creating 3.5character

[oh-no-noob]

new campaign, no holds bar on what i can create. need new ideas. I'm still kinda new to the whole thing so i'm slow on stuff lol so i need help please
-There are no class restrictions
-There are no race restrctions (ECL modifiers still apply)
-There is an alignment restriction to neutral or good alignments for this game
-There is no diety restriction. This means that you can have a diety in game from Eberon, Faerun, Dragonlance, Kalamdor, etc as long as they are from a D&D 3.5 compatible book.

oh and starting level 5, 9000gp, max hitpoints for every level

umm i usually play casters but more melee combat is interesting i played a monk for one session which was fun.but bc my 'alignment' didn't fit with the rest of the group so i was killed :(

[Knaight]

Do you have a character concept yet? For that matter, do you have a process by which you would create said concept?

[Yora]

The most basic descision to make would be to decide for either a combat, skill, or magic character.

[oh-no-noob]

The most basic descision to make would be to decide for either a combat, skill, or magic character.

sorry still learning on how to work this thread/forum thing

i want a mix of caster/fighter type

[Yora]

In that case I recommend taking a class that is meant to combine both. Actually combining a fighting class with a spellcasting class is quite difficult to do well.

But for example bards and psychic warriors are both fighters and spellcasters and generally seen as quite solid classes. I'd recommend looking into those. There's also swordsage, which is highly regarded by people who have Tome of Battle.
Oh, and obviously clerics, if you want to go for a heavily armored warpriest.

[Lord Ruby34]

Might I suggest a Duskblade or a PsyWarrior. Your group seems fairly low-op so a proper gish can wait until later.

Note: These classes might still be considered too strong for some groups.

[Zaq]

Are you willing to learn a new system (incarnum, psionics, binding, Sublime Way, etc.)?

I almost think that a relative newbie is going to have the easiest time learning a new system, just because they have fewer preconceptions to muscle past . . .

[oh-no-noob]

i don't really like bards, they are suppose to be the ones who are charismatic and talks for the group so to speak, i tend to not be able to play that, one day i will though lol
the second one mention seems interesting , what book would i find all the info in?

[oh-no-noob]

Might I suggest a Duskblade or a PsyWarrior. Your group seems fairly low-op so a proper gish can wait until later.

Note: These classes might still be considered too strong for some groups.

i debated on the duskblade, it had both fighter/magic user but even though it had both, it was weaker in of it self of both
the group has a druid and swordsage right now, the swordsage is the 'tank' of the group and i feel maybe i would like to take that spot lol

[Knaight]

sorry still learning on how to work this thread/forum thing

i want a mix of caster/fighter type

What books do you have available? Depending on the options, you might want to try these:
SRD Only
Barbarian/Wizard/Eldritch Knight
Paladin/Sorcerer/Eldritch Knight
Cleric

Others
Crusader/Sorcerer/Abjurant Champion
Duskblade

This handles the mechanical side of the character. There is still the matter of personality. If you write, I assume you have that under control, otherwise there are various short cuts, which can be mixed and matched. My personal favorites:
Aspects: A short list of traits that describe a character. Look at Fate (another game system, and a completely free one) for details.

Beliefs and Instincts: A short list of the characters most critical beliefs, and the instincts they have.

Archetypes and Complications: A few basic archetypes or cliches that fit a character, as well as complications to some of these archetypes.

Wants and Qualms: What a character wants to achieve, and what they won't do to achieve their aims.

[oh-no-noob]

Are you willing to learn a new system (incarnum, psionics, binding, Sublime Way, etc.)?

I almost think that a relative newbie is going to have the easiest time learning a new system, just because they have fewer preconceptions to muscle past . . .

and yes i'm willing to learn almost anything, that is new and interesting, i have a horrible attention span and like a character that can Do a lot

[Yora]

The Psychic Warrior is online for free here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psychicWarrior.htm). If you never played a psionic character, there's a good link in the spoiler in my signature, that explains all the important differences.

Swordsage is Tome of Battle.
Duskblade is Player's Handbook 2
The Incarnum classes are in Magic of Incarnum
And Binders are in Tome of Magic, but they are very unusual and I'd recommend looking at the others first.

