[3.5] E6 Gestalt NPC needed, Cold-Based

[Maeglin_Dubh]

Cayr Lewes is the commander of Darkfyrd, a training camp for combat arcanists. The nature of Darkfyrd is such that casualties are an accepted part of the training regimen, and the coldness of Cayr's combat style is reflective of his attitude towards trainees.


Again, E6 Gestalt, and this guy should be somewhere between 4 and 6. (If at 6, few to no extra feats, as Epic 6th level is for truly iconic individuals. Kings, legendary warlords, that sort of thing.)

I'd like one half of the Gestalt progression to be mostly Duskblade, as that class exemplifies the warlike practice of magic espoused by the camp, but the other half is wide open.

The main thing I need help with here is making as much of his magic (and other miscellaneous abilities) be cold-based as possible. I do recall there is some sort of feat that allows you to shift the type of various spells from one energy type to another, but I don't remember what book it might be found in.

Any suggestions?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Frostburn has a feat called Snowcasting, which adds the cold descriptor to any spell, or Heightens an already cold spell by one level. It costs only a handful of snow as a material component (and typically a move-action to collect the snow), but Eschew Materials can get around that and make it completely free though it's a bit cheesy.

Energy Substitution from Complete Arcane can switch a spell from one energy type to another. Burning Hands can be made into a cold spell, Acid Arrow can be switched to cold damage, etc.

Frostburn also has feats which increase the DC, caster level, and damage of cold spells when cast in a cold environment. They don't do anything if the current temperature is below freezing, but in the right setting they're extremely powerful. There's also the Frost Mage prestige class, though you'd be lucky to get one level of it in E6. It also has Piercing Cold, which makes a damaging cold spell overcome resistance and immunity to cold.

For a combat-focused build, assuming he's Human, I'd go with the following:
Human, Duskblade 5// Druidic Avenger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#druidVariantDruidicAve nger) 5 (Whirling Frenzy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm#rageVariantWhirlingFrenzy ))
Power Attack, Extend Rage, Extra Rage
Items: Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend, White Dragonhide Breastplate, Greatclub
Druid spells of choice: Shillelagh, (Extended) Longstrider, (Extended) Snowsight (FB), Winter Chill (SC), Cure Light Wounds, (Extended) Creeping Cold (SC), Winter's Embrace (SC), Chill Metal, Obscuring Snow (FB)
Duskblade spells of choice: Chill Touch, Bull's Strength, See Invisibility

Tactics, single opponent:
First round: Quick Cast an Extended Creeping Cold, cast Chill Metal or Winter's Embrace or Winter Chill or Shillelagh, move into melee range.
Second Round: Activate Whirling Frenzy and full attack if opponent is in melee range, or cast Shillelagh and move in to melee range.
Third and subsequent rounds: Activate Whirling Frenzy and full attack.
Multiple Opponents:
First round: Quick Cast an Extended Creeping Cold on the most dangerous looking foe, cast Obscuring Snow (Extended Snowsight should be active already), move to hide his position.
Second and third rounds: Cast Chill Metal on multiple opponents, or cast Shillelagh or Bull's Strength, move to hide his position, i.e. put some damage-over-time spells on his foes and/or buff up while hiding in the snowstorm.
Fourth and subsequent rounds: Try to stay within melee reach of only one opponent at a time, activate Whirling Frenzy and full attack, relying on Obscuring Snow to keep him hidden from other foes.
If it looks like he's going to lose the fight, Wild Shape into an Arctic Fox (FB, 60 ft. speed with Fast Movement and Longstrider) or a bird and attempt to escape.

The build is a bit MAD, but Int and Wis don't need to be higher than 14, so you can focus more on his physical stats. Use spells for buffing and to solve problems outside of combat. For damaging spells, focus on cold spells which start off slow but deal greater damage later on such as Creeping Cold and Chill Metal. He's the type who wants his opponent to stay confident for most of the fight, only to be faced with a sudden realization that they were completely outmatched all along.

[Maeglin_Dubh]

Very nice, very specific! Thanks!

I had intended to give him a Partisan, but a Greatclub is even more unassuming, especially since an arcanist combat camp will likely attract the intelligent and charismatic, people who see such crude weapons as beneath them. So that works out nicely.

I'll just push the Partisan off on his second-in-command, a Sharakim (who I haven't really figured on a combination for yet, but he should be 4th or 3rd level.)

I'd think Warmage for the second, but the Charisma hit doesn't help. I don't want to go Duskblade again, so I might combine Wizard with some other martial class, or at least a 3/4 BAB class with decent HP, something to bring him up to the level of someone who was capable of surviving Darkfyrd.