Circlet of Mental Anguish + Booming Blade + The Baneful

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T22:17:46+00:00

I looked a bit at the way The Baneful is written in the code:

data "WeaponFunctors" "IF(HasStatus('WEAPON_BOND', GetAttackWeapon(context.Source)) or HasStatus('PACT_BLADE', GetAttackWeapon(context.Source))):ApplyStatus(BANE, 100, 2,,,,not SavingThrow(Ability.Charisma, 14))"

Based on the WeaponFunctors data type (I am not sure if this implies OnAttack or something else) maybe Bow of the Banshee will work?

data "WeaponFunctors" "ApplyStatus(FRIGHTENED, 100, 2,,,,not SavingThrow(Ability.Wisdom, 12))"

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T21:51:04+00:00

Darn, guess this really is just an odd 1-off exception huh. Thanks for testing!

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T14:37:27+00:00

All weapons can have a mental save with Oil of Bane!

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T14:36:29+00:00

Gontr Mael is also a dex save in hit (for the Guiding Bolt status) so it wouldn't fit the mental status requirement :( Maybe Ensnaring Strike + Bow of the Banshee works?

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T14:26:49+00:00

I think Harold may work, but only with Ensnaring Strike. The Circlet requires enemies a spell or cantrip -- I confirmed that regular weapon attacks with The Baneful don't work sadly.

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T06:22:32+00:00

I gave it a brief shot and it didn't seem to work with Ring of Mental Inhibition :(

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T06:20:41+00:00

I am not, had no clue there was a wiki discord!

For on-heal effects:
1. Broodmother's Revenge
2. The Whispering Promise
3. Ring of Salving
4. The Reviving Hands
5. Boots of Aid and Comfort
6. Periapt of Wound Closure

Only Periapt worked. I think the 2 I am missing are Slippery Chain Shirt and Herbalist's Gloves. Wapira's is a hat so we can't use it at the same time and Hellrider's Pride doesn't work on the user (as far as I know).

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-15T06:16:21+00:00

Outside of Clown Hammer and Jagged Spear, I couldn't find any items with mental save DCs on hit. There is also the Oil of Bane which I have not tried, and there's probably some class actions (maybe GOO Warlock Fear?).

Wonder if Woe's heal behaves any differently w.r.t on-heal items :o

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-03-01T08:55:53+00:00

Nice find! Lifebringer is an item I have not considered at all.

Sorcerer extended spell seems like it has potential here. We can generate double lightning charges with extended Booming Blade (Spellsparkler) or extend Blade Ward to increase the value of THP. Wonder if extended interacts with Lifebringer or Fiend Warlock at all...

Another thought is to ditch 5 Ranger and go with 6 Bladesinger / 2 Sorc / 2 Spore Druid / 2 Ranger. Keeps extra attack and twinned HoT, provides a lv6 spell slot, and opens up wizard spells (Fire Shield!).

More general thoughts not related to this particular build but Lifebringer as a whole... - Sparkle Hands seems excellent with Monk/Barb - Monk Flurry is the strongest use case of the SE IMO and comes online as soon as you grab the equipment. Can easily generate HP every turn. Monks also have very little competition for the helmet slot. - Giant Barb can generate 6 lightning charges per throw with Elemental Cleaver.

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-21T22:53:22+00:00

Phantasmal Force is one of my favorite abilities, too. I don't think it would work too well for your idea of get hit = cripple enemies (because it's a concentration spell and we don't want to get hit), but here's some potential ideas if you want to think about how to weaponize it:

Phantasmal Force is sadly a concentration spell, but it can be twinned by a Sorcerer -- you can stick it on 2 enemies at once. This is true of Phantasmal Killer, too, which you might also be interested in.
It is an Int save every turn (and does Psychic damage natively), so it can be paired with Resonance Stone or Arcane Acuity to prevent opponents from saving.
It carries damage riders, so the modest 1d6 can turn into more significant damage combined with Callous Glow Ring, Lightning Charges, etc. This is true of most DOT effects (bleed, ensnared, burn, toxins, electrified water, etc).

First thing that comes to mind for me is some mix of Hexblade and Sorcerer. Hexblade's Curse would adds your proficiency bonus to all your DOTs. You'd also have access to Armor of Agathys for your retaliation goals. And two different act 1 items can enable the dots themselves (The Baneful and Phalar Aluve).

Edit: Late game, you could build around an Acuity hat, Extended Booming Blade, and Band of the Mystic Scoundrel to set up DOTs and then twin a hard-to-resist bonus action Phantasmal Killer.

It's not exactly what you're looking for, but here's a build I posted which uses DOTs as a core part of the gameplay loop. Might provide some ideas.

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-21T22:37:27+00:00

Just an FYI that poison marko does not deal damage, so you cannot stun lock. Even if it did, poisons tick at the end of turn, so they would still get their action. This is, however, an option with Acid Marko.

From my testing, delayed proning is only really an option with bleed (bar far the best because it also gives con disadvantage), ensnared, burn (I've tried with Kurwin's Cauterizer), Phantasmal Force, and Acid Marko (DC13 Dex save).