[oh-no-noob]

What books do you have available? Depending on the options, you might want to try these:
SRD Only
Barbarian/Wizard/Eldritch Knight
Paladin/Sorcerer/Eldritch Knight
Cleric

Others
Crusader/Sorcerer/Abjurant Champion
Duskblade

This handles the mechanical side of the character. There is still the matter of personality. If you write, I assume you have that under control, otherwise there are various short cuts, which can be mixed and matched. My personal favorites:
Aspects: A short list of traits that describe a character. Look at Fate (another game system, and a completely free one) for details.

Beliefs and Instincts: A short list of the characters most critical beliefs, and the instincts they have.

Archetypes and Complications: A few basic archetypes or cliches that fit a character, as well as complications to some of these archetypes.

Wants and Qualms: What a character wants to achieve, and what they won't do to achieve their aims.

btwn all my friends who have played way before me, I can get about any type of books.
and i have the basic phb and phb2 pdf downloaded

[Hiro Protagonest]

the group has a druid and swordsage right now, the swordsage is the 'tank' of the group and i feel maybe i would like to take that spot lol

If you want to be a tank/caster, be a crusader/sorcerer/jade phoenix mage, or crusader/cleric/ruby knight vindicator.

[oh-no-noob]

Might I suggest a Duskblade or a PsyWarrior. Your group seems fairly low-op so a proper gish can wait until later.

Note: These classes might still be considered too strong for some groups.

what do you mean by gish?

[Lord Ruby34]

A gish is generally a character with a BAB of 16+ that has 9th level spells, it generally involves quite a bit of multiclassing.

[oh-no-noob]

If you want to be a tank/caster, be a crusader/sorcerer/jade phoenix mage, or crusader/cleric/ruby knight vindicator.

i wouldn't know how to start making a character with so many dips in different classes :(

[oh-no-noob]

A gish is generally a character with a BAB of 16+ that has 9th level spells, it generally involves quite a bit of multiclassing.

ooh okay, def not us yet

[Yora]

More generally it's just what you specified: A character who fights and has magic.

And be warned, about half the character advice you'll get on this forum will be for 20th level characters in highly competetive gaming groups, that usually include 5 and more classes. :smallamused:

[Lord Ruby34]

ooh okay, def not us yet

It's not to hard if you just want to use a cleric. Divine Meta Magic: Persist ... Divine Power is it? That grants you full BAB and you're still a full caster. Take Power Attack and go to town.

[oh-no-noob]

More generally it's just what you specified: A character who fights and has magic.

And be warned, about half the character advice you'll get on this forum will be for 20th level characters in highly competetive gaming groups, that usually include 5 and more classes. :smallamused:

ya the group i've been playing with never seem to go past 7 bc higher levels are too much of a hassle...so i've been told anyways

[Knaight]

And be warned, about half the character advice you'll get on this forum will be for 20th level characters in highly competetive gaming groups, that usually include 5 and more classes. :smallamused:

Ask for a warrior/mage, and 3+ classes are simply to be expected. Either you pick a hybrid class, or you pick a warrior class, a mage class, and a hybrid prestige class, and this is before introducing significant multiclassing.

[oh-no-noob]

It's not to hard if you just want to use a cleric. Divine Meta Magic: Persist ... Divine Power is it? That grants you full BAB and you're still a full caster. Take Power Attack and go to town.

clerics usually have a god they channel through, right? i don't know much of the gods of dnd

[HappyBlanket]

i debated on the duskblade, it had both fighter/magic user but even though it had both, it was weaker in of it self of both
the group has a druid and swordsage right now, the swordsage is the 'tank' of the group and i feel maybe i would like to take that spot lol

If you want to play a gish (which we'll define as a melee character using magical buffs and enhancements), Duskblade is the simplest and most straightforward route to take. Otherwise, you're probably looking at multiclassing (only a bit though, with just one additional base class and one prestige). Plus, Duskblade is a strong class to take. It's not as melee orientated as a Knight might be, and it's not as magic orientated as a Wizard, but between it's buffs and melee capabilities it does manage to shine.

On Clerics: You don't need to know the pantheons and such. Some Clerics worship concepts, not deities, and therefore don't have too much involvement with the religious aspects of the class. It simplifies things, really.

[Knaight]

clerics usually have a god they channel through, right? i don't know much of the gods of dnd

They are very simple, and usually rather underdeveloped. You can pretty much make up a doctrine as you go, and it will work fine.

