PDA

View Full Version : I need some honest help here (Character Idea)



Ixahinon
2009-04-10, 11:54 PM
First off. I need people that are willing to follow the guidelines I am setting up here, and not bring in feats and stuff from splat books, or outragious ideas. I ask that you also stick to the classes I mention, and not say 'well, if you take a level of Duskblade, you'd get...'

If you can't honestly think of anything to say other than 'what a horrible idea' please don't post it. I'm not trying to sound like an ass here, but I am hoping for some ideas to make a character idea that sounds great, work great. I'll lay out what I have planned, and you can go from there...if you want to.

Character: 16th Wizard/4th Fighter
Why: I want a combat capable wizard that can do pretty well in the front lines with a sword. I know duskblade is there, but the reason why I did not go with duskblade is really two reasons. One is RP based, the other is player based.

One is because of the spell selection. It's dispicable. It does not make sense to my why so many combat based spells (Haste, Displacement, etc) is not allowed to a combat based caster such as a Duskblade.

Two is because I want to created the 'old fashioned' mage. One that can't cast spells in armor period. No Arcane Spell Failure, no ability to let you wear that armor. Just good 'ole fashioned 2nd Ed rules, where in order to cast a spell, you had to take off your armor. Duskblade allows you to wear up to medium armor when all is said and done.

I'm sorry..but I can't envision a person in brestplate making the intricate movements needed to cast Waves of Fatigue effortlessly. It just doesn't say 'mage' to me.

Statistics:
Strength: 15 (+1 at 4th, +1 at 8th, +1 at 12th)
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 16 (+1 at 16th, +1 at 20th)
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 10

Why: With Bull's Strength that he will be casting upon himself, he will have a strength of 20 at level 4+, so he will always be able to hold is on in melee. Sure, his bab is not up to par, but compensated with spells, and magic items, he can almost equal a fighter without magical items and spells. I know that doesn't sound like much right away...but having played this character in a game up to 5th level, he has been doing very well in combat, having had a hand in taking out some of the more intense battles.

Armor Class is an issue for a fighter that doesn't wear armor. Standing in just a robe, he has an AC of 14. (10 + Dex bonus) So, Mage Armor is his bible. With it lasting 5 hours as a 3rd Wizard/2nd Fighter (With Practiced Spellcaster), he has an AC of 18..which isn't great at 5th level..but it isn't god awful.

If in a perticularly tough battle, he can cast Shield to get to an AC of 22, which is pretty good. If fighting an incredably tough battle, he can fall back on Combat Expertise..or even head to the backlines, and resume life as a mage.

Intelligence will eventually be increased to 18. Even though since he will never hit level 9 spells (Unless we go epic), he doens't need an Int of 18, it will help with DCs.

The rest is just...there.

Feats:

Used Resourses: PHB, PHB II, Complete Arcane, Complete Warrior, and Libris Mortis (Improved Toughness). I'm trying to use feats from non splat books, but depending on how un-broken the feat is...the DM might allow it.

Combat Casting (Human Bonus Feat)
Toughness (1st Level Feat)
Weapon Focus (Scimitar) (1st level Fighter Bonus Feat)
Practiced Spellcaster (3rd Level Feat)
Combat Expertise (2nd level Fighter Bonus Feat)
Improved Toughness (6th Level Feat)
Extend Spell (5th level Wizard Bonus Feat)
Spectral Skirmisher (9th Level Feat)
Improved Trip (4th level Fighter Bonus Feat)
Quicken Spell (12th Level Feat)
Persistant Spell (10th level Wizard Bonus Feat)
Twin Spell (15th Level Feat)
Empower Spell (18th Level Feat

I'm not 100% on the feats, but the first 5 is what I have already, so there's no changing that.

I am taking toughness, because the lack of hit points from a d4 makes it hard to stand up front, cause I can't take the blows long enough. This is also why I have Combat Expertise, should I need the AC boost. Since I needed to justify taking Combat Expertise some more, I am planning to tak Improved Trip as well, I have a Heavy Flail as bludegeoning, and for tripping attempts.

