I am working on a character build for a level 3-20 campaign. She is a Shaddar Kai Enchantment Wizard with a 1-level Twilight Cleric dip (starting C1/W2) in heavy armor. She will only take Wizard levels and will always be a cleric-1. I plan to use hypnotic gaze a lot. She will start out using 2-handed weapons to keep a hand open for shield or absorb elements.
I am planning point buy on stats: S16 D8 C12 I17 W13 CH8
She is going to take Shadow Touched with False Life at 4th level Wizard boosting intelligence to 18
I am looking at 8th level taking Fey touched or an intelligence ASI. If I took Fey touched I would take another half feat at Wizard 12 (probably telekentic or GOGD). If I took the ASI I would probably take Warcaster at level 12.
Option 1: Fey Touched
If I took Fey Touched I would take either Command or Dissonant Whispers which would work really well with Split Enchantment. My DM plays that DW causes AOOs making it a very effectve spell. Command could be used for the same effect with "flee" as well as a number of other effects and could be upcast effectively. I could also prepare Command as a Cleric of course, but my DC would suck.
Misty Step would be kind of redundant since I have Blessing of the Raven Queen, which is just better. One extra free use as well as being able to use it on slots would not hurt though in case I ran out.
Also at higher level, having telekenetic would be nice as it would be something else I could do on my turn while using my action to keep an enemy incapacitated with hypnotic Gaze
Option 2: Intelligence ASI
Pretty straightforward here. What it would give me is better DCs on my Wizard spells from 9th-12th levels and the advantage from Warcaster from 13th level onward.
Getting Warcaster I can now use a shield effectively as well, boosting my AC by 2 and going to a smaller attack die for weapons is not a big deal, as I will be using them less.
My DM plays that DW causes AOOs making it a very effectve spell.
That's how it's supposed to work; because dissonant whispers forces the target to use its own reaction to move, it triggers the attack of opportunity. The psychic damage is just icing, it's the multiple attacks of opportunity that you can set up (especially if one's a Rogue) where the real damage comes from, but you have to make sure you choose a target that still has some of its movement remaining (if it can move 30 feet and did so on its turn, then it can't actually go anywhere with its reaction because it has no movement left).
I love this spell on a Bard, but it'll work just as well on any character that wants a good 1st-level mixed damage and control option. Timed just right (allies in position) it's arguably the single most damaging 1st-level spell in the game.
Command could be used for the same effect with "flee" as well as a number of other effects and could be upcast effectively. I could also prepare Command as a Cleric of course, but my DC would suck.
This is a tricky one actually, as it will come down to whether your DM considers triggering attacks of opportunity to be "directly harmful to it".
You could argue that it's only a chance of taking damage, and that the act of fleeing isn't what causes the harm (it's creatures using their reactions) but the command is very much responsible for triggering them so I'd be inclined to rule that it's a harmful command if there are adjacent enemies, but harmless when there aren't any.
What do people think?
What is your goal for the character?
If you're looking to optimise then getting your Intelligence, and thus spell attack and save DC, up as fast as possible is usually going to be best, as it benefits every spell you can cast, and makes it less likely they'll fail. But if you're going to be more control based then sometimes having more options is worth it.
Personally for a Shadar-kai I'd be less inclined to take Fey Touched for the reasons you mention, namely you've already got a better free bonus action teleport. While having more uses can't hurt, unless you expect to be burning through your blessing of the raven queen all the time then it's not necessarily going to be of use to you, but then on the other hand if you do expect to use it a lot (or will because you can) then it's good to have, as keeping mobile can enable you to always be in the right position for your next big spell.
I think it's a tough call in terms of which is 'better"; I'm usually more inclined to go with whatever fits the character best narratively, and I think either option will be good.
Does mean my basic answer is "do whichever one you want", heh. Sorry if that's not helpful!
Command has better versatility, Dissonant Whispers has damage. I usually go with Command.
One nice thing about Hypnotic Gaze: target should see OR hear you. What does it mean? You can use this ability when Invisible (Shadow Touched), since you are not attacking and not casting spell, your invisibility won’t be broken.
I usually prioritize Concentration feats before boosting INT. Most my Wizards have both Resilient and Warcaster. But since you will have a stellar AC, maybe you suffer less hits. I think Alert would be a nice feat for you.
Command has better versatility, Dissonant Whispers has damage. I usually go with Command.
One nice thing about Hypnotic Gaze: target should see OR hear you. What does it mean? You can use this ability when Invisible (Shadow Touched), since you are not attacking and not casting spell, your invisibility won’t be broken.
I usually prioritize Concentration feats before boosting INT. Most my Wizards have both Resilient and Warcaster. But since you will have a stellar AC, maybe you suffer less hits. I think Alert would be a nice feat for you.
Thanks for the advice. I think I will probably take command for the versatility.
I know most people prioritize concentration, but I generally don't. I like having more spells and better saves. If I lose concentration I can usually just cast it again, but when I cast something like Psychic Lance (or in this case use HG) I really want them to fail the save.
It does suck to lose concentration, especially in the first round, but most of the time my concentration spells will run their course (the summoned ally dies ..... all the bad guys eventually make their save .... I throw down a new concentration spell ending the first).
Command is more versatile than Dissonant Whispers, but Command requires that the target understands your speech which DW doesn't.
I'd say by that level you probably won't be using first level spells offensively all that often and I find the Wildemount spell gift of alacrity to be my favorite Fey Touched spell. Especially helpful in that it can help a wizard get off the fight winning spell early enough.