[Lord Ruby34]

Then go Psy Warrior or Duskblade, they do what you want very well at those levels. Duskblades channel spells through their swords and Psy Warriors buff themselves to become more powerful combatants.

Level 7 doesn't leave alot of build options for gish characters.

EDIT: Swordsage'd

[Divide by Zero]

I'd recommend Duskblade again. Yes, it's weaker at magic than a wizard, and weaker at fighting than a pure martial class without a bit of optimization, but it's better than most things at combining the two without significant multiclassing.

[oh-no-noob]

If you want to play a gish (which we'll define as a melee character using magical buffs and enhancements), Duskblade is the simplest and most straightforward route to take. Otherwise, you're probably looking at multiclassing (only a bit though, with just one additional base class and one prestige). Plus, Duskblade is a strong class to take. It's not as melee orientated as a Knight might be, and it's not as magic orientated as a Wizard, but between it's buffs and melee capabilities it does manage to shine.

On Clerics: You don't need to know the pantheons and such. Some Clerics worship concepts, not deities, and therefore don't have too much involvement with the religious aspects of the class. It simplifies things, really.

i did play a duskblade for a few, my character tends to die a lot :( usually bc somehow i tend to play an alignment that goes against the rest (not on purpose i list it to go with the group but i tend to 'play' a different alignment)
but the duskblade was very fun, bc i did get combat And magic, but it just seemed a bit weak for some reason
on clerics the dm said i would proly have to pick a diety

[ShneekeyTheLost]

'Gish' is a term which is applied to a character which can both be effective in physical combat while also having useful magic available to him.

Here's a question for you: What do you want to do with magic? Do you want to Blow Stuff Up? Do you want to tell people 'Save vs (pick your weakest) or go sit down and cry'? Do you want to 'buff' and use your magic to augment yourself and your allies? There's a LOT of things you can do with 'fight and cast magic'.

If you just want to make things go BOOM, and still be viable in combat, I *HIGHLY* suggest Warlock. Right out of the box, he has 3/4 BAB (so the same as a Rogue), and gets UNLIMITED blasting, even if it isn't very strong at first. Instead of spells, you pick up a small number of Spell-Like Abilities which you can use an UNLIMITED number of times per day. They are at the beginning of Complete Arcane, if you want to look them up.

If you like applying a bunch of Save or Lose effects, you may wish to consider Dragonfire Adept instead. Warlocks *can* do Save or Lose, but it takes a while to get it going, wheras a Dragonfire Adept can start Entangling from level 1.

If you are wanting to do buffing and augmentation type magic, then you have several options. The easiest would be Suel Archanamach, from Complete Arcane. They don't pick up many spells, but the ones they get are good at buffing. From there, go into War Weaver, so you can buff the whole party at the same time.

These options are simple and viable, and all fit the 'fight and cast magic' archetype. If you are wanting something other than magic, then we can accommodate that.

My suggestion to you: Define what you want your character to do. There's a ten page thread on making any concept mechanically viable, but first you need a character concept. What does he do? What roll do you want him to fill? Data, data, data, Dr. Watson. I cannot build bricks without clay.

[oh-no-noob]

I'd recommend Duskblade again. Yes, it's weaker at magic than a wizard, and weaker at fighting than a pure martial class without a bit of optimization, but it's better than most things at combining the two without significant multiclassing.

okay everyone seems to be leaning towards duskblade lol which isn't bad
race? it says its usually elves that are duskblades, but dm is allowing any race that's not too monstrous

[Knaight]

race? it says its usually elves that are duskblades, but dm is allowing any race that's not too monstrous

As a rule, completely ignoring Wotc fluff* that isn't attached to an explicit setting is a good idea. It has an annoying tendency to suck tremendously. Go with whatever race you want.

*Fluff essentially means non-rules elements of a game system.

[Lord Ruby34]

Human is good, especially if you can't get flaws. Also of Intrest are Raptorans, Water Orcs, some Dwarves, or if you need to play an elf, Snow Elves.

[Divide by Zero]

race? it says its usually elves that are duskblades, but dm is allowing any race that's not too monstrous

All of that information is not rules about the class, so you're free to ignore it if you want.

