optimizationpathfinder-1e
In pathfinder I'd like to give my wizard the option to have an improved armour class when he's not got mage armor up (For those surprise night-time encounters)
What easy options for increasing AC that don't increase arcane spell failure are available?
Preferably as cheaply as possible as we're on a severe budget! Hence the "without magic items" unless they're super cheap!
Available books are any of the core or "ultimate" books, but no regional/campaign setting ones.
First question: trigger
The character needs only to have at least one level of a class which can cast the spell. In this case a first level wizard will be able to trigger any wizard spell.
Second question: completion
From the SRD: Scrolls
To have any chance of activating a scroll spell, the scroll user must meet the following requirements.
- The spell must be of the correct type (arcane or divine). Arcane spellcasters (wizards, sorcerers, and bards) can only use scrolls containing arcane spells, and divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers) can only use scrolls containing divine spells. (The type of scroll a character creates is also determined by his class.)
- The user must have the spell on her class list.
- The user must have the requisite ability score. If the user meets all the requirements noted above, and her caster level is at least equal to the spell's caster level, she can automatically activate the spell without a check.
This means that the character must be a spell caster of the correct type (arcane or divine): so no a fighter will not be able to use a scroll.
If she meets all three requirements but her own caster level is lower than the scroll spell's caster level, then she has to make a caster level check (DC = scroll's caster level + 1) to cast the spell successfully.
In this case: yes a first level wizard will be able to try with any arcane scroll (if he has the required Int) but he will have to perform an appropriate caster level with the following consequences:
If she fails, she must make a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid a mishap (see Scroll Mishaps). A natural roll of 1 always fails, whatever the modifiers. Activating a scroll is a standard action (or the spell's casting time, whichever is longer) and it provokes attacks of opportunity exactly as casting a spell does.
Use magic device
You can use this skill to read a spell or to activate a magic item. Use Magic Device lets you use a magic item as if you had the spell ability or class features of another class, as if you were a different race, or as if you were of a different alignment.
This allow to override the first condition: even if you are not of the correct class (or have the wrong alignment and so on) and you have the use magic device skill you can do a check and try anyway.
So in this case if your 20th level fighter is trained in use magic device: yes he can use a scroll
I am largely uninterested in how similar results can be achieved in Pathfinder, so I've narrowed this to Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. I am also uninterested in changing forms, but I assume doing so adds significantly to these totals; I'll leave that exercise to another. This was exercise enough. Undoubtedly, there are bits and pieces here and there that can add to these totals, and already using haste, expeditious retreat, and the homebrew class are significant.
There are a lot. Like Sturgeon's Law says, most of them are terrible. Note that some of these feats were originally printed prior to the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 revision and may be subject to minor adjustments by the DM (DMG 4). I'm pretty sure none grant enhancement bonuses so they should all be usable while the expeditious retreat spell's duration continues. The following list is alphabetical.
It's probably too difficult at this point to get the feats Cheetah Tribe Sprint (ShS 19), Divine Alacrity (Faiths of Eberron 145-6), Divine Vigor (Red Hand of Doom 126), Fire Feet (Dragon #311 40), Fury’s Focus (Dragon #304 84), Imbued Healing (CC 60) to use it with the domain Travel, Improved Power (Travel) (Dragon #342 21), Initiate of Fharlanghn (Dragon #342 51), Longstride Elite (Races of Eberron 114), Mark of Malbolge (Fiendish Codex II 84), Minor Shapeshift (Complete Mage 45), Prophecy’s Explorer (Magic of Eberron 50), Rage of the Raptor (Dragon #315 26), Speed of Thought (Psionics Handbook 29), Swiftness of Orien (Player's Guide to Eberron 48), Technomagic Implant (Dragon #351 93) for the cheetah's swiftness implant, and the trait Quick (Unearthed Arcana 89).
Unless shenanigans are used, Epic Speed (Epic Level Handbook 54) is likely unavailable, and it'll requires some serious persuasion to allow the psionic feat Psionic Boost (Expanding Your Mind Web column “New Talents, Feats, and More”).