Command is more versatile than Dissonant Whispers, but Command requires that the target understands your speech which DW doesn't.
I'd say by that level you probably won't be using first level spells offensively all that often and I find the Wildemount spell gift of alacrity to be my favorite Fey Touched spell. Especially helpful in that it can help a wizard get off the fight winning spell early enough.
Command upcasts really well and you can use it effectively well into tier 3. DW is effective for causing AOOs, which makes it less useful, but still useful.
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I am working on a character build for a level 3-20 campaign. She is a Shaddar Kai Enchantment Wizard with a 1-level Twilight Cleric dip (starting C1/W2) in heavy armor. She will only take Wizard levels and will always be a cleric-1. I plan to use hypnotic gaze a lot. She will start out using 2-handed weapons to keep a hand open for shield or absorb elements.
I am planning point buy on stats: S16 D8 C12 I17 W13 CH8
She is going to take Shadow Touched with False Life at 4th level Wizard boosting intelligence to 18
I am looking at 8th level taking Fey touched or an intelligence ASI. If I took Fey touched I would take another half feat at Wizard 12 (probably telekentic or GOGD). If I took the ASI I would probably take Warcaster at level 12.
Option 1: Fey Touched
If I took Fey Touched I would take either Command or Dissonant Whispers which would work really well with Split Enchantment. My DM plays that DW causes AOOs making it a very effectve spell. Command could be used for the same effect with "flee" as well as a number of other effects and could be upcast effectively. I could also prepare Command as a Cleric of course, but my DC would suck.
Misty Step would be kind of redundant since I have Blessing of the Raven Queen, which is just better. One extra free use as well as being able to use it on slots would not hurt though in case I ran out.
Also at higher level, having telekenetic would be nice as it would be something else I could do on my turn while using my action to keep an enemy incapacitated with hypnotic Gaze
Option 2: Intelligence ASI
Pretty straightforward here. What it would give me is better DCs on my Wizard spells from 9th-12th levels and the advantage from Warcaster from 13th level onward.
Getting Warcaster I can now use a shield effectively as well, boosting my AC by 2 and going to a smaller attack die for weapons is not a big deal, as I will be using them less.
What do people think?
That's how it's supposed to work; because dissonant whispers forces the target to use its own reaction to move, it triggers the attack of opportunity. The psychic damage is just icing, it's the multiple attacks of opportunity that you can set up (especially if one's a Rogue) where the real damage comes from, but you have to make sure you choose a target that still has some of its movement remaining (if it can move 30 feet and did so on its turn, then it can't actually go anywhere with its reaction because it has no movement left).
I love this spell on a Bard, but it'll work just as well on any character that wants a good 1st-level mixed damage and control option. Timed just right (allies in position) it's arguably the single most damaging 1st-level spell in the game.
This is a tricky one actually, as it will come down to whether your DM considers triggering attacks of opportunity to be "directly harmful to it".
You could argue that it's only a chance of taking damage, and that the act of fleeing isn't what causes the harm (it's creatures using their reactions) but the command is very much responsible for triggering them so I'd be inclined to rule that it's a harmful command if there are adjacent enemies, but harmless when there aren't any.
What is your goal for the character?
If you're looking to optimise then getting your Intelligence, and thus spell attack and save DC, up as fast as possible is usually going to be best, as it benefits every spell you can cast, and makes it less likely they'll fail. But if you're going to be more control based then sometimes having more options is worth it.
Personally for a Shadar-kai I'd be less inclined to take Fey Touched for the reasons you mention, namely you've already got a better free bonus action teleport. While having more uses can't hurt, unless you expect to be burning through your blessing of the raven queen all the time then it's not necessarily going to be of use to you, but then on the other hand if you do expect to use it a lot (or will because you can) then it's good to have, as keeping mobile can enable you to always be in the right position for your next big spell.
I think it's a tough call in terms of which is 'better"; I'm usually more inclined to go with whatever fits the character best narratively, and I think either option will be good.
Does mean my basic answer is "do whichever one you want", heh. Sorry if that's not helpful!
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Command has better versatility, Dissonant Whispers has damage. I usually go with Command.
One nice thing about Hypnotic Gaze: target should see OR hear you. What does it mean? You can use this ability when Invisible (Shadow Touched), since you are not attacking and not casting spell, your invisibility won’t be broken.
I usually prioritize Concentration feats before boosting INT. Most my Wizards have both Resilient and Warcaster. But since you will have a stellar AC, maybe you suffer less hits. I think Alert would be a nice feat for you.
Thanks for the advice. I think I will probably take command for the versatility.
I know most people prioritize concentration, but I generally don't. I like having more spells and better saves. If I lose concentration I can usually just cast it again, but when I cast something like Psychic Lance (or in this case use HG) I really want them to fail the save.
It does suck to lose concentration, especially in the first round, but most of the time my concentration spells will run their course (the summoned ally dies ..... all the bad guys eventually make their save .... I throw down a new concentration spell ending the first).
Command is more versatile than Dissonant Whispers, but Command requires that the target understands your speech which DW doesn't.
I'd say by that level you probably won't be using first level spells offensively all that often and I find the Wildemount spell gift of alacrity to be my favorite Fey Touched spell. Especially helpful in that it can help a wizard get off the fight winning spell early enough.
Command upcasts really well and you can use it effectively well into tier 3. DW is effective for causing AOOs, which makes it less useful, but still useful.