A lot of my Metamagics are towards the end of feat progression, mostly because a lot of them require a huge increase in spell slots (Persistant Spell, Quicken Spell, and Twin Spell, mostly)

I want Quicken so I can do something like: Quicking Shocking Grasp a round before my turn, then throwing a Lightning Bolt on my turn. Effectively doing 5d6 + 7d6 damage (12d6 total) all in a turn. Twin spell is self explainitory...probably used in conjunctoin with 1st and 2nd level spells mostly. Empower is just for giggles.

Skills are a moot point for development mostly, knowing I have to take spellcraft, concentration, and knowledge(Arcana) through out my career...but I plan on bumping Tumble and Move Silently intermitantly. Move Silently to aid me with Spectrial Skimisher down the road.

Is there anything you could add to this? (that results in a positive response? Rather than just 'I'd throw the idea away, and start anew') This character works brilliantly on paper...but I want to make sure I'm not missing something anyway. Feats are my biggest problem..I don't want to miss something I coul d use.

I've probably left out some information you would want in order to help, if so..just let me know..and I'll do my best to accomidate. As I said..this character is in a game right now..and is currently a 3rd fighter/2nd Wizard...

Keld Denar
2009-04-11, 12:41 AM
Fewer Fighter levels and more wizard levels. Also, is there a particular reason why you are afraid to take a Prc? Eldrich Knight is in the DMG, which, while not in your list of books used, is one of the core rule books. I'd aim to get into it as fast as possible, since it keeps your BAB up while giving you more casting than more levels of fighter would.

Also, consider magic items. Bull Str is ok at low levels, but by about your level, you should be able to afford a +2 str item, making the +4 str from BS much less attractive since they don't stack. That'll require fewer rounds to buff at the start of combat, since the worst thing you want to do at the start of combat is nothing.

Flail is a good weapon. I like it, it has style. If you could eck it out, Race of the Dragon has an AMAZING spell for you. That spell is Greater Mighty Wallop. It increases the "effective" damage of your weapon by 1 size catagory per 4 caster levels. Thats pretty great.

Toughness is bad. Seriously, not point in taking it. Its only 3 HP. You have Improved Toughness, thats good enough, and contrary to popular belief, its not a Prereq. Don't take it. Take Power Attack instead. You have a nice 2hander, and you have some nice combat buffs, make the most out of them.

Consider Arcane Strike, from Complete Arcane. Its really good. You sac spell slots for bonus to hit and bonus damage. You can filter the bonus to hit through your Power Attack and convert it 2:1 into MORE damage. This is great.

I'm assuming you have to keep the levels you have? Any chance you could drop just 1 of those fighter levels? Seriously, the fewer fighter levels you have and the more spellcaster levels you have, the better you will be. The couple HP and little bit of BAB you gain are nothing compared to the power of the spells you will have access too at higher caster levels.

Does this make sense? What are your options? Any chance you can get access to a few other books? Namedly, Complete Mage, which contains the VERY tasty Abjurant Champion prestige class. It allows you to auto quicken your Shield, and even buffs the strength of it (from +4 to +9!!!!). Its also full BAB and d10 HD, just like a fighter. Its really really really perfect for a fighter/mage character like you.

EDIT:
Oh, and another thing. If you are really worried about your AC, you could cast Alter Self to turn into a Troglodyte or a Tren (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20040613a&page=4) even. That'll give you some extra natural armor which will stack with your Mage Armor and Shield spells.

Gorbash
2009-04-11, 12:42 AM
Well, if you just want to fight, you don't actually need a sword. Polymorph will serve you better.

Heroism will help out with lack of attack bonus.

Hearth of Earth and False Life will get you lots of HP.

Also, your best defense is not AC, it's Mirror Image. Remember, area spells don't destroy images, so somebody has to full attack you in order to destroy them.