Human is always a good choice, for the extra feat and skill points, but really it's up to you. What sort of character do you want to play? Pick a race that fits your concept.

[Knaight]

Humans are pretty much amazing in general. They are never a bad choice.

[oh-no-noob]

'Gish' is a term which is applied to a character which can both be effective in physical combat while also having useful magic available to him.

Here's a question for you: What do you want to do with magic? Do you want to Blow Stuff Up? Do you want to tell people 'Save vs (pick your weakest) or go sit down and cry'? Do you want to 'buff' and use your magic to augment yourself and your allies? There's a LOT of things you can do with 'fight and cast magic'.

If you just want to make things go BOOM, and still be viable in combat, I *HIGHLY* suggest Warlock. Right out of the box, he has 3/4 BAB (so the same as a Rogue), and gets UNLIMITED blasting, even if it isn't very strong at first. Instead of spells, you pick up a small number of Spell-Like Abilities which you can use an UNLIMITED number of times per day. They are at the beginning of Complete Arcane, if you want to look them up.

If you like applying a bunch of Save or Lose effects, you may wish to consider Dragonfire Adept instead. Warlocks *can* do Save or Lose, but it takes a while to get it going, wheras a Dragonfire Adept can start Entangling from level 1.

If you are wanting to do buffing and augmentation type magic, then you have several options. The easiest would be Suel Archanamach, from Complete Arcane. They don't pick up many spells, but the ones they get are good at buffing. From there, go into War Weaver, so you can buff the whole party at the same time.

These options are simple and viable, and all fit the 'fight and cast magic' archetype. If you are wanting something other than magic, then we can accommodate that.

My suggestion to you: Define what you want your character to do. There's a ten page thread on making any concept mechanically viable, but first you need a character concept. What does he do? What roll do you want him to fill? Data, data, data, Dr. Watson. I cannot build bricks without clay.

hmm yes. warlock is a no go, its defined as 'evil' :( haha i played one for a few in a campaign where everyone was evil but somehow my poor lil warlock was the most evil, even when he didn't kill children or go rampaging like another player did. ugh.
i do like things that go boom.
concept wise i like the character type that can be showy and save the day, but only after thinking all the possibilities first. Like do only as much as you have to, And get the desired result

[Divide by Zero]

hmm yes. warlock is a no go, its defined as 'evil' :( haha i played one for a few in a campaign where everyone was evil but somehow my poor lil warlock was the most evil, even when he didn't kill children or go rampaging like another player did. ugh.

Chaotic OR evil. It's perfectly viable to play a Chaotic Good warlock; I've done it before. How evil the character is depends entirely on how you roleplay it.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Ask for a warrior/mage, and 3+ classes are simply to be expected. Either you pick a hybrid class, or you pick a warrior class, a mage class, and a hybrid prestige class, and this is before introducing significant multiclassing.

This. The OP said my suggested build was full of dips, but for gish PrCs, you need at least one warrior class, one caster class, and the PrC.

[HappyBlanket]

Wait, wait, Shneeky is bringing up a very good point that really should have been addressed much earlier.

How do you play your Duskblade? Are you using spells like True Strike and Protection from Energy to augment your melee attacks? Or are you using spells like Firebolt and Shocking Grasp to use magical attacks? Because the difference between your spell choices is very, very important.

edit: ...There's a good possibility that this was addressed, and that I missed it. Sorry if that's the case, I'm multiclassing multitasking right now.

Humans are a great choice. Get the bonus feat, your build will thank you for it.

edit2: Did that just happen.

[oh-no-noob]

Chaotic OR evil. It's perfectly viable to play a Chaotic Good warlock; I've done it before. How evil the character is depends entirely on how you roleplay it.

i played my warlock as good, like i did sacrifice to my demon diety but only if i had a willing person (hard to convince ppl but possible) and asked when they died i could have their bodies to sacrifice ... but i was still treated as the most evil...i don't really understand bc the other player who killed/ate children and had an imp wasn't all that evil to the rest of the group...

[Divide by Zero]

i played my warlock as good, like i did sacrifice to my demon diety but only if i had a willing person (hard to convince ppl but possible) and asked when they died i could have their bodies to sacrifice ... but i was still treated as the most evil...i don't really understand bc the other player who killed/ate children and had an imp wasn't all that evil to the rest of the group...

Sounds like a weird group :smallconfused:

Nowhere in the warlock description does it say you have to make sacrifices, or even follow a demon at all.

[oh-no-noob]

Wait, wait, Shneeky is bringing up a very good point that really should have been addressed much earlier.

How do you play your Duskblade? Are you using spells like True Strike and Protection from Energy to augment your melee attacks? Or are you using spells like Firebolt and Shocking Grasp to use magical attacks? Because the difference between your spell choices is very, very important.

edit: ...There's a good possibility that this was addressed, and that I missed it. Sorry if that's the case, I'm multiclassing multitasking right now.

Humans are a great choice. Get the bonus feat, your build will thank you for it.

edit2: Did that just happen.



ooooh good point! no i didn't, like when i did play my former duskblade it was quickly made for me. bc i suxed at doing character sheets but proud to say i can now make my own now ;D!! i still get confused a bit but ya...
i will be picking my own feats/spells now, so i could look at what's available

if anyone is just bored and want to make a 5th level human or elf duskblade and op it out ;3....yay

[Hiro Protagonest]

i played my warlock as good, like i did sacrifice to my demon diety but only if i had a willing person (hard to convince ppl but possible) and asked when they died i could have their bodies to sacrifice ... but i was still treated as the most evil...i don't really understand bc the other player who killed/ate children and had an imp wasn't all that evil to the rest of the group...

They thought you were the most evil because of horrible class fluff combined with horrible misinterpretation. Seriously, if you use WotC's fluff as written, then people in the game world came up with stupid names like "fighter", "warblade", and "swordsage", rather than "warrior", "mercenary", and "martial artist".

[oh-no-noob]

Sounds like a weird group :smallconfused:

Nowhere in the warlock description does it say you have to make sacrifices, or even follow a demon at all.

ya my group is weird :( well if you followed a demon and sacrifices you got bonuses etc
and they like to kill my characters for fun bc i 'don't do much' but i like to watch things unfold then act...where they are mostly rash and rush in

[ShneekeyTheLost]

hmm yes. warlock is a no go, its defined as 'evil' :( haha i played one for a few in a campaign where everyone was evil but somehow my poor lil warlock was the most evil, even when he didn't kill children or go rampaging like another player did. ugh.
i do like things that go boom.
concept wise i like the character type that can be showy and save the day, but only after thinking all the possibilities first. Like do only as much as you have to, And get the desired result

Okay, you like things that go 'boom'. We can work with that. Your gaming group doesn't know how to read class descriptions and applies arbitrary metagaming concepts, so Warlock is not on the table due to a blind and unreasoning idiocy on the part of your fellow gamers. Check.

You know, I'd be sorely tempted to suggest to you a Mailman build, just to Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies the game, but that would be a trifle... reactionary.

So, we'll build a guy with the spells that go 'boom'.

Dragonfire Adept is surprisingly good at this. They have a breath weapon they can pretty much spam, which does area effect damage output, and never has to stop. They also get battlefield control, but that's secondary to the blasting.

You can be a 'good guy' dragonfire adept, revering the metallic dragons.

[Vladislav]

Good feats for a Duskblade:

- Deceptive Illumination (Drow of the Underdark) - upgrade your rather useless Dancing Lights spell-like ability to Silent Image, which is much better.

- Power Attack (core) - you have True Strike on your spell list, therefore hitting is often a no-brainer and you can afford to Power Attack for max.

- Battle Caster (Complete Arcane) - now you can cast spells in heavy armor!! Good for not dying.

- Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion) - get awesome combat bonuses based on Knowledge checks; remember, you get all Knowledge skills in-class.

- Obtain Familiar (Complete Arcane) - get your own personal scout, plus minor bonuses to skills or saves.

[oh-no-noob]

Okay, you like things that go 'boom'. We can work with that. Your gaming group doesn't know how to read class descriptions and applies arbitrary metagaming concepts, so Warlock is not on the table due to a blind and unreasoning idiocy on the part of your fellow gamers. Check.

You know, I'd be sorely tempted to suggest to you a Mailman build, just to Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies the game, but that would be a trifle... reactionary.

So, we'll build a guy with the spells that go 'boom'.

