Good Feats for a Gish?

[Dairuga]

I am looking for good feats that might be of use for a Fighter whom just found a new calling in his life, and I would greatly appreciate any help. If people don't want to read the few paragraphs to summarize what have been happering to said character, scroll down to the end of the post.

A lizardman NPC that started out as a fighter for the first four levels went trough a traumatic event, and trough an off-screen adventure trough Carceri while the main party was trying to find means to ressurect him (He was originally just a hypnotized-to-hell, quasi-constantly suggested / charmed guy that was picked up from the local evil band of rogues that the party wizard (A kobold) wanted to have around as a meat shield), due to the Paladin not wanting to see someone they used so thoroughtly die just like that. Plus, the Paladin was well underway of converting the guy, slowly, away from the evil side; figuring that would be the greater good action than slaying the guy after having him around for so long.

So, after a long, ardous quest (For a level 4 party, ressurecting things are quite hard to afford, especially when the body got destroyed), they bring back the Lizardman... Mute and dull, scarred from the experience, but seemingly doing mostly-allright. So, a few sessions later, after a level up, the small kobold was starting to feel guilty about the whole thing, and had been spending rather long of a time to research ways of what might have caused the muteness. Break enchantment and Heal did not work.

Lo and behold, the Lizardman decides to weave his hands trough the air, drawing gestures, as sparkles formed in the air, forming letters; words. It was Prestidigitation.

The Fighter had suddenly decided to take a level in sorcerer. (Given that he was a Elite-Array Fighter, this might be a very, very bad idea, but we are playing more for the Fluff than optimization, and there were -some- measures put in that made him halfways decent, even if struggling to cast spells. The wizard had apparently fascinated the fighter so much with his spells that he yearned to learn magic himself, and the travel trough planes during death had somehow unlocked a latent power, if weak) He had, instead of a familiar, taken Silent spell as a Feat-given-by-Flaw upon being ressurected, and the Improptu metamagic ACF instead of a familiar.

And so, we now have a Fighter 4 / Sorcerer 1, and I am discussing with the DM on how to make him a viable character still. The most apparent way to go, would be to go with Abjurant Champion, which I think would be a good idea. The Fighter has also developed some Protection-complex (Let's call it Stockholm-Syndrome) for the kobold, and wants to keep him safe from harm.

The problem is... It seems the DM had forgotten to give the Fighter his Fighter feats, and quickly allocated the already-given Power attack and weapon focus and then Weapon Specialization (Both Halberd, mind. He is the big-n-tough warrior type) as his Fighter bonus feats, which leaves.. His Level 1, and level 3 Feat slot open. Combat Casting, required by Abjurant champion, is already supplied by another flaw, so that is no problem.

So then, He have two available feats, is at level 5, and I am looking for anything that might be good for a wanton-Sorcerer to keep him contributing to combat. I have looked over the Gish Handbook, which mentions Arcane Strike as the only real relevant feat that he will take in the future, due to it providing a rather good way of dumping his spell slots to beef up his attacks. The character wants to remain good at Melee fighting, using spells to supplement him, rather than to keep a distance and peppering the enemy with spells. And more than that, he wants to keep his frail little kobold safe, while tearing up the enemy with his weaponry.

Can anyone give me any suggestions for feats that might help him doing what he wants? Metamagics is not too good, due to the Abjurant knight already giving him free quicken and Extend on the most relevant spells (Abjuration, the protection spells), and DC increases is not a very good thing to use, given his rather sub-par Cha stat. Practiced spellcaster, I thought, would be a great give to him, but would be rendered useless at level 5 of Abjurant champion.

So, anyone have any ideas? Also, on that note, do anyone have ideas of Spells that might help him out, that he should make sure to pick up?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Make him Fighter 4/ Duskblade 2/ Suel Arcanamach instead. After SA 4 get Abjurant Champion 5 and Spellsword 1, then probably finish with Dragon Disciple. This is assuming you're ignoring the two racial HD of Lizardfolk, which will make just about any character of that race unplayably weak for any role at all.

[The Random NPC]

I'm not sure, but I think the fighter is a NPC, perhaps a cohort. Persist is a useful metamagic, but requires extend. Arcane Preparation will let you use the armor spell from Book of Exalted Deeds, and Minor Shapeshift can give him a pool of temp hp as long as he knows a 4th level polymorph spell.

[Dairuga]

Make him Fighter 4/ Duskblade 2/ Suel Arcanamach instead. After SA 4 get Abjurant Champion 5 and Spellsword 1, then probably finish with Dragon Disciple. This is assuming you're ignoring the two racial HD of Lizardfolk, which will make just about any character of that race unplayably weak for any role at all.


That is actually an interesting notion. Suel Arcanamach is an incredibly interesting class, I must say, even if in this world, would be entirely impossible for him to enter due to fluff reasons. We sadly do not have four weeks to study with a master, nor does the fighter have had any Skillpoints to learn the language needed, etc. A duskblade however, seems rather interesting... But given that the class does not progress Sorcerer casting, but has its own spell-list, it makes Abjurant champion a slightly more tastier target. Thank you, however, for the suggestion.

Yes, I am ignoring the two racial HD of Lizardfolk, or rather, the second HD was converted into a Fighter HD, and the first one was paid off much like LA adjustment, except it was fluffed as him spending his nighttime training with the halberd while the party was sleeping; being fatigued every day, almost, due to lack of sleep.

Dragon disciple, however, is a rather interesting notion to the mix. May I ask why you thought it would be a good addition? Given that it does not progress casting, it is not too good... But after he has gotten a bit of spellcasting under his belt, it seems to be a rather excellent choice. It increases Strenght, grants some extra spells, etc.

[2xMachina]

I really like Swiftblade (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327)

[Dairuga]

I really like Swiftblade (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/prc/20070327)

Well, dear Boccob, that class there is... incredibly useful.
While the Casting progression is rather bad, the sheer -time- aspect it delves into with Haste is quite unlike any other class I have seen.
I must say, this class is a stroke of genious, in how to merge supportive magic with physical combat, even if it is only hinging one one spell. Granting an extra action, as well as a major boost in speed, along with continous 50% blur -and- 50% spell miss chance? THis seems like a rather perfect class to delve into.

[Fouredged Sword]

What, exactly, are his stats? This is important as unless he has a cha or int of 13+ you are looking at never getting 9th level spells regardless of class choices without very expensive items. This is not necessarily the end of the world, but it makes some build ideas pointless for trying to chase a 9th level spell slot that can't be cast.

I would second swiftblade. You have two free feats, so dodge and mobility are able to be gained very quickly. The issue is getting the ability to cast haste. For this you should get to third spell level sorcerer casting as quickly as possible. Something like fighter 4 / sorcerer 2 / Abjurant Champion 2 / Swiftblade x is possible with Versatile spellcaster (gained as the 6th level feat) and a runestaff with haste. You would not actually be able to gain the most of the class for another 3 levels though, as you won't be able to cast haste without jumping through hoops. Get a wand of haste, and wait for Swiftblade 3 to get you 3rd level spells.

[Dairuga]

What, exactly, are his stats? This is important as unless he has a cha or int of 13+ you are looking at never getting 9th level spells regardless of class choices without very expensive items. This is not necessarily the end of the world, but it makes some build ideas pointless for trying to chase a 9th level spell slot that can't be cast.

I would second swiftblade. You have two free feats, so dodge and mobility are able to be gained very quickly. The issue is getting the ability to cast haste. For this you should get to third spell level sorcerer casting as quickly as possible. Something like fighter 4 / sorcerer 2 / Abjurant Champion 2 / Swiftblade x is possible with Versatile spellcaster (gained as the 6th level feat) and a runestaff with haste. You would not actually be able to gain the most of the class for another 3 levels though, as you won't be able to cast haste without jumping through hoops. Get a wand of haste, and wait for Swiftblade 3 to get you 3rd level spells.

His stats at the moment, his Stats are 18 Str, (With gauntlet of Strenght), 14 Dex, 14 con (With Periapt of Health), 10 int, 8 wis, 16 Cha (The ascension to Sorcerer granted him 2 points in Cha, from 12 to 14 (16 with Headband of Allure), to make it -viable- as a caster, in return from shaving off some of his physical stats; Dm fiat, but yes.