I'm not sure whether you should bother with Metamagic feats at this point. Those are designed for (Focused) Specalists with huge INT, Arcane Thesis who have tons of spell slots and can sacrifice spell levels for metamagic. I'm afraid you can't. Rods are a better option. Don't bother buying weapons/armor better than +1, just cast Magic Weapon/Vestments on yourself and save gold for Rods.

Also, you should definitely take an Improved/Dragon/Celestial Familiar, those are a great help.

And just to dispel any delusions:


This character works brilliantly on paper

He doesn't.

AC 22 isn't a good AC. Sure, you can buff yourself up and hold on in melee, but that requires actions. So after 3-4 rounds, you could do that, which isn't a terribly good idea (the rest of the party is getting picked off in the mean time). And sure, maybe STR 20 and AC 22 will do you good for some time, but that will soon pass. Combat Expertise will just make you don't hit anything in combat.

I'm not saying you shouldn't play this character, I'm just making sure you know what you're getting yourself into and giving you a realistic view, because with strategies you listed, you'll get into trouble, real soon.

streakster
2009-04-11, 12:45 AM
Personally, I'd go with an unarmed Jade Phoenix Mage. (EDIT: Sorry, I just saw "no splats". Ne'ermind.)

Also, your "can't cast in armor thing" seems odd. After all, the build you posted can stroll around in a breastplate. You could take a PrC that reduces ASF and just not wear armor, if you don't want to wear it.

Eldariel
2009-04-11, 12:52 AM
Is there a reason you're not using Eldritch Knight (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/eldritchKnight.htm) (it's from DMG)? It's pretty much what AD&D Fighter/Wizard used to be. With AD&D multiclassing being impossible, prestige classes that combine two classes instead handle that role (DMG has two other such classes in Arcane Trickster (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/arcaneTrickster.htm) and Mystic Theurge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/mysticTheurge.htm)). Basically, you end up a worse caster than a Wizard and a worse Fighter than a Fighter, but competent in both. The build you suggested isn't much of a Fighter - the base attack bonus is worse than that of a Rogue or Cleric. Also, you lose 4 levels of spellcasting, meaning you'll never get to see 9th level spells.

I suggest:
Fighter 1/Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 10/YMMV 4


More could be done, however. Note how Eldritch Knight doesn't actually get you all the way to the end - you need something for the last levels to continue this dual advancement. You could add a level of Spellsword [Complete Warrior] to the build. This would enable you to wear a Mithril Chain Shirt (think Elven Chain) and use it without spellcasting failure. More importantly, it's also another level that gives you full attack bonus & spellcasting advancement (the additional spellsword levels, however, lose spellcasting and thus are not very good unless you want to try that Cast In Full-Plate thing you weren't going for).

Finally, for the last 3 levels (and then some), there's a class named "Abjurant Champion" in Complete Champion. The class is rather powerful and intended for characters who rely on magical protections as their primary defenses. It's a 5-level class that gives you all sorts of improvements to your abjurations while also giving you full caster level & BAB advancement.


With these three classes available, the Fighter/Wizard I'd suggest would be:
Fighter 1/Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 1 (necessary to qualify for the other classes)/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight for the rest of your career.

He casts as a level 18 Wizard in the end, and has the BAB of a level 17 Fighter. He also gets two Fighter bonus feats and one Wizard bonus feat over the course of his growth, and improves upon his defensive magic, and learns to wear Mithril Chain Shirt while maintaining his casting ability.

Solid character on all levels (although a bit weaker earlier on as the lacking caster levels bite harder).

