Blindsight for the entire party ... and for the win!

[User3]

Here we are some 70-odd 3.0/3.5 books into the current version of D&D. From time-to-time, the capabilities, processes, and game mechanics for party access to Blindsight (not Blindsense, mind you) have changed and have become more challenging to access and maintain.

Optimized access to Blindsight, moreso than its other extrasensory options (tremorsense, scent, blindsense) has the most strategic impact on the varied array of game mechanics. Yet at this point in time, I don't see many value-oriented methods of access to Blindsight in any of the 3.5 sourcebooks.

So that's why I'm coming to you guys.

I'm looking for the most effective and value-conscious methods of granting an entire party access to Blindsight over a significant portion of an adventuring day.

This is assuming access to the money and game mechanics that a typical mid-to-high level party might have access to. And we're assuming that any referencing of the spell Blindsight, is using its most recent version in the Spell Compendium (pg. 32 - both normal & greater versions).

Yes, creating custom goggles of Blindsight via CWI is an option. But I'm curious to see if there are already similar (or better!) items currently located in other WotC sourcebooks that would bypass the CWI option.

Note: the A&EG has the Blindfold of True Darkness. But it is currently horribly underpriced and using 3.0 magic item creation pricing mechanics. Besides, it has some additional tweaks to how it works - making further nuanced changes to the blindfold somewhat more challenging.

Thanks for your help!

[Username17]

OK.

Greater Blindsight is for some reason a Cleric/Druid spell. If you really care enough to get it, you can. Putting it on all day for the entire party requires the application of:

• Reach Spell
  
• Chain Spell
  
• Persistent Spell

In that order. Or you can get it transferred to an Arcane List via Naga Scrolls and thence put it into your War Weaver weaving. People get all chaffed if you make spells hop the Arcane/Divine divide, so let's do it the "normal" way.

Cheating for Metamagics in 3.5 D&D is easy and fun. You can use Metamagic Rods (a Rod of Reach Spell is quite affordable); you can use Divine Metamagic (feat and turning attempt intensive, but turning attempts are nearly free and refreshable ad infinitum); or you can use Incantatrix (all you need is you or a friend to get an attrociously high skill check, which is of course child's play).

So what happens? You make your spell a Reach Spell (giving it a fixed range), and you chain it onto the entire party, and you make it persistent - increasing the duration to 24 hours.

As a human Cleric with the domains of Earth and Planning (available with several smith gods if you care) you can have all the requisite feats and cast it with native talent at level 11:

Extend Spell (bonus)
Persistent Spell (1)
Divine Metamagic Persistent (1, extra)
Chain Spell (3)
Divine Metamagic Chain Spell (6)
Reach (9)

Now, needless to say if you actually had a Metamagic Rod of Reach Spell (32,500 gp), you could cast this spell at level 7.

-Username17

[User3]

Wow, Frank - that's fantastic. Especially the part about the Naga's ability to convert spell sources. Cool.

My only concern is that the Persistent Spell metamagic can only be applied to personal or fixed-range spells. Which I don't see that happening in your example. How exactly are you doing that?

[Username17]

My only concern is that the Persistent Spell metamagic can only be applied to personal or fixed-range spells. Which I don't see that happening in your example. How exactly are you doing that?

Reach Spell is a Metamagic that converts a spell with Range: Touch to a spell with Range: 30 feet. Not Range: Close, but Range: 30 Feet. That makes it fixed range.

So any Touch Spell can be made Persistent after Reach Spell has been applied.

-Username17

[User3]

Well, I just looked at the Complete Divine Reach Spell feat, and it looks like the actual text is as follows:

" ... You may cast a spell that normally has a range of touch at any distance up to 30 feet. "

Bold emphasis is mine. That leads me to think it's not fixed, since it could be cast as a ray at say, a target who 20 feet away instead.

Is there an updated Reach Spell feat in a newer sourcebook?

Dan

[Username17]

That's what a fixed range means. Detect Magic detects invisible targets within 60 feet. A Reach Spell affects a target within 30 feet.

Fixed Range doesn't mean that the target of the spell has to be an exact distance from you when you cast, it means that the range has to be a static number of feet.

Touch Ranged Spells don't count, but range: 0 ft. spells do. Once you make the range 30 ft., you're good.

-Username17

[Iaimeki]

1162416468[/unixtime]]Well, I just looked at the Complete Divine Reach Spell feat, and it looks like the actual text is as follows:

" ... You may cast a spell that normally has a range of touch at any distance up to 30 feet. "

Bold emphasis is mine. That leads me to think it's not fixed, since it could be cast as a ray at say, a target who 20 feet away instead.

Yes, but almost all fixed range spells can hit things closer than their fixed range, after all. (It would be stupid to have a spell that only affected enemies at 30', with no ability to hit things closer.) "Fixed" in D&D terminology means "doesn't vary with level," AFAICT.

Arguably, the archmage's arcane reach ability has the same effect, at no cost in levels. I prefer the Reach rod solution, for that reason, since you can convert at higher levels. That's probably not practical in all games, though.

[User3]

Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification on that.

[Lago_AM3P]

Someone name some good spells to abuse with this trick for a level 8-11 Incantatrix.

Ready... GO!

[Username17]

The obvious choice is polymorph, which causes you to start an argument and instantly win D&D. But you can also get a lot of joy out of protection from evil - it's like a full party Magic Circle that everyone is standing in all the time. Almost as good as full party mind blanks with a 3rd level spell slot.

And while we're on the subject, why not chain up some deeper darkvision (it doesn't even need to be persistent). 90' of vision through magical darkness? Why not just admit that you're giving all-day improved invis to the entire party?

Or indomitability, which will make it so that your entire party cannot be incapacitated by damage today. That's quality.

-Username17