The kobold wizard is able to create magical items, and is fully intend of making sure the Lizardman in question has the equipment he needs to be a decent caster, as he has grown rather close to the Lizardman in turn, and he figured; why not? The more he equips his meatshield, the bigger chance of success.

Yes, Swiftblade seems to be a rather good way of going. And At the moment, after today's session, he became a Fighter 4 / Sorcerer 2, which has now made him eglible for taking Abjurant Champion. After taking 4 levels of Abjurant Champion, he will gain his 3th level spells, and at level 11, he will be able to take his first level of Swiftblade. And to me, having a level 20 ability of being able to cast Time stop quite a few times per day seems to be a rather great capstone, even if not the most optimized one.

Sadly, runestaffs cost far, far too much than the level 5's character's WBL allows, unless we sneak it in somehow. The kobold does not have Craft Rods (or Craft Staves?). But thank you for the suggestion, it is something I have to consider.

But still, the question remains. Aside from Arcane strike, what other feats could he take in the future that would benefit him?

[Randomguy]

The Minor Shapeshift reserve feat from complete mage is great, but he could only take it at higher levels.

Dodge and Mobility are, of course, prerequisites.

There's a tactical feat in Complete Warrior that lets you negate the damage from power attack, but only against the target of your Dodge feat. The reason this isn't often mentioned is because the prerequisites are dodge and mobility, which kind of suck, but you've got them already anyway.

[Fouredged Sword]

Well, as levels go on, martial study (any shadow hand strike) and followed by martial stance (assassin's stance) will net you 2d6 sneak attack for 2 feats. Considering you have concealment at all times you should be able to apply that sneak attack fairly commonly.

You are wielding a halberd. It can trip. A headband of intellect +4 will qualify you for Combat Expertise, and from there you can get Improved Trip. You can use your extra standard action to preform a trip->strike combo, followed by a full attack on your tripped foe.

Combat should look like this at high levels. Round one, swift action haste, standard action enlarge person, Spring attack past the front line to get to those who are trying to hide from melee. Second round, standard action bull's strength, full attack, swift action protection from good (or whatever the party alignment is). Third round, swift action abjuration of choice, move into position, full round attack.

Use spring attack to move past fighters and trip them in passing and avoid AOO's. Get to the mages and slaughter them. Then, once the spellcasters are down, turn on the fighters and lock them down with trips and full attacks.

[Snowbluff]

Well, dear Boccob, that class there is... incredibly useful.
While the Casting progression is rather bad, the sheer -time- aspect it delves into with Haste is quite unlike any other class I have seen.
I must say, this class is a stroke of genious, in how to merge supportive magic with physical combat, even if it is only hinging one one spell. Granting an extra action, as well as a major boost in speed, along with continous 50% blur -and- 50% spell miss chance? THis seems like a rather perfect class to delve into.

It's too perfect. The improved action economy has often gotten me interested in getting in purely for spellcasting.

[2xMachina]

Well, I prefer Expeditious Dodge (RotW) over standard dodge. It can replace Dodge, and it works on everyone when moving 40'. With application of Spring attack, this works quite well.

That tactical feat is called Elusive target (CW). It's more specific for Dodge, but if you rule that ET works on all affected on dodge, rather than having to designate a target, it works.

I also find that Swiftblade is very defensive, and Robilar's gambit (PB2, -AC, take extra damage from hits, but can take an AoO for every attack made against you) works quite well, with the miss chance. You can also try to provoke AoOs, let them miss, and strike them for trying. Elusive target lets you try to trip an opponent who misses an AoO on you. With Mobility, and 50% miss chance, it's nearly guaranteed. So free trip + AoO.

[Keld Denar]

Dragon Disciple is often called out as the capstone to Suel Arcanamach specifically. SA only has 10 levels of casting, which is generally hit at ECL 16. Adding more spellcaster levels doesn't do much, since it is capped. Dragon D, however, in its own terrible way, manages to advance it by giving extra spell slots.

So no, it is not good for any Gish build except this one tiny corner case.