SurlySeraph
2009-04-11, 01:44 AM
*build*

Just replace Toughness with Improved Toughness. They count as exactly the same for more or less everything. I don't know why you would take both; 3 hp isn't worth a feat, and your DM might well rule that you can stack Improved Toughness with itself.
Normally Weapon Focus is quite suboptimal, but if you mean to be attacking a lot your attack bonus could use all the help it can get. But... why a scimitar? Your DEX is higher than your STR, why not take Weapon Finesse and use a rapier? That would help a lot more than Weapon Focus will.
With Combat Expertise... it's bad for your attack bonus, but it'll increase your survivability. Frankly, I don't think it's worth it. There are a lot more spells to protect yourself than to increase your attack bonus.
Extend Spell is a decent idea for your combat buffs. You'll want to have Shield, Mage Armor, Cat's Agility, Bear's Endurance, and Bull's Strength up as much as possible. Taking Metamagic School Focus (Transmutation) would lower the spell slot - I'd recommend it. Same on Persistent Spell, though I'm not sure it'll be necessary when you'll have enough low-level slots to just cast extended spells twice.
I don't recommend Quicken. Spell + Full Attack is a decent combination, but I don't think it'll be worth the spell slot increase much. And using Quicken to increase your damage isn't really optimal; that's what Empower/ Twin/ Split Ray/ everything else that increases your damage without taking up more spells per day is for. Besides, just full attacks (Power Attacking, of course) are fine for dealing direct damage.
Arcane Strike (which is actually in Complete Warrior, BTW) is a good idea. I was leery of it at first, but it increases both your attack and damage for every attack you make that round, plus it lets you do more damage in one action than you could otherwise - and actions are your most valuable resource.

Max Concentration, and keep it maxed. You'll have to cast defensively a LOT.
I don't think taking ranks in Tumble will be worth it, because of the cross-class rank restriction. Even at 20th level, you can't have more than 10 ranks in it. With 24 DEX (18 and +6 gloves) you can reliably tumble past enemies then, but before that it won't be very helpful very often.
Same with Move Silently + Spectral Skirmisher. You can do it, but increasing Listen checks is easy enough that it won't help very much very often. It's not a terrible idea, just not a great one.

Try to get a Robe of the Archmage if you can. If not, see if you can get a robe enchanted as armor.

Put your stat increases in INT before you put them in STR. Your build has far more levels of Wizard than Fighter, so you should be casting far more than fighting.

Frankly, I think it's insane not to take any of the prestige classes that other posters have mentioned. Without them, you'll just be a wizard several levels behind the curve and a fighter many levels behind the curve. With them, you'll be competent enough to keep up.

Tempest Fennac
2009-04-11, 02:02 AM
I agree about PrCs being useful (Abjurant Champion would help a lot as far as AC is concerned, especially if you ignore the errata about it not working for Mage Armour, which is what I'd do:smalltongue:). Why do you think armour would stop people from gesturing effectively enough to cast spells? I never got ASF as far as why it's there from a fluff perspective based on Divine casters being able to use magic in armour with no problems, and I can't imagine that the gestures would be that hard to do due to most spells only needing a standard action to cast combined with the armour needing to be designed well enough to allow people to move about.

Berserk Monk
2009-04-11, 02:52 AM
If you want a caster that can also fight, go cleric/fighter. Higher HD, higher BAB, no arcane spell failure. Spells:

Bull's Strength
Cat's Grace
Bear's Endurance
Enlarge Person
Righteous Might
Haste

others I can't remember right now that increase combat abilities

Ixahinon
2009-04-11, 01:54 PM
Fighter/Cleric was the obvious choice. I like making characters that seem out of the ordinary, and make people think he's useless, but is actually really good.

By 'brilliant on paper' I meant at later levels. I will be the first to admit that early levels, he's not all that great. But if you look foward to when he has the more important spells (Stoneskin, Displacement, Haste) etc..he becomes a contender. But I see your point.

Not wanting to cast in heavy armor is a nostalga thing, I guess. When I picture I mage, I picture the generic mage. Wearing robes, etc. Not decked out in full plate or whatever. It's just a choice of mine..makes it more interesting, I guess. But with the pressures I'm recieving, I might cave in, and wear twlight mithral armor, or something.

A lot of the PrC's mentioned here, I didn't even know about. I tend not to look much into the select few books like the ones I mentioned earlier, as when you get right down to it, I could spend an entire day looking at differant book, and reading up on a plethora of prestigues...I'm not not that patient I guess. I'm not sure why Eldrich Knight passed my sight...I will go back and look in on that.

