Low level archivist suggestions?

[OverdrivePrime]

Hi all,
One of my players wants to be a sort of "Sexy Battle Librarian", which screams Archivist to me. We're starting at level 2, She's got INT through the roof and high Charisma, with respectable Wisdom and Constitution. Dex is her dump stat. She doesn't have the option to rearrange stats.

What we're having trouble with is figuring out feats for her. She's human, and unfortunately we don't have access to Complete Champion, so no knowledge devotion, unfortunately. We do have access to:
Every Other Complete X book, except for Complete Champion
Races of Stone, the Wild and Destiny
PHB II and all 'official' web resources.
I'll consider homebrew stuff if it passes a hefty sniff check.

What two feats would you recommend to start, and how would you recommend she progresses as she continues to level?

As I mentioned, we're starting at level 2, and I plan for the game to extend into very high levels.

[Thurbane]

How set is the player on being a human? If you have RoS, she could play a gnome, and take the Tricial Knowledge feat - it means you get to roll twice and take the best result for all Knowledge Checks (i.e. dark knowledge). Just 1 bit of advice...

But basically for any Archivist, Draconic Archivist and Archivist of Nature (both in HoH) are almost must haves - they really expand the type of creatures you can use your Dark Knowledge against.

[holywhippet]

Bard would be a good choice also since they are knowledge specialists.

Otherwise, spontaneous healer (complete divine) might be a good idea - it lets you convert spells to cure X wounds type spells like a cleric.

True believer (complete divine) for a +2 bonus to any saving throw once per day.

It depends on whether she wants to be a buffer, a blaster or batman.

[Big Fau]

Hi all,
One of my players wants to be a sort of "Sexy Battle Librarian", which screams Archivist to me.

Really? Because I'm thinking of something much different (http://www.watchcartoononline.com/read-or-die-ova-episode-1-english-dubbed)...


There was a homebrew on WotC that was designed to mimic Yomiko's style, with a dash of the TV series for good measure.


I really have to recommend Psion for the above (focusing on Astral Construct if you want to make paper animals like the sisters do in the TV series).

[OverdrivePrime]

Thanks guys.
Thurbane, good call on the two Archivist feats. I was able to find them on the web (we just have access to the Archivist class through Wizards' website), and they make a lot of sense.

She's definitely going with Archivist - totally in love with whole idea of the class. I looked out on the webbatubes for an Archivist handbook, but it's far from fleshed out.

Any other feats that are must-haves for an Archivist as she grows up? A lot of the recommended Cleric feats are out since Archivists can't turn/rebuke undead.

Archivist looks like a solid class the whole way through. Any good reason to PRC out at some point?

[JaronK]

With her high Charisma, a dip into Sacred Exorcist for Turn Undead might be wise. DMM: Persist would be a great idea, and if she wants "Battle Librarian" a few persisted buffs would let her wade into the fray. With that said, Archivist has some great class features so there's no need to PrC out if you don't want to. It's a shame about not having Knowledge Devotion or Trivial Knowledge, as those are pretty key to being a "Battle Librarian." It's also a shame Tome of Magic isn't available, as Binder 1/Archivist 4/Anima Mage 10/Tenebrous Apostate 5 can really rock the "student of eldritch lore who destroys all before them" concept.

JaronK

[OverdrivePrime]

Knowledge Devotion really is that awesome?
I just might have to pick up Complete Champion - is the rest of the book decent? I know about the lion totem barbarian pounce thing for überchargers.

[Big Fau]

Knowledge Devotion really is that awesome?
I just might have to pick up Complete Champion - is the rest of the book decent? I know about the lion totem barbarian pounce thing for überchargers.

The PrCs are balanced, if on the lower end of the spectrum (slightly). Paragnostic Apostle and Ordained Champion are very popular for casters (the former being really easy to enter and gives nothing but bonuses, the latter being a very solid Cleric Gish PrC).

The feats are ok, though Battle Blessing has caused some headaches. And the ACFs are generally useful, barring one or two.

[JaronK]

Knowledge Devotion really is that awesome?

It turns knowledge checks into to hit and damage bonuses, so for the concept of "battle librarian" it's pretty much perfect. Of course, to get the best bonuses (+5/+5) you need very high knowledge checks, but even the lower level bonuses are solid. Plus, the boost applies to spells too, which is quite nice.

JaronK

[OverdrivePrime]

Very tasty. Okay, yeah. Looks like I've got some book hunting to do.

[Thurbane]

If you do pick up Complete Champion, Paragnostic Apostle is a great PrC for Archivists. :smallwink: