Metamagic and Further PrCs for a Maho-Tsukai <3.5>

[Tokuhara]

I plan on rolling up a lv 9 Asherati Maho-Tsukai/X in my coming campaign. Now, ahead of time, bear in mind that this is actually an 11th/12th level character who traded in his sorcerer levels in for Maho levels.

Now, treating Maho as a Base Class for all intents and purposes:

1. What metamagic should I focus on
2. What PrCs are "optimal." and no broken stuff/grey reading of rules/Ur Priest cheez

[Tokuhara]

Bump??????

[Tael]

Uh, what exactly is a Maho-Tsukai? Some kind of Shugenja or Wu-Jen variant? Is it 3rd party?

[Tokuhara]

Uh, what exactly is a Maho-Tsukai? Some kind of Shugenja variant? That's arcane? Is it 3rd party?

Oriental Adventures, Chapter 12, pg. 237-241

[Glimbur]

Metamagics: Quicken is one of the best, provided you can sidestep the spontaneous caster problem. More actions = more winning. Extend can be nice if you have 10 min/level buffs you really want all day, or 1 min/level buffs and know another encounter is coming soon.

Mage of the Arcane Order is a solid PrC because it effectively expands your spells known dramatically. Other nice PrC's like Iot7V are harder to qualify for for sorcs. Sacred Exorcist can be interesting since it gives you turn undead. No DMM on arcane spells, but some Divine feats can be interesting.

[Tael]

Now that I look at it, your Maho Metamagic is actually pretty bad. Your best bet is probably Empower (or Split Ray if you've got some nice rays), although you should always take Quicken once you can cast 5th level spells.

The Tier System for Prestige Classes (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5198.0) is a pretty nice resource. Just look at the +1 and +2 PrCs.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

First of all, the Sorcerer levels aren't traded in, just the Sorcerer spellcasting levels. For example, if you go Sorcerer 5/ Maho-Tsukai 4, you'd still have those same class levels but cast spells as though you have 0 Sorcerer levels and 9 Maho-Tsukai levels. For this reason, it's better to multiclass leading into it to get access to more spell lists, and start out with as few Maho levels as possible.

For example, if you start out Hexblade 4/ Sorcerer 2/ Favored Soul 2/ Maho-Tsukai 1, you would get to pick your spells known from any of those lists and you would still have just as many levels of Maho spellcasting. Plus your HP and base saves would be a lot better off, and you would retain all of the Hexblade class features. There are many spells which are available to a Hexblade at a lower level than they can be obtained by a Sorcerer, plus there are a few exclusive spells like the powerful Hound of Doom. You'll be able to pick any spell from the entire Cleric spell list as spells known due to your Favored Soul levels. Again, you keep your levels in previous classes, only your level-equivalent spellcasting ability gets traded in, so there's no reason not to pick spellcasting classes which get better class features, HP, BAB, saves, and skills, and multiclass for a bigger spell list.

[Tokuhara]

Okay: so Empower over Maximize, Quicken (obvious), and extend for either Buff or DOT spells. What about off metamagics like Sculpt, twin, and others from CArc?

and PrC-wise, I cannot find the flavor I was looking for. He is LE, but is very much a "magic politition"

[Psyren]

Uh, what exactly is a Maho-Tsukai? Some kind of Shugenja or Wu-Jen variant? Is it 3rd party?

It's basically the Tainted Sorcerer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/taint.htm#taintedSorcerer) with fluff attached.

[Tokuhara]

It's basically the Tainted Sorcerer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/campaigns/taint.htm#taintedSorcerer) with fluff attached.

and its 20 levels long, hence why my DM said i can trade all levels from my base class for Maho levels

[Urpriest]

and its 20 levels long, hence why my DM said i can trade all levels from my base class for Maho levels

This is false. Look at the table again. Spellcasting continues to level 20, but base saves, BAB, and class features do not. That's because you trade spellcasting for levels of spellcasting, not levels for levels.

[Tokuhara]

This is false. Look at the table again. Spellcasting continues to level 20, but base saves, BAB, and class features do not. That's because you trade spellcasting for levels of spellcasting, not levels for levels.

Irrelevant, since I plan to PrC before the table runs dry

[Khatoblepas]

You could take a level in Archivist, have every divine spell on your spell list - and dark knowledge is fitting, too, for someone invested in forbidden magicks - remember that you get full Maho spellcasting even if it's not a full casting class, so bard and the like might be good for skills and some spells politicians might need, like Glibness.

(Bard 1/Hexblade 4/Archivist 1/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer (for sorcerer-only spells) 1/Wu-Jen 1/Maho-Tsukai 3 will give you a spell list of just about everything, and not only does ST Bat Sorc give you extra HP, it removes spells known, which leaves you with more you can know as a Maso-Tsukai.)

Take leadership for a Mongrelfolk Binder (with Deformity (Obese) and the stone creature template) and you have your very own metamagic battery, who is also a gargoyle. Have him bind Naberious(sp?) and he heals Con damage at a rate of 1 per round. (And, it's nice to have a lackey along with you). If flaws are allowed, let him take Toughness->Trollblooded and rock out with your effectively free material components. (Forcecages everywhere! :D)

Sand Shaper is a pretty neat PrC, too, since you'll need Wis to stave off Corruption, and I believe shapesand is Wis-based? It also gives you 40 extra spells known, letting you choose the more exotic spells using your real spells known.

[Tokuhara]

You could take a level in Archivist, have every divine spell on your spell list - and dark knowledge is fitting, too, for someone invested in forbidden magicks - remember that you get full Maho spellcasting even if it's not a full casting class, so bard and the like might be good for skills and some spells politicians might need, like Glibness.

(Bard 1/Hexblade 4/Archivist 1/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer (for sorcerer-only spells) 1/Wu-Jen 1/Maho-Tsukai 3 will give you a spell list of just about everything, and not only does ST Bat Sorc give you extra HP, it removes spells known, which leaves you with more you can know as a Maso-Tsukai.)

Take leadership for a Mongrelfolk Binder (with Deformity (Obese) and the stone creature template) and you have your very own metamagic battery, who is also a gargoyle. Have him bind Naberious(sp?) and he heals Con damage at a rate of 1 per round. (And, it's nice to have a lackey along with you). If flaws are allowed, let him take Toughness->Trollblooded and rock out with your effectively free material components. (Forcecages everywhere! :D)

Sand Shaper is a pretty neat PrC, too, since you'll need Wis to stave off Corruption, and I believe shapesand is Wis-based? It also gives you 40 extra spells known, letting you choose the more exotic spells using your real spells known.

Well, judging as how my DM stated that If I prc out pre-15th level, he'll treat it as a BC, I will take the Leadership and Sandshaper advice to heart.

Plus, I was looking at Halruuan Elder, since for 4 metamagic feats, I can make them cost 1 spell level less, hence less damage to my minion. Now, spellcasting in a cooperative spell is less than useful, but it could come in handy. Either that or Fiend-Blooded, mostly for Half-Fiend template