All in all, I'm liking the suggestions. Thanks for the help guys. I'll post back if I have anything else. If anyone else has any ideas, keep 'em coming.

Edit:

Can someone give me the book and pages (Or a link) that describe:

Arcane Strike
Abjunt Champion
Greater Mighty Wallop
Megamagic School Focus (Transmutation)

I got most of my books on PDF, but not all downloaded just yet...heh. Kind of downloading on a must have basis.

Mando Knight
2009-04-11, 02:05 PM
Not wanting to cast in heavy armor is a nostalga thing, I guess. When I picture I mage, I picture the generic mage. Wearing robes, etc. Not decked out in full plate or whatever.

Allow me to respectfully present my counterpoint:
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/d/d2/DS_Golbez.jpg
Yes, he's a mage, as anyone who's played FFIV can back me up on.

Graymayre
2009-04-11, 02:15 PM
Allow me to respectfully present my counterpoint:
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k178/True_Evil_2006/Fantasy/WarCraft_Samwise006c.jpg
Yes, he's a mage, as anyone who's played FFIV can back me up on.

And this
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k178/True_Evil_2006/Fantasy/WarCraft_Samwise006c.jpg

Eldariel
2009-04-11, 03:04 PM
Fighter/Cleric was the obvious choice. I like making characters that seem out of the ordinary, and make people think he's useless, but is actually really good.

Actually, it's funny but a straight Cleric is the better fighter than a Cleric/Fighter, mostly because the buff spells make more out of that build's power than the feats.


As far as the sources go:


Arcane Strike

Complete Warrior Pg. 96


Abjunt Champion

Abjurant Champion:
Complete Mage Pg. 50


Greater Mighty Wallop

Races of the Dragon Pg. 115

Note that I suggest not using that spell, because frankly it existing obsoletes all non-Bludgeoning weapons.


Megamagic School Focus (Transmutation)

Metamagic School Focus is from Complete Mage Pg. 45.

That said, I don't personally like the feat that much for a Gish as you use metamagic mostly for buffs and for buffing, 3 times per day tends to be just plain few.


By the way, with your stats I'd prioritise Int and secondarise Str. Tertiary Con, then Dex. This allows you to cast as well as possible, which is your primary form of defense, and hit decently well. AC sorta sucks (because pumping it high is hard, although Abjurant Champion can pull it off), but (Greater) Mirror Image [Greater is in Player's Handbook II], Displacement and eventually Greater Blink [Spell Compendium] et co. are great, giving you an AC-independent defense.

I'd place all your level-up scores in Int as spellcasting does help your stats, but to that end, you need to maximize your casting stat and spells per day.

Keld Denar
2009-04-11, 03:19 PM
Arcane Strike - Complete Arcane
Abjurant Champion - Complete Mage
Greater Mighty Wallop - Races of the Dragon
Megamagic School Focus - Complete Mage

Well, if you don't mind opening it up to other sources, check this out.

1 Fighter1 Power Attack, Weapon Focus(prereq)
2 Wizard1 Scribe Scroll
3 Wizard2 Combat Casting (prereq)
4 Wizard3
5 Wizard4
6 Wizard5 Practiced Spellcaster, Extend Spell
7 Wizard6
8 Spellsword1
9 Abjurant Champion1 Arcane Strike
10 Abjurant Champion2
11 Abjurant Champion3
12 Abjurant Champion4 Minor Shapeshift (Complete Mage)
13 Abjurant Champion5
14 Eldritch Knight1 Quicken Spell
15 Eldritch Knight2 Improved Toughness
16 Eldritch Knight3
17 Eldritch Knight4
18 Eldritch Knight5 Persist Spell (Complete Arcane)
19 Eldritch Knight6
20 Eldritch Knight7

Ends with 18 spellcaster levels, giving you 9th level spells, and 17/20 BAB, making sure you get your 4th attack by the end. You'll have tons of spells that you can use to buff or convert to Arcane Strikes. You could also be a specialist Conjourer or Transmuter, if you wanted extra spell slots. Up to you.