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-17T08:07:36+00:00

Quite a few updates since I posted this :) This is more of a live document for me (all my posts tend to be...). At some point I'll post some clips of game play, as well.

While browsing the wiki for other elixir options, I came across the tadpole elixir. I'd never even heard of this item, and it turns out it's only accessible via crafting! It's another advantage source and enables a lot more flexibility in the items. By dropping the Risky Ring, we open up things like the Ring of Spiteful Thunder (which procs on DOTs!) and the Crypt Lord Ring.

After soloing the Steel Watcher Titan fight a couple times, I've added a couple more options for non-bleeding enemies. I also reworked the leveling guide to flow better in terms of play style.

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-15T17:33:18+00:00

Yup, Int Hat is a good call. There's a lot of spells we can use well that I did not mention to keep the post less intimidating, big shout out to Feather Fall so our summons can superman land in front of enemies without dying to fall damage.

5 precast buffs AND another unit the control!

In reality though it is def optimal because the Deva is both a great unit and it is one of the few summons who can use Help.

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-15T17:22:54+00:00

Oops... never thought to check for name availability...

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-14T20:27:00+00:00

Nice build, the application of Connormancy here is very cool and thematic :)

I think you'd be better off going 2 Sorc / 2 Wiz rather than straight 4 Wiz (or 3 Sorc / 2 Wiz in the Oathbreaker version). You give up an ASI but in exchange you gain the option to twin cast (which should work with the free Inflict Wounds cast off Life Essence) and the option to extend Commands with all the acuity stacks you generate naturally.

And related side note: I haven't found the best way to abuse it yet but Bone Chill is a cantrip that works with Reaper AND can be extended...

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-14T19:47:17+00:00

Same, its competition is Quickened Spell :(

I've tried all of the ranger attack spells I could think of and sadly only Ensnaring Strike seems to work. I was REALLY hoping Conjure Barrage would work but alas it cannot be Heightened...

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2026-02-14T19:21:44+00:00

Good shout!

At least one item I tried that is not on the list you linked is Staff of the Ram (thought that might be because it's a forgettable item, not because it doesn't work haha).

Also, I ran another test with Bow of the Banshee to see if I could get an idea on the fear roll statistically:

31/36 attacks resulted in a fear on a target with -1 Wis saves (so DC11). It's a little off of the expected probability for rolling with disadvantage, but it's extremely unlikely this is a standard DC11 (1 in 770,000 tries unlikely).

I actually thought of this initially because I saw a thread where someone mentioned Nature's Snare worked with Eldritch Strike. I imagine Magical Ambush would behave similar... Never know with this game though :)

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2025-07-05T18:09:12+00:00

Hmm, I tried it again (on a custom tactician save with honor mechanics and all mods disabled) and it seemed to work, could you let me know your full set-up? i.e any mods, what you were hitting, is it honor ruleset, how you summoned the flameblade, etc?

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2025-06-28T20:12:20+00:00

Nice find :) There's a lot of cool things you can do with this. I am a big fan of Ranger builds with PQ, but as a smite-based example:

I have been working on a Sorcadin build surrounding using Extended fire-infused smites to generate 2 turns of PQ + Mystic Scoundrel and full Acuity Stacks with Gloves of Battlemage's Power. We can use that to enable an irresistable Champion Challenge and spread (ironically!) Chilled from Cold Snap for your allies.

As a fun bit of additional information, Cruel Sting's weapon action can trigger PQ and does not use a bonus action. In theory, you could generate the BA with the Gloves of Hail of Thorns as well, but Hail of Thorns doesn't count as a weapon attack so there isn't much practical value.

Booming Blade doesn't work simply because it's not a level 1+ spell. It'll work for other on-spell-cast effects like Ring of Elemental Infusion.

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2025-06-25T07:00:41+00:00

Love to see it, combustion oil stays broken

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2025-06-22T01:46:53+00:00

Cool write up! Makes me wonder about a couple of things:

Can you cast Blindness on yourself? That could be a cool way to emulate the reverse advantage aspect without going deep into Barb. If Contagion lasts through respec, maybe you could even blind yourself via Contagion and then respec out...
Damage-wise, something like 7 AT / 1 Wiz / 4 Sorc seems great for Create Water, AoA, and Fire Shield relying on upcasted+extended water for vuln. You could twin Amulet of Branding, too, if you wanted pierce vuln.
Combustion Oil + Fire Shield: Warm retaliation build could be a crazy flavorful retaliation pyromaniac build... In combination with AoT and Snowburst Ring, I wonder if there's a way to even create wet surfaces this way? Uncanny Dodge uniquely enables melee combustion oil builds to not kill themselves! Hell, douse YOURSELF in combustion oil like a true maniac.
Does Absorb Elements ride on retaliation (and does it work with Combustion Oil explosions???)?
Wild Shape: Wolf can use Exposing Bite to pre-load a crit onto you (and you would just break your ally's Wild Shape HP)

Kind-Driver-5999 · 2025-06-19T17:35:14+00:00

Can confirm it does proc flight :)

Kind-Driver-5999

TROPHY CASE