Dragonfire Adept is surprisingly good at this. They have a breath weapon they can pretty much spam, which does area effect damage output, and never has to stop. They also get battlefield control, but that's secondary to the blasting.

You can be a 'good guy' dragonfire adept, revering the metallic dragons.

hmm interesting i'm liking this, i'll look into it more. i'll talk to my friend the other dm of my other group about it. off to work :(

[oh-no-noob]

Good feats for a Duskblade:

- Deceptive Illumination (Drow of the Underdark) - upgrade your rather useless Dancing Lights spell-like ability to Silent Image, which is much better.

- Power Attack (core) - you have True Strike on your spell list, therefore hitting is often a no-brainer and you can afford to Power Attack for max.

- Battle Caster (Complete Arcane) - now you can cast spells in heavy armor!! Good for not dying.

- Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion) - get awesome combat bonuses based on Knowledge checks; remember, you get all Knowledge skills in-class.

- Obtain Familiar (Complete Arcane) - get your own personal scout, plus minor bonuses to skills or saves.


feats! ooh fun, thanks!

[oh-no-noob]

They thought you were the most evil because of horrible class fluff combined with horrible misinterpretation. Seriously, if you use WotC's fluff as written, then people in the game world came up with stupid names like "fighter", "warblade", and "swordsage", rather than "warrior", "mercenary", and "martial artist".

yes someone who didn't think i was evil! ugh it really upset me that they kept saying that i was evil and just didn't understand it. yes sacrificial in of it self Is evil, but dang i can choose to sacrifice only evil ppl my warlock had morals to a point lol

[Yora]

Things that go boom and fighting in close combat are the one thing that really doesn't work in D&D in my experience. Combining magic and combat works best when you use your magic to improve your combat skills. But shoting fire and lightning and hacking at things with your swords is something that is pretty much opposed to each other. You can only do one at a time, and it usually pays of to be really good at one thing instead of being okay at two.

[zimmerwald1915]

hmm yes. warlock is a no go, its defined as 'evil' :( haha i played one for a few in a campaign where everyone was evil but somehow my poor lil warlock was the most evil, even when he didn't kill children or go rampaging like another player did. ugh.
i do like things that go boom.
concept wise i like the character type that can be showy and save the day, but only after thinking all the possibilities first. Like do only as much as you have to, And get the desired result
If Warlock appeals to you but being considered evil does not, have a look at the Blessed Soul base class homebrewed on these very forums.

[OnePep]

You could go for an Illumian (Races of destiny, p.51 (stats on p. 54)
A Duskblade only needs int 15 to cast her highest lvl of spells. An Illumian allows you to get bonusspells from your strength mod. This means you would use the "illumian word" aeshkrau, that will net you casterlvl +2 and a +2 bonus on str checks an str based skills as well.
And you'll will be the candlelight in dark times :smalltongue:

[Optimator]

The Duskblade's Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=525.0) will be of great use to you.

[BIGMamaSloth]

may I just say that if you were thinking about binder, don't play one unless you're very dedicated to learning the system. the basic system isn't that hard to learn, but to do a binder right, even in a low-op group, is pretty easy to mess up pretty bad. but on the flip side binders can also be good for new players as you can always change all your abilities the next day.

[WinWin]

Binder from Tome of Magic is pretty good. Can tank and has a lot of magic abilities.

Warlock from Complete Arcane is also a melee type character with the right invocations.

If you do choose Duskblade, keep in mind that there is no reason to stay in the class past level 13 (assuming the campaign goes that far). Sandshaper is a good prestige class for Duskblade, as it will add a lot of low level buff spells to your spells known. This is kind of a big deal as Duskblade focus mainly on attack spells.

[oh-no-noob]

hmm what about a silverbrow human duskblade??

[HappyBlanket]

Silverbrow is a cool race, especially from a fluff standpoint. Are there any Draconic feats that you're aiming for?

Anyway, the Human bonus feat is the big thing you need, so as long as that's covered you're fine. Losing the extra skill points isn't too big of a problem; especially since you'll have plenty of skill points from your high Int anyway.

Also, just to be clear; you shouldn't rely on damage from direct damage spells. True Strike is your friend. Shocking Grasp Firebolt is not. The only reason you should be using direct damage spells is to Channel them, but otherwise avoid using them on their own. Shocking Grasp is one such spell that ought to be channeled.