This is a pretty much cookie cutter gish build. Get all of your yummy gish spells like Wraith Strike (CArcane), Whirling Blade (CArcane), all 4 Heart of X spells (CMage), Greater Mirror Image (PHBII), Greater Mighty Weapon and Greater Mighty Wallop (RotD), etc...

Eldariel
2009-04-11, 04:15 PM
Arcane Strike - Complete Arcane
Abjurant Champion - Complete Mage
Greater Mighty Wallop - Races of the Dragon
Megamagic School Focus - Complete Mage

Well, if you don't mind opening it up to other sources, check this out.

1 Fighter1 Power Attack, Weapon Focus(prereq)
2 Wizard1 Scribe Scroll
3 Wizard2 Combat Casting (prereq)
4 Wizard3
5 Wizard4
6 Wizard5 Practiced Spellcaster, Extend Spell
7 Wizard6
8 Spellsword1
9 Abjurant Champion1 Arcane Strike
10 Abjurant Champion2
11 Abjurant Champion3
12 Abjurant Champion4 Minor Shapeshift (Complete Mage)
13 Abjurant Champion5
14 Eldritch Knight1 Quicken Spell
15 Eldritch Knight2 Improved Toughness
16 Eldritch Knight3
17 Eldritch Knight4
18 Eldritch Knight5 Persist Spell (Complete Arcane)
19 Eldritch Knight6
20 Eldritch Knight7

Ends with 18 spellcaster levels, giving you 9th level spells, and 17/20 BAB, making sure you get your 4th attack by the end. You'll have tons of spells that you can use to buff or convert to Arcane Strikes. You could also be a specialist Conjourer or Transmuter, if you wanted extra spell slots. Up to you.

This is a pretty much cookie cutter gish build. Get all of your yummy gish spells like Wraith Strike (CArcane), Whirling Blade (CArcane), all 4 Heart of X spells (CMage), Greater Mirror Image (PHBII), Greater Mighty Weapon and Greater Mighty Wallop (RotD), etc...

I'd personally rather take Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight +1, if only to be closer to finishing EK before Epic. Also, I'd definitely be a Specialist Conjurer with Abrupt Jaunt [Player's Handbook II] as the ability's value is multiplied for a Gish who can make offensive uses of it, especially in conjuction with Attacks of Opportunity, and it's a great added defensive tool too.

Keld Denar
2009-04-11, 04:36 PM
I'd personally rather take Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight +1, if only to be closer to finishing EK before Epic.

Eh, if you aren't going epic though, 6th level is a power level. It gives you +1 BAB and +1 to all 3 saves. Compare that with the +1 BAB, ~1 HP extra, and +1 fort save that EK gives you, and I'd rather take wizard 6 than EK8 pre-epic.

Is ~1 hp worth +1 to will and reflex saves? I don't think so.

Eldariel
2009-04-11, 04:40 PM
Meh, it's more of the "get that bonus feat to use for qualifications"-thing, and the completionist in me, trying to take as many levels in PrCs as possible. By fractionals, EK fares just fine (I don't even think about non-fractional values anymore - I just don't see a point in playing without fractional saves/BAB).

Ixahinon
2009-04-11, 11:02 PM
Arcane Strike - Complete Arcane
Abjurant Champion - Complete Mage
Greater Mighty Wallop - Races of the Dragon
Megamagic School Focus - Complete Mage

Well, if you don't mind opening it up to other sources, check this out.