Finally, it's probably too late to pick up the regional feat Fleet of Foot (Player's Guide to Faerûn 38), the dragon-only feat Improved Speed (Dr 71), or to be a saurian shifter with the shifter trait junglerunner (Dragon #328 63).
I'm pretty sure none grant enhancement bonuses so they should all be usable while the expeditious retreat spell's duration continues. This list is also alphabetical.
It's a little difficult to find a magic item enabling consistent use of a personal spell by a non-caster, especially seeing as how the skill Use Magic Device isn't a class skill for the swordsage or the tenken. Assuming the creature's not devoting cross-class ranks to the skill Use Magic Device, a handful of mildly distasteful options remain: the feat Attune Gem (Magic of Faerûn 21) creates at potion prices plus 50 gp per spell level gems that the user can crush as a standard action to cast such spells, and the feat Craft Wondrous Item allows the creation at potion prices spellworms (Dragon #343 80-1), an internal spell storing parasite that allows a spell to be used either as a standard action like a spell-like ability or as a full-round action like a spell (the text is contradictory). More palatable—and pricey—is something like a ring of spell storing, but this might involve more than is comfortable a friendly caster. Below I've assumed spellworms (and a standard action) because they're hilariously gross.
The belt of battle (Magic Item Compendium 73) (12,000 gp; 0 lbs.), in addition to granting the wearer a +2 competence bonus on initiative checks, allows the wearer to take a swift action to spend 1, 2, or 3 charges to gain a move, standard, or full-round action, respectively.
Undoubtedly other sources of speed increases can dug up, but these are what I knew of off-hand. It's likely enough, but Dumpster-diving for even more is certainly a option.
Using just the resources in this answer—excluding bonuses from expeditious retreat, haste, and the homebrew base class, for instance—, consistently, this isn't as fast as you want, but, in a burst that expends a lot of resources for only 1 round, it's way faster than you need.
Turn 3: Activate the feat Sprinter to gain for 1 turn a +10 ft. bonus to speed; this is not an action. Discharge the effect of the spell footsteps of the divine to gain for 1 round a +390 ft. bonus to speed (assuming an actual not relative duration); this is not an action. Take a full-round action to run. That's a speed of 515 ft. that's doubled via the magic weapon rapid wrath that's ×5 via the feat Run to 5,150 ft.
Take a swift action to activate the belt of battle to gain an additional full-round action and take another full-round action to run. That's another 5,150 ft.
Your turn should be over, but take an immediate action (spending the next turn's swift action) to activate the spellworm of greater celerity to take a third full-round action. On this full-round action, charge a foe, object, or square at ten times your speed via the feat Cheetah's Speed. That's another 10,300 ft. that's ×2 due to the maximum distance a creature can charge during a round.
This round, you've traveled 30,900 ft. in 6 seconds. That's about 3,500 mph, or over mach 4.5, which isn't even close to the speed of light but should be sufficient.
I don't want to get into Internet scuffles with anyone, so if it rubs you wrong to have activated the spellworm of greater celerity this way, skip that step and subtract 5,150 ft. from the total for, instead, about 2,900 mph or about a generous mach 4.
Note that Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 uses real-world multiplying for real-world things like speed (PH 304); this is slightly different in Pathfinder but not much, but, as always, ask the DM.
Best Answer
A mithral buckler (1,015 gp) has 0% ASF and grants +1 AC. It also has 0 Armor Check Penalty, so you take no penalties for using it if you’re non-proficient.
A mithral chain shirt (1,100 gp) has 10% ASF, and grants +4 AC. It also has the 0 ACP thing. Unfortunately, a 10% chance of failure in an emergency is a very bad idea, and I can’t find any great way of reducing it further. Pathfinder does have some feats for this, but they are unbelievably awful. Don’t take those.
There’s also, apparently, a few different Celestial armors, like this Celestial Chain Mail, which if you back-calculate its costs and bonuses and things, reduces Arcane Spell Failure by 15% for 1,200 gp. If you can then apply this to Studded Leather or Parade Armor, you get 0% ASF and 3 AC.
Celestial armor, mithral, bucklers, studded leather, and chain shirts are all part of Pathfinder core as well as on the PFSRD. Parade armor is from Adventurer’s Armory, apparently, but also appears in the PFSRD in the Armor Section.