[OracleofSilence]

sorry if any one said this first, but why not go psychic warrior? duskblade would work, but they are notoriously under-powered by higher level. forth level spells really aren't enough to have believable saves. this ruins save/or effects, and means almost everything else will do only half damage/effectiveness.

[HappyBlanket]

sorry if any one said this first, but why not go psychic warrior? duskblade would work, but they are notoriously under-powered by higher level. forth level spells really aren't enough to have believable saves. this ruins save/or effects, and means almost everything else will do only half damage/effectiveness.

They only play up til around 7th level anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference.

[OracleofSilence]

that would greatly improve the duskbalde, but still... psychic warrior has far more utility.

[HappyBlanket]

Ahn. Yes, I suppose you're right. The Psychic Warrior certainly has it's benefits.

Psychic Warrior really is a nice class, and it's certainly a nice alternative to the Duskblade (they both qualify as easy gishes, and function even without Prestige). Since you're relatively new, the Psionics system won't be hard to learn, so this could be an excellent opportunity for you to learn it that you might not have the privilege of exploring in the future. So if you want to consider it, check out the respective handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=8904.0).

...I kinda want to make a psionic character now. I'll be a psychological glowing parkour monster.

edit: I'll just leave this here.


The duskblade fills a role very similar to the psychic warrior. It's simply an arcane gish base class rather than a psionic one. There are some differences though.

The duskblade has an overwhelming amount of spells but a rather mediocre spelllist. These spells are extremely combat focused and this is mirrored by its base attack bonus (highest). With the use of the arcane strike feat and arcane channeling the duskblade can dish out great amounts of damage, a lot more than the typical psychic warrior ever will. Additionally, it doesn't hurt that the duskblade's casting is intelligence-based either, because this means more skillpoints. But since the skilllist only features the knowledge skills this leads to more combat combat power via knowledge devotion and not to more versatility out of combat.

The psychic warrior only gets one power per level and really starves for powerpoints, but some of the powers he can get are really unique in the game. And the list of powers he can pick from is far more versatile than the duskblade spell list which has lots of overlappings. Thus, concentrate on using the options exclusively available to you and take advantage of them. You can use your powers to manifest natural weapons to get multiple attacks far earlier than others can, enchant your own weapons to save a lot of gold and invest the saved amount in other equipment. Look for great defenses because this is the area in which you really have a great _power_-advantage. You may not have the best base attack bonus and may not have direct damage powers, but you can alter your attacks in such a way that this is compensated: Power claws/weapon is an unbelievable power, for instance. You get to ignore damage reduction which can make a difference of 10 points of damage per hit or more. And again, this saves you money.

[OracleofSilence]

keep in mind, duskblades can cast more often, but psychic warriors have a much greater list of possible effects. at low level the diference is mainly a one of flavor (also if it really is no holds barred, psychic warriors can have as many power points as they need)

potential build would be

Human Psychic Warrior 3rd/X 2

feats: Body Fuel, Shape soulmeld (strongheart vest), Weapon focus (whatever you want), bonus essentia. = 2 safe pp regen per turn.

(of course, this is totally broken...)

[Optimator]

Shocking Grasp on its own may not be your friend but it's one of the better spells to channel. Decent damage and +3 to hit metal or metal-wearing targets.

[oh-no-noob]

thanks everyone, i did end up making a silverbrow duskblade, and it worked very well with the others in the group. lol but last session i died bc apparently we went about things wrong, i died :( but somehow got resurrected but just as human

[MrRigger]

If it was through the Druid spell Reincarnation, yes, there's a high chance your base race will change (remembers Saph's Seven Kingdom's Campaign Journal and the Reincarnation fun they had). The same thing will happen with the Druid Spell Last Breath. However, those are the only two spells that I know of that both return you to life and change your race (though I suppose you could Limited Wish to replicate them if you really wanted it). If it was Raise Dead or Revivify, you should still be a Silverbrow Human.

If you end up needing a new character, I suggest Totemist. Allows for the magic user feel through Soulmelds while still allowing for plenty of melee relevance. Not so much for BOOM!, but if you pick your Soulmelds correctly (which you can change every day), you can become a whirling dervish of deadly natural attacks. Especially if you play Changeling as your race and dip into a bit of Warshaper.

MrRigger