified (+5), Enervation, 95% chance to hit, 85% chance to overcome SR, 8 more negative levels.

The death throes will likely take out the Pixie, but you can probably use some of those left over feats to get Practical Enlarge Spell along with the Travel domain. Note that discharging the Ocular Spells is guaranteed to one-shot four separate targets in E6, since each ray does 8 negative levels and no character is higher than 6th level. This is probably the most overpowered playable character in E6.

[Malakar]

FYI, I'm pretty sure Sanctum spell was errattaed to stop most of these abuses.

2) The Balor automatically detects Snowsight was cast. Even if it has no verbal component, and you cast from outside his True Seeing range, he still has a +30 spellcraft, which means he auto identifies up to 10 level spells from their effects.

Moreover, I'm assuming that the game in question cares at all about verisimillitude. If you believe that the rules are the final word in how the physics of the game world operate, you're not gonna like that. The Balor can't fly in a space smaller than it is because there's nowhere to go. The Balor slides down the corridor because it's coated in an incredibly slippery substance that it had absolutely no idea to expect (and you'll also note there's a contingency in place in case it were to NOT slide). The Balor is taking the actions that appropriately suit a demon - not necessarily the most optimal actions, but the ones that are most true to its nature in an E6 environment.

In short, I'm playing by the spirit of the rules here.

See no. It's not in the spirit of the rules for the Balor to not be flying. It is within the Spirit of the rules for him to be doing so. Likewise, I can think of 30 things that would be more demonic than walking in the front door like an idiot.

But that aside, you stop following the letter or the spirit of the rules in any way when you attempt to claim that items that grant saving throws grant no saving throws.

I could just argue "By a Mask that casts Finger of Death, and it will Kill the Balor with it's DC 15 save." As you can argue that Salves of Slipperyness that are treated as long lasting grease effects should automatically work even when they Balor makes the saving throw.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

FYI, I'm pretty sure Sanctum spell was errattaed to stop most of these abuses.

2) The Balor automatically detects Snowsight was cast. Even if it has no verbal component, and you cast from outside his True Seeing range, he still has a +30 spellcraft, which means he auto identifies up to 10 level spells from their effects.

I just looked at the Complete Arcane errata, no mention of Sanctum Spell so it remains as printed and everything still works.

Snowsight is cast from a wand, so no verbal components. It's cast outside his Darkvision range, so he has no way of perceiving it at all. Plus that's just one character in a party of four, one character capable of killing it in a single shot. The other three characters can all work to make sure he gets to take that shot, but that's a little bit too much work right now. True Seeing doesn't allow him to see through mundane darkness, the character is 100 feet away from the Balor, Obsuring Snow has a 30 foot radius, and his Darkvision is only 60 feet. The Obscuring Snow isn't even necessary since the character can just take the shot from the dark, considering the Balor is illuminated by his own weapons.

[Malakar]

I just looked at the Complete Arcane errata, no mention of Sanctum Spell so it remains as printed and everything still works.

Snowsight is cast from a wand, so no verbal components. It's cast outside his Darkvision range, so he has no way of perceiving it at all. Plus that's just one character in a party of four, one character capable of killing it in a single shot. The other three characters can all work to make sure he gets to take that shot, but that's a little bit too much work right now. True Seeing doesn't allow him to see through mundane darkness, the character is 100 feet away from the Balor, Obsuring Snow has a 30 foot radius, and his Darkvision is only 60 feet. The Obscuring Snow isn't even necessary since the character can just take the shot from the dark, considering the Balor is illuminated by his own weapons.

Why is he standing around in total darkness?

Why did you miss the part that he will know the Snowsight is cast if it is within 60ft of him even in total darkness, because he can make the spellcraft check.

"20 + spell level Identify a spell that’s already in place and in effect. You must be able to see or detect the effects of the spell. No action required. No retry."