1 Fighter1 Power Attack, Weapon Focus(prereq)
2 Wizard1 Scribe Scroll
3 Wizard2 Combat Casting (prereq)
4 Wizard3
5 Wizard4
6 Wizard5 Practiced Spellcaster, Extend Spell
7 Wizard6
8 Spellsword1
9 Abjurant Champion1 Arcane Strike
10 Abjurant Champion2
11 Abjurant Champion3
12 Abjurant Champion4 Minor Shapeshift (Complete Mage)
13 Abjurant Champion5
14 Eldritch Knight1 Quicken Spell
15 Eldritch Knight2 Improved Toughness
16 Eldritch Knight3
17 Eldritch Knight4
18 Eldritch Knight5 Persist Spell (Complete Arcane)
19 Eldritch Knight6
20 Eldritch Knight7

Ends with 18 spellcaster levels, giving you 9th level spells, and 17/20 BAB, making sure you get your 4th attack by the end. You'll have tons of spells that you can use to buff or convert to Arcane Strikes. You could also be a specialist Conjourer or Transmuter, if you wanted extra spell slots. Up to you.

This is a pretty much cookie cutter gish build. Get all of your yummy gish spells like Wraith Strike (CArcane), Whirling Blade (CArcane), all 4 Heart of X spells (CMage), Greater Mirror Image (PHBII), Greater Mighty Weapon and Greater Mighty Wallop (RotD), etc...

Wouldn't I be taking a 10% xp cut for this? Since I'm taking a third class, and not keeping them all within a level of each other?

Chronos
2009-04-12, 12:55 AM
Prestige classes don't count for XP penalties, and Fighter and Wizard are the only base classes in that build.

Androgeus
2009-04-12, 07:25 AM
14 Eldritch Knight1 Quicken Spell

Isn't the Eldritch Knight feat to be chossen from the fighter list?

Talic
2009-04-12, 07:53 AM
If you don't mind giving up a feat, you could take the Armored Spellcaster Variant Fighter. It gives you light armored casting. While I can see your point about intricate movements and breastplate, a chain shirt might be more pliable. It fits your Dex nicely, and would end up working well.

If that idea is unappealing, I'd recommend honestly taking this a slightly different route (pick whichever sounds better):
More wizard / less fighter (18/2, perhaps)
Wizard based PrC, such as Archmage
Cleric / Fighter.

You'll gish out better with more casting.
A Wizard PrC would give you more flexibility.
Cleric instead of Wizard would increase your gishness even more.

Eldariel
2009-04-12, 08:23 AM
Isn't the Eldritch Knight feat to be chossen from the fighter list?

That, and to my knowledge, Weapon Focus actually is not a prerequisite for anything.


EDIT: Doesn't Armored Mage require like 7 Fighter-levels to cast all your spells without failure? I personally greatly prefer just Spellsword and Mithril armor, or even better, Abjurant Champion and Luminous Armor.

woodenbandman
2009-04-12, 08:33 AM
Yeah, it requires X fighter levels to cast spells of X level in light armor. Totally lame.

If you want armored casting, you'll be best served by prestige bard, but you don't even want armored casting, so whatever.

Dixieboy
2009-04-12, 08:39 AM
You wouldn't be able to make those intricate movements wearing a breastplate but somehow be able to do it with 3 dex?

Jsut a thing that always bothered me. :smallannoyed:

Ixahinon
2009-04-12, 11:06 AM
I'm in love with Abjurant Champion...many thanks to the person that opened my eyes to this..I just hope my DM allows this book for use. It is EXACTLY what I was looking for...a combat mage that relies more on magical protection than physical protection in melee, and this is what the Champion does.

I think my plans will be 1 Fighter/6 Wizard/5 Abjurant Champion/8 Eldritch Knight

Keld Denar
2009-04-12, 11:53 AM
I'm in love with Abjurant Champion...many thanks to the person that opened my eyes to this.

Welcome!

As far as Weapon Focus...I think I got burned for working from memory, but I thought it was a prereq for Spellsword. If not, just ignore me *whistles*

As far as your EK bonus feat, again, working from memory, I thought since EK was a hybred class, it could be EITHER a fighter bonus feat or a wizard bonus feat (MM or Item Creation). If I'm wrong about that, just swap the feats I put at 11 and 12. Simple as that.